the reel ess

I bought this rod in Frog model to use for frogs and jigs: http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fishing-rods/casting-rods%7C/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/cabela-s-tournament-zx-bass-casting-rods/1619298.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fcasting-rods%2F_%2FN-1102351%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104823180 The jury's still out. I've only caught one on a jig. The butt cap came off in the boat. It took me days to figure out what it came from. I superglued it back on. I use 50# PowerPro braid. I have a Lews Tourney MB 7.1:1 reel on it. I got better casts out of my Falcon 7' MH. But I wanted to dedicate it to T rigs.

That second one is a shellcracker (redeared sunfish). They're a little morwe rare of a catch, even when you know they're in a body of water. Right now they're spawning here. Nice fish! Oops! I see the comments above now. You'll have that when you browse with a phone.

2 rods, tackle box, a small cooler with a few beers. If I can drive close to the water, I bring the arsenal. That would be private water. I had an owl try to snag my Jitterbug twice last night.

It just happened Sunday evening. Spawn is over and the fish have moved to the first piece of structure or cover. I cast my Texas rigged black/blue Hula Grub toward a rockpile on the bank. On the first sweep of the rod, I feel just pressure and the bait doesn't move. I gave line thinking it was hung on something and the line moved away so I swung away. It was a fish and a big one. It didn't so much fight or resist as it did STAY DOWN. To tell the truth, it felt like a log that was just slowly moving towards me. I was dragging it across the bottom. I got it to the boat and started it up toward the surface when the hook came free. It had barely broken the skin on the bait. I don't know why it didn't penetrate. It was a new Gama hook, 50# braid and a Falcon 7'0" MH rod. It was a small hook though due to the bait size. My buddy got a look at the fish. He was in position to grab it for me. He says 8 lbs min. and he's caught several over 8. It would be my PB by at least 1.5#. I've come close to that PB a lot of times but never beaten it. I hadn't even lost a big fish in about a year. I was disappointed but not as distraught as I would have been just a couple years ago. I've already got a 6.4# this year from these waters and I know there are bigger in there. I went yesterday evening but only caught a couple 1 lb'ers. I'll get my PB in there one of these days.

I have this one in this pattern. http://www.***.com/Savage_Gear_Glide_Swimmer/descpage-SGGS.html Haven't caught a thing on it yet. The reason I bought baby bass pattern is there are no shad or trout where I usually would use it.

You think Roman labor comes cheap these days?

My favorite is the frog (not toad). My PB came on an older one. My best lately is the Chug'n Spook, jr. Last summer I cleaned up with it in the evenings. My best all-time is the Pop R, small size. My best for one day is Heddon Torpedo-50+ fish in a couple hours. I probably should have switched over to a buzzbait for some size, but I was in the kayak and you gotta run what you brung, to use a racing analogy. My new obsession is to catch one on the Devil's Horse. I also have a new Hula Popper, Jitterbug & Field Mouse. Honorable mentions: Buzzbaits, Chug Bug & Spook have produced at various times for me. I caught 5 in 5 casts once on the large Spook and not one bite since. When that pattern really kick in this summer I'm going to take 5 rods rigged with topwaters and one with a craw and see what I can accomplish.

My favorite numbers bait from pre- to post-spawn is the Zoom Trick Worm, T-rigged, weightless. If there's any stain to the water use a neon color. If it's clear, use a watermelon or other more natural color. Toss it out and work like a jerkbait, keeping close enough to the surface to see a strike. That will help set the hook without fish feeling you. If that won't work, just deadstick it. Toss it out and slowly drag it with no action. If still no takers, downsize to the Finesse Worm. Same thing, but smaller. I haven't tried the small Senko as FL Mike recommends, but I've had some surprise success with the wacky worm when they wouldn't bite anything else. My latest cure for lockjaw is the Yamamoto Hula Grub, T-rigged on a small extra wide gap hook with an 1/8 oz bullet weight. If using BC combo, make that 3/16 oz. I've been trying to use it on a jighead, but having more luck T-rigged. Black/blue flake is my favorite color in craws. Where I fish it outcatches the others 3-1. So I always seem to have an extra bag of watermelon that never gets used. A side note on craws: bigger bass love them, even the smaller ones. And I consider the Hula Grub a craw imitation. When you start seeing activity, that's the time to start with the reaction baits, like the Shadow Rap. The Spook will work best around sunrise and sunset. Bass are unlikely to bite it or must topwaters at high noon. For more numbers, try the smaller size Rebel Pop R. Color really doesn't matter as much as time of day. Early and late. As the water warms and humidity grows, topwaters produce better. Keep at it and good luck. This is a great place for advice. And look at the videos on this site here for beginner advice. Subscribe to this site's YouTube channel. Glen has some killer videos that will get you on the right path. This is a great time to get the basics down and catch some numbers in spring.

I use those too. My favorite squarebill is the Bandit FlatMaxx.

If they don't catch fish, they won't remain on the market for very long. In most cases I'd say yes. But everyone has his own pain threshold. I try not to spend more than $10 on a bait but I've broken that rule when I just HAD to have something. The bulk of my fish are caught on some soft plastic that costs less than $4.50/bag. In the case of the Trick worm that's a bag of 20.

When I attempt a Palomar with something with trebles I usually end up finding at least three hook points. I try not to rety in the kayak unless it's completely necessary. But I only have one rod with braid that I use for treble baits.

Yeah, I have a crate rigged for holding 4 rods, my kayak has a flush mount rod holder and I just hold one in the cockpit, so to speak. I keep a couple rods rigged with soft plastics and carry bags of the ones I think I'll need.

I used to use them and speed clips then I had a big fish straighten out a clip and lost it. I've been considering going back with a reputable brand, but that's not on the shelf at Wal Mart and I haven't looked at Academy. So I tie directly right now. It's what I see the pros doing and their paychecks depend on it. I think a snap will help some baits' actions and can't think of any that will be hurt by using one. It will add some wider wobble to cranks. Just understand it's probably not as strong as the hook on most baits unless you get a very heavy duty one. So set that drag and play the fish. I would only use one on the rods I change baits on a lot. And those would be my treble lures. In that case I would have the drag preset loose. I never use swivels because I don't fish in-line spinners anymore.

Doubtful since I've never caught one there. But it's possible I guess. I know there are bass that big and bigger there. I've already caught a 6.4 the first time there this year.

Big Bite Baits. Got 'em at Academy.

Yeah. It was a smaller EWG hook as well because the Hula Grub is a small bait.

Perception Pescador was an older WS Tarpon. They bought the old mold. But Pescador was just redesigned. I have the older model Pescador 12. It's a great little SOT for the $$$. But you won't be standing in it. I'm clumsy so I just fish sitting. BTW, get a SOT.

I have that friend too, Give him a T rigged worm. He might outfish you with it.

If I made a mistake it was probably going too hard with the fish. I had straight 50# braid and a good Gama hook so I thought I could horse it. But after seeing I barely had a hook in it, it seems it would have been wiser to go easy.

If you're bank fishing and you catch a big fish you have to handle it and get it off the hook. They don't always cooperate and you wouldn't want to break a rod supporting a huge fish when you don't have to. Just try to keep it to a minimum.

I lost what would have been a new PB by quite a bit today. I was fishing a local reservoir that's private and has a lot of big bass in it. All the usual baits were either failing or the fish were striking short so I downsized from Chigger Craw to Hula Grub. I felt just a little mushy resistance that seemed to be pulling the opposite way so I set the hook. I kept good pressure on it and it felt like a log that was barely swimming. I got it close and it still hadn't shaken its head. Then the hook came free. I can't imagine what I could have done better. The hook had barely broken the skin of the soft plastic. I couldn't see where the hook came free from so maybe it was just hooked weird or in a hard place of the mouth. That happens. Anyway, my buddy told me it was at least 8 lbs, which would break my PB my at least 1.5. He ought to know because he's caught several in there over 8. On the bright side, it's still in there and it's not the only one that big.

I suspect because they are under the Rapala umbrella and there was overlap of some things. They still have this one: http://www.rapala.com/terminator/in-line-spinners/snagless-in-line-spinner/snagless-in-line-spinner/Snagless+In-line+Spinner.html?brandname=Terminator&id=7 Inline spinners were probably the first artificial I ever caught a bass on using the old Zebco 33. And probably the first crappie, and white bass and bluegill. This one: http://www.mepps.com/information/comet-mino-5/157#description~C1M%20S

I argue about this topic with my friend all the time. Any time he catches a big one he wants to keep it to eat. He ain't starving and in fact has a gut on him. I tell him if he puts it back he can catch it again. He says if he doesn't put it back he's making room for another big one. But I got my friend into kayak fishing and he finds it hard to keep any from that platform. Bob nails it when he says a 3 pounder won't grow to 5 pounds in a skillet.

I'd buy a tackle box first. If it was me, not knowing where you fish or what kind of water (weedy, sandy, rocky) I'd start with T rig worms and medium and deep diving cranks like the Normans L'il N. Mostly because when I transitioned from crappie to bass fishing, those were all I had and managed to catch fish.

A. Don't peg it. No reason to. Fish will hold it longer if you don't. I'm sure people will disagree with that and there are exceptions. But not many people would tell you bass hold a jig longer than a worm. So it does matter. B. The shallower the water, the less weight is required to keep the bait down. I usually will use 1/8 oz min. on spinning and 3/16 oz min on baitcasting, the latter only because I'll birdnest with 1/8 on BC equipment. Higher winds might require more weight to keep contact with the bait to feel a bite. You'll get more bites with less weight. If you can stand it, try a Trick Worm, weightless. Then you can fish it from top to bottom and in very heavy cover. This is always tied on a spinning rid if I'm at a pond. Second Mike L. I use a black glass bead between the weight and hook and am convinced the click-click draws some extra bites. Another reason not to peg.