Josh Smith

Don't go trying to use the flipping switch. Just freespool as when you're casting. Josh

How far are to talking? I regularly cast to 40-50 yards when fish are spooky. Frogs, Spooks, squarebill crankbaits, jigs, etc, are all used for this. Josh

I've tried other baitcasters and keep coming back to the round Ambassadeurs. Even the 3600 EON I have isn't bad even though it has a plastic frame. Josh

Mostly backups to lures that I do use. Josh

Tell, if asked. Do not volunteer the info. Josh

Hello, Like most of you, I really like polarized sunglasses for bass fishing. I wore glasses as a teenager. After my appointment in 1995, I decided glasses were not compatible with my lifestyle and just adapted. Recently I re-thought things and went in for a checkup and new glasses. What do you folks who wear glasses do for sunglasses on the water? I am thinking about getting a pair of prescription sunglasses but don't know where to start looking. What do you suggest? Thank you, Josh

If you approach me to talk to me and I seem rude, it's not intentional. I don't mind talking. I'm just concentrating, too, so don't take it personally. Not many here try telling me what to use when they see I'm bass fishing. When I tell them I don't know a lot about catfishing, I get an education. Most fishermen here have a high mutual respect cross-species and are willing to both teach and learn. There are the dicks, but they generally come out at night and avoid the rest of us. We see their leavings in the morning and spread the word. Josh

It's a frog rod now. Josh

Sounds like lost washers. Josh

Daiwa "Bill Dance" pistol grip 5'6" MH/F "spinnerbait rod" with an Ambassadeur 5000 non-c modified with fast 4.7:1 gears. Line was probably 14lb Trilene as that's what I always used. Josh

******* kids and 20-somethings like to go to the top of Hanging Rock and throw rocks down onto people fishing below. Last time this happened I snapped pics and posted them on FB. Talked to the sheriff's department and next time will be making some idiots into felons. How stupid do you have to be to throw rocks? Especially in a state where most outdoorsmen carry guns? Josh

I was thinking about this thread after Sunday when The Boy and I went fishing. A major cold front had just come through and I was fishing heavy cover with the setup I prefer for those conditions, a MH/F hybrid rod with a modified 5500c3 reel loaded with 65lb Power Pro. A bass latched onto my jig and the fight was on. That critter was pulling HARD -- enough that I was getting excited. Though my drag was locked down, I was half expecting the bass to start peeling a little. I had a bit of trouble controlling it when it ran for weed cover. When I landed it, I found it was only 12" to 13" long. A very healthy fish, but not nearly as big as it fought. It was more like a 16" river smallie. Had I been trying to fight it in with 6lb or even 8lb line and a locked drag, there is a very good chance the line would have broken. It was pulling that hard. Josh

The shame was in not getting back up and back on the board. Josh

I'll be 39 in November. Though I let myself gain weight, I'm losing it. Aside from some mild arthritis -- probably due to all the martial arts I used to practice -- I seem to be in decent shape. I was 6'2", 210lbs at my peak, and I intend to get that back. To be honest, I don't feel ask that different from my peak condition save for extra weight causing some one pain when hiking or climbing or running up stairs. At what age does one really begin to feel different? Family history dictates I'll be middle aged at age 45. Josh

It was a smallish bass and a large hook. No room to work. Josh

I lost one for years ago. I gut hooked it on a Mann's Jelly Worm Texas rig. I tried to remove the hook and killed the fish. Now, I leave the hook I'd it's not in the lip. Josh

A young Tom Mann kept his family in protein during the Great Depression by fishing for sunfish. The world record largemouth bass won a small cash prize (IIRC) and then was used for food -- again, during the Depression. Fishing for survival has been done for thousands of years, way before anyone knew what a calorie was. Were I to fish for survival, I'd use a number of techniques, including rod and reel. Fishing for food does not have to use up the calories you claim, nor does it have to cost what you claim. Josh

I have an accurate phone app that cost all of five bucks. My handheld unit with mapping cost $100 on clearance. I would rather have two products than one. One fails, I still have the other. Josh

Welcome from Wabash!

I have never seen a lake like this, but would love to! Josh

When I say "One and two and set" I count like CPR chest compressions. You might try trailer hooks if the toads don't work. Josh

And they are. For example, I toss a frog. I twitch, twitch, pause, repeat. Next cast, I twitch three times, pause, repeat, etc. While I'm running through the cadences I'm scanning the water for other likely spots, for birds, ripples, strange shadows, splashes, etc. My hands, meanwhile, are feeling the lure. If I'm fishing bottom contact, I'm forming a mental map of the bottom. Then, I hear a splash from the area of the lure, or feel a strike, or a twitch, and my arms set the hook and bring the bass in. Afterward, I couldn't tell you what cadence I'd worked up to and have to start over. I mean, I know approximately what count I was on, but not exactly. Used to be I could tell you, back when I was learning lures, for example. I can still tell you how I caught my first Hula Popper bass 25 years ago. Now that I can do that same technique automatically, I can scan the area and let my hands work and inform me of the strike. I'm going mostly by feel now because I can. Line and rod technology, and my skill level (only slightly above that of your average 15 year old's fishing skills) have all converged to allow this. Regards, Josh

But it's not like that at all. Maybe I'm relating this poorly. Josh

That doesn't explain why I don't retain what I was doing to catch the bass. Guess I'm not alone, though, so it's better anyway. Regards, Josh

Dad had an old Pro4L he tried and didn't like. It was a left-side handle and he'd been reeling with his right hand so long he couldn't get used to it. He gave it to me. Of course I'm a lefty and can't use it. I have a friend who is getting back into fishing, so I gave him a Silver Max on a medium rod for bass, but he needed a catfish reel as that's his preferred quarry. I'd had the Pro4L setting in in the shop for a couple years and decided to supertune it and give it to him since it has a large line capacity and a clicker. Getting inside it, I was impressed. It was built like a tank; certainly stronger than other Quantum products I'd worked on. It was heavy, too, and the internals reflected the weight. I'd guess that particular reel will talk take a lot of abuse. Josh