The Bassman

It's near westside Indy on White River Pkwy between Michigan and New York St.

My New Year's eve plans involves watching some old movie and eating pizza with my wife. The real fun begins tomorrow when I leave Indy for Titusville Fla. to fish the surf and St. Johns with my childhood friend. (Wife gets to stay home and keep the fires lit). She's married to her job. (We'll go together next year on our 20th and I'll have to focus on things other than fishing.) Happy New Year to all at BR.

Certainly food for thought. My wife would tell you that I've been known to save a dime and end up spending a buck because of it.

I owned two of them as well as some other Shimano 50 platform reels. This group of reels gets a lot of love from a lot of guys. They are compact and very durable. The only thing I personally didn't like was the fact that you could hear and feel the gears meshing when under any load. Just my 2 cents. 1000xt's are becoming quite rare. Congrats on your find. The reel will serve any app you choose.

A lot of people need to read this (especially me).

Come to think of it I have caught doubles on treble hook lures when LM fishing. It just sticks in my mind seeing smallmouth competing in clear water. P.S. Really didn't mean to detour the OP's topic. I'm actually a very impatient person. That's one reason I limit my tackle so I'll give the technique I'm using a chance to produce.

I know this is straying from the topic but it brings to mind how many times I've witnessed hooked smallmouth being pursued by others in the pack. Don't recall ever seeing that with LM.

To quote the country music/comedy star Roy Clark: "I'm told that some have it and some don't. I must have it because they tell me I'm full of it."

Thanks for the clarification. I was just quoting TW's descriptions. I'm actually too cheap to spend 18.00 on a topwater bait. I can't believe what some guys spend on lures, especially swimbaits!

Thanks for the info. I knew I read this somewhere and that it involved a Japanese fisherman. I really can't tell if it makes any difference. For me the technique is meat and potatoes most of the time, anyhow.

Cabela's has their arachnid spinning rods at 130.00 now All that's left is exactly what you're looking for. They actually represent a much more expensive tier of tackle.

Sounds like you're not too far from where I grew up, just across the Coke field from the track. I'm southeast now (Wanamaker). Wouldn't mind meeting fellow anglers.

Pop Max is slightly larger and has gill slits that create bubbles when water passes through. Gotta smile, we go from talkin' ice fishing, it hits 40 degrees, and we're thinking topwater. I definitely prefer my water liquid and warm! Oh, and Merry Christmas.

It's been over 20 for me. I used to live for winter. Would spend all day walking the upper end of Monroe. I've gotten soft since then. The last time I went was Jan. '96 on a small pond with our church's assistant pastor. As my hands started to warm up and ache I told him to take my gear and not let me have it back. But with reports like this............sometimes I rethink this. You guys are having an effect on me!

Much appreciated and Merry Christmas!

Thanks for your input. My buddy also stresses that I need bait more than lures. Guess it's just the bass fisherman in me.

I live in IN but have a friend near Cocoa Beach. I'm planning on going down there after the Christmas crowd is gone. I've been reading up and watching videos. I know Jan. isn't prime time but I'm looking forward to fishing for blues, pompano, whiting, or whatever. I'd like to use artificials on light tackle rather than traditional surf equipment. I know this is a ways south of you but I'm guessing techniques aren't really different. I'd welcome any tips. I know some of these fish require some bait tipping on jigs.

FJ would look good on the Sellus. Probably can be had at a good price on the Bay. 2500 would be fine for inshore. Plenty of capacity for braid.

A while back when I started Ned Rigging I read somewhere about the benefit of using red or green mushroom heads. I bought some lure paint and started dipping. Anyone else heard of this? Really don't have any scientific conclusions for my self.

I take great pride in my weirdness!

Amen and Amen!

I know this'll sound dated but a lot of times I just wear my wading vest (no sheepskin hat band with spinners hanging off, though). Other times I carry a small Plano bag that I got at Wal-Mart for under 12 bucks. It forces me to limit my choices and focus on a few techniques.

In my short time on this board I can't help but notice that the discussion of monofilament lines creates a lot of disagreement. One just has to understand that plastic fishing line is at best a compromise of several properties. There is no perfect mono/copoly/hybrid. One must choose as relates to his application. As I mentioned before, focus on diameter not lb. test. Beyond that educate yourself about various product's characteristics (manageability, abrasion resistance, etc).

This might raise some dissent but I wouldn't put anything but soft mono such as Trilene XL or light braid on an ultralight spool. I've mentioned this before but it bears repeating. Shop diameter in mm. not lb. test. Keep it at or under .20 mm.

Cyber-dummy here once thought that I could buy anything I wanted through my Pay Pal account until I found out that everything came up on my wife's bank alerts on her phone.