Lard_Bass

I almost bought the Extreme a month ago when I lost a tip of an old travel rod. I walked into a Bass Pro and the salesman told me to go with the cheaper BPS 6'6" Medium travel rod (no longer on the website but probably in the stores still). It was on sale for $40 and the salesman said that he has a couple of those rods for trips and recommended it strongly to customers. I have been using it for a month. It's definitely better than my old travel rod. It's a generic Medium Power & Action rod. It's great for power fishing and okay for finesse. For the value, I would strongly recommend it. It fits easily into my rollerboard for air travel. BTW, the salesman also agreed that spending the money on an expensive travel rod would be better spent on a nicer one-piece rod. He didn't even push the Browning on me.

I went out on Cross Creek Lake on Monday and got skunked. Granted I spent more time tying lures on for my son than fishing. I saw a bunch of large carp and panfish swimming in the shallows but couldn't locate any bass. From talking to other anglers on the lake, most who were fishing for bass got skunked. Panfish bite was strong though. I saw a couple of guys with full stringers. Surface water temp was 75 degrees.

RW, do you rig it with the skirt near the eye of the hook (backwards)?

FishingPunk, I fish Peters Lake park frequently. I have caught only little bass there. I have a lot of success there with Rat-L-Traps like baits and t-rigged green worms (I add a little chartreuse on the tail). Also, topwater lures like Pop-R and Chug Bugs have done well for me. It's a fun lake and I like taking the kids down there a lot. Where else do you fish in the South Hills?

No luck on the search. Can someone explain the Double Fluke Rig. Thanks.

FishingPunk, congrats on the 16 1/2. I was at Raccoon this past Sunday while on a family picnic. I fished a couple of hears and had one legit hit (and miss) and a bunch of bass following. A lot of fish were feeding off the surface during midday. I suspect it was trout. I saw some trout caught and a sucker. But not much else. I haven't been out much lately due to work. Anyone seeing some good action out there? I will probably hit Cross Creek soon and let you guys know how I do.

ste6168, Welcome aboard. Where in SW PA do you live? A silver buddy is a blade bait. From my understanding, the company went bankrupt and the lures are hard to find. I found some recently and bought a couple. I have read the Reef Runner cicadas are a good blade bait as well. I am currently trying for Peacock bass in Florida. This past weekend, I spent most of the morning going for trout but got skunked. I then moved to a small local lake to try for bass and I caught a dink.

Add a mister twister to a Johnson silver minnow spoon. Great combo. I like black with silver flakes.

I have a St. Croix ML rod and have read that St. Croix's are typically underrated. So, my rod would be considered by other manufacturers as a M rod. So your Croix M is more like other's MH.

How do you rig a tube with styrofoam? I am confused.

FishingPunk, thanks for the info. I would take a 10 1/2 right now over the nice goose egg I have going on. I haven't really spent more than a couple of hours fishing on each trip because I had the kids in tow. FYI, Dunlap Lake has a similar set up. Some playgrounds, a kids fishing only pond, picnic tables etc. Do you guys have any good recs for smallies for either shore fishing or canoe fishing? I have never caught a smallie yet. I have landed a ton of LM bass but no smallies where I fish.

Well said RW. I think ReelMech is right on. It's not which oil, but how you apply it.

Gameover, Thanks for the posting the table. Who conducted this testing? I only put up the oils that I was aware and could be easily purchased. I am actually surprised about how Stock Shimano was near the bottom. Then again, there's very little score differentiation between all of them. I'll add the new names to the poll but, at this point, it may not matter. Then again, you were the first person to mention TDZ or Friction Zero so many people may not be using it. Thanks again for pointing these out.

I walking by a local fishing report board at a sporting goods store and noticed bass have been hitting reef runners cicadas. I never heard of them. I was walking by the crankbaits and noticed the aforementioned lure and noticed that most sizes and colors had been cleared out. Anyone have info on this bait and how to fish it?

I don't think it was just made for Quantum PT reels. I remember reading somewhere that Quantum doesn't even ship Hot Sauce with their reels. . I could be wrong with that. Also, Hot Sauce is easier to find that other oils out there which confuses me too. I don't know if Quantum is just doing a better job marketing itself. If it is specific for a certain reel, it sure not being marketed that way.

I usually do 20-25 casts. However, I sometimes give myself a time limit. One thing though, I make sure I try different retrieves. I found myself speeding up because either my cast or time limit was almost up. I have found slowing it done to be much more effective on the last several casts. I have figured that if the fish were active, they would've slammed the bait on one of the first couple of casts. I may have the right lure, just not the right speed. I encourage you to slow down the last 5-10 retrieves.

ReelMech, I have heard that oil doesn't matter on spinning reels but I have read that oil makes a difference on baitcasters. Would you agree with this statement?

What award did ardent get? I thought tests on this were still being run.

Just curious to what you guys use. i have spinning gear and looking to do some simple maintenance. After you vote, indicate if you use baitcasting or spinning, and how many times you lubricate. Thanks.

Smizener, I do not know anything about Beaver Run. I am still learning the area myself after moving here several years ago. The question about learning lures is a tough one. Where to begin is the issue. I'll start with the basics and try to keep it simple since that is where I am coming from. If you need more than the basics, ask away and hopefully someone can add some more color. I would start with some crankbaits since they are great search baits. Start with some lipless ones like the Rat L Trap or Rattlin Rapala (1/4 oz to 1/2 oz). These are great search baits. They can be fished at various depths (they sink at 1.5 ft per second). So, if you want to fish at 15 feet, count 10 seconds. Colors like baby bass or shad for clear water and red or chartreuse for stained water. A simple cast and retrieve works. Entice a strike by changing the speed during each retrieve, a couple of pumps / sweeps of the rod work too. Whenever fishing a new area, start with a search bait. I will also get some plastic worms and lizards. Cranks are more power fishing while soft plastics like worms are finesse. Zoom worms or Berkley Power worms are good choices. Colors like green, watermelon, and purple are the go to colors. I would texas rig a worm (1/16 oz sliding bullet sinker with a 2/0 EWG hook attached) with the hook burried back into the skin. This method works nicely when the bite is tough. Just hop the worm along the bottom and when you feel a tug, set the hook. You can cast around weeds and cover (with the hook buried back into the skin, you should have a weedless rig and little issues on the retrieve). I would fish a worm during the middle of the day when fish are burried in cover. See Gary Yamato's catalog (p. 19) for rigging options: http://media.baits.com/ Lastly, get a nice topwater bait like the Rebel Pop-R. I learned this a couple of years ago and it's a blast. Jerk the rod a couple of times and pause. The lure will make either a chugging noise or spit. When it sits idle, watch out for the explosion. Bass simply try to destroy this lure. You will see a small explosion on the surface and then set the hook. Fish topwaters in the morning and dusk when fish come out of cover and are more active. Those will get you started. Before you start getting overwhelmed by the vast amount of lures, get some confidence in a 2-3 baits. That's how I started a couple of years ago. I am going to throw more spinnerbaits and jigs this year to teach myself those lures. Trying to learn everything at once is just too much. I hope this helps and keep asking those questions. One other tip, watch Lindner Angling Edge on Versus channel (channel 60 on local comcast stations). His 1/2 hour TV show is packed with info and lessons. While others just fish and you watch, he explains a certain topic with very good detail. I usually tape it since it's on at 5am. Also, read some of the fishing articles on bassresource. There's a ton of helpful info there. Good luck and report back on your catches.

Smizener, First off, welcome aboard. I just got back into fishing myself. I used to saltwater fish with my father and then fell out of fishing when I moved to Pittsburgh. After a couple of camping trips, I picked up a cheap rod and got hooked on bass fishing. I am trying for trout for the first time this year. Any questions on Pittsburgh, I do encourage you to post. The people on this forum have been tremendously helpful. What kind of boat did you get? I am a canoe guy but thinking of someday of stepping up to a boat.

What kind of rod setup do you guys use for these lures? They look big and heavy.

Where's everyone headed for opening day? The forecast does not look too promising. I haven't decided yet but most likely going to try for some trout at Linden Creek.

Thanks again. After further thoughts, I am going to stick within the parameters. I was looking for some deep diving cranks but all are over 1/2 oz. However, I did find the Luhr Jensen Hot Lips at 1/2 oz that can dive to 16 ft. I was going to get some DD22's but will just opt for the Hot Lips and not risk damaging my rod.

Thanks all. I figure a little extra weight won't hurt. I was just worried if the tip of the rod would be damaged especially if the rod has a fast tip.