livin2fish

If the dog (choke chain) collar plug knocker for cranks has already been listed, disregard this post. Parts: Choke chain (make loops that will catch CB hooks), broken Ugly Stick cut down to first eye, retired cranking reel, 65# or larger (old) braid, large clip but small enough to not slip over crank bait, two heavy zip ties (one will work if strong enough). This probably will work best from a boat where you can position directly over the lure you are trying to retrieve. Sometimes trebles will need to be replaced but not often.

Cordell's Gay Blade like j bab said. The bass seemed to like the blue back better than the black back. Having never fished this type of blade bait before, was impressed with the good wobble and feel of the bait. Will add the Silver Buddy later to satisfy the "bait monkey".

The Silver Buddy was mentioned on this forum very recently as being a very good cold water bait. Recently, there has been nothing hitting my baits of choice. Visited Academy looking for Silver Buddy. They don't carry. Got a couple of "knock offs". Happened to be just what the bass wanted. Had a fun hour of fishing. Nothing of size except a couple of 2 pounders, maybe, but all very healthy, strong fighting fish. Thanks to the Maine fisherman who gave the excellent report. M not savvy enough to look up his name while doing this. Just thanks.

Chiming in on the Shimano Symetre sticking issue. Have two Symetres. One problem free, other sticks, mostly during hot weather. Have been able to get working again freely by removing spool and drizzling Shimano reel oil down the shaft while turning crank handle. Need to repeat every couple of months. Have one Pflueger President, less than one year old, which is problem free. Would buy another.

Have used the Snell knot except, the line running through the middle of the hook eye makes it difficult to peg the soft plastic to keep it from sliding down the hook during the hook set. Personal choice for pegging is 80 lb. mono., which catches the line in the hook eye. Prefer a knot that leaves the hook eye open.

Much improved in the tying of the FG, but have intermittent failures. Actually fun tying using the hand weave and foot method. Tying 8 lb or 6 lb fluor leaders to 12 lb Nanofil on spinning reels. Leader materials 8 lb Izorline copolymer mono and 8 or 6 lb Segaur Red Label fluor. Haven't documented which leader material is having the most failures, but one is too many if there is a nice fish or an expensive lure on. My question is, does the FG knot hold equally for fluor and mono with same test leader material?

Absolutely will try the local tackle shop first. If he does not have the "needed" item and can't order it, then will shop around. Will pay more to the local as long as it isn't too overpriced.

Been fishing Gliss 40 lb. for several months, on spinning gear. Initially, loved it. Works very well on spinning. Longer casts, no memory, strong (should be at 40#). A couple of problems however. Must use a leader for treble hook baits. Hooks will penetrate the line during the cast, or water landing and are difficult to remove. Not a real problem as all of my spinning setups are braid with leader. After several months of use, the line began to flatten. As the line flattened, the casting distance reduced (not appreciably) due to the water on the greater (flatter) surface area. Line may not flatten with smaller diameters. These were the only problems.

Guess my take on this thread is, some bass will spook, some will be curious, some will spook then be curious, some will not care about the noise. No matter what we believe, we are probably right. LOL

Don't know if bass are spooked by my Terrova, but have seen Carp in shallow water spooked numerous times when the Terrova is turned. Guess Bass bed fishermen who have Terrovas could say whether the turning noise spooks bass, or not.

A sideways motion (vs. swinging the lure straight out toward the target) can be used to avoid catching your lure on the side of the boat . Technique is not as efficient but with some practice it may work for you. Suggestion, only use this with single hooks. Saves having trebles stuck in fingers of the holding hand.

Thanks for the quality suggestions. Will give all of them a try. Stopping the crossing of eyes (reaction hook sets) may require a strong sedative, lol.

One of my favorite lures is a Scrounger head with a Superfluke trailer. Problem is, about half of the fish that hook up, end up shaking off before they get to the boat. Try to cross their eyes and get them to the boat as fast as possible. Tackle used: M, MH, and H rods, mostly with fast action 6.3 to 1 and 7.0 to 1 reels 12 lb Fluro Hook shapener Trimmed blade on the Scrounger No bent down barbs on the hooks None of these has made any significant difference. Hate to give up on the Scrounger since it can be thrown into weeds and brush and normally comes through without snagging. Suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Have you looked at Creek Boats? They are mostly built for a trolling motor on the back with foot pedals to operate. http://www.creekboats.com/

Try this link to South Carolina DNR. You can check it as often as you like as the time draws near. Probably not exactly what you want but something. http://dnr.sc.gov/news/freshwater.html