crazyjoeclemens

I think he was trying to say Ugly Stiks are built to be durable. Therefore, they'll take the kind of abuse you'd never subject a high end rod to. Unfortunately, the materials they use to make 'em bulletproof do not lend to sensitivity. Ugly Stiks are great live bait/catfishing rods, but they don't really allow you to feel the bait as it moves through the water or bounces off structure/cover. They also make it a little difficult to feel light or subtle hits on your bait. The new GX 2's are a lot better, in terms of sensitivity, than the originals - but they still leave a lot to be desired. I think the Berkeley Cherrywoods and Lightning Rods would make better budget bass rods.

Walleye and salmon for me

No, they're definitely not meant for casting. Like you said, I think they're used for spider rigging, but I've also seen them used for jigging. Some guys will flip small tube jigs into thick brush piles and pull the slabs right out. I've never done it my self, but I'd like to try it sometime. I kinda need to find someone with some know-how to show me the ropes. In the mean time, I use that 6' ML Cherrywood to cast small crank baits, swim baits, and curly tail grubs.

Regardless of what he pays, what if he's just thinning out his collection and making room for some different gear? Should he sell a good used rod for a fair price or should he just throw em away because he got a discount?

I will admit that the term "rage rig" had me thinking there was much more to the presentation. However, seeing that it's no more than a keel weighted hook does not offend me in any way. As a matter of fact, I will probably put one together with the non-rage products I already have and fish it just the same. When I show it to my fishing buddies, I'll probably still call it the Rage Rig, because whoever came up with it has the right to call it whatever they like. I might have gone with "Purple Unicorn Rig," but, then again, Rage Rig is much more simple...

I was operating under the assumption that, wether it killed them or not, it probably wasn't good for them. Like I've said before, fishermen already get a bad rap when it comes to littering. If I'm using soft plastics and I think it might fall off or get torn off easily, I replace it and put the old one in the trash.

I think I saw an article about that, some time ago in a copy of In-Fisherman. I think the main point of the article was something like "dont be afraid to try something different." If you're on a lake that's got moderate to heavy fishing pressure, you might do better throwing something a little different than everyone else.

What do you guys use to lubricate your spinning reels? Mine are way overdue for a little TLC.

How many of you guys spend time sharpening hooks? Does it make that much of a difference? Im into Archery, and I know there are some guys who will take a brand new broadhead out of the package and sharpen it. Does anyone do the same thing or just use them as they are and toss em when they get dull?

I've been using a 6' ML Cherrywood for panfish and I really like it. I've been thinking about getting into those super long 9' rods they use for crappie, but I'm not sure about how to use em...

I've hooked up with a couple decent fish with a Carolina rig on a light rod. Gotta set it like you mean it, but it can be done.

I was pretty lucky that none of them made a run straight under the docks. The weeds around the docks aren't too heavy either, so it was a pretty straightforward fight to get them landed. When I set the hook, I did so with purpose. If I had outright missed, I probably would have been wearing that jig. I did lose a couple fish that tossed the hook, but my overall hookup ratio was satisfactory. I'm pretty sure I would have done better with at least a 6' medium rod. Light tackle really is a blast. I just get paranoid about breaking a line - I hate to think how long that fish would have to swim around with that stupid jig in his mouth, just because I used a rig that wasn't up to the job.

Went to a local municipal pond this afternoon and started out flipping a Strike King Bitsy Bug jig out right next to the docks. On the first cast, I had a ~2 pounder take the jig before it hit the bottom. I worked my way around the docks and managed to pull out a half dozen more in the 2-3 lb range. Using a 5'6" light spinning rod/reel combo and 6# mono made it feel like I was reeling in some real monsters. For a trailer, it wasn't really pig, but I was using a package of YUM F2 crawdads I found in the Wal-Mart bargain bin for $1.50. I couldn't say what exact model/color they were because there wansn't a label on the package. They were about 2.5" long and some kind of craw color. Anyway, it turned out to be just the ticket for the day. After I worked over the docks, I started working my way down the shore, aiming for the dropoff just beyond the shallows, and the fish started getting quite a bit smaller and less active. Not sure if it was the location affecting the bite or the weather. It was pretty overcast when I started, but the clouds had pretty well broken up by the time I cleared the docks. Anyway, thats one more presentation off this rookie's list!

I know what most of y'all think about cheap lures, but I found a couple of these babies in the bottom of a bargain bin at a local farm store and thought, "Why not?" So, I stopped at a local forest preserve pond on the way home and started casting one in natural frog colors. The very first cast, a bass took it - almost the moment it landed. I was so surprised, that I completely missed the strike and failed to hook up. After that, all I got was passive interest - a few occasional swirls of fish checking it out and moving on. I switched up to the black one and same deal - got a hit on the first cast. I wasn't gonna be fooled this time, so I went to set the hook like I was tryin to chop some lumber - except it was a short strike and that little frog came out of the water like a ballistic missile fired from a submarine. After that, only passive interest as before. Has anyone else tried the Nano Kroakers? If so, how did you fare?

Im new to bass, but I've been river fishing for cats for a long time. Current is a big factor. I like to look for areas where fast water meets slow water - predators will often sit in slower current and wait for food to get washed by in the faster current. Wing dams, bridge pilings, and areas where creeks flow into the main channel are features I look for. If the river is high enough, I also like to check out areas of backwater and flooded timber. They can turn into a buffet for fish, when they're actively feeding.

Sounds good. I know of a weedy, mossy pond I'd like to try em out on. Seems like they might work well on a carolina rig.

I noticed that Tigger X, Berkeley Gulp, and a few others make leeches. Has anyone used these for bass, or are they strictly a walleye kind of bait. If so, how do you rig em? I thought they looked pretty cool in the package, but I thought they might just end up looking like a black power worm.

Are you sure they're not Chinese counterfeits? I'm into bow hunting, and I see a lot of chines counterfeit archery broadheads on ebay. They even copy the packaging.

Cabelas has em on sale too. $12.79 + S/H for 25.

Obviously, if you're having a good day and the fish tear up your bait, you're gonna have to put a new one on every now and then. However, if you throw out a soft plastic and its not getting any love, do you toss it back in the tackle box and save it for next weekend or tear it off and start fresh on your next outing?

Saw this and thought it was a pretty good idea for rigging chicken livers. Anyone try this before? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4g3oC2w7PE

Floats work, but I'm a big fan of the drop shot rig for catfishing. They're not exclusively bottom feeders, so it helps to have the bait up off the ground. If you're looking for fillet sized fish, stink bait and those tube worms work just fine. If you wanna find the bigguns, I prefer fresh shad fillets on octopus circle hooks and the shad head on a large Khale hook. The other option is whole live shad on the Khale hook. Catfish mostly feed at night and lay low during the day. So, if you are night fishing, try to find some shallow flats to fish. During the day, you might need to reach for the deeper holes in the lake. If you've had some recent rains, and there's a potential for baitfish to be washed into the lake, thats another good place to look into. Where I fish, we have a 2 rod/reel at a time limit, so I keep 2 in the water as much as possible. If your local regs allow you to have more lines out, go for it. It never hurts your average.

Its good to ask questions like these, because there's always someone like me, lurking in the background and reading the responses...

I don't see what you have to be ashamed of. A whole lot of fish have been reeled in with Zebco 33's. They ain't fancy, but they get the job done. Only thing to consider is that the line recovery is pretty slow on those spincast reels. If you have a fish make a run at you, you'll be crankin' like a madman to keep the slack out of the line.

X2 I've fished some private ponds that you can only access on foot, so I take an ultralight rod & whatever tackle I can stuff in my pockets. It can be done.