LunkerLust

I shore fish a couple of local ponds (Shelton), but after traveling around the state looking for spots, I gave up and bought a canoe.

Nose hook, but I do it a little different than I've seen in pictures on the forums. I like to push the shaft of the hook into the bait with just the curve sticking out the top instead of just hooking the very tip.

High pressure normally means clear, cloudless, bluebird sky with bright sun. With the bp above 30.10 and rising, fishing is really tough especially during mid-day. If there is some shade or shadows, mostly before 10am, and after 2pm, you might get a little bite going. An hour or two before sunset, with most of the lake shaded, the fishing might be the best of the day. However, this past week we had a couple of days with bluebird skys, only the bp was much lower, 29.60-29.75. Again, fishing was tough midday, and got better toward sunset. So, it seems that clear and cloudless are more of a problem, than the bp, especially on lakes with no weeds and clear water.

High pressure normally means clear, cloudless, bluebird sky with bright sun. With the bp above 30.10 and rising, fishing is really tough especially during mid-day. If there is some shade or shadows, mostly before 10am, and after 2pm, you might get a little bite going. An hour or two before sunset, with most of the lake shaded, the fishing might be the best of the day. However, this past week we had a couple of days with bluebird skys, only the bp was much lower, 29.60-29.75. Again, fishing was tough midday, and got better toward sunset. So, it seems that clear and cloudless are more of a problem, than the bp, especially on lakes with no weeds and clear water.

High pressure normally means clear, cloudless, bluebird sky with bright sun. With the bp above 30.10 and rising, fishing is really tough especially during mid-day. If there is some shade or shadows, mostly before 10am, and after 2pm, you might get a little bite going. An hour or two before sunset, with most of the lake shaded, the fishing might be the best of the day. However, this past week we had a couple of days with bluebird skys, only the bp was much lower, 29.60-29.75. Again, fishing was tough midday, and got better toward sunset. So, it seems that clear and cloudless are more of a problem, than the bp, especially on lakes with no weeds and clear water.

I was using Stalker 4" green or black, but the bait shop ran out. I bought Zoom Meatheads instead, now I won't be going back.

I hear that Tica makes a rod that's a Loomis clone for drop shotting. Anyone ever use this rod, or any of their other spinning rods for fresh water ?

I'm wondering if TAS spinning rods are lite, flexable and sensitive enough for DS, shaky head, etc, or if they're overbuilt like the baitcast rods. I have one that I use for flippin heavy weeds and it's a beast. It's rated 3/8-1oz, but could handle 2oz, no problem.

I use PP on four rigs for fishing in heavy weeds. No problems until starts to change color and fray, I can break #50 on a hard hookset. As per your recommend, I have been using Yozuri ultra soft #12 in clear open lakes for Jigs, wormin, senkos, etc. For drop shot I use Invis-X #8. I have been planning to down size to #6 Yozuri, but a couple of local guys suggest Invis-X #6 instead. Which one would you use for DS?

Thanks for the responses, seems like many of you would pick a Dobyns rod. I will look into it. I would like to add that I don't have any serious fishing friends, so I don't get to try out any of these rods and make the decision for myself, I have to rely on word of mouth of people that have used this gear. The guy that recommended the Daiwa TD-X claims that he has used the Crucial, Avid and a Loomis and he just feels and catches more fish with the TD-X. But none of you guys voted for the TD-X, so if any of you have used it and still prefer the Dobyns, then that might be the way to go! Thanks again!

I was in Cabelas (Ct) today, talking to one of the salesman about getting a drop shot rod. He happens to be a tournament fisherman that likes drop shotting, and he recommended the Team Daiwa 6'10 TD-X, for around $170. Cabelas doesn't have it. So, my question is how do guys on Bassresource like this rod, or is there a different brand that you all prefer. I'd like to stay under the $170 figure, but would still like to hear opinions on more expensive rods. Lastly where would I get it?

I have a FISH EASY finder. If i'm in 8' of water and the weeds are 6' deep, my finder reads only 2'. Are there finders that read all the way to bottom of the weeds with pockets where they're hiding?

I have caught a lot of bass on 4" Renegade worms, including my PB of 7.5lbs. I use senkos more often lately though, mostly because they cast alot farther.

I started with an inexpensive combo, but I already broke two $50 reels trying to pull 4 lb plus bass out of the weeds. I now have a Revo reel with an All Star rod, and the combo works great. The combo cost about $200, but I don't know how I could have spent less to get something that works. As mentioned above, I also use a heavy spinning combo, as a backup. This combo cost about $150. Good luck, Sonny

I recently bought a spool of 8# invisx for drop shotting. When I tie a palomar knot to the Gammy 1 ds/ss hooks, the hole is too small for the knot to pop through so the hook stands out! What other ds hook options are there?

Out of the 10 biggest bass I ever caught, I got 8 during mid day. The other 2, between 4and 5pm.

I own both, here's some + & - for each. The canoe is very light, I can put it on top of my car which gets much better gas mileage than my truck. There are lakes locally that don't have ramps or don't allow motors, +canoe. A few lakes are very weedy, I get through them better with the canoe. If you like to fish for more than 4 hours at a time, it's nice to be able to stand up once in awhile +jonny. If you fish where there is water sking and jet skis jonny is the better choice. A friend and I amost got swamped by water skiers in the canoe. I saw a huge wave coming and turned into it before we lost everything. Some types of fishing are better suited to standing up, flipping etc, unless you get a really wide canoe or attach outriggers, ++ jonny. Most of my favorite lakes are an hour + drive and don't allow motors, so I use the canoe a lot more often. Hope this helps!

Wow, Catt, that's a heck of an endorsement! That's what I'm lookin for.

Just thought that I'd add, days with no wind are the worst for me. We've had some days like that too recently, when the surface is like glass.

Stable conditions usually mean a good day of fishing, unless there's no wind. If I get to the lake and the surface is like glass, I resign myself to having a tough day.

I'm looking for a rod that's light, strong and sensitive, for haulin' fatties out of the slop. A local tournament fisherman had a Crucial and broke it. In reviews on BPS, a couple of more guys broke theirs. Are they designed more for other types of fishing? If you've been using one for pitchin', let me know.

Just wondering if some of you would prefer one over the other. What conditions etc.

This summer has been the worst of the last 5 years for me. So far I haven't caught half of what I got last year. This year, there has been more rain followed by high pressure, blue bird sky days. Mid July to Mid August was the best period for me, so far.

If the edge of the weight is what's cutting the braid, then why not a soft rubber center like Gambler uses for their Florida worm weights. I use them on smaller rigs because you don't have to peg them, and you can get them with rattles. They're really good for Carolina rigging. I don't think they make them heavier than 1/2 oz. though. It seems like tungsten would be perfect for this application. HELLO MANUFACTURERS ! If there is a drill bit that will cut the tungsten, then maybe I'll buy some of the cheaper weights, listed above, and do it myself.

I switched from 5/O Gammys to 4/O Owners wide gap. They have the same bend but they're a little shorter so they fit better into shorter baits or when I start to pinch off the tops of the Brush Hogs, when they tear. They also seem easier to remove for catch and release.