Senko lover

One sentence: Bill Dance Bloopers.

BIG swimbaits.

Senkos or lipless crankbaits.

You can fish it any way, including on a shaky head, texas or carolina-rigged, but probably the best and most preferred is weightless.

I have no trouble being stuck inside all day. Fisherman to the core!

Great job! WTG.

At the start of the season it's both. As we get more into summer it'll be mostly mowing.

Oh, it's good for me. My parents always tell me they hope I have a kid like me. Honestly, that'd be just fine. We'd fish every day. Sounds great!

I care. But then I'm slightly OCD.

I'm going to do a post on this in the Everything Else section because people run into it a lot and I just figured out how to do this. www.shrinkpictures.com will automatically shrink your pics for you so they're postable.

"Is going to provoke parental concern" I like that line, it's classy! Of course, I don't like parental concern in general...................

My bass have started to have orange eyes, and I was wondering about it. Thanks for whoever bumped this thread.

Getting "into golf" is probably worse than getting "into fishing." Just warnin' ya. Glad you're enjoying it. And BTW: golf courses have some great ponds!

Absolutely right, guys. My practice has been 10% tithed, 10% spent, 80% saved, with a little variable for extra. I could suck in a lot of money spending stuff but I've been able to practice good self control. Had a great day my first day. REALLY like the guy who owns the business. Hardcore outdoorsman. He hunts, fishes, and traps. I can tell I'm gonna be spending a lot of time with this guy. His grandpa had some stock in a semi-private pond, he gave the stock and a small boat and boathouse to this guy. He says there's big bass in that pond, with an average size being 2 1/2 to 3 1/2. Yeah, baby! Sounds like a perfect boss. We got along great.

WTG! Nice job, Hootie.

I have finally found a summer job. I'm going to be working for a man who does professional lawn care in my area. He wants partime help (three days a week) through November. It's taken me a while to find a real job. I'm an entrepreneur to the core, and I've always gotten the little lawn, driveway, and car jobs but I've been looking for real work. Funny thing is, the job sorta found me, I didn't contact the guy but I found out about the opportunity via online. Anyway, we all know what this means . Lots of college money saved up and I need to sit down with the Bait Monkey and have a long, overdue talk............

I followed BassTrakk through the day, so I was prepared for the weigh-in. Really feel bad for Ike. What a disappointing day. We are in the exact same percentile at 99.3!

It's kinda funny to see your thread from 4 months ago!

Ew!

Glad I made a last-minute decision to add Skeet. I had JPow but switched like the day before the tournament. Congrats to the man in yellow! Three of my guys made it to the top twelve. I'm happy. 99.40th percentile yesterday, will have to see how that changes once they update it for today.

Boy those are nice bass but that bluegill takes the cake! Dang it's fat!

That's pretty awesome!

I taught myself to feather the spool with my other hand. Helps a lot.

Peg it with a toothpick. Shove it in the head, trim it at the body, and hook the trailer behind the toothpick. It'll last a lot longer.

Note: This is part of a series targeting toward beginners about straightening your learning curve with a baitcast reel. To see part one on why to get a baitcast combo, click here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/154372-trials-and-errors-with-a-baitcaster-pt-1-why-get-a-baitcast-combo/ --------------------------- So we've talked about your choice to buy a baitcasting reel in part one of the series. Let's say you've decided to give them a try. You go online and start looking around. Wow! There's a lot of choices! There's Shimano, Abu Garcia, Lew's, Diawa, Pfleuger, Ardent, Wright & McGill, Megabass, Duckett, Quantum, Okuma, and Pinnacle, just to name some of the better known ones. Don't even get started on rods. So what are you looking for in a good combo? First, don't skimp on quality. Most pros will tell you, don't go under $100.00 for your first reel. If you're really budget minded, you can probably safely go down to $75.00. There are reels under that price range that will perform decently for you, but investing a little more money and getting a nicer reel is always worth it. It will last longer and make your experience smoother. I would be more lenient with rods. You can get a surprisingly sensitive rod that will last for as low as $40.00 Obviously, if you have the money, get a nice rod, but if you're on a big budget, you can skimp a little here and get by just fine. Buying used always is an option. You can get a nice rod or reel for a lot cheaper if you get it off of Ebay or the Flea Market here on Bass Resource. Buying anything used is always a little risky, but this is a great option for you if you're looking to save money. Stick with a Name Brand. I don't swear by a specific brand, simply because I haven't tried a lot. Probably the four best known and most trusted companies are Shimano, Abu Garcia, Lews, and Diawa. Some people swear by X brand, and say everything else is junk, and some people like trying lots of different brands. Whatever your opinions are, make sure you plan a trip to Bass Pro and try out the reel you want to get and see how it feels in your hand. You don't want to get a reel you don't like the feel of. The same with rods. Find one in your price range that feels good in your hand and has good ratings online. For the record, I picked up a Lews Tournament MG Speed Spool, and have been really pleased with my choice. Make the choice between profiles. What about those big round reels? Those are designed after the original baitcast reel with a larger profile. Some people really like them, others don't. Due the sake of simplicity and ease of palming the reel, I'd stick with a low-profile for your first reel. Figure out what side the handle should be. Typically, if you're right-handed, you cast with your right hand, switch your reel to your left hand, who palms it while you're reeling, and reel with your right hand. So the handle will be on the right side. Vice versa with left-handers. Some people like to mix it up, but typically what I've outlined works for most people. Make sure you get a reel with the handle on the right side! Find some good sales. Waiting till Black Friday can really pay off. I found a reel that typically retails for around $140.00 for $50.00 brand new! That's some big time savings! Sites like Gander Mountain, Cabelas, and Tackle Warehouse all had really good deals and rebates last year. I would really recommend buying your reel on Black Friday if you can wait and would like to save money. In the end, don't complicate things. Research helps. I did a good bit of online looking, asking, and reading before I bought my first, and it paid off. My reel has been performing flawlessly. But the most important thing is gaining confidence with casting the reel. That's what we'll be looking at in the next few parts of the series.