FrankW

X2 Frank

I would have pushed it through so the tip was exposed and cut off the tip/barb. Then it is easy to extract. Frank

Hi Basswhippa, My local lake was a super Bass Lake when I moved here in 2000. I had four years of great fishing until they killed off the grasses. The lake was covered with hydrilla and pads with a river channel. The last year before they killed everything off I caught two 8 pounders. One in the spring and one in the fall. Once the grasses were gone I just gave up on the lake for several years. Last year there was budget problems and the hydrilla came back in some areas and of course the fishing has improved. The problem is they don't just kill the hydrilla around the areas that home owners use but they killed every last grass and pads on the lake. If they missed any they came back and killed them again. The river channel is 25 to 30 feet deep and hydrilla won't grow in that depth. But the river banks are shallow and there is no reason they couldn't leave the hydrilla on the banks. That is where the fishing was best and far from home owners. I feel your pain. Frank

I use it all including long pants, long sleeve shirts, hat with cape, sun block, sun gloves and Buffs. Those with Tilley or Cowboy hats and that is all you use, you are not being protected adequately. A wide brim hat gives pretty good protection when the sun is above you. But the sun doesn't stay above you all day. It offers no protection to reflect sunlight form the water. That will burn you also. The wet bandanna is a great way to cool down. Frank

Some more thoughts on the Perfection Loop. I was surprised with my test and 30lb braid with two Perfection Loops so I did some more test. I think my first test was a fluke and I don't think I would use a Perfection Loop with braid. The Double or Triple Surgeon Loop would be my choice. I know they are strong loops. The Perfection works best with mono. Frank

Hi senkomaster1998, The Bimini Twist is a great loop but just too much trouble to tie, at least for me. I would try the Double Surgeon Loop. If that slips then try the Triple Surgeon or a touch of glue. The only problem with the Surgeon knot is it puts a slight offset in the line. That is, the loop and the trailing line are not in an exact straight line. In most cases you will never notice it with any lure or weight attached to the line. The Surgeon Loop is used a lot by Fly Fishers. My favorite loop knot is the Perfection Loop. I just tied a shot piece of 30lb braid with a Perfection loop on each end and pulled until it broke. Neither knot broke. The line broke in the middle. I tied the Perfection with a four wrap keeper knot like used on the Albright Knot. Frank

Most Bass rods are not listed as Bass rods but as Casting rods or use specific rods like spinner bait. A spinner bait rod is not necessarily a Bass rod. Frank

Hi Evo_Ant24, Ten pound mono would be a good choice for cranks and top water but not a jig unless you are fishing really light jigs. Use the rod with the twenty pound braid for your jigs. The lakes I fish are very shallow and I use braid for cranks as it helps to keep it a little bit shallower. From now till it gets hotter and the hydrilla tops out, you can fish a trap or crank above the growing grass. That is personal preference and you just need to gain some experience and find what you like. I personally don't use a leader for braid in the lakes I fish. If the fish are in heavy cover I just don't think the leader makes any difference. Our lakes also have a lot of color most of the year. So just analyze the waters you are fishing and set up your gear accordingly. If you go with the 20lb braid on one spinning rod remember that your rod is probably not rated for 20lb line so don't bend your rod double on a snag. Just use a little caution and you will be OK. Frank

Hi Evo_Ant24, I live in Central Florida and have worked or fished most of the state. Nothing wrong with using spinning outfits but you may need to go heavier on your line. 6lb and 8lb are more for northern fishing where there don't have the heavy cover like we have in Florida. I do have a drop shot spinning setup with 8lb Fluro but I only use that in spring fed rivers with minor cover. It is hard to recommend gear not knowing where you are fishing. But I would take one spinning rod and load it with 20lb braid. This would be used for your worms, zooms, and add in a tube. You can buy Power Pro at Walmart. Please be careful with the braided line. You should not break off a hang up with the rod and reel. You should not try to break off with your hand. You need to use something other than your hand to hold the line and break off with that. A dowel will work. Bare skin and braid will result in a cut. For bait casting I suggest you buy a Diawa Tatula 100 on sale. You can find them as cheap as $105/110. This may seem high to you but a reel in this range will make learning to cast a bait caster a lot easier than a cheap reel. We really need to know your budget to recommend gear to you. Frank

Thanks Roger!

Hi Everyone, A little history on the Duncan and Double Palomar. The Duncan knot was originally developed by Duncan as a loop knot used a lot by fly fishers. You tie the Duncan knot but don't pull it tight to the hook and the fly movement is not restricted. When a fish takes the fly the loop slides closed on the hook. You can then loosen the Duncan by pulling on the tag end and used it again for a loop knot. Bass Fishers don't use the Duncan as a loop knot and generally pulls it tight to the hook. If you still have slippage with the standard Duncan loop then go through the hook eye two times and then tie the Duncan as usual. Mr Duncan was kind enough to show his knot to a fishing writer who introduced it as the uni without giving credit to Duncan. Back in 2000 I moved to Florida and got serious about Bass Fishing again. I started with 10lb braid and found that the Palomar knot would slip sometimes with this line. After looking at the Palomar knot I found that it was basically a single Surgeon loop that was pulled tight. In fly fishing we use a lot of loop knots and one of the favorites is the Double Surgeon Loop. So I tried the double surgeon loop and found it would not slip and the double Palomar was born, at least to me. I recommended the Double Palomar to members of another board and they all found it to be an excellent knot for braid. So next time you tie a Double Palomar look at it before you pull the bait through the loop and you will see it is a Double Surgeon Loop at that point. When you put the bait through the loop and pull it tight, you now have the Double Palomar. There is also a Triple Surgeon Loop and that really is strong but it is also very hard to tighten as a Triple Palomar. The Double Palomar doesn't slip so no need for the Triple Palomar even though I have used it some. Frank

Hi Warrior, Yes I am new to the forum but not to Bass fishing. I also use a spinning rod a lot. I had wind knots, lure fouling and line wrapping around the tip with 10lb braid. Those problems went away when I moved up to 20lb braid. I love braid but it does funny stuff when the wind blows. Frank

Has a lot to do with where you fish. Florida, you can't beat Hydrilla. It is my favorite of any cover I have fished. Washington State, Wood. Arizona, Rocks and Cactus. Nevada, Rocks and Cactus. California, Wood and Lilly Pads. Texas, Wood and laydowns. Mississippi/Tennessee, Rocks Frank

My most unusual catch was a Wolf Fish caught in Alaska while fishing for Halibut. Sorry for the poor photos. Frank

Hi Dead River, Congratulation on getting a replica instead of killing that great fish. You did good! That is a nice mount. I would frame your picture and mount it above or below the mount with the information of the catch. Frank

High 0119, You live in Florida and don't like braid??? If there is any State that needs braid it is Florida. I have used braid since 2000 and have never experienced the bleeding problem you described. The color does come off but it is over time and I only notice the color being lost. I think you will be pleased with how the braid works on your spinning reels. What line do you use for jigging and punching? Frank

I would suggest you try SS8 on your Tatula and see what happens. I may have had an isolated problem and I would like to hear your comments after you use it. Particularly if you use the 20lb line. I used the 20lb SS8 on the Tatula for fishing sweet beavers with a skirt and 1/8oz weight. The Tatula handles this setup really well and I pitch with it all the time in shallow water but with standard PP. Frank

Hi Michbassin, Tubes are one of my favorite plastics and I fish them a lot. Here in Florida I use a MH 6' 6" or 7' rod. Both casting and spinning. The spinning when I fish weightless or with a 1/32, 1/16oz weight. The casting rod I use with heavy weights. I find a tube is a very good punch bait because it is so slim and really slips through the cover. Since you are in Michigan I might go with a Medium rod as you probably don't have a lot of heavy grass cover and you are fishing open water frequently. I would look at the weight rating of the rods and pick one that covers 1/8 to 1oz or 1/4 to 3/4. It depends on what weight and tube you are using. I don't like to name a specific rod as this is just my personal preference. For spinning I do prefer a handle like the one that Denali uses. I find the hump keeps my hand from fatiguing over a long day of fishing. The picture is upside down but you can see the grip. There are other rods out there with a similar or same grip. Frank

I have tried a lot of ways to cut braid and still don't have a good solution. I am a long, long time fly tier and have tried several very good scissors. Finally serrated scissors cut braid very well but they dull in a season. I have the Boomerang but it will only cut if the line is under tension. I am disappointed in tis performance. They work OK but not the real answer. A electric line cutter works good but there is a delay waiting for it to heat. Nail clippers don't cut braid without a lot of effort. Wire cutters that are real sharp with perfectly matched blades might be the answer but the ones I have don't work any better than some of the other things I have tried. I still haven't given up on serrated scissors or razor scissors. If I find the ultimate braid cutter I will let you know. Many of the methods listed by members in this forum I find to be less than satisfactory. I want a clean cut every time with out tension on the braid. Cheap scissors, the Boomerang or nail/toe clippers don't cut braid like I think they should. Frank

1. Spinnerbait in Whit/Chart. 2. 1.5 Square Bill Crank in Chart. 3. Spook Top Water in Black Bass. 4. 6" Zoom Trick Worm in Black or Pumpkin. 5. Sweet Beaver in Black Blue with skirt and 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 or 1 1/2 weight. As time goes on the weight would vary according to what cover I am fishing and if the hydrilla has topped out. Frank

If some of us think that a snelled hook works better for punching why don't we use it for all our Texas rigged plastics? Why just for punching? When I see someone demonstrating the virtue of the snelled hook for punching they show the hinged effect with out a plastic. I have found that the plastic will imped the hinged effect and partially defeats the advantage of the snell. I use a Palomar as I don't use a straight shank hook for punching or flipping. I seldom miss a strike but as stated, the trick is to land a fish in heavy hydrilla. I don't think the snelled hook gives any advantage to landing fish in heavy cover. Frank

I tried SS8 in 20lb on a Daiwa Procaster Z. I have had this reel since 2000 and know how to cast it. I had a problem with the SS8 backlashing. Not a lot but just enough that I had to pull out a few feet way to often. I finally took the line off and put on some regular PP. When I bought my Tatula R I loaded it with PP and it casted great. After a few weeks I decided to try the SS8 on the Tatula as it casted a lot better than my old Procaster. I immediately had the same problems with the SS8 as I did before. The SS8 feels almost sticky to me and it just had a tendency to backlash too often. I think the problem is the finish that PP is using on the SS8 line. I have decided not to use it on a bait caster. I really wanted to like the SS8 line but it didn't perform for me. Frank

Hi macmichael, You are in for a treat if you have not used braid on a spinning reel. You will have to adjust your hook set as there is no stretch in braid. You should close your bail by hand and do a slight tug on the line before you wind. This will prevent any loops forming on the spool. You will have to use knots appropriate for braid. I like 20lb Power Pro. The only time I use a leader is when I cast a top water with a spinning rod. I use a 4" leader of Fluro. This keeps the braid from fouling on the hooks of the top water plug. With use the braid gets very soft and has a tendency to foul the plug. The 4" length of Fluro doesn't effect the performance of the plug. Frank

Hi Charles, I have a Woo Davis Spinner Bait rod and have always used Braid with no problems. It is still in use. Frank