NathanW

This is later release than the reels that awarded them such an awful reputation so they very well could have corrected all of their problems but not a lot of people are taking the gamble. Don't Buy!!

I will be camping at Steamboat Rock for a few days in June and haven't fished Banks yet. I have some basic questions for anyone who is willing to share some knowledge of the lake. Not asking anyone to sell the farm here, I mostly just want to pack right and play safely with the kids. Welcome to PM me if your don't feel like sharing with the world. -Water level. What is the pattern here? Does it rise in the winter/spring and lower throughout the summer? or do they try to keep it constant? Also, is there ever aggressive lowering or rising that could leave a parked boat beached (like on the Snake River..)? -Wind. I have heard they get some big winds but every lake is different to this respect. Anyone have a pretty stable rule of thumb for when to stay off or at least close to the ramp? For instance a ten-fifteen mile wind on Wallula can be nasty but a 20mph wind on Moses is nothing I fret... -Largemouth. I like to target LM before SM but I have looked at the Google and Bing maps and worry that its going to be tuff going for the green fish. Just looks really deep, clear and pretty sterile from a vegetation standpoint. The North end has all of those main lake pockets that would be nasty LM fishing this time of year if it wasn't so deep in the middle. Is my observation somewhat accurate? Does the smallmouth prevail on this lake even in the backwaters? I am going to fish the backs regardless but I dont want to give up on LM to quickly if its generally pretty easy to catch them here. -Stain. Pretty clear lake? or no? Its not Chelan clear is it? The water looks big enough to get rolling pretty good so I know it will sediment. But is there an algae bloom or any color to the water? Thanks, I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read or respond to this. -Nate

Anyone try to watch Major league fishing on thier Roku using the MyMedia channel? I am wondering how it streams and what the quality is like. Would hate to waste the one time 5 doller fee if it doesnt even work...

What Ron really meant was.....Go Hawks!!

I am not going to act like I didnt have a lot of good times this year. But performance wise not so good. I still havent had a 20lbs plus day! Not to say I wont get there before the ice as smallies around here get stupid and easy to catch. Honestly guys, the whole family thing is getting the best of me, I find myself fishing less and less each year by choice. I'll get out in morning, get one big bite in the boat, and lose motivation to string a pattern due to missing the family. What a shame.

Aboslutely I do. Fall, Prespawn and Postspawn are my hardbait seasons. I do get the deep divers out in the summer but the conditions dont always agree.

Lethal Weapon II Swim Jig. In my experiance there are quit of few swimjigs on the market with the fatal fatel flaw of using a lead barbed keeper. This doesnt make any sense on a bait that you are constantly reeling and pulling through cover. Yes, it works fine if you superglue your trailer but who wants to deal with that if you dont have to. The lead barbed baits just dont keep your trailer put the way that the wire keepers do. Lethal Weapon II and a few others have the wire keeper.

I have been very pleased with that box. It matches the size of all of my other boxes so they store nicely together in my boat.

Nope I was just talking about the blank. The blank was cut down on the butt end of that rod. In this particular case you would have an additional 2" of rod and an additional 1" of handle. A 14" handle on the 6/8 and a 15" handle on th 7/0.

You are practically talking about the same rod here. The three inches would be cut from the butt end on the 6/8 Legend so your action would be exactly the same on both. I see more advantage to the longer rod, however I have neve fished from a Kayak. But ripping grass, pulling line on the C-rig, and controlling depth while cranking is always easier with longer rod.

JB weld works just fine. I have fixed three rod butts with it and they are still going strong.

Yes panfish will eat that stuff, especially blue gill. Hatchery trout also love it. But as said you are better off with something that can provide a little action.

As said find a used Shimano Bantam Curado on Ebay. These reals will be around forever and will continue to outperform anything you can find off the shelf for under $80.00. Available in left or Right.

My primary use for them is as a swimjig trailer. However they are also pretty great nose hooked and fishing weightless. Swim them above grass in crystal clear water, you can slow the bait down significantly and it still swims. They look a lot like a tadpole they way their tail wags. Problem is you can go through a pack in less than an hour if you are around lots of fish.

The hook up ratio is a whole lot better and it sinks a little more vertically than T-rigging. If I am fishing grass in crystal clear water I will Wacky rig using 6# test as setting the hook on a T-rig with this light of line will cause a few lost fish. 8 times out of 10 however I would rather have a T-Rig on. Setting the hook on T-Rig/Jig is just way too much fun.

If it turned that hard it could have been a foul hooked carp or catfish. But more likely than not you just lost a state record Largemouth.

That line was recommended to me when I first started bass fishing. Absolutely loved it. I have not used it in a while but cannot remember having any problems with it.

My only thought on this topic....

The swimjig changed my largemouth game. Not going to tell you that I don't throw a spinnerbait anymore, but I am catching a lot more fish on a swimjig during most conditions. Using a couple different sizes and types to match depth and type of cover. You want a stiffer weedgaurd for stalky vegetation and heavy brush but the lighter weedgaurd that is available on most products works for everything else. Basically a 1/4 ounce and 3/8 ounce are all you need. Any matching boot or curl tailed grub as a trailer and you are set. A little tip, I wont buy a swimjig that doesnt use a wire keeper. The barbed lead keepers just dont keep the trailer pinned on swimming lures.

I was thinking the same thing as WIguide. Stay away from Force, and any Mercury with the word Force printed on the cowling. For 5000.00 you should be able to find a great deal on Craiglist for a Bass Tracker Pro Team w/60-90HP and maybe a smaller Nitro/Skeeter in the 115-150HP range. Just be patient, after shopping for a while you should be able to regonize a good deal when you see one and be aggressive once you do. I would recommend finding a boat with a good storage layout and lots of compartments. If you are buying from a dealer you may be able to find a decent 14 foot aluminum with an 15 HP motor.

Must be Florida strain smallies . In all seriousness, I have seen largmeouth sit lockjawed if front of a finesse presentation many times but never in my life dealt with smallies that arent biting. Its one thing to have fish that spook easily but if they arent spooking and just looking at your bait pass them by I am in disbelief. Smallmouth are nasty predators.

Well put. I like my Terrova w/I-Pilot but would never tell people what I was told before I switched from a cable steer. It is great for fishing current, holding spots in open water, parral casting and aimlessly beating the bank. When it comes to boat positioning the way I could with a cable steer it is simply not possible. When it comes to tight navigation around structure, or like you said, while fighting a fish it underperforms. Unfortunatly you cannot have both, my next motor will be a cable steer but I am sure I'll miss the Terrova on nearly every outing the same way I miss the cable steer now.

Spool less line and cast overhead.

I would say no. The Rebel Pop-R, Spook, Spook Jr, and Rattlin Spook, Snagproof Frog, and War Eagle buzzbait all catch fish just as well as anything from LC or MB. If not better.

Exactly, everytime I can remember putting big weight on in a hurry has while stroking a tube has been dead smack in the middle of day in the blistering hot. A little chop on the water, in anywhere from 7 to 15 foot of water on a big open rocky flat or slow tapering edge. Good times.