Columbia Craw

Tired of people dissing your eight trac? I know how you feel.?

Will the real Hakai please stand up.

It’s a fair trade off for the 10 percent Monday senior discount at Dunkin Donuts.

At least it’s paid for.

My lack of fiscal discipline is not something to be shared.

September and October! As the days get progressively shorter the bite gets better. On the mid Columbia I throw top water, sometimes all day. On another deep impoundment, cranking from 10 to 22 feet is really consistent. Cooling water concentrate bait and bass in the tidal sloughs. Rip rap time. Fall is nice.

Well said. After over 40 years, I think I have a grasp on the situations and conditions where a spinnerbait may be that high percentage lure I need to be throwing on the locations that I fish. I can’t speak for others. Pre spawn seems to present optimum conditions whether it be largemouth or smallmouth and I get to fish both. As the water warms those optimal situations lesson. Don’t throw in the towel .

Guys that don’t check out Mike’s on line catalog are missing out.

I ship it UPS to A-Jay so it can be properly disposed of.

Took a guy out who has done it all, seen it all and is quick to tell you. I grabbed a TRD and cut in two and wallah, ear plugs. The color doesn’t matter. They all work.

Daiwa Coastal 200 HD.

Get on Google Earth and look at the Oregon side of the Columbia. There are numerous bank spots from Cascade Locks to well past Hood River.

Both.

Leaving my binoculars in the truck.

Old school? Sure. I don’t fish salt. There are specific techniques that are most often light lures with light line and I’m more comfortable with the reel hanging down for those presentations. I don’t do BFS Tom. It’s not my thing. There are occasions when allowing line to peel off the spool is beneficial and spinning affords me that ability when fishing the mentioned lure types. Options are a good thing.

Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!! Put a hook on your reel hood.............. I can’t breathe!!!!!!

Spinning: dropshot neds wacky shaky head free rig grubs hula grub hair jig spy bait tubes light carolina reepers neko Casting: Everything else

A quick add to: casting motions such as roll casts or pitching are more accurate for me because the lure in in my line of sight from beginning to end.

Casting accurately is extremely important and can dictate your catch success by itself. Being an accurate caster is part of fishing I really enjoy. It’s an accomplishment within an accomplishment when you get bit. I also want to be efficient as a caster. I want to be a backlash free as possible. I taught myself to cast spinning rods, surf rods, bait casting and thirty years of fly fishing. During the last sixty years I have learned some things that when applied, improved my casting skills. Understand the physical mechanics of your wrist joint and hand and the motions as a joint system. Sounds dry huh. The wrist has a range of motion. Point the thumb up and move the hand up and down like driving a nail. Limited motion. Place the palm facing flat and down. Move the hand up and down like slapping a table top. The result is a larger range of motion. First range is primary in fly casting and overhand spinning. The second is the motion that becomes the foundation for baitcasting. Still dry. Understanding the purpose of the rod and a balanced combo and how to set up the reel is next. The tip of the rod should be the final extension of your hand/fingers. Have you watched an NBA player drop a three pointer? Watch his finger tips and release . The lure’s speed and direction come from the rod tip. Control the tip and you control the lure. Still dry? The rod should do the majority of the work. The flexibility of the blank is for two reasons. Fighting the fish and powering to lure for lure speed. If you’ve ever fly fished, this makes even more sense. Knowing how to load or stress the rod in one of the many casting motions and then control and direct the lure as the blank unloads is the key to maximize distance and control direction. Not so dry. Now the reels come into play. Finally! spinning is easy. Release the line. Hope your distance is correct by the lure speed you generated or slow the lure speed up to stopping it by placing your forefinger near the spool edge or pressing the finger to the spool edge. Casting reels require more control. Properly set your cast controls but understand, the thumb is the ultimate cast control! Remember the wrist motion concept. Your motion is lead by the back of your hand, not the thumb. A backlash is just the result of the spools spinning faster than the line can exit the rod tip. The spool must slow at or more than the lure’s ability to pull the line from the rod. Light or wind resistance lures slow faster. Heavy lures generate spool retain speed faster. Match the speeds and no backlash. Rods can be loaded with various motions. Back forth, loop or circular rotations forward and reverse and in a pendulum swing. Learning how to generate the motions and apply them to load the blank takes practice and familiarity. Learn in the yard, not on a Trip. Set realistic distance goals to start. Same for target size. Vary distance and locations and mix it up. As you move forward learn to cast with two hands to reduce fatigue. You can begin a cast with your dominate hand/thumb and finish with your off hand and off thumb. It’s been a long read. Sorry but I’ve taught my grands kids using this model and others. It works. Have fun.

My buddy and I were out and I brought up the topic of casting accuracy and the the nuances to being good. He stared at me and told me he could put his lure or bait in an eight inch opening 100 out of 100 times. I had to remind him we were ice fishing.

Punching/Heavy Flippin for sure.

This simple answer is yes. I tied on a full ounce grass jig and made numerous casts. The load is of course longer as is the unload of the blank but the blank was responsive and casts were controlled and long. Hook sets will require some force. So, not the optimal but certainly doable.

I’ve found the majority of my purchases over the last eighteen years have been based on speculation. I honestly saw myself fishing so often at so many various locations, I would use or use up what I was purchasing. Now I know my expectations were not coming to fruition and the result is CC-Overstock.com. I sold three rods and four reels to a club buddy yesterday. He’s getting his grandson fully set up to fish team events and I was happy to save him some money. I won’t miss any of it. I have enough tackle to last the rest of my life. I overbought and know I won’t use it up. I had a period where overtime was abundant and I never bought fishing gear out of my wages. I admire A-Jay for his on going evaluation of lures and to their right to go with him on the lake. But his selling became my purchases. No complaints. I figure I will bury what I have left with me. Now I just have to find a cemetery that can fit my truck container coffin.

That would be the most effective model in any series for a Super Spook.

Sunline Super Natural.