Mobasser

I've always done best with craw baits that had longer antannaes than shorter ones. I've always felt the longer antannaes waiving around drew more hits. Examples of good ones for me were the Hibdon Guido bug, and the 3" Zoom Critter Craw. Both have longer antannaes out front. I've caught more bass on this style than say a Paca Chunk craw, which has much shorter ones. That looks like a good mod.

Nice!

I think if they could make a rod in the USA that was affordable, and really good qaulity, most of us would buy them. But, with labor cost in the USA compared to overseas it's going to be tough. I hope it happens though, not just with rods and reels but everything else.??

I fish tubes on spin tackle for LM bass, much like Guido Hibdon fished them years ago. I've done best on the thin single wall tubes, as opposed to the thicker double dipped style.

I havnt seen them for sale for a long time. Years ago, I bought many bags of Riverside worms, grubs, and lizard baits. A good product.

Best of luck moving forward Tom. I know it's been a tough uphill battle for yourself and your family. I hope things can improve, as best they can.

Good call. I tend to think your honesty will be repaid in some way, in the future.

My old ABU 5500c. With the spool tension low, and 12lb line, it can cast a country mile.

3 things that might help, if you havnt done them yet. Make sure the line is spooled correctly, have him close the bail by hand after he cast, and check to make sure the line roller is turning and working correctly. These things can all cause line twist issues.

What are your top three baits when your fishing with lighter line? Heres mine: 1) Charlie Brewers Spider Slider jig. I've caught scores of bass over the years with these, rigged on several different 4" to 5" plastic worms. 2) Kalins Lunker Grub, rigged on a 1/8 oz ball head jig, fished with a slow steady retrieve, at various depths. A good all around search lure. 3) Tubes. Recently got back into tube fishing. I rig them on any number of tube jig heads, and fish them with a slow steady retrieve, with occasional pauses, letting them fall near any cover. I plan on t rigging some tubes also. I fish all these baits on a fast action Fenwick med spinning rod, with 8lb line, Shimano 2500 spinning reel. These three baits have worked well over the years, when I've needed to drop down in line size, and bait size to catch fish on tough days. What are three baits that have worked well for you, fishing with lighter line?

I like to fish 10" worms t rigged and weightless. Usually, the hottest part of summer is when the big worms work well.

I won't let it bother me if someone gets a little close. I can reel up, and be down the bank in a minute or less. My time fishing is important to me, and I love it. Most of the time these things are not intentional. I'm out there to fish, not to waste my time arguing with someone over a certain spot. If a guy gets too close or accidently crosses my line, I'm outa there. It's worked for me for years, and I've never had any problem.

I bank fish a smaller quarry lake twice a week. We take the boat out on the weekends. I was fishing by a large willow tree one evening, when a guy pulled up and walked to the bank edge and started casting. He couldn't see me, and one of his cast crossed my line. He apologized and we talked for minute. Now, I see him most nights. He'll pull up and say" Oh, you got my spot huh"? Or if he gets there first, I'll do the same. We've compared baits, and talked about what's working good and what's not. More or less, we've become friends. This is also why I carry very little tackle on bank trips, and only one rod. If a spot doesn't produce after a few minutes, I'm on the move.

I still fish with an older ABU4600c casting reel. It's caught a lot of bass over the years, and has been very durable. All you need to do is handle a Shimano Calcutta casting reel, and you can easily see the difference. All the parts are machined to fit better to a tighter tolerance. This is what you pay for in a top end reel. I don't own this reel, but have handled a few. If you can afford one, it's an heirloom investment with proper care. But, the mid priced reels work very well and can last a long time also. Will you catch more fish with the most expensive reel? Hard to say. It can't hurt to have one, but I think for many folks it probably won't make a huge difference.

I recently picked up a large stash of older soft plastic baits. Many of them stuck together and dried out. I was recommended liquid Gliceren as a good way to make them fishable, and make them slick and shiny again. After looking at Wal Mart, CVS, and Walgreens pharmacy with no luck, I found a bottle of Gliceren at a small town pharmacy close by home. I laid the baits out on a plastic bag, dribbled a few drops of gliceren on them untill they were slick again, then put them in new, clean, zip lock bags. This is a good way to bring older plastic baits back to life. The Gliceren won't break down and become rancid, like vegetable oil products. It works especially well on ribbon tail worms, curly tail grubs and worms, and tube baits. With everyone saying they're local tackle shops are very low on stock now, you can restore some of your older baits, and put them back in action. It takes a very small amount, just a few drops. Saturday, I caught two fish on some older Lucky Strike G4 tube baits, that were endorsed by Guido Hibdon years ago. Thanks WRB for the tip on the gliceren. It works very well.

I fish mono 99% of the time, and have never seen the need for line conditioner.

Our local Academy and Wal Mart are both short on a lot of stuff. Soft plastics, hard baits, line and rod/ reels are all low. Now's a good time to dig out your older stuff. Start throwing some things you havnt used in a while. They will still work.

I've used grubs a fair amount over the years. I still have some Riverside grubs from years ago. Now, I mostly use Kalins, rigged on a ball head jig. I've never caught any large bass on a grub, but good numbers of fish. Grubs are versatile, and can make a good search lure also.

In surface lures, bone is easy for fisherman to see. The white or bone colored underside is the color of many of the bass prey. Shad, frogs, etc.

You might try a Peg It, made by Top Brass tackle. With these, you can peg the sinker at the depth you want, and still slide it up the line, to adjust your leader length. We use bullet worm sinkers, but you can get cylinder shaped mojo weights also. I like it, because you eliminate swivel, beads, and extra knots.

Another thing that may help. When you work your t rig, keep your rod tip up, between 10 and 12o clock position. This helps to give you a clear view of your line where it enters the water.

Shimano makes great reels for sure. But, I have to stick up for Lews here. I've been using a Lews LFS casting reel since spring, and it's been perfect. These days, you don't have to spend a small fortune to get a good reel. The Lews LFS, at 100 bucks, is proof of that.

As a kid, my older brother taught me about bass fishing. At one point, he took some masking tape, wrapped it around my rod above the handle, and put "SD" in black letters, to remind me to slow down. I was always reeling too fast. Now, my reels are all mid speed, and I use them for everything. It's always easy to fish fast. But, I've caught way more fish by slowing down. It's worked best for me.

A-Jay, thanks to this, I'll be using tubes again. I got into them years ago because of Guido Hibdon. Dug through my stuff last night, and found 3 bags from different makes. Good versatile baits. I had good luck in the past rigged on a 1/8 oz tube jig head. Should be killer this fall. The slow erratic drop, and quivering tail is hard for bass to resist. Thanks for the recommendations on these newer models.

It sounds like you've got good rods and line. My only suggestion would be, if you feel anything out of the ordinary, set the hook quickly. Lots of us miss light strikes on t rigs, but if you set the hook quicker, you can help reduce gut hooked fish. If you feel anything slightly different, set the hook! If it's not a fish, no big deal. Reel up, check your bait, and cast again. It happens.