Fish Chris

Ohio, believe it. The 2 lb test Sailfish Line Class record, as recognized by the IGFA, is over 100 lbs. I think it was 103 lbs the last time I checked. Quite a feat, but not really all that unbelievable to me. Pretty much any fish can be caught on any gear. It's all about a smooth drag (the clutch) and having a boat driver that can stay on the fish. Piece of cake Fish

Fishing trends amuse me I like to know what the crowds are doing, so I can be sure not to do that myself Peace, Fish

Much thanks guys... And hey Bass4me > No kidding ? I used to LOVE my Regal Z's ! That right there was just about all I needed to hear ! I might have to get one of these "and" a Pflueger, then beat the heck out of them throwing heavy swimbaits (oh, you guys remember I'm the whacko that uses spinning for everything, right ? ) and see which one holds up the best. Of course, I'm sure I can wear them both out, but then I can see which one outlasts the other.... Peace, Fish

So I was looking at pg 18 of my new Cabelas 2011 fishing catalog, and I see this nice looking Cabela's branded reel, that just has to have been made by Daiwa... The Tournament ZX. http://www.cabelas.com/spinning-reels-cabelas-tournament-zx-spinning-reel-1.shtml Hmmmm. I was so sure my next reel would be a Pflueger..... but I always liked my Daiwa's. I actually like the finish on these better than I do the Daiwas in the same price range.... Your thoughts ? Oh, and anybody here own one of these reels yet ? Peace, Fish

Well, my biggest bass on a swimbait, was a really significant catch for me.... 1) because it was, and still is, my biggest ever, caught on a swimbait.... the old, hard head, soft bodied Castaic 9" 2) because I caught it in front of an audience of about 25 trout fishermen. I yelled, "fish on" they all turned to look, the fish jumped, and they all went into immediate applause like at a big sports game or something ! 3) because it was caught on the last cast, of my last trip, of what was already my best trophy bass fishing year of my life (I had already caught 21 double digit bass that year) So, talk about icing on the cake ! and 4) because I won a check for $5500 dollars for the catch, from the Big Bass Record Club Nice pay day, for a poor guy that fishes too much, and doesn't work enough Peace, Fish PS, here's my second biggest, 15.6..... but much more recent, and so it's a much better photo....

Ya' know, I've still never thrown a Senko in my life, and doubt if I ever will. Not saying they aren't fish catching lures. In fact, I think everybody should throw them..... except me, of course. As I never want to be doing, what everybody else is doing If I know their are relatively inactive big bass hanging in one small area, I'd WAAAY rather live line a crawler to them, on my micro-light. I'd be 10 X's more confident doing that, than I would throwing a senko at them. Fish

The 9" MS Slammer. Okay, so it looks like a piece of broomstick, with hooks hanging off of it..... but the fish absolutely hammer this thing...... and I don't care if your fish are smaller, forget the 7".... and even if your fish are HUGE, forget the 11". The 9" is far an above, the most effective. Color smuller...... I'm not a real big believer in color with most lures anyway, but with a top water wake bait, color is far less important yet. From underneath, a wake bait just looks shadowed anyway. Oh and hey, I have a 3:16 JR.... really expensive, and they look really pretty, but I find my cheap, ugly, MS Slammer to be WAAAY more effective. Do you want a lure that catches fish ? ... or fishermen ? Peace, Fish

I do a lot of photography myself. Mostly wildlife and nature stuff..... and of course, trophy fish photos (usually of myself, by myself, with a tripod). Now, I've only done a little bit of product photography, but I've certainly looked at a TON of it, and I have to say, these look absolutely great ! I might agree with a few of the constructive critiques mentioned, but then again, I sure don't think I could do any better ! BTW, I have the t1i (but I like your T2i better) and I also have the 50 1.8, aka the nifty-fifty.... or the plastic-fantastic Great little lens though. Keep up the great work ! Peace, Fish

A fish, is a fish, is a fish. I've kept just about any tropical, coldwater, freshwater, and saltwater aquarium fish you could think of. Aquariums are like triginometry..... they are quite easy "if you know how" Sure, their are laws in many states about keeping sportsfish in an aquarium > Yet probably 98% of every Game warden and F&G biologists out there, has kept sportsfish in a tank, at home when growing up. Think about it, it's the guys that were always fascinated with F&G, that end up becoming F&G Wardens and / or Biologists ! Not saying whether it's right or wrong, I'm just saying..... As far as a fish getting a disease in your tank, then you spreading it to a whole lake..... NOT. Every tank AND every lake, already has ten thousand possible pathogens floating around in it, all the time, anyway. However, if the fish in your aquarium are kept healthy, as are the fish in said lake, all of these fish should be able to fight off any of those thousands of pathogens on their own. Anyway, Bass are quite easy to keep. Sure, they eat a lot, and produce a lot of waste.... just like any other large aquarium fish. But that is easily handled, if you know the ins and outs of keeping large aquarium fish. They also have a lot of personality.... much like an Oscar. They can be easily trained to eat from your fingers. And they will pay LOTS of attention to you when you approach the tank, because they know what time it is.... At least, they hope its that time As far as requiring a HUGE tank..... Not really. I kept a Bass for 3 years in a 35 gal. It got really thick, and fat, but only about 12" long. Kind of stunted I guess. Released it in a little local duck pond. Probably got caught and killed a week later. Oh well. Aquariums are fun. They can teach you a lot. And they are easy, with the right equipment, and proper knowledge. Go for it ! Peace, Fish

Well first off, I hardly ever use "new lures". But once in a blue moon, I'll start hearing stuff from my inside circle about a lure they are sticking big fish on. If I hear it enough, and I'm fishing in a time and place that it seems to me like that lure should work, I might try it. If it does work, I'll fish it some more. Eventually, it might become a normal part of my arsenal.... but I'm talking about maybe 1 new lure, every 2 years. I don't waste a lot of time with stuff I'm not already sure about. IMP experience, the latest, greatest lure, is almost never better than my old standby's. Peace, Fish

Thanks guys SirSnook, well, the water is REALLY cold right now. My graph said 42-43 ! So maybe that's why, but I think I had the 18 to the boat, in no more than 7 minutes. I mean, don't get me wrong, it fought hard for those 7 minutes.... and also, 7 minutes can feel like an hour when the adrenalin is pumping, and all you want to do is get it in the boat {the whole time thing, reminds me of the movie we just watched last night.... "***" ....kind of hard to follow, but I'd still give it an 8 out of 10} Now, the big Sturgies on this gear are quite a different story. They can easily take 1 hour, or more. Fish

Well this is kind of funny..... but not really for anybody who knows me..... I finally got my iPad right before Christmas and I absolutely love mine too ! However, for few, if any of the reasons you guys all do. I've yet to download a game on it. And I haven't even tried to go online with it. Why ? I have a perfectly fine PC right here The only apps I downloaded were a conversion calculator, and a regular calculator, which I've used a couple times. 98% of the reason I got my iPad, is because it is absolutely the best photo album I could ever carry ! The screen resolution, color, and contrast are second to none ! Sure, I have a bunch of big fish pics on it. But you guys know I'm into nature photography too, right ? So lots of that stuff too. My iPad might even become an essential tool for my photography business in the near future. Basically, most of the stuff people use iPads for, I don't even have time for. I can barely find the time now, for my fishing, photography, mountain biking, weight lifting.... and that one foul little thing... choke, cough... work ! So anyway yes, albeit for different reasons to me, iPads are bombastic Fish

Hey Paul, of course. In these parts, their is just flat out no other choice if you want to be in the running for a true monster Striper, than Split Tails, or maybe Squaw fish. Here's a rigged Split Tail.... but from back in the day, with a regular full treble hook. I now modify them so that their is only 1 full hook left, and even it is barbless. Oh btw, it's only coincidence that this Split Tail's tail is split Oh, one other interesting thing to note; Striper fishing with live bait in these parts, has no negative stigma attached to it whatsoever. Lots of guys use live mudsuckers and bullheads, because they can buy them at the bait store, and being much smaller, they can catch more, but often smaller Stripers on them. However, just as with fishing for trophy sized Largemouth's, a lot of anglers just don't have the patience, or confidence in such big baits. Still more yet have a really hard time catching a Split Tail to begin with. I'll admit, it's much easier to go out and drag crankbaits around all day (troll), and maybe catch 10 or 15, 3 to 6 lb'ers.... but if I did that, I'd feel like I wasted my time on the water, for nothing but dinks. I want to know that when that 40 lb'er finally comes along, theirs a really good chance it will eat my bait, and end up in my boat ! Their's just not enough of them out there, to wait for 50 forty lb'ers to come along, so that one of them might eat my crankbait.... Peace, Fish

Hey Goose, yep, you sound just like me ! Start me talking about fishing, when I'm not on the water.... or just got off of the water, and good luck getting me to shut up ! I've had many fishing trips when I tried hard to get off of the water, with just enough light to see.... Then ran into another fishermen at the ramp, and STILL ended up getting home late Oh well. Fish

Not only is Glenn a great sports writer, but also, the CEO of the best fishing site on the net Fish

Thank you Ed I'd really like to meet you, and actually all of the guys here, in person, to talk fishing.... but as far as actually fishing with anybody > With my AADD, I just can't fish and socialize at the same time. I'd either just have to put my fishing gear away, or be rude, and ignore anybody that was with me. When I'm fishing, I get into like tunnel vision or something, and forget about everything but the fish {for better, or for worse} Peace, Fish

Thank you JF, I think so too ! Only one thing, I just went to the smooth drag website, and they do not list washers for my Sahara 1000, nor for ANY other 1000 series Shimano ? Does this mean I'll have to get some larger ones, and cut them down ? Is this easy enough to do ? Fish

So, I posted a nice thorough response... tried to post it, and got the message the subject was "locked" ? Moved is fine... but locked ? Apparently not. Only problem is, it dumped my darn response Anyway, I'm still not even sure that I prefer a "greased" drag system. That might be what I'm not liking the feel of. BTW, I talked with a tech at Shimano. He told me that my drag might have been slightly over greased, and that I could remove the washers, and wipe some of the grease off, and that this should fix the problem. I guess that would be free to try. I'm pretty sure I will go on and get some of those carbontex washers though, and I won't grease them "unless" they specifically recommend it, and if they come with the recommended grease. Also, I'm pretty sure my next reel will be a Pflueger Supreme, so I can see how the drags on these feel right out of the box as well. Thanks again guys, Peace, Fish

;D ;D ;D ;D I couldn't agree more, nor could I have said it better myself ! I've went round and round with guys about backreeling, and no matter what any hard-core back reeler will ever tell me, I do not believe that a back reeler could do as good a job (or even a good enough job, to keep the fish hooked up) when fishing for BIG fish, on very light gear. You ever seen how fast a 50" or 60" Sturgeon can run, when freshly hooked up ? You think you could spin that reel handle backwards fast enough to keep up ? So then, you just pull your hand off the handle, and let her free reel, right ? ... Then the Sturgy does a 180, and now your back lashing with a spinning reel ! No bueno. I'm not the one. Oh but anyway, JF, where to get those CarbonTex washers ? Fish

Thank you JF. But now, where could I find these drag washers foir a Sahara 1000 ? (I guess they would be for any non-sealed 1000 series spinning reel, huh ?) I'd definately be interested in trying some of those..... preferably on some little 10 to 20 lb Stripers..... Before I tie into that 150 lb Sturgy LOL Peace, Fish

This is going to be REALLY hard to explain, but I'll do my best, and I hope a few of you can follow me on this.... Oh, and it's a Shimano thing... (this time, although I've had the issue with other spinning reels back in the day, also) Okay, so with my new Shimano Sahara. Yes, the drag feels pretty much silky smooth. Not to mention, I've now caught Striper's up to the 18.4 lb'er on the little 1000 series reel, so obviously, it's not completely messed up. But here's the thing > On the one hand, you don't want a drag which is really sticky, and will allow tension to build, and build, and build, then break loose, and slip really easily until it sticks again. That would be bad, right ? (10 X's worse yet if a guy uses stretchy arse mono, which will build up lots of energy, then release it all at once when the drag finally breaks free}. But I'm a braid guy, so that's not usually a problem. Now, the above is a lot more common problem, with a worn out, or cheap quality drag system. But here's what my Shimano is doing... Say I have my drag set at 2.5 lbs of tension. It seems to start slipping at about 1.5 lbs. If the fish pulls harder / faster, it builds up to 2.5 lbs. If it makes a really hard, fast surge, it builds up more yet, to like 3 or 3.5 lbs. This is not what a drag should do. In other words, I wouldn't care (or should I say, it might actually help) if it did have just a little bit more stickiness.... Like say, it builds to 2.8 lbs, without slipping at all. When it finally breaks free, it lightens to say 2.3 lbs. If the fish pulls really hard and fast, it builds back up to say, 2.5, or 2.7 lbs tops. However, it should not slip at all, at 1.5 lbs, and no matter how fast or hard the fish pulls, it should not build up to 3.5 lbs. > Like my Shimano Sahara does :-/ If all of this loses you, just try to imagine a drag which feels greasy.... very smooth, but slow to react to changing tensions.... Anybody follow me ? What causes this ? Are their any fixes ? Hmmmmm, Fish

Much thanks guys. Sure had fun Rained out today ....well, not really enough rain to amount to anything, but just enough to make everything wet and nasty + it's still pretty darn cold. And too cloudy for good photography, so today I'm just kind of aimless.... Hey Bmadd It's does, huh ! ;D LOL Peace, Fish

To be honest, that didn't even dawn on me until I saw several other posts with this same basic title.... So then, I guess todays trip was a pretty good start I caught 3 Stripers, which went about 13, 13.4, and 18.2 lb, and what was even cooler, was that I caught the 13.4, and the 18.2 that I'll post photos of here, on my micro-light, with my new little Shimano Sahara. It handled them just fine, and the 18 fought pretty darn hard too. I guess I could learn to like that reel..... but it still feels like.... well, a Shimano to me.... Hmmmm. Anyway, these were some really healthy, beautiful Stripers, and so I was glad they released so strongly. 13.4 lbs Lighting wasn't great on either of these, but I kind of like this shot though. 18.2 lbs Peace, Fish PS, BTW, it was in the 20's this morning ! REALLY cold for these parts. My hands were hurting, and barely functionable..... but my bald head was toasty in my fur bomber hat

I only have one strong piece of advice..... Go find the G Loomis rod your considering, to handle it in person, first ! I would never choose a rod, based on numbers / specs alone. That said, my favorite / only G Loomis rods are my micro-light SR 720's, 6ft, 1 piece 1-4 lb, which are actually just GL II's, and are among the cheapesat G Loomis rods on the market. However, if I had a $250 prize limit, I'd go with the 6 1/2 ft G Loomis micro-light, which is in a higher series, and run about $230. That's just me though. I have plenty of normal weight bass gear already, anyway. Peace, Fish

Thanks again guys. Yes kLuo, those look really nice too. I'm actually wearing this cheapie right now.... cold in the house this morning, yet their is no sense in cranking up the heat. I'll just wear sweats, and now, a bomber style cap But now that I see how awesome these are, I am going to have to get a really nice one ! Peace, Fish PS, On that website I posted the link for above, just out of curiosity, I started looking farther, just to see how extravagent / expensive of hats that company offered.... And Holy #$@% Check these out ! http://www.furhatworld.com/coyote-fur-mountain-man-hat-full-coyote-pelt-p-331.html Even for an over the top guy like myself, these are just a little bit more than I think I'd want / need LOL