Ozark_Basser

Anybody know anything about this blank? I plan on building a big bait rod some time in the near future. How does it compare to other swimbait rods Loomis has made?

I can't tell you why I set the hook sometimes. I just do. Sometimes I set the hook depending on how they bite. If I feel a hard tug or two I set the hook immediately because that means they just took off with it, and if they feel that much resistance, they will spit the bait really quick so you have to be quicker. This happens a lot with smallmouth and largemouth too. If I feel a tap and the line goes slack, that means they inhaled it, so I reel the slack and set the hook. If I feel something mushy or different I set the hook immediately. Knowing whether that mushy feeling is a fish or not just takes a little practice.

I think some baits just have "it". Whatever it is that makes them work, works. Whether that's a realistic finish or any other characteristic seems impossible to know for sure. In my opinion a realistic finish can't hurt, but some baits are better the way they are.

Ha. You're right. My mistake. Either way, no eggs. No fat bellies. Just a bunch of long, skinny pond bass.

That fg knot looks interesting. A uni to uni with micro guides and thick line is going to be a no go. To the op, I have that same problem all of the time. It only really happens on short pitches though. Just shorten up your leader.

Today i was hammering 1 lbers with the wind coming from the SW. The bite shut down and I noticed the wind had shifted and was coming from the NE. I thought to myself, yep the days over. I'll just make a few more casts and head back. A few casts later and bam, 6 lber with another following her up. Caught an few more 1 lbers after that too.

Fluoro changes in price with # test. That being said, seaguar red label is probably the best cheaper fluoro.

I bought one of the CRB kits from Mudhole. I think it was like $140. Comes with just about everything except for razor blades, larger reamers, files, and maybe some other small things. The thread tensioner seems a little sketchy, but it works, so I guess it will do until I decide to upgrade.

It's funny because this one and the one the same size that followed her showed no signs of carrying eggs or that they had been on beds. I know the water temps have been around 60 degrees for a good while. Before I caught this one, I was trying to sight fish a 3 lber with no luck. The 3 lber acted like it was guarding fry, but I couldn't see a bed or any fry around it anywhere. I'd toss a bait to it, and it would either ignore it or take off and come back instantly just like a fish on a bed. I guess it's possible that those two fish haven't mated with a male yet or that they will not mate at all. The pond is just starting to bloom. The grass on the shoreline is getting greener,and small lily pads are starting to pop up around all of the large dead ones. I'm going to guess they are just getting in the swing of things and haven't started mating yet.

That is some gin clear water right there. Very pretty though.

I've never been much on a t rig, but I've never fished a lot of lily pads either until today. Caught loads of smaller ones with this being the biggest on a t rigged senko. Pulled her up with about 3 lily pads as well. 22" long, 13" girth, 6.16 pounds according to the fish weight calculator. I really need to get some good scales.

Your line and rod play a big role. In shallow water braid is going to be your best bet for sensitivity. If you went from a fiberglass rod to graphite, you are going to notice a big difference.

I'm not the most versatile person when it comes to a spinnerbait. I dont ever slow roll them or fish them deep. I pretty much just cast them at or past my target and burn them into it making it deflect off of something. If it's really windy I'll throw them towards windblown banks. This is about the only time I throw spinnerbaits anymore. They have pretty much been replaced with a swimjig and a chatterbait. When I do throw one it is a war eagle 3/8 oz double willow in blue herring.

Just drop a white bait down below your boat and see how far it goes before it is no longer visible. From the bank, you can just see how far you can see down into the water. Water clarity will change with light penetration as well, so over cast days are going to have less water clarity etc.

As a rule, gold blades are for murkier water and silver are for clearer. Some say it doesn't matter. The only spinnerbait I throw any more has both colors, as do most.

I used to use that vision 110 silent riser a lot during the post spawn on bull shoals. Warmer water is where it shined.

I'd go custom North Fork Composites 709 HM, 709 IM, or the 708 IM. I have the 709 HM. Same blank as the zbones. It's super versatile. Casts 3/8 oz t rigs very well. Handles heavy jigs up to an ounce well also. It's rated 3/8 - 2 oz. I'd honestly rate it as 3/8-1.5 oz.

Here's my thoughts on the advantages of fluoro. Abrasion resistance around rocks, docks, zebra mussels and anything sharp. Better sensitivity for fishing bottom contact baits really deep. On a semi slack line in thirty feet of water, braid and mono will have a huge bow in it due to their buoyancy. Fluoro is more dense and will have more of a straight path from your rod tip to the bait. Fluoro gets your crankbaits and jerkbaits a little deeper if that's what you are after. For me a lot of times that helps. It also allows your jerkbait to suspend nose down if that is what you want. I'm not saying that fluoro is a better line than mono or braid, but it has its advantages in certain situations, as does mono and braid.

I never let them sit because I usually just use them to cover water, so I wouldn't know. I generally don't get too many bites on the initial hit. If my target is the bank, I start reeling the instant it hits the water right next to the bank getting it to crash into rocks on its way down the bank. I don't like letting those shallow bass get a good look at it. That's what I meant by it needs to be moving the second it hits the water.

I used to fish a pond that would get that black water a lot on cloudy days, and it had a lot of grass as well. It held some big fish, but some days you couldn't pull anything out of it no matter how hard you tried. On some days though, you'd be catching 4-7 lbers on subsequent casts. It seemed like since the fishing pressure was so bad, all the nice sized fish just chose a day every now and then to go on a feeding frenzy. If you spend a whole lot of time flipping grass in a shallow pond with poor visibility and don't get a bite, something's probably up. I'd be thinking about how bad the fishing pressure is, and if the pond is known to have a good population of fish.

Ajay's probably right, but I always like to tie on a leader with an Alberto knot. If you break off and notice your line broke at the leader knot instead of the bait knot, you're not tying it good enough. This might happen a few times at first. Don't fish with the knot if it doesn't look pretty close to perfect. You'll pay for it if you do.

Those look good man. Nice job

3/8 oz bottom contact baits, 3/8-1/2 oz spinnerbaits and other single hook moving baits. Since it's a st Croix mh, you can fish 1/2 oz bottom baits with it as well. Jerkbaits, spooks, the list goes on. That's a very versitale stick.

It seems like TWs customer service has went down a little in the past few years. Either way, I'm really surprised this hasn't been locked up.

I drink a tall glass of suck it up.