Josh Smith

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone knows of new production metal squarebills. I bust one up about every other fishing trip, and, though it gets results, I'm tired of replacing them. I'm investing in some old Mudbugs, but, so far as I can tell, those are out of production. Regards, Josh

I crush the kids' barbs down. Recently, I've discovered deepthroat hooks that have only rudimentary barbs to begin with. I suspect I'll be buying more of those and crushing them down. Regards, Josh

I'll try setting the hook harder. A couple places I fish are very overgrown, and a sweeping hook set is not really possible. I did switch to a slightly faster action rod for the lighter stuff; we'll see if this improves things. I've never had a problem setting hooks before, so I do wonder if it was that rod. That doesn't explain the miss on the jig, though. Regards, Josh

I'm having trouble loving much of the newer stuff. The Jeep Grand Cherokee post-WJ has independent suspension. I wanted a live front axle, so that meant the newest GC I could get was a 2004. Additionally, I want a lever to control the transfer case and transmission. It's bad enough that the WJ wasn't offered stateside with a manual tranny ? My parents just bought a 2019 Blazer. That thing is pretty awesome from a mechanical point of view, and it's not as flimsy as some of the other modern vehicles I've seen. Too many push-button controls, though, and the engine is sideways. Still, it looks to be good for its intended target customer. I digress. Regards, Josh

Hello, I've been catching bass more consistently this year than I have since I started fishing regularly again. However, I've also lost more than I ever have, and I'm wondering what I might do about it. First time this started happening, I'd caught smallies on a spinnerbait and a crankbait. Fun times. They stopped biting on those, and so I rigged up a Yum Crawdad on a weighted hook. Presentation was on a medium/fast Daiwa rod with a tuned Ambassadeur 4600c3 spooling 30lb test braid with an 8lb fluorocarbon leader. A bass took that thing right away, and then jumped and spat it out. I threw it back out there, and the critter repeated its performance. Looking at the crawdad, the hook hadn't even come out of the plastic. Maybe TX rig with the point exposed next time? At a lake I frequent, I was using my jig rod (MH/F Jimmy Houston Signature, tuned Ambassadeur 5500c3, 65lb braid) throwing a 1/2oz weedless jig with a Yum craw trailer. Drag was locked down, though I've been thinking about backing off of it some since the weeds have been treated in this lake this year. I hooked up to one of the bigger bass I've seen in this lake; set the hook hard, and it was hooked. When it was close to the bank, it flopped and got off. Is this a drag issue, tearing up the mouth? Same day, I threw a craw as above and a bass took it at the lake, but again, this one didn't take the hook. A couple days later, at this lake, a bass took the Creme Worm right off my hook on my wacky rig. Same day, I tied a 17lb fluorocarbon leader on the jig rod and rigged a 10" Texas Rigged ribbon tail worm. Bass took it, but again, avoided the hook. It fought, and jumped and spat it -- the hook hadn't been touched. Should I run a trailer hook on a worm this long? Why are they not trying to eat it head first? I can get away with not burying the hook in the plastic at the river, but not at the lake. The lake has a LOT of vegetation, even though the algae is mostly gone. Lots of grass at the bottom, and the water is usually very clear. (I should mention, I've had a lot of luck using fluorocarbon leaders in this lake where I'd not had luck running a more visible line. Not sure I believe in line shyness, but a visible line certainly increases the size of the lure.) Thoughts on any of this? I'd really like to not lose any more fish this year. Regards, Josh

Just because I've only caught one or two in my lifetime. Also, it might be fun for the kids if we concentrate on smaller creeks. Of course, big smallies are in those smaller creeks, too. Just some semi-random thoughts. Regards.

Hello, These days I'm running straight line in most applications. 1. Jig and heavy plastics rod: Straight 50lb braid. I generally use this in places the vegetation is so thick that the braid blends in. 2. Frog/heavy topwater rod: Straight 65lb braid. 3. Crankbait rod: Straight 12lb XT Trilene. 4. Spinnerbait rod: Straight 12lb Trilene. 5. Light plastics/jerkbait rod: I just put this together this year; it's mostly for lighter plastics rigs. I run 30lb braid with a 12lb fluoro leader. This setup might change. 6. Ultralight rod: 15lb braid with 8lb fluoro leader. I figure I can get away with running a bit bigger diameter leader by using fluorocarbon. Regards

You know, I'm rebuilding my childhood fishing boat, and am debating adding a swivel gun. Regards

I'm enjoying a KVD that I picked up a couple years ago on clearance. It's like 7'6" or so, and made from glass. Alternately, the Cherryrod HD works well, though I'd prefer better eyelets on it. I might upgrade to a MH/M graphite one of these days, but more for weight savings than feel. Regards, Josh

They seem to cast further, for starters. Also, no noise and little vibration. I'm leaving bearings in my 4600s since I use them to cast lighter lures. For my frog rod, my jig rod, and my spinnerbait rod, however, I want bronze bushings with the axle lightly coated with Lucas Engine Assembly Lube. Feels friggin' amazing like that. Regards, Josh

I've had no problems with either Spiderwire or Berkley FC. Weird. Josh

Hello, Thank you. I found them -- I'm replacing the bearings in a couple 5500c3 reels with bushings. They're better for some applications. Regards, Josh

Hello, At one time, I had a Ambassadeur come through my hands. It was the new-style with the tension knob by the handle, but it had bronze spool bushings instead of bearings -- it was a cheaper model. I *think* it was called an Ambassadeur 500 USA. Anyway, I'm working on an Ambassadeur reel, and I want to retrofit this reel with spool bushings instead of bearings for its intended purpose. I need to find one of these spools with bushings. Thoughts? Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm sorry this reply is so late. I got busy at work. In looking at the thing, it looks like it was assembled with pop rivets, which is why I was asking. I could, of course, be wrong about that. Regards, Josh

Thanks, guys. In researching, I'm seeing a lot of folks riveting these with closed-end pop rivets and rivet burrs. Why can I not use these? Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against a new tool purchase I just have experience with pop rivets, and already have a pop rivet tool. Regards, Josh

Holy necrothread, Batman!

Hello, I'm currently rebuilding the boat Dad and I used during my childhood. It's a Smokercraft Big Fisherman aluminum boat. When my friend and I tore out the wood floor, we had to remove the live well, storage area, and rear seat to do it. This involved drilling rivets out. Now, I've been trained as an auto tech. However, in auto technology, we just always replaced rivets with screws. I've never been a fan of rivets as they're too hard to take apart for routine maintenance. However, this thing's not coming back apart. What do I need to use to put it back together? I've never in my life used the types of rivets they used. I have used pop rivets and have some of 'em, but I really doubt that would work as some of them will be submerged and need to be water tight. What's the best way to go about doing this? Regards, Josh

This is just like Abu Garcia's system. The brakes will activate when they're out. #5 is active. #4 is not. Snap them all back in. Now, take activate half of them, numbers 1, 3, and 5. Practice casting and go from there. If you go down to two brakes, then turn on only #2 and # 5. Four brakes, #1, #6, #3, and #4. Centrifugal brakes work more at the beginning of the cast, and magnetic, more toward the end of the cast. I hardly ever use magnetic brakes, and only have one reel with them on it -- it's my crankbait reel, an Ambassadeur 4600, that has both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. I'll turn the magnets on if I'm casting into the wind. Otherwise, it's all centrifugal (like the one you're showing) and thumb. I suspect that magnetic brakes are cheaper to make, and therefore are used the most. I don't like 'em all that much. Centrifugal are, in my experience, superior. Regards, Josh

Thanks! I have those in with the spoons. I dunno why, but I think they go with spoons more than with lipped crankbaits. Weird, right? There's a FF Shad in there, as well as an Excalibur, yessir. The white one is a FF Shad.

This lake isn't fished a heckuva lot. It's privately owned, and one must drive through big mud holes to get to the good spots. Interestingly, it has what looks like a dilapidated boat ramp. I had to find the actual concrete through some digging, as it's buried. There are tires and other things out there; I'm gonna try to take a trailer out there and clear that out. The guy to owns it is an 80+ year-old doctor and probably not capable. He's nice enough to allow folks to fish here, so I'll be nice enough to clean it up some. Josh I reposted this here. Initially, I somehow got it in the Hunting forum, where it obviously doesn't belong. I asked a mod to move it, but they're busy fishing or something. I've therefore reposted here and am deleting the other.

Prior to this year, I've used mostly soft plastics. This year, I found a small lake in which crankbaits and spinnerbaits seem to work best, so I dug some out of the "big tackle box." Should I add anything to this? I'll be fishing mainly from shore, until/unless I find it's OK to launch a boat, then I might buy a canoe. No way I could launch a full-sized boat there. Regards, Josh

I cinch it down a little, but leave it loose so everything slides easily. You could theoretically compromise strength if you have to pull harder than usual on the line, and from friction from pulling the loop through an already-tight knot. Regards

Hello, My daughter, now five, has expressed interest in joining tournaments. I've thought that maybe something locally, within the next few years, might be cool. I'm currently redoing the boat's deck, and it should be good go go. That said, the boat is a deep V with a 15hp motor. We used it to fish coves in local reservoirs and smaller lakes when I was growing up. Is there any reason this couldn't be used on the local level? How do these tournaments even work? Regards, Josh

Dad. He's 68 and active in other ways. They (Mom and Dad) camp a lot, and work out every morning. He says he just doesn't enjoy it like he used to, but got his lifetime fishing license. He's not been in years and keeps talking about going. He says "no" whenever I invite him, though. It's friggin irritating. Regards, Josh