BassBeat101

I personally fish for all species with barbless hooks. A rare exception is when I'm crappie fishing and eating them, but that's only once or twice a year, and even then I'll still catch myself smashing it out of habit. Daryl

Barbless fishing is the way to go - aside from the angler's own personal safety, it's just better for the fish. I think that it should be advocated as much as catch and release. And I always thought that if ya keep your rod tip up, and have a strong hookset a lack of a barb means little if anything. Daryl

Just like in fishing, the reason why superstar athletes/Hollywood types make so much money is because of the revenue that they produce. Jim Carey gets paid a $20 million a film - is he overpaid? I don't think so. When a movie of his comes out, people flock to the theaters and pay good money too see him - providing for tens of thousands of theater employees worldwide. David Beckham is being paid a ridiculous amount - L.A. is hoping that fans return that money tenfold. Nevertheless, I'm going to school to be a History teacher, so I'm hoping to afford a nice jon boat. Sigh. Daryl

I meant to say "they are around $60" - Sorry, I'm weird 'bouts me English. Daryl

I second the Shimano Sahara. There around $60, I believe, and it is a quality spinning reel. But by all means, if the Stradic is even around $100, buy that reel. There's so much of my drool on the demo at the BPS in St. Louis that I just laugh when I see someone else touching the 2500. Daryl

Flechero is right, the styles work almost as advertised. After reading a few reviews and thinking that the packaging "looked cool", I gave Sufix Elite a try - it's my favorite mono that I've experimented with so far. I then decided to try the Siege, for no other reason that comparisons. It seemed to have a little bit more memory than the Elite, but that is probably due to its tougher build. I don't really fish a lot of rocks or anything, so the Elite is just fine - but if I ever need a mono to bounce off of some rocks, I'll spool 'da Siege. Daryl

Quick question guys - I'm about as boat ignorant as they come, having never owned a boat. I've only rented a boat a few times, and that's generally a row boat with my lovely 10# anchor. This year I'll have a nicer jonboat with a trolling motor/outboard, along with my anchor. Here are my questions... When I try and fish, I can never seem to keep my boat where I want it - is it abnormal to use your anchor and trolling motor at the same time? Is there an ideal place to tie my anchor on the boat to keep it positioned properly? Or does the trolling motor do it all? Perhaps I am incorrect in thinking that I should have my boat stand still - maybe it's always moving. I'm also used to 12 foot jons that I rent at a local conservation area, so maybe a bigger boat would keep me put. As you can tell, I'm not even at the point of asking what boat positions I should aim for - I hope these questions make sense! Daryl

While I mainly get my information from this forum and the stockpile of DVDs that I have, I still can pick up a few things here and there when watching tournaments on television. In my opinion, one of my fishing weaknesses is not being confident in how I am moving my lure in the water - I don't have access to a pool, unfortunately, and many times the water in my area is more on the dirty side. So I do try to watch how the pros move their rod tip, cast, etc. It gives me a little better idea of how I should move my rod to make my lure react to catch fish. Daryl

I was out fishing yesterday, when I noticed the bail on my Daiwa Samurai started to automatically close whenever I would try to make a cast - so that's a downer. I really enjoy fishing small lines/small reels, be it for bass, trout, panfish, whatever. I have stared at the reel trying to see how to fix it, but was curious to know two things - is there a way to fix it easily? It feels as if the screw holding it into position is tight, so I don't know if that's the actually problem. And two, if not easily fixable, what would be the best reel to get for under $40 or so? I like the Abu Garcia Cardinal 100, as it seems to be of solid construction and smooth feel. I know with my small budget advice may be hard to come by, but anything is greatly appreciated. Daryl

I currently use the Sufix Elite on all of my reels - I've never had a line break, knot failure is usually due to user error, and very little memory. I could sleep on it it's so soft. With that being said, I am going to give the Yo-Zuri Ultra Soft a go this year, just to see how it plays. I've heard good things, and although it's difficult due to minimal funds, my goal is to experiment a bit more with equipment this year. Daryl

I actually organized my lures last evening - quite a sight I must say, as my parents' family room was covered in ZOOM, Kinami, and BPS products. My mom commented that my tackleboxes (which through the years have progressed from small to medium to a couple of larges) are more like Fishing Nesting dolls than anything else. I need to make a pegboard like they had in BassMaster a month or two ago, that would help me out quite a bit. Daryl

I'm also in the market for a new baitcasting rod, and this spring I'm going to go with the St. Croix - it just seems to be a little bit more rod for the money - I like the Compre, but I really like the Premier - feels like a great rod. Daryl

I'll either use nails, or, if I'm in a pinch, use cut sections of a wire coathanger to get different actions and falls. I also like to put it in the tail because it causes the bait to head in at an angle. This way I can get worms, centipedes, or whatever right where I want, especially underneath lilypads and other vegetation that prevents a straight drop from getting by the stalk. Daryl

It can definitely be a bit intimidating, as I found out a few years ago as well. I didn't really know where to start and what to start with. Roadwarrior's starter tackle box is a great idea, I wish I would have known about it when I started! But one thing I would suggest is to focus on a particular bait each time you go out - plastic worms trigged one time, spinnerbaits the next. I had never caught a fish on a spinnerbait, but I had never really made the dedication to practice with it either. Then, I decided to use them for a week, and nothing else. Now my confidence has grown, big time. This year it's crankbaits and topwaters - never really used them too much, so it'll be my "project". Daryl

Personally, Bassin' has its place as my go to mag for information on fishing itself. It has the most number of articles that fancasts several different topics. BassMaster is good as I enjoy reading about the tourneys and what not, plus I enjoy the day on the water segments. But if I had to pick one subscription, it'd be Bassin'. I do like to read the Illinois/Missouri Game and Fish publications as well - good local, season info with tips. Daryl

Good evening everybody! Long time reader, first time poster. This upcoming spring will be my third overall year of fishing - and the best news is, it will be my first off the bank. In about a month or so I'll be able to purchase a decent used jon boat with a 40 hp motor - it should be good times. But here is my question... How many of you guys and gals study and mark maps on where you think the fish will be? I'm going to be fishing a lot of lakes in the state of Missouri, all of which I have never fished by boat. Many of you may not use maps that often if you fish the same waters consistently - electronics and jigs can help in gaining knowledge about the contours of the bottom, locating structure, etc. I'll also be a noob to electronics, and I am hoping that my mapwork will compensate for this. Any information on how you organize your maps, what you use to mark them, or any other "map-related" tips are appreciated. Thank you for all of your past, present, and future info... Daryl