Josh Smith

Something just didn't feel right about it. Folks have told me here that Spiderwire Stealth frays. That's not been my experience -- except for this thin stuff. I put 4lb mono on it, but may try a different small-diameter braid. Josh

Coffee, mac and cheese, beans and rice, and near anything else I can cook with a canteen stove and cup. Trioxane fuel tabs work nicely, as does a Sterno stove if I will be out longer. Josh

There's still Summer Peak, then fall feeding. Turnover shuts things down for a week or so, but there are always bass that will bite. Indiana has been hit hard this year, but the season is not done yet. Wait until water levels stabilize before you expect too much. Til then, fish near outlets. That's where they're hanging out due to current carrying food that-a-way. Josh

Hello, I am going to re-spool by ultralight with something other than braid. While I love braid for baitcasting, for ultralight spinning applications it's not what I prefer. Right now I have braid with a long fluoro leader. My question is this: For line diameters this small, is there any reason to go with one or the other? Is there an advantage to fluoro here? I always used 4lb XL mono before I used braid. Regards, Josh

You can use the lead wheel weights to cast jigs and bullets. If you're afraid to use 'em, send 'em my way! Two ways to tell zinc: 1. Cut it with a side cuts. Lead will squish. Zinc will sort of shatter and is much harder. 2. Throw it on cement. Lead will thud. Zinc will ring. It's pretty easy to tell one from the other. Regards, Josh

Yeah, it is. I've used ultralights most of my life. In my mind a good ultralight should be fairly stiff but of small diameter. Not whippy, but easily bent if that makes sense. The one I have feels like fiberglass. It's not; it's IM6. Problem is that IM ratings vary with manufacturers, and based on this Quantum, it looks like I'd want an IM8 or even an IM10 if there's such a critter. I expect such a thing would be fragile. I'd be willing to make that tradeoff. Thanks! Josh

Thanks guys. I prefer shorter rods in UL. Actually, I prefer 6' rods for general bass fishing. The UL is for light presentations and maybe panfishing now and again, but mostly for bass and weightless worms, etc. Josh

Adley, I should have asked prior to telling you to eat the bass: Do any bass appear stunted, or are they just young? I also agree with the above suggestion to drop a few larger bass into the pond since you can! Regards, Josh

Hello, This is lots like pouring bullets, which I do. First, make sure there is no zinc weights in with your lead. Good way to ruin a pot. Bring the molds up to temp and pour. If you get frosting, you're too hot. Turn the thermostat down some. A bit of tin in the mix helps flow. Wheel weights already have tin. Antimony is what gives it hardness. No need to add either. I'm not sure why your Lee pot says not to use hard lead. Mine is a Lee and there is no such warning on it. Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm looking to replace my ultralight rod. Actually, I've replaced it with a 5' IM6 Quantum. I like it well enough, but it was only a $20 rod bought mostly to see how I liked the length. (The previous one was a 4'6" Berkely I bought maybe 20, 25 years ago. I wanted the old reel to go on it.) This Quantum feels heavier than it should, and slightly too whippy. I'm looking for a lightweight rod of 5' to 6', not so whippy. The reel I have is the smallest President that Pflueger makes. It's light, and a rod that balances with it would be nice. I could use some thoughts on UL rods. I'm about 20 years out of date with regard to these. Thanks folks, Josh

Mr. Martin and Mr. Mercer are two celebs I can stand. They act like normal folks. My little girl (18mos or so) crawls into my lap when I'm watching bass fishing shows. She just eats it up -- I've never seen anything like it! Until recently, Facts of Fishing is what she'd demand. She likes Mr. Mercer. When I turned on a recorded Scott Martin Challenge featuring his little girls, she was enthralled. She ran and got her mom to watch, too! Since then, I recorded another that also features his daughters, now a bit older, fishing for Peacock bass. She demands one or both of those shows... over and over and over again. She has to hold her fishing rod while watching them, too. She's getting old enough to take out fishing, briefly. If you happen to read this, Mr. Martin, I hope you take that as the compliment it's intended to be. Josh

Unless you have authority to manage the pond, there's not a whole lot you can do. Keep and eat the small bass and all the bluegill would be a start, but unless it's a private pond you need to follow state law. Josh

Hello, It's an Ambassadeur Kalex handle. I usually run bent handles on my modern round reels (mostly modified 5500c3 reels) but this one only felt right with a straight handle due to the rod it's on. I wanted a bit of extra reach. The bent handles I prefer are those ones with the ribbed knobs that come on Johnny Morris reels and the like. They upgrade easily. If I could find a straight version, I'd love it! The Kalex seems to be an odd duck and so I wasn't too hopeful. Plastic bushings aren't exactly bad; they beat most stock reel handles we had back in the '80s and '90s. Just that everything else on that reel is bearing driven and I'd like to match it up is all. Regards, Josh

Cole, whereabouts are you? Ever get down Wabash way? Josh

Hi Folks, I have a reel handle with bushings measuring 5mm ID x 7mm OD x 2mm thick. Can't find any bearings that fit. Any help? Thanks, Josh

All this rain has bass doing funny things. I went fishing yesterday as I got done at the shop early, and I had an old gentleman come by asking if I had seen any bluegill nests yet. I told him that they had been here and gone already. I'd had a thread up and just can't find it now! It had pics. Things are "off" this year. I have been finding bass in shallow weeds near shore. Slow down and use jigs with craw trailers. Josh

I'm sorry, DVT, I missed the notification that this was replied to! I want the wider spool to keep a fairly constant IPT on long casts but don't want to waste line. You know those older Ambassadeur spools that have the aluminum drum in the middle? One of those, adapted to the modern 5500c3, would be perfect. Too, I would like a slightly easier startup while keeping the large diameter for slower RPM. Reducing mass is the only way I know to do this as the bearings have already been dealt with. Mostly, though, it's an idea I want to play with. Regards, Josh

Due to my business I purchase on the Internet a lot. I generally only deal with one person from Jersey, but if you want to email me any identifying marks I can keep an eye out. I agree with Alarm.com . I'm not in that business. I used to run an armed security business, mostly for a cab company, directly out of college where I'd gone for a criminal justice/law enforcement major. It's amazing what thieves will do sometimes. A rock through the picture window of that cab's office at night (deserted, no alarm) netted someone a locked box of cash. A few hundred anyway. That was about 15 years ago and I can only imagine that as drugs have gotten harder, robbers have gotten bolder. Anyway, let me know and I'll keep an eye out. I wish you lots of luck at any rate. Regards, Josh

Thanks, man. I've fished the White in the past, once that I remember. It was my last camping trip with Grandpa. It had rained a lot, and there had also been a fish kill a year or two previous. I've never fished a river moving that fast; I had absolutely no luck whatsoever. I probably wouldn't have known if there had been a fish on, it was that fast. There was a smaller creek that was in the park we were camping at, though, that was serving to rebuild the fish population of the White River. Couldn't keep anything if I recall correctly, but fishing was allowed. I caught a lot of bass and catfish from that little creek. Regards, Josh

I'm sure it is. I've not made it out to see it yet. Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, So Wabash is flooded. The Wabash River broke its banks and took out most of downtown. It's just raining that much. The street department ran out of barricades yesterday, and were giving out sandbags last I knew. I've not been out to see the reservoirs or Hominy Ridge Lake. However, I bet they're flooded and not many folks are fishing. How would you fish really high water? I figure slow down and use loud lures because the water has gone from green-stained to muddy, and concentrate on inlets. Beyond that... I don't think we ever tried fishing extremely high water following a series of cold fronts when I was a kid. I believe conventional wisdom back then was that fish just shut down. It's been found since that some fish, at least, are active at most given times. So, slow down, loud lures, what else? Thanks, Josh

I don't even know what to say here. It just seems like I should leave a comment bordering on incredulity but I got nothin'. Josh

I like Spiderwire EZ Braid and the Sufix Performance brand. My favorite (so far) is Spiderwire Stealth. Been wanting to try Power Pro but in an earth color; locally they only have the bright green stuff. All of this is in 50lb (12lb mono equivalent diameter.) I had to learn to go to the Palomar knot for strength. If I'm fishing something that I don't mind losing to a snag, I use a clinch knot. Generally, however, I just bend the hooks by pulling through the snag. This lets me do things I'd never dreamed of with mono! Going after walleye, I tie on a fluorocarbon leader, always, and check it often. I also keep a couple steel leaders around just in case I need 'em. I used to use snap swivels, but will only use swivels now if line twist is an issue, and generally only use snaps on crankbaits (double lock snaps). I replace the split rings with these double locking snaps. Josh

Hi Folks, I have some bad news nine months later. The unit cracked: The first time I attached the Renovo to a soda bottle, the micro-filtration filter body cracked. It was finger-tight only, and should not have done this. On the plus side, the filter did immediately shut down. While it sprayed water through the crack, it did not let me drink any, so that part worked. Please keep in mind, folks, that the Renovo unit saw no actual field use, but rather was used to filter water under controlled conditions in my home. I did this prior to ordering a new unit for field use as I test everything I use during hikes and while fishing and hunting. Upon contacting the company, I received no answer. Trying again, I did receive a response to the effect that the unit is warrantied and the company requested pictures. I received an email later telling me that the crack was normal wear the unit would not be warrantied. I will be exploring other options as this sample is simply not tough enough for me. Sawyer and LifeStraw are both on my list as of now. I would still prefer to find a straw with a charcoal filter for chemicals and taste, but the 0.05 microns isn't absolutely essential for my uses, so that expands the field some. Regards, Josh

Looks like it might be for a rubberband. Josh