keltonz

How does a chatterbait compare to a big colorado blade for night time or muddy water fishing?

I use a 2/0 Trokar Light Wire Finesse Worm Hook. Have had a ton of success on it.

I just bought one for throwing small inline spinners and Rapala minnows - 5' 6" UL. Haven't used it but it feels great.

Wonder how many they'll have in left handed... is there a sale on the PQ 2 as well? Can't decide what reel is the best deal, planning on getting two!

Hey guys! First time posting a fishing report, had an awesome day yesterday and wanted to share... I got back into fishing mid-2016, so I've only been at it for 6 months or so. My PB LMB in 2016 was 1.88lb. I went out to bank fish a local pond on Tuesday, 1/31 evening to enjoy the warm weather and got absolutely skunked. Determined to start February better than I ended January, I went to my favorite bankfishing spot at sunrise on Wednesday, 2/1 morning. Despite its reliability, especially at dawn, I didn't get a single nibble throwing a lipless in red craw and a trick worm on a shakey head. I don't normally fish twice in one day, but I came back to that spot right after work the same day since my wife went to a happy hour with her co-workers. I remembered that the leader on my dropshot rod had broken off the day before, and that I didn't have my good leader line with me, so I almost left the car without that rod - but in a moment of clarity decided to use some line from another reel and tied on a leader and a dropshot, just for good measure. Weather was definitely good for this time of year - 50°, cloudy. Tide was low (tidal river) and still going out, which is perfect in this water... I threw the same red craw lipless for a bit, but promptly lost it on some submerged wood. So I picked up the dropshot setup and started fan casting. I had a Zoom Z Drop in Green Pumpking tied 12" above 3/16 oz. dropshot weight. Pretty soon I was getting bites, and landed my first bass around 5:34PM, right around sunset. I ended up catching a few more before it got pretty dark and had to break out the headlamp. I ended up breaking off on a bad cast (tough in the dark) that landed on a bridge. But, because the bite was good, and I still had enough length in my leader, I tied on again but switched up colors on the Z Drop - to Morning Dawn. I normally have a ton of confidence in that color, but after a few casts without a bite I switched back to Green Pumpkin. I told myself I would leave once I went three casts without a bite, but the bites kept coming! I could just cast out, let it sit, and soon enough would feel a nip on my line. I ended up breaking off twice more (on fish, I think), but tied on again because I kept landing fish - most in the 1lb range but a few dinks as well. I kept thinking, "I'll leave soon, but not while the bite is on!" At this point I had caught 10 LMB, which puts it as my best bass day ever. Once the bite did die down, I kept going - just one more! At this point my confidence was pretty low for anything more. But on what I promised myself was a last cast to an area of the bank I hadn't worked much because I wasn't getting bites there, I got a good nip and set the hook. It felt good, but it wasn't a noteworthy fight. It wasn't until it got to my feet that I saw it was the biggest LMB I had ever hooked into! In my rush, I tried lifting him from the water with my rod, and the leader promptly snapped and he fell back into the water, hook in mouth!! Fortunately, he remained motionless, so I scooped down and lipped him. He ended up being 3.58lbs, close to double the weight of my 2016 PB. Unfortunately I was alone and it was dark, so my pictures didn't turn out too well, but I am glad to have caught him! Last note: I have a goal to catch 365 fish in 2017. This fish brought my running total to 35 on the year. 10% of the way there!

So I just started fishing with a baitcaster - thanks for all the help so far, I'm loving it. I spooled it up with 12lb mono just to get a feel for it, knowing that I was going to get a ton of backlashes at first. Now, I want to spool it with braid, but I don't know how to figure out how much mono backfill to put on! I have 150 yds. of 40lb Sufix 832. I want to use only half of it, so that I can use the rest on my next baitcaster. A few questions: 1) What is the best way to split the braid right in the middle (two lengths of 75yds)? 2) How do I figure out how much 12lb mono to backfill on my Daiwa Tatula 100HL? Their site claims the reel can hold 140yds of 40lb braid, but they don't specify the diameter. 3) How do you then measure out exactly that much mono to put on the spool?

In case anyone is curious, I decided to keep the M/F Mojo Bass and look to get a MH/F as my next purchase during the next good BPS sale! Thanks guys.

I'm not exactly sure, but right now I know what I would like to throw that I can't on my gear: ~4" plastic swimbaits on underspins or swim jigs; 1/2 oz spinnerbaits; larger spooks and a whopper plopper...

It's funny you guys both mention St. Croix - I didn't know that would be relevant! It is a St. Croix Mojo Bass. Yeah, not the best rod, but it should get it done. So it seems a M St. Croix is about as good as a MH?

I need your help convincing me either to stick with what I bought, or return it and get something better... I ordered my first baitcasting rod, a 7' 1" M/F and am now wondering if I should have gone with a MH/F! Up to this point I have never fished with anything but a spinning setup. I have a nice spinning setup that I like a lot (6' 6" MF), but I just can't throw the bigger lures on it - like a Spook Jr., bigger Spinnerbaits, and fatter Swimbaits. So I wanted to get a baitcaster to throw slightly heavier stuff. I fish almost exclusively from shore, but will start kayak fishing this year. I rarely throw into any heavy cover at all, so it's mostly open water fishing. Though I am sure it will get deeper when I fish from the kayak, I am sure it will still be pretty shallow... the waters I fish now get to maybe 6' or 8', but are almost always 3' or 4'. And most of the fish I pull out of there are between 1 and 2 pounds. All that said, I was convinced a Medium rod would take care of most of my fishing. I am not fishing any huge lures or deep waters. Since I am going to be fishing from a kayak, I want my rod arsenal to stay small (<4 rods total), so getting a versatile rod really matters to me. Thoughts? Start with a Medium power or Medium-Heavy power rod for my shallow water and small fish?

I've had the same problem, and just started rigging my drop shop using a Trokar Light Wire Finesse Hook, rigged Texas style. Obviously you also want to use a weight with a line clip so it can break off if snagged. Caught my PB on a drop shot this winter!

I'm a new fishing kayaker and would appreciate any advice. What do I need while out fishing on my kayak and what is just extra junk they sell? See you on the water! Kayaking Kelton