Tmmytomato

My club, the Denver Bassmasters does card tourneys where we have club-supplied digital Berkley scales for each boat. Over the course of the last few years we have lost some weigh bags. We catch fish, immediately place them in the black coated mesh bag (with drain holes) and weigh the fish. When the scale locks in the two paired partners agree on the weight and release the fish, entering the weight on an individual's card who caught the fish. We're looking for two dozen REASONABLY priced weigh bags. We now only have 19 bags and cannot find the same bags we had. We were hoping to just buy a few to add to our inventory but might have to start over with different bags. We're not interested in spending $20 per bag. Any help on finding decent and sturdy weigh bags? Thanks for any help anyone can suggest. Tom at Tmmytomato@aol.com

Bomber definitely makes a great crankbait. If you send broken Rapalas into the company they will replace them no charge - I've done a few myself. Rapala makes a great bait - they also have some 3' and 5' and deeper Crankin' Raps that are more sturdy than the DT series. There's a lot of good cranks available - Spro Little John series, Bomber 5A and 6A, Rapala Crankin' Rap, Lucky Craft Rick Clunn and BD series, Strike King, Norman Little N, Excaliber, Storm WIggle Wart, Luhr Jensen Speed Trap...lots to pick from and lots of good baits. Try a couple of whatever you can afford. Talk to your buddies, read fishing forums. Everyone has their favorites and there's a lot of trial and error and your favs will no doubt change from time to time. Fingers crossed for you - have fun!

About five years ago I realized that my drop shotting is best done with an octopus circle hook. Just lower the rod tip and lift and reel - no mega zilla (whatever that was) hook sets. The hook almost always catches the corner of the mouth and with decent pressure and controlled reeling you will land nearly 100% of your hookups.

A few years a go I switched to left handed bc reels exclusively although I had both for many years. So many people crank a spinning reel with their left hand but seem confused when trying to do the same with a bait caster. That never made sense to me. But the primary reasons I switched to left hand crank bc were 1) on a short pitch under overhanging cover I couldn't switch as fast in mid air for the sake of control and I lost two very large fish on two consecutive days as my jig hit the water and 2) my rotator cuffs are shot as is my right elbow (I've had many years of abuse on my body over my 65 years) and after a day of cranking, my right elbow was begging to be cut off. Casting with your right and NOT having to switch is so natrual and so many bait casters are made nowadays with left handed cranks. I do a pro staff at the Bass Pro Shops Spring Classic for one of the major reel/rod manufacturers and it is amazing how many experienced and novice fisherman request left handed bait casters even for less expensive reels.

Citica - hands down. Two or three years from now you'll appreciate the sturdiness and quality of the Shimano.

Used only the 12# with no leader most of last summer and fall. Had no problems with it and took 4 1/2# smallie out of tires and cable without any failures. Like any line, it will fray somewhat when used around anything abrasive, so you need to retie like you would with mono or fluoro. The mini diameter is fabulous. I used it mostly for wacko Senkos in 5" thin and 4" regular and slim Senkos. I might decide to try some 8# also. I'd recommend it.

The 51E is a great little reel - I have three and love them. A Curado 201E or G is a great choice too but would probably better suit you for slightly heavier (1/4 oz and up) baits. I have a half dozen of them and they have never disappointed me. As previously metntionedd Tackle Warehouse uusually has some pretty hot deals in a month or so. You might not hurt yourself by going on line and looking at E-Bay or Craig's list either, especially if you can find someone close to your area that you can check out personally. Some very good fishermen who have sponsorships will rotate their gear out each year and some of it is nealy new in the box.

Cyclops2 - you make some valid points - however, "a way to kill as many fish as fast as possible..." is a rather crazy statement. Is catching them one at a time just a slower way to kill as many fish as possilbe? My bass club has implemented the catch, weigh in the boat and immediate release for a number of years now and no one seems to care that they can't come show their big fish off at the dock. There are cameras for that.

Generally, you are correct - both trebles are usually in the fish. But not always. We've all had short strikers caught only on the rear hook or a smaller (1-1.5# fish) that strikes from the side very near the boat and gets swung into the boat almost immediately, having been hooked only on the belly hook. No doubt that having said that, Murphy will show up in my boat next time out and his law will bite me.

From what I've heard for 50+ years - and verified more often than not with scales - is that there's generally about a 10% weight gain or loss when the fish is full of eggs or has just dropped all her eggs. Most 7# fish don't become 9# fish when they are full of roe. A 7# fish weighs 112 ounces. 10% of 112 ounces is (let's round up) 12 ounces. Add the 12 onces to the 7# fish and you're still not quite at 8#. I think the 5# fish that would have weighed two more pounds prior to spawining are the mother of fish tales.

Pick any of the hooks already mentioned and you'll be OK. The best dollar value might just be VMC. VMC makes an "INLINE X STRONG - VANADIUM that lays prefectly flat against the belly of the crankbait - not slightly offset like all the others. They also make an excellent ROUND BEND TREBLE and a BARBARIAN TREBLE. All VMCs are extremely sharp. The BARBARIAN 2X STRONG has a slightly longer shank than the other two. The Mustad KVD ELITE 2X SHORT, 1X STRONG and the Mustad Elite are both X strong and X short, making them ideal for crank baits. I like the KVD ELITE with the triple grip type bend for keeping hooked fish hooked. The priciest hook I use is the SpinTech 2X rotating hook. I have never yet lost a fish one these hooks. They don't allow the fish to get any leverage because they are free-spinning. But they are very pricey. You already have more than enough info from the other posts listed here - have fun!

There are some good suggestions here and we all have our favorites of course. I'd consider a few things: your height, what baits you are most likely to use most often, what size line you generally fish, what is the typical structure/makeup of the waters you fish. I am "vertically challenged" at 5' 7" so a 6'6" or 6' 9" rod is easier for me to use as an all purpose rod although I have flipping and cranking rods that are 7' 6" and 8'. Better rod manufacturers all have excellent rods in your price range and there are some good used rods available on line also. Because of my physical make-up I would go with a 6'6" to 6'9" rod in either a medium or medium heavy action with an extra fast tip. This kind of rod will give you plenty of backbone and a good tip to accurately throw most of your baits and have good sensitivity. Fenwick, Shimano, St. Croix and even the new Wright & McGill Skeet series rods would be good for what you need. I have more than 40 baitcast combos of all lengths and actions and if I were to pick just one rod it would probably be either a Shimano Crucial or St. Croix Avid in MH power with extra fast tip.

Wow - that's certaainly a can of worms. You'll get every opinion form love to hate on this one. I still fish Stren but not as often as I used to. I have over 40 baitcasters and a dozen or so spinning reels but only have clear/blue Stren 8# & 10# on two reels - one each spinning and baitcaster and have been satisfied with it. I fish a lot of Sufix in "Deep Crankin' ",Elite, "832" braid and Performance braid - love 'em. "Deep Crankin'" is a great lline - more dense than mono but not as dense or pricey as fluoro. I also am partial to Trilene Sensation which has never let me down. The best line for you is the one you hae the most confidence in - period. If you're more careful with your knot tying you'll have no problem with most of the lines. And keep them out of the sun - don't leave them in your vehicle in either summer or winter. You might occasionally get a sub-par spool from any manufacturer but I've been fortunate to have great luck with most EXCEPT original Berkley Vanish - trash line. Oh, and I'm not a fan of Seguar CarbonPro fluorocarbon (except Seguar Invisex - very nice line). Now that I've muddied the water for you - good luck.

Yes, I've used the 10" size at Lake Fork. Planning on picking up some 6" also. Kind of a neat product with the rattle in the tail. Have seen a couple nice fish caught on it a year ago down there but haven't thrown it much here in Colorado. Need the 6" for this part of the country.

I've used both and favor the SH with a CLEAR Fluke. I have caught a number of smallies and spots sweeping the bait and letting it pendulum back as I pick up line. I have used the Gambler version with the paddle tail worm also but with less success - possibly because I have fished it a lot less. I have thrown the Road Runner horse head but not done as well on it. This type of bait definitely has it's place and is great to sling out there when you find bass schooling and slashing shad or baitfish. It has little wind resistance and casts easily and drops through the water column quickly. It's an excellent bait to use on deep channel swings and bluff walls too.

Thanks. I have looked at a map of the lake and think I might have a mini game plan - it's all fun anyway!

Looking for general info on bass fishing Red Willow. 'Going the weekend of June 21-22. Was on the lake once about 8 years ago and don't rmember anything - but I remember the water level was low. Current water temps, water color, preference of one arm of lake vs. the other? Nothing too specific because it's changing rapidly this time of year. Thanks, T

Nothing wrong with "buy what you like" advice. And I agree. I guess you're back to square one again. Good luck and hope whatever you get works out for you. As mentioned before, there are a number of good reels and most everyone is going to tell you what they personally like. I have some of most everything and like a lot of them. :-)

Pflueger isn't a bad reel by any means. But for longevity and servicability I would pick the Shimano. I have nine Shimanos (Curados, Chronarchs, Cores) and two Revo STX reels, a Pflueger Supreme, a number of older Abu Garcias, Quantums, Bass Pro Shops JM signature models (which I understand are mostly Pfluegers) and some Daiwas. The Shimanos just plain work and hold up. I fish as often as possible and appreciate the value of better gear with good drags and well-engineered features. Shimano is smooth in every grade of reel I ever owned or fished with. There are a number of good reels available for under $200, but years of hard use make me lean toward Shimano. Personal preference. Tom

If you want a long lasting bullet proof reel you might consider a Shimano Curado. They sell for $200 but have a $50 mail-in rebate going on right now. These reels have been around for many years and are used by many pros for a very good reason - they are dependable - they work and hold up and do what you want them to do.

Chatfield Reservoir is in the Littleton, CO area - about 20 miles north of Castle Rock straight up Hwy 85. It's only about 1000 acres max. but does have some good smallie and walleye fishing. There is also a public lake in "The Pinery" on Hwy 83 just south of Parker that has largemouth and wipers. If you snoop around you might find some other smaller ponds dotted around those areas. I fish Chatfield eight or ten times a year and have had varying success but mostly from a boat. You can walk the riprap all along an extensive dam area and throw 2 1/2" tubes on light heads (1/16 oz) and some lipless cranks and weenie worms and should do OK.

Been using a 6'8" Med since last summer and have recently acquired a 6'8" MH. I love the lightness and length. I'm 5'7" and the rod length is a better choice for someone of my stature. I've coupled them with Shimano Chronarch 51Mg and Shimano Metanium Mg7 (Japanese market version of the Core) both in left handed models and they are light and can be fished for days on end without fatigue.

I've used the Fluorocarbon in 6#, 8# and 10# mostly and have been very impressed with it - especially the 6# on spinning gear. It seems more like 10# in it's tensile strength. By whoa doggies - the cost! I'll be throwing some 16# fluoro and also their copolymer in 14# at Amistad in a few weeks, so we'll see what I think after that..