Laggyman

Ok, I found out this particular Procaster model is prone to breaking one way or the other. I've read reports of the reel breaking after 1 season of use. Mine went through more than 5 abusive seasons. Not bad!! Checking out the price for spare parts and things, I came up on a rough estimate of about half the price of what I paid for it in the first place. I'm still wondering if I should fix it up, but even if I do it's going to become a backup reel. It did an awesome job for the price I paid. It was a good reel as long as I didn't notice the problems I found a used Daiwa Millionaire CV-Z for half the retail price in BEAUTIFUL condition and the monkey made me do the rest ;D That will be my main reel for a while now until I can get a MetaniumXT BTW, the drag on this reel works great 8-) I'm going to fish jigs a lot with this reel!! Thanks guys for all the help. It really helps all my otherwise dumb decisions

Thank you for your kindness Lane. I didn't snap any pictures this time I went out because I was too darned busy trying to catch a fish!! I'm planning on another trip to the pond next Wednesday (You guys must think I'm crazy driving 1.5 hours to a mere "pond") so I'll snap a few pics here and there. I'm not sure if the dead fish will still be there. Most of the dead fish get eaten by cats or birds. As for close ups, I'll try to get as close as possible without falling off from the bank! ;D I'll PM you once I get a couple of photos. I'm not quite sure if it WAS algae, but some brown-ish stuff was floating around, and looked like an oil-slick from a wrecked tanker (Though I'm pretty sure it wasn't actual oil. Just looked like it). I noticed a huge decline in the areas the duckweed occupied. Another point of interest is the fact that all the fish I did eventually catch were very healthy. I caught 5 Bass from the same place these dead ones were sleeping and they were very aggresive and would snap at anything passing in front of them. A lot of Carp were active as well. The Huge ones, Probably more than 24in long, were swimming around like crazy. Their smaller "cousins" the Crucian Carp were swimming in tight schools as usual. To sum it up, I really didn't notice much out of the ordinary except for the dead fish and murky water. And I thought dead fish were supposed to float belly up?? :-? Thanks for all the help 'n advice!

Funny ;D But seriously, I think he needs some quality time on the water fishing for BASS!!!

I'm going to try and find some sources for fish virus. See what info I can get. I'm still hoping it isn't any virus and just a natuarl cause....

Is "the same material" the same for say, 100% Fluro? I mean, would different manufacturers of Fluro line sink the same as long as it is 100% Fluro and line diameter are the same? Or should I go and try a couple of different lines and see what works best? I have been thinking about those copolymer lines as well. But I have yet to seem them in tackle shops. I have never seen RW's Yozuri Hybrid either.... :-/

True, but I have seen spawning bass in the shallow portion of the pond. It seems the eco system of the pond is well built and is sustaining a good population (though small) of bass. I have a lot of fun learning new techniques and trying non-confidence lures.

About the DNR and local fisheries department, It's illegal to keep Bass in ponds unless there is a legal permit. I doubt this pond has any. The DNR or Fisheries dept would be more than happy to kill all the bass!!

The pond is a really small body of water. I usually saw 6 to 7 "big" (In relative terms) bass swimming around chasing stocked trout. Only the big ones were dead. I could see 3 big ones dead. Only saw 3 big ones swimming around all day. 1 of them had some sort of algae or something growing and didn't look healthy. I hooked 1 up and it sure was healthy. But it quickly threw the hook. Smaller bass and the usually weaker trout were all there. The only differences I noticed was the floating debris and muddy water. Something I concluded as being part of a turnover. But turnover in this tiny pond?? The "Big" fish I refer to are generally about 20in in length. I have caught a couple of them this year but haven't weighed them so I don't know any weight figures.

Thought I'd just stow away the rods in my car and pull out a different rod with different line for other uses But hey, if it's possible, I'm going to work to get it done! Does heavier lbs test mean higher sinking rate??

I'll try that out and see how I do Thanks for the suggestion! What if I remove the middle hook?? Hook-up rates might or might not take a big hit... mmm....

Yes, these were just my obersvations/conclutions and I started this thread so maybe I can get a discussion going on where I might be able to get new ideas. The main problem for me right now is figuring out the primary forage.... Certainly not enough Bluegill to sustain all the Bass. Lack of baitfish may account for the "slow swimming" behaviour of my particular pond. True, but then if there are fish in the deeper portions of the pond, they should be less pressured and thus easier to catch than the bank huggers. But noooo... They are soo finicky.... And just not there in numbers. Last year I fished this pond like a miniature lake, this year I turned my attention to the differences I could see and fished it like a pond, and the catch rates have really gone up

Yup, I always keep a litgh hold on the lower jaw of the Bass until they swim off by themselves. Sometimes they show the hatred by clamping down on my thumb before they go. It feels like wrapping your thumb in sandpaper. And it hurts when there is a newly created cut that is bleeding :-/

After reading through many articles here at BassResource.com and looking through all the threads regarding bass behaviour and instincts, I came to the conclusion that Bass in small ponds might behave quite a bit differently from Bass in larger ponds/lakes/rivers. My definition of a "small pond" is a pond which the other side of the bank is within a good casting distance. When I say "Pond" it means "Small pond" 1. Pond bass don't chase lures much and thus slower moving baits work better Either due to the fact that ponds don't hold schools of baitfish or they just don't like to swim so fast, I have seldom seen a Bass come after a fast moving lure (Ripping Cranks and Spinnerbaits etc) in ponds I fish. I have had little success with Crankbaits and Spinnerbaits. OTOH, Suspending Jerkbaits and anything dragged along the bottom work well throughout the year. Even when worming, the Bass don't come chasing after a worm and instead gives up after swimming behind it for a while. They only strike when I either do a slooooow retrive, or deadstick it. 2. Pond Bass like to stick to the bank The majority of the Bass I have fished have been caught within a couple of feet from the bank. Cover or no cover. I am not sure why?? In the same pond there are large rocks, weeds and a 3 to 4 foot dropoffs which sound like good structure that hold Bass. but noooooo. I have only caught a handful fishing these structures. I had generally assumed these Bass would be least pressured from the heavy fishing, but it seems these Bass are most finicky. The Bass near the bank will bite quite an assortment of lures/worms as long as they refer to the above statement (Slooooooow) 3. Pond Bass don't spook so easily Maybe they got used to seeing humans. A lot of Bass don't spook when you just happen to stumble upon one near the bank. They just stare right back at me And sometimes they YAWN. Almost burst out laughing when I first saw a Bass "Yawn". And they don't shy off lures dangled right in front of their faces either :-? 4. I find the same Bass at the same cover/spot almost every time I fish Seems like they like the spot they choose and I can catch fish from the same places year round.... What happened to moving to "deep" or suspending.. I have never seen errr... had this happen. Or maybe I'm just not aware of the fact. Above are the conclusions I have come to, and I wanted to discuss this to you guys so in the end I might become a bit more open-minded which would help tremendously the next time I fish. I have recently read that Bass can associate "Danger" with certain types of lures they have been fished in the past and how worms are hard to remember for a Bass. They might effectively make No.1 observation nonsense, but why do they hit the same Jerkbaits over and over again? What do you guys think?

I tried using a Sammy 85 today but my 12lb Fluro line sank like a stone and it brought the nose of the Sammy down and the action was horrible. Nylon is supposed to float a bit more than Fluro right?? WOuld it work the topwater lures better? And would the same fluro line be the cause of sinking so called "suspending" jerkbaits?? I'm sure other factors affect the sink rate, but would fluro line be a major factor? and since I'm already asking this, what affects the sink rates of so called "Suspending" lures? Water temps? Weather? Seems like anything would change the balanced buoyancy. I'm thinking of using Nylon for Topwater, Jerkbaits and Crankbaits and FLuro for all the T/C-rigs and Jigs.

Any advice unhooking fish from a lure with 3 treble hooks dangling around?? I can handle 2 hooks easily, but once the 3rd comes in I'm hopeless. I caught a fish on a Jerkbait today with 3 hooks, I had to hold him a lot longer than I would have wanted because as soon as I removed 1 hook, the other(s) would get stuck.... And I hooked myself in the end.... Advice please!

I went out to "the" pond today and found many of the biggest bass in the pond dead.... And only the big ones.... And all in one corner of the pond near some overhanging trees and duckweed. All were lying on the bottom, side-up. Natural cause? Age? Something fishy?? Do Big fish just die off in a corner of the pond once the water temp starts going down? Maybe low oxygen levels? A lot of debris was floating and the water was a lot more muddy than usual so maybe the pond turned over and the fish couldn't cope. Any ideas?

I always thought the Procasters were bottom-end Daiwa Reels. It certainly didn't cost a bunch. I was originally planning for the Procaster to become a bench warmer once I get the new reel (Whatever it will be) but today's performance shattered any confidence left I'm going to contact Daiwa tomorrow and see if I can come up with an estimate for spare parts and everything. If things don't work out I'll PM you Flechero. I am interested in your offer. I'll be back again tomorrow Cheers ;D

Send it for service, something is definitely not right. That will be done soon. It was soooo darn cold today I'm sure the season is pretty much over for me. I thought my toes were gone! OTOH, I might get myself different reel and chuck the Procaster. It's given me enough headaches for a lifetime!! I hate the fact that the line gets tangled in a tiny space between the spool and the outer body. It kinks the line and is often the cause of a major overrun... I think I've used it long enough

Actually, I never really had any problems with drag. Previously I set the drag a bit tight, and then loosened up a tad while fighting. It's just that I came up on this "old school" method and thought I should give it a try and see how it feels. I never had problems with changing drag during a fight nor just using arrogant guesses ;D My Procaster slips at around 2lbs. I think it's broken.... I lost a fish today because of that. I was fishing a weedless jig-trailer and if anybody remembers my thread about jigs and hooksets, I never had any good experiances with a jig. Anyway, I got a bite, and set the hook, but the drag slipped. I got the fish hanging there for a few seconds and managed a glance at him, which I am sure he was going to be my next PB I was franctically trying to set the hook once again to be sure with my thumb clamped down on the spool, but the fish got away before I could do that. If I didn't have that brand-new MH rod with the Procaster, that Procaster would have been at the bottom of the pond by now!!! And the funny thing is, I think the drag is getting worse every moment. Since the drag would slip even at MAX power, I knew my 12lb line could hold against anything. I got a nice fish using a Jerkbait today, but not more than a 1.5 or 2lb at best. Maybe only a tad above 1lb. My drag felt really "mushy" and though I was reeling in, the spool wouldn't budge. The drag was slipping again... I got the fish, but I swore I'm getting myself a new reel.... nboucher: My rod is within line limits. Well within in fact... Maybe I'm just freaking out ;D

Hmmmm Now we have some positive comments about them.... I sure don't catch Bass larger than 5lbs so the "Losing big fish" doesn't matter to me at the moment. I'm more worried about losing them dang Crankbaits!! ;D I think I'll give them a shot if I can get them. Thanks for all the comments guys!

After reading through the "Setting the Drag" thread, I wondered about my settings and decided to try them out. I got a 1L Bottle full of water and 0.5L bottle full of water to act as weights. (2.2 and 1.1lbs) So I tried it on my baitcasting set, which is a 6'6 MH/F Rod with a Daiwa Procaster-Z 153iV spooled with 12lb fluro. I calculated I should set the drag at around 3.36lbs as per Flechro's advice on trying 28% of breaking strength. Ok, so chuck in both bottles into a grocery bag and lift them up! But I got 2 problems which stopped me from nailing the proper setting. 1. The Procaster drag kept on letting go no matter how tight I set it. Does this mean there is really no use in using 12lb line as the reel isn't able to handle it?? 2. I was a sissy and too afraid to clamp the spool down and try lifting that bag up... It looked like my rod was going to break. I freaked out ;D Is this OK? Tried the drag on my Ultra-lite Trout tackle and ML Bass tackle but both rods didn't seem to be able to hold the weight... Am I calculating this right?? Might sound a bit stupid to guys who catch big ones on a regular basis...

Ooo It's great enough you can write that much!! I'm impressed 8-) They cost a bunch, and I don't have the $$ nor the equipment to use them so I'll stick with Senkos and Cranks for now.

But I'm sure that matters to the guys who do the actual S&H, Not the end users (us)

That's not good at all... I'll just spend the money on more lures then! Thanks for the comments!

Some Japanese lures http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/other.php (Japanese site so you might have problems with it) DEPS http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/deps/silent.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/deps/killer.jpg IMAKATSU http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/imakatsu/cofunazzy.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/imakatsu/husky.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/imakatsu/magnum.jpg JACKALL http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/jackall/sride.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/jackall/180.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/jackall/dagored.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/jackall/flatbone.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/jackall/backbone.jpg http://www.j-fishing.net/funbass/lure/jackall/mikey.jpg BTW, I have never used any of them ;D Oh wait... if you're looking for the soft ones... Hmmm....