hawgenvy

Just spent all afternoon organizing my reserve inventory of soft plastics, hooks and weights in my wife-designated fishing tackle closet in the garage. Whew! (God only knows why I have a pack of lavender flukes.)

awesome.

I love the chatter bait! How it's all hairy like a jig, it has that cool fluttery blade, and you can stick on all different kinds of enticing trailers. And, man, you can feel that vibrating action just ajitterin' all the way up the line and through the rod. I'd bet all that chatter can call over a fish that's a mile away. I always keep a dark blue one and a white/chart. on hand ready for the toss. Now, one of these days, maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, a fish is actually going to bite the darn thing!

This is good! We're gonna get some Olympic hopefuls right on this thread!

I was just kidding about distance casting becoming an Olympic sport. But if it were, I'd sure as heck watch it!

I think it could be an Olympic sport. Like the javelin or shot put.

I believe bowfin were once maligned as a sort of introduced invasive species, and although they have indeed been deliberately introduced in areas, bowfin are North American natives and do little to harm our environment. Of course, as predators they will compete with bass just as bass compete with them, but it has been shown that they are unlikely in natural circumstances to deplete the bass. Choupique, as everyone called them back in my Louisiana days, can be eaten; usuallly, however, it's accepted just by poor folks. I think I once had it fried and it tasted fine. The roe is sold as "Cajun caviar" and sometimes called "Choupiquet Royale." I haven't tried that! Anyway, at least bowfin are fun to catch -- except during a bass tournament!

Thanks, roadwarrior. Hadn't heard of the 16-20 before, found the name intriguing, and looked it up. Pretty interesting, especially the origin of the name "16-20." Found this on ***.com : "How to tie the Pitzen Knot. The Pitzen Knot goes by several names: Pitzen, Eugene Bend, 16-20 Knot. It was even at one time simply called the "Fisherman's Knot" by fly fishing legend Lefty Kreh. The Pitzen name derives from credit to E. Pitzenbauer of Germany. The Eugene Bend name credits the knot to Ken Eugene of the San Jose Fly Casters Club. E. Richard Nightingale wrote about the knot in American Angler Mag. (March-April, 2002). He called it the "16-20 KNOT" after the so-called, "16-20 club" of fly anglers who had caught a 16 lb. salmon on a #20 fly. Regardless of which name you call it, the Pitzen is an effective method of tying a lure, hook or fly to a fishing line. It is said to retain 95% of the line's breaking strength. It is easier to tie in lighter line or tippets than in heavier line. A derivative of this knot is the San Diego Jam Knot, with the only difference being that the tag end is run through the bottom opening prior to the loop at the top. This step adds another pressure point in the dynamics of the knot, which allows the San Diego Jam Knot to be used in slippery braided line."

I have a Dobyns Champ 682C that I use for weightless senkos and flukes, and for small jerk baits. I like it a lot. Fun, light, and easy to use.

San Diego Jam -- single, not double -- for line to hook eye for all types of line. It's really pretty easy once you get the hang of it, though I can't do it with my eyes closed. Haven't had a knot failure yet, at least on a fresh knot. Went to it because of issues with palomar knot slippage with braided and FC line. Clinch slips too. SDJ simply doesn't. (I snell flipping hooks.)

In South Florida our crawfish are blue, and not easy to spot. Sometimes in the Everglades they are seen migrating over land, over a small levee with a dirt road, for instance, and at night, in large numbers. We often have success with blue jigs. Maybe this is why. Blue crawfish

Landing a bass over ten pounds.

You poor guys up north are going stir crazy in the freezing weather. I'm originally from NY so I feel your pain. Wish you could sneak down here to Florida for a week and try that rat in a lake. I bet it would get hammered.

I have tremendous respect for good guides. If I had the skills to be a guide, I wouldn't have the patience or fortitude. To put up with days of no fish, of horrible weather, of horrible weather and no fish, of mechanical problems when a client is on board, of clients who are jerks, or who are complete novices, or who don't tip, who get sick, or get drunk, or get a hook in the nose, or eyeball, or fall overboard, or steal your spots, or steal your stuff, or backlash every cast, or toss constantly into treetops, and drop rods overboard, who bring whining kids who hate fishing, and who bounce checks, and who think they know more about fishing than you do. And there are the engine overhauls, the lawsuits, boat out for repairs when clients are booked, mounting debt, no-shows. No thanks!

Welcome, James. You are lucky to live in Coral Springs, where there are tons of bass in every direction.

I agree. Sensitive rod: definitely. Sensitive line: maybe. Sensitive reel: irrelevant marketing concept.

Thanks, bassman. Good luck! (I'm 60 so I guess I can't pass for 18.)

Awesome build! Awesome gift!

Z-Hog, or a Rage Craw with the head (front segment) bit off. Occasionally, just to be different, I'll thread on a Horny Toad.

Can't help. Never fished Osborne, though I am only 30 minutes away. But I didn't know there were bank tournaments there! Sounds like fun. Is it open to the public? If so, can you provide a link with the info? Thanks bassman.

Aluminum alloy is 1.5 times more rigid than Mg. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/modulus-rigidity-d_946.html

There seems to be very little science in bass fishing, considering how technological it is. There is clearly a lot of engineering that goes into fishing equipment, but little of that seems to filter down to reviews. Reviewers of bass fishing equipment seldom provide accurate comparisons across brands. Contrast that with automobile or bicycle reviews. Reviewers of bicycle wheels, for instance, may measure weight, rolling resistance, aerodynamics, rigidity, and sensitivity across brands. Rod reviewers, manufacturers, and retailers rarely mention even the weight of the rods, just that they are "extremely light weight" and "super sensitive." A new reel in the line up may be described as "more sensitive." We should just take the manufacturers at their word? Or believe some random guy that just spent a fortune on a piece of equipment and tried it out a couple of times? Give us more science. More data. Better reviews. Please. We deserve that because we spend a ton of money on this stuff.

Sensitivity can be measured as vibration intensity. Vibration can be measured using several types of devices, either by an tiny accelerometer attached to the the device or a laser that measures displacement of the surface in response to a stimulus (the stimulus could be a mechanical tweaking of a fishing line attached to the reel at a fixed length and tension). Any volunteers want to set this experiment up in their basement? There's plenty of time left till bass season in the frigid north.

Aluminum is about 1.5 times as heavy as magnesium. It is also about 1.5 times as rigid. Based on what you are saying, it's a wash.