The Bassman

Nice fish. Inline spinners don't seem to get as much press these days. They flat out catch bass and about everything else.

3000 would be fine. Different manufacturers have different size ratings. Shimano 2500 and 3000 are only different by line capacity. Pflueger tends to be a bit smaller for their size classes.

This was a pretty hot topic three years ago so I decided to bring it up again. I was one like some others who initially saw some merit in this line. Over time durability issues put me in another direction. Being the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results) I'm giving it another shot. So I spooled on some 18 lb. pink. Just came in from a brief outing in 30's weather with very little open water. Did manage to catch three with one a solid 2.5 lb. Of course it casted great and was perfect for nedding. Still can't get it out of my head that this stuff is going to be fragile. Is any one else using it? Some of our guys loved it three years ago. Wondering what the current take on it is.

Wouldn't be a problem except the first time it would be wiry and want to jump off. After the first top shot of braid it would take a set on the spool. FWIW 20-30 lb. braid is too heavy for a 1000 or even a 2500 size reel. I'd keep it under .20 mm.

If your reel is newer than the G platform it doesn't have one, anyway.

175.00 is a great price for an FB. JDM sites are around 200.00 shipped which is better than 230.00 retail.

Dick's has always been a letdown to me here in Indy since they bought our local sg retailer, Galyans back in '03 or '04. Galyan's was an institution around here that really catered to the outdoorsman.

The new FL's are supposed to be ultra smooth and lighter than the FK's, so that's a good choice in a metal framed reel. On the CI4 side, I own several FA's and have to make myself stay away from the current FB's because they're so smooth. Just can't justify replacing 4 perfectly good reels. If I was shopping for a CI4 I would look for a deal on the current FB.

Hey, I'm laughing at myself. I wouldn't be advertising my spots if I was catching smallies like that.

When I first joined these forums I searched Google maps. Felt really dumb as it sank in.

Maybe this is making excuses but the way I see it the bad days make the good ones sweeter. A little Yin, a little Yang. Doesn't address the question but (at least for me) there are days I just don't catch them, and I fish small waters. That said, a lot of it has to do with my attitude, not the fish's. If I resign myself to striking out I generally do.

I'm self employed. The struggle to work vs. fish is constant.

The HOA lakes I fish give up a decent channel cat every so often. Hasn't happened during the cold months yet. Also get a bullhead cat every now and then. Some of the ponds I fish have hybrid bluegills which are very aggressive and have no trouble getting hooked on larger baits.

I've got Pac Bay butt caps on my Loomis Classic Basses that I shortened. I think they look better than the stock ones.

Bait monkey is getting inside your head. You'll never be the same again. (Welcome to the forums/tackle purchase support group).

I think that was once referred to in a presidential debate as voodoo economics.

The honeymoon is about to end for us. We've had it easy since before Christmas but there's growing consensus that we're getting close to experiencing real winter for a while. Except for a couple of cold snaps we made it halfway without too many bumps and bruises.

Read it was going to use the core solid frame like the Bantam but in a lighter package.

I've been going on about how good this winter fishing is. Yesterday was cloudy, breezy, and made it to the fifties. Results: four 12 inchers in four hours and those came in 45 min. after I gave up and fished a couple of ponds just before I got home. That's what makes this sport so fascinating. Other times when conditions don't seem to favor success I have some of my best outings. Tried to get the fish to tell me why but didn't get any feedback.

You're gonna love that combo. I've got three with the last gen CI4's. FWIW I use a lot of 832 and the stuff runs stronger than other braids. Drop down to 15 at the most and you'll get a lot better casting distance.

Pretty sure that wouldn't be doable in an older reel with ratchet anti reverse. Some guys prefer that feature for some applications.

Fourteen bucks on a LC Pointer. All my other baits are under 10.00. I know I wouldn't be enjoying myself while chucking something any more expensive.

I strip mine by hand. I keep enough backing on my reels that I rarely top shot more than 60-70 yards. By the time I respool, I'm down from that. Just use braid so time doesn't dictate respooling either.

Don't know what the water temp was but that warm up and rain two weekends ago definitely put me on a spring bite. Hefty fish hitting lipless hard. This was a large HOA lake that's mostly shallow so temps probably change quicker.

Caught four 5+ this year. Two came on chatterbaits, one on a Zoom finesse worm, and the most recent on a Ned rig. Caught many 4's, several coming on a Fat Ika, others on a number of things, my favorite being an Azuma Wake-Z wake bait.