Josh Smith

Hello, Get it back into the water ASAP. Bass blood coagulates very quickly when in contact with water. Josh

Thanks folks. I didn't get to go today (family comes first, and my 6-year-old boy needed to come to an understanding today on how to treat his mother.) The aim is to go tomorrow, now. Should be the same conditions. I have a question for you all: I have been playing with rigging Colorado and Indiana leaves (interchangeably) to swim jigs, not so much for flash but for low-level vibration. This is in conjunction with a trailer, usually a swimming minnow or craw chunk, and with or without rattle chamber. Is there any reason this shouldn't work? I've been thinking, too, about staining the leaves black so less flash occurs but noise is still present. Thank you, Josh

That 6.1:1 is more like a 6.8:1 on a low profile, about 26-28IPT. She'll take anything you want to use 'er for. She'll like a heavy rod. Josh

Hi Folks, Target is a drainage lake, very fertile with plenty of grass and other cover. It's the one I've been concentrating solely on. Currently, there's a cold front blowing through. Cold rain showers. Tomorrow is a high of 64 and partly cloudy. My barometers are standing at 30.2 and have been since this afternoon. The water should be sightly colder, but still above air temp. Runoff will be providing nutrients, but there are no shad, just fry and sunfish. Winds will probably stay out of the NW. Lake is about 20' deep at its deepest. I'll be fishing from shore. There are steep drop-offs about five feet out from shore. I'm thinking slow cranking on a shallow diving crankbait or even slowly fishing a jerkbait to start. I don't have much experience with fishing these conditions, though, and welcome suggestions. I assume the bass will be suspended about 2-5ft. Edited: 2-5ft holding to cover in the form of grass and weeds, mainly, and I propose moving the crankbaits and jerkbaits slowly through these. The dam overflow will be creating a slight current to from south to north if we get enough rain, and I'm assuming we will. Thoughts? Thank you, Josh

OK, so, paraphrasing: "I use 7.1:1 reels. The stress on the gears is so much that they had to beef them up. Additionally, the 7:1 is so hard to crank that I need a larger handle. That larger handle effectively reduces the overall gear ratio because the handle is, itself, a gear." It makes no sense. It's a marketing gimmick. You could do the same thing by putting a smaller handle on a lower gear ratio reel. Sure, maybe you get an easy 33ipt or whatever, but your hand travels a further distance. You cannot create energy. It just can't be done. Josh

Hello, Thank you for your answer. I figured (maybe wrongly) that there were assumed minimum requirements for the sport. As long as it's only a functioning live well, I'm covered! Thanks again! Josh

I would absolutely expect a guide to fish if he answered the question "What works best in this lake?" I don't use guides, and will gladly take anyone fishing if they want to learn. This lake I've been working on all year produces but it's the most picky lake I've ever seen. My mom is a teacher, and a good portion of my family are teachers. I'd be one but for the politics. I teach a certain rifle to people; that's my main vocation. The stuff I make for that rifle is the side benefit. If a person cannot or will not be taught, I move on. If a person knows as much as I do, we exchange info. Same with fishing. Not many can teach me about the guns I'm interested in. I'm sure there are many who can teach me about fishing. Thing is, they have to show they know more than I do. Anyone can call himself a guide and anyone can have a resume. If the guide is not catching more and better than I am, I am likely to wonder about him. Were I invited to fish with, say, Martin, Dance, or Houston; or even someone newer like Van Dam, I'd take it for granted they know more than me. Those first three have been pro longer than I've been alive! If you can make a living fishing, then I figure you know what you're doing. If I were to guide a person on this lake that I've been working on, I'd probably tell him something like this: "I can show you spots where there are usually bass. I can suggest what lures to try, and show you the action if you want. I will not make any guarantees that you'll catch fish. I might say something like 'see that point? Cast onto the bank -- careful, don't get hung up! -- and work that jig down the shelf'. If you don't want to take that advice or cast several times and can't catch anything, don't get mad if I try after you give up. Meantime, I'll be fishing another spot you've already fished or trying a new one where there shouldn't be fish but might just be." This is assuming someone new to fishing. Similar to the gun thing, if the person demonstrates an unwillingness to learn, or an equal or superior knowledge to my own, I'll just say something like, "There's a rock shelf off that point and the bass critters in this lake like crawdaddies and bass and sunfish fry for forage." If I hired someone to guide me, I'd appreciate a similar approach. In other words, don't insult a customer's knowledge, but don't assume knowledge where it doesn't exist, either. Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, I'm not competitive in nature when it comes to sports. At least, not against others. Others are a gauge I use to judge my abilities, and this is one reason I'm on Bass Resource to begin with. When I shoot, for example, I'm shooting to beat myself, not to beat other competitors (if any). I might also be shooting to demonstrate something, say, to prove the Mosin as as good as any Mauser, but mostly it's a personal competition with myself. I have thought for a while about entering a local tournament of some sort. If I can see how I am doing under the same conditions as other guys, then I can get a much more precise idea of where I am and where I should be. I have no idea if I'm ahead or behind the curve, or just dead center. My concern is making folks mad. Tournament anglers are there to compete against others, from what I've seen. They have fast bass boats to get to certain locations before the other guy. I would enter with my deep V boat, bought for reservoir fishing and not necessarily speed. It has a 15hp outboard on it, and will only take up to a 35hp. I've never liked the outboard; the trolling motor, which is also considered a little light for this boat and stern mounted, is my preference because I believe fishing should be a quiet activity. Now, were I to enter a local tournament with my humble equipment, would I be likely to make the real competitive anglers angry, or how would I be seen? If it's as a nuisance of any sort, I'll do something different as I don't want to mess with them or their sport at which I'm sure they're making at least a little money. On the other hand, if I can go out, fish, and compare how I did compared to others at the end of the day without unknowingly messing with anyone, then I might just have at it. How would professional anglers see someone like me, were I to do this? Regards, Josh

I agree with this. I was in Aikido for several years, was an auto tech, and still work with my hands. My forearms are pretty strong. Reeling all day with even a 7.0:1 isn't an issue. It's that reeling that much slower doesn't feel natural any more than going to 3.8 gears feels natural. Everything produces its best torque in a certain range. Mountain bikes, for example, have all those gears so that one can keep in his torque range no matter the speed. The way I see it, the same is true with reels. Reels that give you 23IPT to 26IPT cover more bases than a 30IPT reel, though the latter has its place. Regards, Josh

I had to call them up once to order parts; I wasn't going to try a warranty claim because a reel got damaged in a move. The lady was very helpful and polite to the point of being flirtatious. I think technical talk turned her on. Josh

I will have to check again, but I believe the drive gear was steel. I flat don't recall the click wheel for sure, but there was something different about it -- I don't think it had a click wheel. I noted something odd like that. I'm going to listen for clicks. (Checking...) No, no clicks. That is what I wondered about, why there were no slots or spring. I've been in a lot of reels lately and didn't document everything. If someone rebuilt this, it's a very nice job. I'll be fishing it, I guarantee that -- even if it were collectible, I'd fish it. It's too nice to let it set around! I just almost wonder if it was a demonstration model that a vendor kept around for trying out. That would explain its looks and the uneven fading (one side of the case faces light, maybe?) It's a 5500 plate, too, with the c-clip on the end of the driveshaft instead fo the 5000's screw. It really doesn't matter the history, not really, I just get curious. Opening it up was like a step backward in time for me. Nobody had been in that thing since it was built. There are always signs when a reel's been opened, and there just weren't any, at least nothing as recent as the scratching and whatever on the outside. Something that could explain the faded sideplate: Let's say that someone put on a Power/Speed handle, or whatever, and the crank side always faced the sun. When it got sold, the original reel handle was put back on. That's my theory. Accurate? I dunno. It makes sense seeing what I'm seeing. Had I been thinking, I'd have taken pics as I took it apart. It was interesting, though, like when I open up a rifle from WWI. Josh

As some have noted, I've been playing with one lake this year. It's overfished, or has been in the past, and I have done best in shallow water, on the bottom, in the grass. I caught a decent one on a Spook, and a smaller one on a shallow crankbait. Most have been on jigs and Texas rigs, though. They're not big in this lake, though I have no doubt there are cagey huge ones out there. I don't expect much being in Northern Indiana so far as size goes. I've been seeing 12" to 14" here, mostly. The pattern seems to have shifted and I'm trying to figure it out again. We just had some heavy rain and a massive cold front, so I'll have to go out again, maybe tonight. We'll see. The lake has green water and is very fertile. That one bass I caught on a crankbait this last time out has splotches that I was told here indicate very healthy bass. (I started a thread.) There are no shad in this lake, and the question is, what are they feeding on? Next time I go out, I'm taking plenty of cranks that look like baby bass, crawdads, and sunfish. There's usually matted cover in this lake that I've not seen this year. I was going to try froggin'. Speaking of frogs, they all done disappeared sometime in the past month. I'll have to look into that. They were all over that pond. Hmmm.... Josh

All I own are 4.7:1, 5.0:1, and 5.3:1, and one (5600c4 Mag) that's a 6.3:1 gear ratio. The 4.7:1 reels retrieve 23IPT. The 5.0:1 reels are similar, maybe a little less due to a different spool size. The 5.3:1 retrieves 26IPT. The 6.3:1 retrieves 30IPT. All but the 5.0:1 reels are round Abu Garcias. The 5.0:1 are Quantums. I'm looking at charts for modern low-profiles. My 6.3:1 round has about the same retrieve rate as a 7.0:1 low profile. My 5.3:1 round has about the same retrieve rate as a 6.3:1 low profile. My 4.7:1 round has about the same retrieve rate as 5.3:1 low profile. Interesting. I've never really sat down and compared all that before. So, you're running about 30IPT? If you can keep that up and you're catching fish, more power to you! For me, that's a bit fast, though, and I prefer my 23IPT and 26IPT reels for most things. Regards, Josh

Well, crap. I don't like this thread. It's reminding me how much stuff I have. 1. Supertuned and modified '60s 5000 on a Daiwa "Bill Dance" spinnerbait rod. 2. Abu 5500c3, supertuned and modified, on a BPS 5'6" MH rod. These two tie for first place. 3. Modified and supertuned 5000c on a Daiwa Jupiter medium 6'6" rod. 4. Modified and supertuned 5000 on a MH Daiwa Jupiter 7' rod. (This reel is still being built and doesn't see the water often for this reason.) 5. Supertuned and modified 5600c5 (I think) with MagTrax. I know it's a 5600, I know I've supertuned it, I just forget the number of bearings. It came with a provision for centrifugal brakes but none installed, with sole braking being magnetic. I installed the centrifugal brakes and now I have a dual braking reel. The rod is a 7' Berkely Lightning Rod. Both of these are a few years old. 6. Pflueger President spinning ultralight on an ultralight rod, Berkely Limited Edition I think. I got it when I was a teenager. It's something like 4'6", perfect for pitchin' and flippin', and is sensitive a rod as I've felt. 7. I have a Zebco 33 that was Grandpa's installed on an old Rhino rod of mine I found in my parents' garage. I gave it to Mom as it was her dad's, but I still sort of consider it mine as it's mainly decoration. 8. Grandpa's Cherry Rod with a bluish-green (Bronson, I think) spincast. 9. Silver Quantum 1310 on a Lew's MH rod from the '70s. 10. Black Quantum 1310 on another rod, forget which. 11. Black Quantum QL1000 (?) on a Fenwick MH rod that's probably a heavy rod now. The tip got broken sometime in the past (was one of Dad's rods) and I fixed it with a new tip. 12. I have a couple, few reels that aren't mounted to anything at the moment: • There's a '70s 5500 I just bought and tuned. • I have an ultralight Zebco Feathertouch spincast under-rod (what became the Bill Dance special, or whatever, more recently) that I've had since age 14 or 16. It still works well and I'm considering bringing it out of retirement to go on an ultralight rod for panfish. It's a slow retrieve reel and is better suited for bobber fishing. • I have a Bronson baitcasting reel of some sort that was Grandpa's, and it was previously on the Fenwick rod. • Old spinning reel I bought as a teen. It's never worked right and I need to get inside and see what's rubbing. • Garcia Mitchell 301 that I bought to fix. A couple, few of these that I didn't get from Dad or Grandpa and/or aren't sentimental and aren't favorites will probably go away. I am only a fan of spinning when it's ultralight, and the other spinning reels I have I bought solely to rebuild and learn from. I do the same thing with guns, but the guns I like are so much more expensive! Josh

My wife just said we're all sick.

Hi Folks, I picked this 5500 (non-c, no bearing) up for a little bit. I figured on having to fix it, but when I got inside it appears to never have seen water. All the factory grease was still in place. It looks like it was either rebuilt and sat, or was never used and sat, at least from the guts. I can't figure out the mismatched side plates. Help? Why would they be mismatched like this? A rebuild? I almost get the idea that it was a demonstration model for some store. It shows a little wear on the outside but none on the inside. I did open it up to supertune it. Here's what I did, and what I found: • Lots of dried grease, hard, like you find in old reels. It looked like the it dried pretty much in the places the factory put it. • Replaced the driveshaft bushing with a bearing. The bushing didn't show any perceptible wear. • Polished the axle. The brake shoes were not black at all. They appeared new. • Replaced the driveshaft bushings with new, polished ones. There was no wear on the old ones. • Replaced the drag clutches with carbon drag clutches. No wear on the originals. • Replaced the worm gear with one from the 5500c3. The 5500c3 worm gear had a bearing and fresh lube, while the old one, though it shows no wear, will need to be cleaned of old factory grease. I really think this was a demonstrator model as I said. The reel appears to never have been opened prior to my work, and it's all just in excellent shape. I'd be interested in hearing thoughts, opinions, etc, and if anyone knows why the side plates are mismatched, I'd be interested in hearing from you on that, too! Regards, Josh

Apparently bass like crack, too. I betcha' they'd fight really well! Josh

My name is Josh and I'm a lure addict. OK, so maybe not. I like to have a selection. Throughout my life, I've had ever-larger tackle boxes. I now have three of them. Two were given to me by grandpa, with one being a super-organized live bait dedicated box that he inherited from a friend. I will not ever want for hooks again if I live to be 100. My lures are mostly contained in one of those big FLW boxes. It's overflowing. I also have a shoulder bag that's also overflowing. It seems that each lure I have, I have to have two different sizes of that lure, with every color variation that I can get. There are lures in there I justify owning because I once caught bass on each of them. Maybe it was five years ago and the bass was 10". It doesn't matter; it stays! Am I alone in this type of thing? This tackle box weighs as much as a car battery... And I consider a light load for walking around a lake to be three or four rods (MH or two MH, M, and UL) and that heavy shoulder bag. I take the boat out, I'm loaded down even more. Anyone else? Josh

P.S. Chicks just adore guys who are such good listeners!

Dude, smile, nod and wink, then read the body language. Ask her about herself. People love to talk about themselves. Girls especially. I've never related to others well because my brain works so differently. I'm not shy, exactly, but so much of normal conversation is hard for me because I don't understand its relevance. (My nickname in high school was "Rainman".) Let people who like to talk, talk. At least that is what finally started working for me. Give her an opening and you'll learn more about her than you probably ever wanted to know. Josh

Hi Folks, I've been further defining my needs. Here they are: • Moss green or off black or some sort. No hi-viz. • 12# to 17# mono diameter equivalent. (When I use leaders, it's usually 17# mono or 17# fluro). • Smooth as, or almost as smooth as, mono. I discovered this on the new rod and reel. It was backlashing and overrunning, and turns out the Berkely Firewire I was using was really rough, and I therefore couldn't set my spool tension in the normal manner until I tied a fluro leader. Which braided lines fit these criteria? Thank you, Josh

There was a time when I was shooting 500 to 2,000 rounds of .22 per week. This was practicing precision shooting with a bolt action, not burning through 'em with a semi-auto. Being naturally gifted in neither casting fishing poles or shooting guns, I have to make up for it with lots of practice. The typical shooter will burn a couple hundred in one session at the range. Josh

I do not like snakes. That said, I let them live, especially garter snakes. That is, unless they're being aggressive. There was a black snake out on the back cement patio and it decided it owned the place. It bit my wife, though she didn't know it until she saw a couple pinpricks and asked me. I told her "yep", whereupon she started freaking out. I cleaned her up and went to look for the snake. Of course it was still there and wanted to fight. I grabbed a shovel, pinned its head, and looked at its eyes and mouth to make sure it wasn't poisonous, and then blew its head off with a rifle. The garter snakes are welcome to stay. They're not aggressive and I can tolerate 'em. However, even non-venomous snakes carry all sorts of bacteria in their mouths, and that bacteria can make a person seriously ill. I'll not tolerate an aggressive snake. Josh

I am not yet noticing the weeds receding. If anything, there are more, and lily pads, too, which come to think of it haven't bloomed yet. This is going to be interesting. I do wonder if the bass will have time for a fall feed before the cold snaps, though. I hope so. Josh

Some people just have to mark their territory, and public indecency is illegal. My biggest problem is folks who bring kids. Bringing kids is a good thing. It's when the yelling starts that I get bothered. Last time it was a father (I'm assuming) who brought his two little girls, maybe 5 and 7 or so. They were bored and wouldn't leave the bobbers put from almost the get-go, and sure 'nuff ol' da' starts up yellin'. I took my six-year-old and left. He doesn't need to be exposed to that, and we had a talk on the way home about how some people are not nice and next time he thinks I'm mean when I stand him in the corner, remember that father who couldn't even take his kids fishing without yelling. My boy agreed that I must not be all that bad. I do not want to be like that guy; someone who others point to and tell each other how glad they are not to be like me. Lord knows I mess up enough without making a fool of myself in public. Some, I guess, don't care. Josh