hawkoath

Check out this Double Fluke Rig topic that someone started. It seems like a really good way to catch fish. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/159475-new-video-the-double-fluke-rig/

I would run straight braid to a frog because if I'm throwing them they are usually going to be on top of weeds/lilies or very close to them and the bass can get into vegetation and weeds pretty quickly. Having the frog tied to straight braid would lessen the chance of losing an expensive frog. Other top water lures I would probably go with a fluorocarbon leader as the water in WA would be what is considered clear or very clear in other parts of the country and I feel it does help in getting bites.

Albright knot.

Thanks Glenn for letting us know about this new technique. I feel like it's going to be my new favorite open water technique I am wondering though if anyone has tried this with a worm in front and a bluegill in the back, minnow in front and then a trout or any other combination of prey and predator? It wouldn't have the cool schooling effect of running baitfish though.

I agree with KayakKid and Dink. I've had multiple breakoffs on trout when I first got back to fishing last year. Gamakatsu circle hooks.

As mentioned above TheHookUpTackle has a 20% off sale and TW will most likely have their annual July 4 Sale. It might behoove you to sign up for the mailing lists of individual rod manufacturer's like Kistler, St. Croix, etc... as they sometimes have some terrific deals.

Welcome, welcome.

Thank you, thank you

3/8oz customized Kastmasters. I have chartreuse color reflective tape on the larger side with regular reflective tape on the other. I also make sure to sharpen the hooks and bend them out a little for a much improved hookset

Welcome, welcome.

How about both. But if I had to chose it would be Clear Lake as I prefer CA to TX.

Unfortunately, I've always gotten the best performance for the buck at those sales (TW's Christmas Sales!!!). I find that the stock at Ebay and Amazon can be years old inventory that has a lot of issues. When I buy it through TW's sales I've never had a problem.

Tennis racket overgrips, bike tape, shrink wrap, etc... should all work if all you want to do is just have an extra layer to cover the old cork or give it a little more adhesive qualities. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of them though. Plastic wrap is by far the cheapest but the overall durability might not be the best and if you get it oily then it could easily cause slippage. It does have the least amount of weight and overall bulk though. Overgrips depending on the type can soak up water and will not last that long either. You have to replace them every so often as they soak up sweat and water and gradually degrade from friction. Overgrips don't necessarily have to be tacky though. Classic Sampras Tournagrips are much less tacky but they also don't last very long. You can though get a tennis replacement grip which is a lot more bulky but will last a lot longer and can stick on by itself. I wouldn't get oil on either overgrips or replacement grips. I've never used bicycle grips but they do seem a lot more durable and can deal with water, grime and oil better. They do seem more expensive though. My suggestion though before you spend money and time doing all of this is to simply clean the cork off first with whatever liquid detergent you have around and a sponge or that abrasive stuff. Probably in 90% of cases that would get the job done and you don't have to spend any additional money or time as everything you need should be at your sink anyways. If the rod handles are literally falling apart (not just a little filler getting out) think about duct taping everything together and adding the bicycle tape. If that's the case though you might just want to think about replacing the rod or handle. If you are going to be using the rods pretty often and the handle just has too many crevices it might be more cost effective just to do a refurbish of the handle (refer to Hoosier Hawgs's link). Hope this helps.

Oh, not at all. Many here don't have a boat.

Welcome, welcome.

Welcome, welcome.

Wow. I haven't heard that name in a while and yeah it is probably one of the best if not the best classic reels ever. Though if I did get my hands on one of those I would never fish it. It would stay in an air controlled display case as I believe the Suveran is extremely hard to find and probably much more of a collectable than the Stella A will ever be.

That being said. Baitcasters are really awesome. You save a lot of time opening/closing the bail and grabbing the line with your finger. With baitcasters you cast, retrieve and simply cast again. I really do think you get a more power when fighting the fish as well. So there are definitely advantages to using one. But there is a reason you don't see anyone using a baitcaster fishing for Shad on the Columbia or Salmon on the Surf. You'll get bird's nest every other cast with the winds you can encounter and probably lose tens of dollars worth of gear.

The reason why I got into baitcasters late was spinning setups just had much more (1) multi-species/multi-environment versatility and (2) cost effective. Where I live within an hour driving distance you can fish for easily up to 25 species that are fairly easy to catch. If I'm going for shark/flounder in the surf or trout in the lakes I can always use a size 3000 reel and be done with it. It's also easier to cast in heavy wind which can happen at any time and I don't need to worry about really maintaining the reel when saltwater fishing. If I used a baitcaster, I would have to have multiple reels to optimize for each situation and have to spend a considerable amount of time untangling bird's nest which would also result in lost lures on the bottom when fishing for salmon. It's also about cost. You can get a Mitchell Pro, Pflueger, etc... for around $50 and it's all you really need. It's really hard to find an easy to cast and really user friendly baitcaster brand new for that price. Hence, I had to wait a while to get a Coastal Zillion and Steez EX that I have right now. Especially for a beginner at using baitcasters, the really low cost reels are nowhere as easy to use and reliable as a similarly priced spinning reel.

Probably not right now with the price of tungsten being so high and other (granted probably not as good) alternatives being readily available and much more cost effective. Good idea though but the timing is probably not right. Keep on thinking up these innovations

Welcome back.

Thanks. That's some extremely useful advice for me. The hook keep keeps snagging my line so I would optimally like to place it in a more convenient place.

It's always a risk when you buy things sight unseen. I got my one and only brand new Daiwa Certate off Ebay but it had some problems that I had to take to the reel specialist to fix. It wasn't catastrophic but it did take up some time and a little bit of money to solve. By all means utilize Ebay to search for reels but also take advantage of other sources like craigslist, offerup, forums, japanese vendors (especially with exchange rate being so favorable but the warranty though you would have to send it back to Japan), etc... Make sure you are giving yourself a little safety margin when purchasing unseen to reflect the risk. I've bought stuff from everywhere and learned that with that risk margin even when things don't go completely my way on Ebay (crappy line lay on Certate, loose tip guide on a GLX, etc...) I'm still ok with it because after all the hassle I still consider it a good deal.

I've bought one reel off of Ebay. The seller had 100% perfect feedback, but the one I got still had issues with it. If you find a fantastic deal go for but usually you can find better off elsewhere.

^^^^ I've heard a lot about these and these would be the one's I would like to try if I spent that amount right now