AQUA VELVA

All good advice. Iv'e lost really nice fish just because I forgot to check my line for damage. Now I check after every fish. Hooking into a lunker can get your heartbeat going but if you know your equipment is ready for it, just stay calm and enjoy the ride.

DVT is absolutely right. Some of my early attempts at bait casting resulted in some truly nuclear bird nests that had to be cut out until I figgured out that whole centrifugal-magnetic-spool tension-smooth cast thing.

I have a spare Shimano spool spindle I just chuck in a cordless drill and snap the spool onto. I guide the line on by hand with the filler spool off to the side. Been doing it that way for years without a problem. Spinning reels seem to be line twisters by their very nature so at some point you will have to troll your lureless line out behind your boat to untwist it.

I can't believe there is enough demand for that line for Berkley to keep making it. It sounds like a spool full of expensive trouble.

All my spinning reels are Shimano and my bait casters are all Quantum. I'll be purchasing a Curado I this year with the help of a $100 gift card for Cabela's so I guess I'll find out if they are as good as Iv'e been hearing.

Iv'e ordered things from NBS that I had not seen in other catalogs or web sites. I'm glad to hear that they will still be in business somewhere, though.

I can't count the number of trailers I have seen left on the side of the freeway with a missing tire and no one around! I wouldn't pull a trailer without a spare tire anymore than I would take my boat out on the water without a spare prop. There is no excuse for poor planing and maintenance.

Luck is for people who don't pay attention or have a plan.

I haven't lost a lure in a long time but I remember night fishing with a buddy many years ago only because he lost four spinnerbaits in a row. They were special made by a friend of ours for this trip and we each had six of them. We could see fish stacked up like cord wood on the FF in the shallows so we were pretty excited. On his first cast his line went limp all of a sudden and then you could hear the sound of the lure going through the tree branches on shore! OK, weak spot on the line, maybe, re-tie. Next cast same thing. Next cast same thing. I'm catching fish left and right, he's starting to look worried. He ties number four on and it vanishes just like the first three! By this time I'm thinking, man, if you throw all of those spinnerbaits into the trees, you are NOT getting any of mine. Finally I said show me how you are tying those on so we both turned on our hat lights while I watched him. He was tying a Trilene knot and we both realized at the same instant that he was leaving out an important part of the knot. After that, everything went well and we had a great night!

'' I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member.'' Groucho Marx

Pad fishing can be frustrating. The lake I live on has plenty of nice looking pad fields but guess what, Iv'e never caught a bass out of them all the years Iv'e lived here. I go to other lakes and catch bass in the pads any time of the day. When I do catch them, I seem to have pretty good results with Scumfrog type baits without the tails, some with the double hook, some with a single. Some of the more realistic frog lures also produce well. I just crawl them over the pads and pause in the openings and on the edge just before open water.Good luck!

I'm in upper mid lower MI, hows that? Ice everywhere around here. Going through all my tackle for the 100th time. New fishing catalogs seem to come in the mail every other day. Woe is me!

Hello from Ogemaw County and welcome aboard, Bob.

Always wondered just how long could a rod last if well taken care of? Do heat and ultraviolet rays of the sun have much affect over time, on rods? Some of my rods are from the mid 90's and have spent a lot of time laying out on the rear casting deck in the blazing sun.

I use marina gas in both my 94, 60hp, Merc 2 stroke on the bass boat and 05, 50hp ,Yamaha 2 stroke on the pontoon. I noticed a difference on the first tank as they both run much smoother and start easier. Marina gas is $5.50 a gal. where I'm at but a full tank in each will usually get me through the season and I think it's worth it. I still use Stabil in both engines throughout the summer as per the motor mech's recommendations at the marina. I haven't run across a gas station in my area yet that carries ethanol free gas.

Any bass lure over $10. is a deal killer for me. Unless there is hard evidence that $25. lures will consistently out fish cheaper ones, I just won't go there.

Booyah did have a nice looking pink sb but I don't know if they still offer that color. Iv'e used their sb's for years and they make a good product. I'm not familiar with the two brands you mentioned.

Case in point, look at all those fancy paint jobs on the top of a lot of topwater lures. Bass never see any of that, all they see is the outline of something with a light colored belly.

Our Waly World moves the fishing clearance stuff around like it's an Easter egg hunt.

After reading some of these posts I'm reminded of a saying I heard a long time ago.'' The stupidity of your actions will always be in direct proportion to the number of people watching you.'' Personal experience seems to bear that out.

Iv'e wondered about the Hyrowave, myself. Haven't met anyone in my area that has used one or knows anything about them. The premise sounds interesting but it's hard to part with a few hundred bucks for something that might, kinda, sorta ,maybe work. Or not.

All I can say is it's a good thing my boat didn't come with torpedo tubes.

I used to wade the Huron River in several Metro Parks near me.The DNR had a smallie stocking program in that system that was pretty good for a while. I would wade upstream and cast ahead as I went. I could almost guarantee a fish behind anything that was sticking up out of the water. The currant moved the bait just fast enough to make it a move it or loose it deal for the fish on ambush mode. That was many years ago (pre boat) and I was using a white Dixie Dancer sb with silver colo's at the time.

It's a struggle here in MI alright. All of the things that I enjoy doing require warm weather. I have thought about getting involved in some kind of winter sport but then I would have to go outside and that would ruin it for me. Excuse me, but it's time for me to go through my BPS Master Catalog...............again.

I'm not sure how well it would work on MI bass but I bet the pike & musky would like it.