Shak Muscles
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Everything posted by Shak Muscles
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Haha I feel like you contradicted yourself here. Since the pond is pressured, I would think to try any type of finesse presentation and fish it really slow. Also you can try using blade baits or spoons, because I doubt many other anglers there would be using such lures. I've personally never used them, but they can come in handy in pressured situations.
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You guys have it worse than I do haha I don't have to worry about dangerous animals just pesky bugs. I definitely have to work on being more stealthy when approaching the bank though. Just recently I spooked a few bass as I approached the bank and I saw them dart off.
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I know all the fishermen go crazy about the action, the "wiggle" of stick baits and such. I was wondering have there been any studies done with bass in a controlled environment presented with lures with different action to see if the bass react differently. I did a quick Google search but couldn't find much. I ask this because to me it seems more that fisherman are more enamored by the action of a lure than a bass might be. The ever so slight different in the wiggle between say a senko and dinger drives fisherman crazy! But do they actually drive bass crazy? For me personally, I seem to catch the same amount of fish on any stick bait, and the more important factor is probably sink rate because it sinks to the bottom faster, and since I'm relatively impatient this helps a lot.
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I've been thinking about that, chopping down some of the brush in areas where I want to fish. But then I also think I'll be ruining the "natural environment" if I kept chopping down all the vegetation in my way. Also, wouldn't I look like a maniac walking around with a machete and a fishing rod LOL? On a side note, sometimes I "create a path" for myself by just squishing vegetation down with my legs at an angle. It probably has the same effect as the machete it just takes a bit longer.
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Wow that's really impressive! The most I've ever caught in a day was 23 or something haha. I normally just fish for about 2-3 hours in small subdivision ponds though. Just starting out!
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1. Yes. I really love exploring new bodies of water. 2. Yes. 3. Probably around 100 bucks a year membership. 4. Yes. I would totally pay to fish something like Gary Yamamotos ranch as long as its reasonable.
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That's a good plan but unfortunately I don't have the patience to do that. I usually just walk along the bank. Probably spooked a bunch of fish, but oh well. Although I usually cast parallel to the bank and to my spot before I walk over there, so if nothing bit then it wouldn't be a big deal if I spooked it anyway.
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If you aren't catching anything, whip out that Cabelas game and catch something on there so you don't skunk!
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I do know how to swim but you're right it could be dangerous wading into ponds since all the vegetation could get wrapped around your legs. I always thought that bass get bigger in ponds which aren't fished often? Because in public ponds there are people that take fish home to eat so they might not max out their potential. But I understand your reasoning as well, since the big bass are usually the smart bass. And most the giants seem to come from public lakes. Fishing private really is way too easy. I live in a golf course neighborhood and I have permission to fish on a small part of one of the ponds on the course and the fishing is insane! This area of Illinois in general has really good bass fishing, even though the bass don't get trophy size like the ones down south.
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Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like the general consensus is to wear long pants/waders and make sure bugs can't crawl into and up your pants! The only thing that sucks is when the weather gets 85+ and you're in jeans. But it's definitely worth it because some of these ponds are in the middle of nowhere and I don't wanna have bad experiences with poison ivy or bugs. Yeah this was my reasoning. I wanted to fish ponds/spots that are less pressured since no one else would actually bother to go through all the trouble to get there. I usually don't last long because sometimes I see these small gardener snakes and even those freak me out haha I just feel like they're gonna crawl up my shorts and bite areas that I want to preserve. I would definitely feel safer about it if I had my whole lower body on lockdown (and upper body too). Just another question, how do waders hold up? Are they durable? And are they mainly meant for river use or do people use them to step into ponds also?
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Sometimes the ponds near me aren't well maintained as in there is a bunch of vegetation and such all around the bank so its tough to go and stand there. These ponds also get the least pressure because no one is hardcore enough to go all Man vs Wild to catch a few bass! I was wondering if you guys have any special technique for navigating such ponds. What do you wear, how do you avoid bugs etc. Personally, I go fishing in shorts and these prickly shrubs always make a mess out of my legs. Not to mention the ant hill you might step over. And just countless bugs. The grass is also practically as tall as I am, and there could be snakes in there. I live in Northern Illinois though so I'm not sure if any of them are dangerous. Also I mostly fish alone so if I break my ankle I'm screwed.
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I would say just learn on your own. You don't really need lessons if you are just trying to learn the basics of how to swim (freestroke) Start of on the shallow end and keep air in your lungs and you should naturally float. Once you have wading down, you can try to actually swim. As long as you hold your breath while swimming you should never sink. Keep the feet moving, and if you want you can even swim with your head above the water without holding your breath. I think YouTube videos will help out a ton on the technique.
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Its more that trees/vegetation block me from accessing some areas which I have to cast to from far away, and sometimes they seem like perfect places where bass like to hang out. Do you mean dialed in to the point that I don't need brakes anymore and the lowest tension possible to increase casting distance?
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I'm using a baitcaster because I thought a senko was well within range for a baitcaster. I mean I wouldn't really consider it a "light" lure like a finesse worm. FYI I don't really thumb the spool until the very end because it doesn't really fly off the spool. I'm using 20lb power pro super slick braid but I plan on switching to 40lb for better handling and less digging in. Will that significantly lower my casting distance?
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So I finally set up my baitcaster to a point where I don't backlash very often(Thanks to bass resource forum for the tips). And now I want to focus on getting more distance. I have a pretty beginner setup so I know I won't be able to cast as far as a supertuned $300 reel, but I was wondering how far you can cast a wacky rig senko usually without any wind. I've been measuring my distance using google maps and I would say I can cast a senko around 25 yds, 70-80 feet usually. I tried an even lighter spinnerbait 3/16 oz and I could cast further, around 30 yds maybe approaching 100 feet(I literally casted to the ground on the other side of the pond). It was weird since this lure is in fact lighter than my previous lure. My rod is 7'1 medium extra fast and rated for 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz so a senko fits that range better than the spinnerbait even. My reel has dual brakes and I've turned the magnetics off completely since they seem useless and I keep 2 pins out of 6 on for the centrifugal brakes. I heard most people generally cast 30-40 yds on average but honestly I don't know if I could get a senko that far. The tension is as loose as it can be without the spool wobbling, and the only other thing I can do is turn all the brakes completely off, but then I would backlash more frequently. I feel like maybe I have unrealistic expectations...maybe a senko doesn't travel as well as a spinnerbait or such? I know I might be able to get 30-40 with other baits and lots of practice, but even getting 30 with a senko seems like a challenge. Is there something I need to change in my casting motion, because I've tried to cast such that the bait spends a longer time in the air but it doesn't really net me any more distance. Any thoughts?
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Thank you all for the good advice. I took your guys' advise and bought myself some 40lb Powerpro superslick line and I'll leave the 20lb for my spinning reel. I also looked into the braking system and apparently the centrifugal brakes on the Assassin are set with a dial rather than manually pulling each brake. So I set the centrifugals to 3 out of 6(I'm not sure what it was at to begin) and right now I still have the magnetics at max but I'll probably drop them significantly since I've read its better to rely on centrifugal brakes more anyway. Once my power pro comes in I'll try it out and see if I can have some more success!
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Yeah I used the mono backing trick so I don't cover my entire spool with braid. The reason I went with 20lb test braid was so that I could use a fluorocarbon leader on it and tie the FG knot. With the FG knot you pretty much need thin(er) braid so that it can dig into the fluorocarbon line. And I think my rod has microguides, I need the slim profile of the FG knot. If I put 40lb braid and 20+lb fluoro as my leader I think the knot would have a harder time getting through the guides. I'm in a dilemma here. I guess I could go with just braid and forget the leader. I do get the feeling that the braid is digging into itself and causing my casts to stop abruptly. So I guess I gotta get 40lb test. Would that be bad for microguides though, since my line will be much thicker?
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I think that its not overfilled but I'm not sure. Its a little below the edge of the entire spool. On the Assassin reel atleast there is a blue line which marks the end of the spool and the line goes a bit under that. So I don't think its over filled but I'm not completely sure. I actually went out today and practiced my casts and I was casting much smoother than the past few days. It wasn't backlashing as much and I tried some of the tips such as setting the brakes at 0 before setting tension and I purposely set my tension a bit higher than usual and kept my brakes at 9. I also opened up the brake compartment of my reel but I didn't see any brake thingys inside except for the dial, so I'm not sure about setting the centrifugals on the reel. I feel like the big difference actually came from my casting motion, this time it was less of a whip and more of a smooth full body cast, meaning I put my whole body momentum into it like throwing a football. It seemed kinda odd but it worked. And I was getting better distance despite my tension being high and my brakes on full. I can say maybe I touched 90 ft(about 30 yds). Which is an improvement for me. It seems I just need more hang time on my casts. However occasionally I still experienced the sudden stop of the spool in mid air. Honestly I wouldn't really call it a backlash more just a abrupt stop due to the line getting a little tangled up. Could it be that I'm just not feathing the spool properly. When I set the tension high I just quit feathering the spool because I didn't want to cast really short and it worked out fine for the most part. I feel like when I feather the spool the cast ends up being much shorter, and it doesn't really make a difference on the backlashes. Maybe my thumb is doing things incorrectly?
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No a senko is all I've tried so far. I usually only have issues with overhead casts, but sometimes when I whip sidearms I get the issue. Maybe I'm so used to using a spinning rod that I am whipping the rod without really noticing it, like other posters have said. Also, I think I was being too vague when I just said mid cast. I meant that the senko would be flying out just fine and look like it was going to be a nice and smooth cast and then out of the blue without warning it would just knot up and the bait would jerk to a stop and flop on the water. And these backlashes aren't bad they're only tiny little twists(or whatever they're called) which I get out in like 5 seconds but it gets annoying when it seems every cast just jerks to a stop.
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So I just got a baitcasting setup and I'm a pretty casual fisherman so I have no clue what I'm doing. I've read all the articles and such and adjusted my spool tension to match my bait(I throw mostly senkos which are about 3/8 oz). I have my brakes around 7-9 out of 9 total brakes. However, even with smooth motions I still end up backlashing when I do overhead casts, and it is often mid cast even though I'm thumbing the spool and making it stop before it hits the water. Any tips on how to fix this? Also, using the measure distance tool on google maps, I estimated that in general I'm only casting around 25 yards tops(usually around 20-25 yds). And I've heard that most people can throw most lures around 30-40 yards. Casting distance is needed for me since I fish from the shore on ponds and some areas are inaccessible on foot. On my spinning setup which is just a 50$ combo from bass pro I can cast around 30 yds pretty easily. And I thought that baitcasters in general cast further than spinning rods. As for my equipment, I didn't buy anything super expensive since I'm just a casual fisherman. Rod- *** Fate Chrome 7'1" Medium power Extra fast action. Lure weight 1/4oz to 3/4oz or something like that Reel- KastKing assassin (I heard good reviews about this reel) Line- Powerpro super 8 slick 20lb braid.
