roadwarrior

That makes for a good day. Nice pic, too.

Jerkbaits and spinnerbaits.

Welcome aboard! Look through the pages in this section for a number of threads on "River Fishing." There have been several acticles recently. Also, tell us how you fish (boat/ bank?) and anything you know that is specific to the river. I'm sure a couple of guys here can address your questions.

P-Line Floroclear is manufactured by placing a fluorocarbon topcoating over a copolymer (nylon) core. The line is relatively weak and is prone to random breaks. By that I mean, it breaks while casting without apparent cause. Tried it for awhile, couldn't trust it. As an aside, P-Line CXX was my main line for a couple of years. I quit using it when I moved to Yo-Zuri Hybrid and then to Hybrid Ultra Soft. The only knock against P-Line CXX is terrible memory, especially in cold weather. For me, that is a huge issue.

mhr650, Welcome aboard! A reel with that capacity is plenty big enough for almost any freshwater fishing, and certainly for bass.

Grass Carp on Cedar Shingle Gut, but do NOT scale or remove head of a 5-8 lb carp Sprinkle organ cavity liberally with salt, pepper, oregeno and basil Add 1 stick of butter and 1 large lemon, quartered Place carp on cedar shingle and wrap both (together) in heavy foil Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 1 hour (Cooking can be done outdoors on a covered grill) Remove from oven or grill and let stand (wrapped) for 10-15 minutes Open package and discard fish and foil Cut board into 3" X 5" strips and serve Have another drink!

*** Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! *** I think we got a winner!

Russ, You da MAN! 8-)

My soft plastics rig is a Shimano Stella 2500FB/ St. Croix Legend Elite ES70MF. My smallmouth/ live bait combination is a Stella 2500FB/ G.Loomis GLX PR844S. For fishing most treble hook lures, Shimano Calais CL200/ St. Croix Avid AC66MF For jigs, Shimano CTE200GT/ G. Loomis GLX MBR844C. For light tackle, Stella 1000FA/ St. Croix AS66MLF.

As a general rule, I prefer Medium Power rods because the fish you catch are more fun to fight on this rod rating. However, choosing a rod's power rating is also about the weight of the lures you fish. As a finesse fisherman, the majority of the time I would fish the Medium Power spinning combination. With a Heavy Power baitcasting rig you can throw medium weight baits, but it also gives you the option to work with heavier lures. Take a look at this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1141187546

You have obviously done your homework on the gear that should be best suited for you. I REALLY like choice #1 . However, if this were advice for every member of this Forum, I might kick it up a notch. I enjoy fishing technique specific equipment, but I think EVERYONE could do all of their fishing with two rods. Your choices would be very close to mine: Baitcaster: MBR844C Spinning: SJR843S I have NO agrument with your choices. Excellent research, you are to be commended.

Welcome aboard! I HIGHLY recommend #6 Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft. The line is significantly stronger than XL and has virtually no memory in use. This line in a bonded fluorocarbon/ nylon copolymer which unlike monofilament, does NOT absorb water and is uneffected by UV light. http://www.yo-zuri.com/Products/ProdLine/Hybrid.htm You will note on the specifications chart, #6 has a .010" diameter and 11.9 lb breaking strength. If you prefer a thinner line, #4 is .009" diameter, 8.5 lb test. Although I do not think color matters, I suggest green which seems to blend well with most water colors.

...and the beat goes on... Dan, Everything you have been doing works! Good for you. Those bass look a lot bigger than 6+ to me. Nice fish, great pics.

It would be my soft plastics finesse rig. 8-) If I were spending that much on the reel, I'd get a nice rod to go with it, too! :

I'm still casting a "NO" vote, but I'm not going to dwell on it. I would rather stay positive and focus on the guys I like. Most of them don't fish tournaments anymore.

There appear to be two prominant points coinciding with sharp bends in the original channel. The more defined point (bottom/ central portion of the map) looks particularly interesting to me.

Artificial: Panther Martin (gold spinner, black body w/ chartreuse spots); Rapala Countdown (rainbow trout pattern); jerkbaits (Rapala X-Rap (08) rainbow trout & Lucky Craft Pointer (76) American Shad). Bait: Red worms for smaller trout, night crawlers for larger trout; sculpin (if you know how to rig them is a big German brown trout delicacy); canned corn and Power Bait.

Nothin' to talk about: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_28379_100001001_100000000_100001000_100-1-1 The Shimano Chronarch MG is THE BOMB! Always buy Shimano. : BTW, For $200 it's the Curado: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_73517_100001001_100000000_100001000_100-1-1

Hmm... Interesting read, "Anything and everything!" If there is a bass holding close to the stump, you have a pretty fair chance of getting bit, regardless of the lure.

I fish the 3/4 oz Ledgebuster Single Willow Blade. I don't recall exactly who I bought them from, but it was an internet retailer. They can be found on a number of sites.

Great post! What a day. Congratulations.

Each brand has a different action and other specific characteristics. Jerkbaits are my favorite (though not most productive) class of lures. I have accumulated a collection of Pointers (128, 100 & 78), Staycees, Smithwick Rogues, Rapala Husky Jerks & X-Raps (08). Lucky Craft Pointers do not necessarily produce more fish, but the are the most user friendly. Pointers have top shelf compnents, are well designed, engineered and the craftmanship is outstanding. The internal balancing promotes long casts and the lures rarely foul hook themselves (the other jerkbits tend to tumble). Most importantly, the Lucky Crafts suspend perfectly, or almost perfectly. They also emit a slight vibration even when they appear to be motionless. These are my favorites. However, I have caught lots of very nice fish on the Smithwick Rogue and Husky Jerk. Sometimes the slashing action of the X-Rap is absolutely killer. (One day last year I caught nine bass on ten casts and fourteen in a little over an hour at one of my pounds. Fishing the X-Rap one night last summer on the White River, I caught four brown trout over 5 lbs and had seven bites in less than two hours.) So, it's not so much about "better" action, but "different" action.

bugman, jomatty posted the right advice. The biggest problem with a Fat Ika in too much current is that it loses all its inherent action. In fast current it doesn't really represent a crawdad, it looks more like a plastic turd floating down the river. In current I prefer a different soft plastic with a weighted presentation. Tubes, grubs, Hula Grubs, and lizards are all options.

;D ;D ;D Son! This thread is a solid 10. I don't know where to start...Well, try this: Russ, lots of guys like cats, but we NEVER admit it. You can't have a cat in a Man video. No grits & gravy, either. Biscuits & gravy are usually served with grits, but come seperately. Grits are served with a whole stick of butter or cheese or both! And most guys like sweet milk with their breakfast, too.

"Ultra Soft #12 on all baitcasters" would be correct, but I fish soft plastics on spinning tackle and #6 Ultra Soft. If I fished worms on baitcasting gear, I would use #12.