Josh Smith

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

Well guys, this is what 832 does to me: Maybe I got a bad batch..? It's almost like it came pre-twisted or something. I'm really digging this Suffix Performance. The 832 is just... I don't know. No matter how much/long I fished it, it just went right back to coiling up like that. I'm trying all the lines locally before ordering any. Next up is Power Pro -- it's available locally as well. The only reason I started with Spiderwire is that it's what was available (for $50!) before I got out of fishing for a bit. Anyone know why the 832 would act like that, though? I mean, I do like the stuff. I want to like it more. The coiling on a line I count on to have no memory, however, is just not acceptable. If I need no memory, then I expect it to have no memory. Josh

Hello, You need to flush the bearings. DVC can take care of it if it's beyond what you feel comfortable doing. Regards, Josh

See, in Indiana, the keeper thing depends on the type of waterway. For lakes, they have to be 14+". For rivers and streams, bass must be under 12" or over 15" to be kept. Josh

One thing I notice is the health of the bass I catch. The small lake bass are beautiful and extremely healthy. The reservoire is about average. Those bass we have here in Northern Indiana do not compare in size to, say, Okeechobee bass unless they are twice as old. Guess it matters what latitude you're at? Josh

Hello, I keep hearing the term "quality bass." In another thread, someone referred to a "quality bass" as, "say, 15 inches". I was under the impression that they had to be lots bigger to be considered not-dinks. What's a dink, anyway? Keeping in mind that I live in Northern Indiana, the bass I generally catch are 12" to 15" (both large and smallmouth, 3-5 years old). Maybe I'm doing better than I thought. What's a "quality bass"? What's a "dink"? Josh

If it matters to you, I mostly fish a fertile small lake. The water is stained to clear with green tint. My best lures for this lake are black, blue/black, and blue/red jigs with craw trailers, usually blue as well. The craw trailers are not for looks so much as for noise. I cast directly into brush and roll over limbs. Josh

Thank you!

Hi Folks, I'm wanting to try something out on one of my supertuned 5500c3 reels, and that means I need a low mass/shallow spool for it. I found one from Japan Tackle, but they want $100 for it and I'm not paying that. I know there was a 5500WS (Wiffle Spool) made, but the spools tend to be rare. Does anyone know where I can find such a critter? Thank you, Josh

Dad (65 in June) found it almost impossible. He has used right-hand retrieve baitcasters and left-hand retrieve spinning since since at least 1975. Josh

Of course they do. But I count rounds fired, fish caught, casts made. Just seems natural to me. Josh

Found the study again: http://www.bassmaster.com/understanding-bass-forage-crawfish Josh