Cgolf

My 2 cents and flame me or block me if you want. I river fish a lot and I always fish on a tight line, with the only exception of giving a lure enough time to drop to the bottom. As soon as I feel a take I set the hook, I refuse to let a fish chew on a bait allowing it to take a bait deeper. This has worked well for me with hardly any deep hooked fish. IMO though true slack line tactics run a much higher risk of deep hooking a fish and I refuse to use them. Jerkbait fishing is close, but I use the reel to stop the lure and don't sweep the rod and then reel up the slack line. Again my opinion and how I fish, but I won't fault anyone that fishes differently and it works for them. This video is older and the last time I was in Walmart I saw a David Dudley ned rig kit, which I thought was interesting after watching the video when it first came out.

I honestly still use an old Ugly stick 6"6" M 2 piece on the river all the time. I also have an Ugly GX2 with the same specs that works well too, but I was less impressed with the build quality of the GX2 which is a trend I am seeing with newer products sadly. Yes they are uglies, but I have caught so many fish on that old rod, that it is my most productive by far and I don't feel guilty about leaving it in the truck on a hot summer day. I do use an older reel on it that isn't super light and I can fish the rod all day if I have it on the boat. It is a touch tip heavy, balance point at the front of the grip, but not enough I feel I need to balance it out.

I use a lot drop shot worms and have caught some big smallies on them in place of stick baits. I also got some Keitech 2.8 crazy flappers and the rage baby menace that work great as well.

My fishing watches are either a Bulova or my Green Bay Packers Invicta, a brand I never thought I would buy. I have worn a Timex Expedition as well that just needs a new battery, great watch and the light in the face is way better than the newer one my daughter boaught. I can't wear the walmart level dress watches because my skin destroys them quickly so I stick with the above that run similar or cheaper than the fancy smart watches that have a shelf life. I don't think I could ever be without a watch, it is such a pain to pull out a phone to check the time, especially on the water.

Well 131 and change goes along way during a 6th sense sale. Looking forward to trying the slow sink Quake lipless for fall and spring. The Quake suspending has done well for me.

6th sense still has great deals on their site. Lots of great prices and I got some lipless for under 4 bucks including the slow sink and suspending models and some square bills for under 5.

I wonder if the lure category has just gotten to a point it is difficult to innovate? Essentially it has become a game of using proven baits in new presentations or minor tweaks or new colors. Electronics on the other hand is interesting even though I don’t know if I would fish with the new stuff. Would be nice to use the forward live stuff to the scan water to learn a lake, but I wouldn’t feel right catching fish you see on the screen to the point you can watch yourself pulling them up. This is for me only, no issues with others using it.

Not adding to @Glenn post on the rod thread because that seems to be mostly the products and not the discussion. Overall I wasn't jumping to order a lot of new stuff, and was really underwhelmed. The price of some baits in particular hurt my brain, like some spinnerbaits and something silly like the jigging shadow rap. Things that wowed me Freedom Speed Freak - Started a thread a while back and this looks awesome and now that I saw the smallie version on TW, a compact spinnerbait this could be the big bait for me and hopefully few in WI buy them;) Flambeau Slim waterproof terminal box - First the price at 25 wowed me and then I really looked at it and the 4 covered compartments are really nice. This box for my tackle needs looks like a better option than the pricier boxes. I don't use Tungsten worm weights so not having storage designed for that is a plus for me. 3.5" Saltwater Menace Chartreuse Silver - This has been a great color for me chasing river smallies and there are not a lot of bass baits in this color. Can't wait to buy multiple packs of this one so I don't run out. Z man Larvaz - THis looks like it could be a great river smallie bait, or worst case I use them for trout. Lunker hunt Swing spoon - I like spinnerbaits and this looks unique and something outside the box. I will try this sometime to see if it produces. Interesting Baits Water and Woods Triple Trap - Recently read a magazine article about this and I would love a few of these! In the interesting category because I would likely never actually spend the money on them with all the toothy critters in our lakes. Z man shad Fryz - looks like a good river bait and possibly a trout bait as well for the creeks around here Suspending ripplin red fin - have always liked the original, so might have to give this one a spin. Likely a much different action than other suspending baits. Might Buy but really don't need Bill Lewis Scope Stik - Looks interesting but do I really need to try another jerkbait.

If it were a handful I might do that, I am looking at maybe 20 to 30 baits. I did give a few to the father in law but a bit different situation there as they do stuff for us too. When talking before he left on vacation he mentioned not having a lot of baits to fish the way he wants so I figured I would offer the option to help him stock up at better than Black Friday deals. Also would let him choose obviously. Maybe put them in a box marked by price each.

He does have a boat but we usually take mine. He is still in the bebinning stages of learning. I can be clueless many days;) I never ask for anything nor have I ever had anyone kick in anything for gas etc. when I take them out. That said I don’t mind at all since it gets me out on the water.

I have a bunch of rapala DTs Bombers Storm cranks etc that I bought too many of on sale. Have a buddy at work that could use a selection of baits. Since most are new out of box I was thinking 2-4 bucks each depending on the bait with a few maybe valued under 2. I won’t be making any money on this, but want to minimize my losses too. He mostly needs some deep divers and just an assortment of lures. I think overall my price point seems fair or am I off one way or the other.

On vacation I compared the Victory and Kaden to my old prodigy that is likely 15 plus years old. St Croix Victory - 7’2” MH Moderate 3/8 - 7/8 Dobyns Kaden 714c - 7’1” H Fast 1/4 - 1 ounce Cabelas Prodigy - 7’ MH Moderate 1/4 - 1 ounce Fishing Use I was fishing spinnerbaits in reed beds. The biggest key is getting the bass’ head under control to keep the fish from wrapping the spinnerbaits around a reed and getting off and snagging me up on a reed. Dobyns Kaden This is a really nice rod. I threw 1/4 to 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits on this rod and could cast both accurately. It has good sensitivity and I don’t feel I missed many bites including a rush hit from a solid pike. This rod did very well controlling the fish and keeping me from getting snagged up on a reed. The rod feel was good in hand and I had no issues with using it. St Croix Victory This also is a really nice rod that I tossed 1/4 5/32 ounce spinnerbaits on. This also was a very accurate casting rod with good sensitivity also helping me not miss many bites. Where this rod struggled was controlling the bass and keeping me from losing them on a reed. IMO this rod feels more like a medium not a medium heavy. I just used it in the less dense reed beds. This rod felt great in hand and was a pleasure to fish. Cabelas Prodigy This series of rods, I have 3, have been good to me over the years. Like the other two casting accuracy was very good with the 1/4 ounce spinnerbaits I was throwing on it. This rod seemed to be the most sensitive, I think the micro guides helped with this. This rod allowed me to mostly control the bass and keep them from snagging up on a reed. This rod also felt great in the hand and was easy to make the casts. Final thoughts The Kaden should hands down be my go to spinnerbait rod, but there was just something about it that kept me from using it as much as I should be. The Victory was amazing to fish with, but since it was underpowered it won’t be my go to spinnerbait rod on this lake. I will look for some other applications for it. The Prodigy was my goto rod this trip. Not sure if it is because I have used it for years it was a rockstar. My goal was to retire the prodigy rods, but they Will be in the boat with me for a while yet. So on vacation the Dobyns Kayden should be my goto spinnerbait rod, once I get more comfortable with it, along with the prodigy. The victory will be used for other techniques in the future.

This bait looks pretty slick with the modified Indiana blade. Thinking I need a few of these as I don’t expect a lot of locals to use them so it will be like fishing one of my custom spins. Anyone have thoughts on this spin or the brand in particular? It’s the third product down. https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/2022-icast-new-products-preview/1033026

So do you think these would work on a spinning rod? I was thinking of putting it in front of the reel with the grip facing up so my index finger could rest on it. When setting the hook and fighting a fish that might help take some pressure off my wrist.

Fans of the Yamamoto Kut tail worm may be fans of this sale. https://www.sierra.com/gary-yamamoto-kut-tail-worm-red-shad-laminate-lure-10-pack-5~p~93mxa/?filterString=clearance~1%2Fgear~d~4868%2Factivities~d~9688%2Ffishing~d~14%2F

I haven't, but this morning did notice St Croix is releasing a rod with something similar. I would love to hear anyone that has tried it out. I could see it being helpful for people that lack grip strength or have wrist issues. I do have wrist issues and if this would cut down on fatigue a bit that would be great for those week long fishing trips, especially if this would work on a spinning rod.

With rare exceptions those reels are benched for reels that cast further at this point. This year I took way too many rods with me so a couple saw time on the water. The cheap spinning reel sits on an ugly stick in my truck all summer for random shore fishing stops.

For me all the reels perform, some just feel smooth when reeling and others feel like they are rough or grinding slightly when I reel. I prefer the former but deal with the latter. My top price point keeps me out of the high end market so I have come to accept this but wish they were smoother. New baitcasters definitely cast further and easier. The question is why would an aluminum framed baitcaster in the 200 buck range feel rough like that. My highest gear ratio is in the 6 range none are 7 or above. could be I just have bad luck, who knows.

It depends on the pitch of the gears. Back in my RC car days 32 pitch gears were super noisy and thankfully we went to 48 pitch with the offroad cars to give some gearing flexibility and reduce the noise and increase efficiency. For onroad cars we used 64 pitch gears which were very quiet and efficient but a bit fragile. A good wall slap once in a while would strip a plastic 64 pitch spur gear.

Disclaimer, I am not saying run out and buy low end gear now and expect great things! So I have 5 older reels that I like to use. A Shakespeare excursion (not the one I have posted in the past that was retired after last season this is a second one I had bought at same time that was little used), Daiwa Viento, and 3 Quantum accurists. All of the reels are 15 to 20 years old and are silky smooth and all have seen action this year except one of the accurists. The 4 baitcasters have never been cleaned or relubed and they have never given me a reason to think they need it. Fast forward I have bought some 150$+ baitcasters, on sale never full price, over the last 3 years to replace the old reels and I have to say that many feel geary and not the same level of quality as the older baitcasters. The one thing they do better though is of course casting distance, so that does generally push the old reels out of the boat, except the one I forgot about the black max 3600 round reel that while a tank is the best reel I own and I paid 10 bucks for it at an estate sale and it probably outcasts all others by a fair bit. Spinning reels I will admit to being a Daiwa regal guy, despite the brittle bail springs, and I tried the Presidents too late because I got the ones that are super geary no matter how much grease I try to pack in there. That old Shakespeare excursion I used this morning is right on par with the Daiwa regals and a lot better than the presidents. Without spending tons of money either on initial purchase or upgrades, is there a way to get that fit and finish we saw way back when? I am half tempted to see how bad a newer Shakespeare excursion feels. I will say I was very pleasantly surprised by the red and black Shimano Sienna 2000 spinning reel. They are super smooth and at 30 bucks I bought 3 total to cover most of my spinning rods, so have found some good deals.

Picked up the 3700 Plano Edge box on sale to carry terminal tackle for vacation last night. Today we went to a store run by a group that does estate sales and picked up a lowrance Fish Lo-K-Tor. Probably overpaid at 12 bucks but it is a cool man cave and future lake house piece.

For those that have Farm and Fleets nearby they had 25 percent off tackle storage and tackle. The had the standard edge 3700 for around 29 and I got it out the door for under 22. Compared to the price on TW that is a great deal.

Thank you I will definitely reach out. The vaca lake doesn’t get huge bass pressure but most that do toss spinnerbaits. The serrated have worked well and the wide willows also have worked. The day after a cold front and a storm the bait below got 3 fish on a morning they were hard to get. Thanks to KVD for writing the tip to upsize blades after a front.

I think I took it to far writing it wouldn’t get bit fishing it lower. That might have rattled around my head as I was reading the book with the reasons he gave for fishing it high vs low. Your post clarifies what he wrote nicely.

Tom I was in no means questioning his spinner baits skills. I have read all the articles I can get from him on them over the years. He got me to try an oversized trail willow post cold front and it worked really well. The point was he has a style he fishes and he justifies it when he writes about it, and I made that point horribly I know, difficult to put in written words. The high fast approach applies during the summer in N WI, but it seems up through mid July the weather is so all over the map different tactics are needed. KVD is a beast along with Clunn, who in my eyes gets elevated with his recent wins. I have some of the original bass pros show DVDs and always liked the segment Rick had. Now if I could only find the spinner bait selector thing he sold on Bass Pro for years. I always put it off till next year and sadly it’s gone. As a scientist by schooling, I develop products for science labs now not on the bench anymore, I saw some flaws in the tests in the knowing fish book and some magazine articles. There is a lot of great info scientists can gather, but the results could differ lab vs wild. So I read the data and decide how much to weight to put on it based on how the tests were run. The knowing bass book was great in that it explained how the data was collected.