Smalls

I’m partial to 6th sense, Arashi and Spro.Decently priced, come with good hardware that I don’t need to change out, and have good action. I WISH 6th sense would sponsor me, because as many fish I’ve caught with their square bill, I’ve probably lost to pike. But at $10, I can’t find anything better. Arashi, I bought like 20 of em when Cabela’s had em in clearance. Loved em, can’t find em locally. Can’t find much Spro, either, and they’re an extra $5 to feed the pike.

Ever drive a Mustang Cobra? How bout a Geo Metro? both do the same thing. Hint: One does it better.

I’ve got like 3 Garcia pro max reels. I think the reel is like $70, and the combo is $80. The rod is...meh. Better than a Berkeley Lightning. It’s a tough rod, just don’t expect a STEEZE. But for a combo, the reel is gold, and you basically get a free rod. I actually don’t understand how they sell the black max, when with the pro max you at least get a half decent reel for just $30 more

I work in a freezer, and keep a rechargeable hand warmer on me for the days I’m lazy and don’t work enough to stay warm. $15-20 off amazon, and they get toasty! I don’t kayak fish, but I never leave it behind fishing in November up here.

I use Oakley’s, but my company paid for em. My prescription is weak enough where I don’t really need the scripts for fishing, anyway. I’ve had em forever and they’ve seen better days, but I love em. I wore Oakley glasses forever, and they just take a beating. I wore the straight back arm design, but hated them after a while. My sunglasses are the Holbrook’s, and I plan on buying new lenses for the ones I own, and another pair with “low light” polarization when my insurance renews. I bought some “Knockarounds” for about $25. I’ve been impressed for the price. Very good polarization for $25, and I’ve dropped em off my head a couple too many times to still see out of em, but I do. I’ve suggested Shady Rays, before. I’ve never tried them, but have been meaning to. Their policy is just too good not too. You can lose a pair, and they’ll replace them. They want you as a customer that bad. And they’re only like $50 (ish?) a pair. I’ve heard good things from others who have them.

Is that skill, or a problem? I’m beyond impressed.

You posted this :You are right, I only fish for about 2 hours. I notice blowups in the water. I have also thrown a small jig in this floating green stuff on the water and a giant one cut throw the green stuff to go to the middle of the pond.  Now read the above again. You see blow ups, which means bass are feeding on top. Yet you threw a jig. I’m not poking fun, and mean no disrespect. But if you want to consistently catch bass, you need to understand their behavior as best you can. After that, you have to learn how outsmart or trick their very instinctive nature. You literally have to be better at being a bass than a bass. It’s not easy. Youtube is great, I’ve learned all sorts of tricks and tips. But seriously, even guys in BASS or FLW have come in with 0, 1, or 2 fish before. It’s fishing, not catching.

High pressured pond in one of the populated cities on earth? How many people do you see fishing on cold, rainy days? Probably not many? Bass adapt, and they see 1000 Rapala’s fly by on beautiful days. Try the opposite

I live in the Detroit metro area. For a while I lived directly in the city, with a 5-20 walk to 4 different spots on the Detroit river, and a 10 minute drive to lane St Clair. But I recently moved to the ‘burbs, and the big lake and river became inconvenient, more often than not. I thought my “before work scratch” to the itch was over. You wouldn’t believe how many good, unpressured ponds I have within 15 minutes of my house. I used google maps, city tax accessor sites to find property lines, and a couple other tricks, but I’ve had a better season (number wise) than I’ve had in a while. Another example. I’m moving to Albuquerque in a week. I literally thought I was gonna have to travel days to find a bass. While water obviously isn’t as common as it is here in Michigan, I’ve found places to scratch the itch during the week, and plenty of water within just an hour or so. Sometimes you you have to really get creative with finding water, but google maps has helped, or at least put me on the right track to finding some really awesome spots. Hell, this year I pulled a 6 lb’er out of a pond That I don’t think more than a handful of people know is public.

It’s pretty crazy you said that. I went out the week you posted this (after having a terrible couple of weeks on the water) and hammered em 2 days in a row. I had to be pried off the water. Then this “winter preview” weather came, and they all became anorexic. I thought we skipped the fall bite! It’s my last season here in the north, so I was gonna be pretty upset to just not get the fall transition bite. But so far, the weather has only been on my side twice in the past 2-3 weeks.

I’m in the exact same boat, brother. If I’m completely immersed in something (like figuring out the bite), then my mind doesn’t have time for negativity to creep in. I’ve done a decent job keeping the depression at bay most my life, but last winter it got bad. My wife tried bribing me with a steak dinner and a trip to BPS to get me out of bed one day and I told her “nah, I’m just gonna stay here”. That woman’s a trooper, though. She understands why I fish so much, and comes with 90% of the time I ask.

Makes sense. I love the size of the 90, I just can’t get it to run reliably past 35 feet I just happened to be in my local F&S the day they got em in. Asked one of the guys when they might get em in and he goes “hold on”. Comes back 2 minutes later with a box and says “literally just got this in 20 minutes ago, take yer pick”. I only bought one. I wasn’t dropping a whole buncha cash on another plopper than ran like the 90. But I’ll definitely buy more. I’ll hand my 90’s over to my wife, who can’t cast em far enough where they run like crap ?

I wonder if putting a 110 tail on a 90 would help with it’s issues.

I drive an ‘05 Chevy Malibu. Far from a large car, and my 7’6 frog rod fits. I usually lean the front seat back, makes it a little easier. Being on a budget, you’re gonna be really upset when you snap your 6’6 medium glass rod trying to pull fish out of pads or slop. I’ve been there. If you’re gonna frog with it until you can buy a new, heavier rod, stay clear of heavy cover. And at least upgrade to braid.

I’ll throw a jig when I’m around rocky areas, or the beginning of the season. Our weeds grow and don’t stop throughout the year, making a Texas rig a necessity.

The way I grip my rods/reels, my ring finger begins to hurt/go numb on occasion. Usually after a heavy day of frogging. It’s minor tendinitis caused by that finger a) taking a good amount of the weight/force, and b) being in a somewhat awkward position for the whole day. Try adjusting your grip, or holding your rod at a slightly different angle. I also find that taking a 10 minute break every so often and rubbing the affected joints helps.

Keep pressure on them. They’ll usually work themselves out. The more you let em run, the more pad stems they’ll wrap around.

The lightest shirts with a collar, that I’ve found, are Under Armor. I don't think they’re specifically made under UA’s fishing line, but they’re UPF 40 or 50, and extremely lightweight, loose fitting and breathable.

Might be why they’re a little more expensive, now. Mine have taken a few falls off of my head, no scratches, yet. They also have cheaper, non-polarized models, I didn’t catch the price though

I’ve got another recommendation for the even-more-budget-minded. Knockaround. Scratched my prescription Oakley’s pretty bad, and needed a cheap pair to use temporarily. My girlfriend recommended the KA’s, so I went and checked em out. For $25, the polarization is incredible. Tons of styles to choose from (they look really good, actually), and any lens color you’ll need. Got em at Gander, but I’ve seen em at other sports stores.

If you’re getting followers, the key is to make them commit. Either speeding it up or killing it will often trigger a reaction strike. You’ve got to play around with your retrieves and cadence. You also can’t throw one bait nonstop and expect to catch a ton of fish. Sounds like your toolbox needs a few more tools

I ended up finding a 9” dinghy (made of hypalon, the real tough material and a factory floor) and a trolling motor for less than $100. Not ideal, but it’ll get me off the bank until I buy a bass boat. I fished out of it this week. I’d like to make a small platform to get me above the water a little, but otherwise it suits my needs fairly well. Fits in my trunk, easy to set up, and a 30 lb motor scoots it faster than I thought it would.

I hear the frogs almost all day. Bass still seem to eat my fake one. Til this week, that is. Along with the frogs, are those stupid painted turtles. You know what they like to chomp on? My d**n frogs. The bass ain’t fond of em, either. They all moved to the other side of the pond.

If you’ve got an electrician buddy, he’s probably got about a dozen pairs laying around he’s “blown up”. Still perfectly good hook cutters.

I’ve been getting tons of bites on the Arashi cover pop. Easy to walk, can either make a ton of commotion or very little, depending on what I need. I wish they’d make a slightly smaller size, though. I fish a lot of ponds, and the fish in them tend to prefer a smaller profile. I’ve tossed this little 1 inch popper I got from Cabela’s for $1.50 and it’s usually bit by the time the rings are gone.