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papajoe222

BassResource.com Writer
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papajoe222 last won the day on August 2 2014

papajoe222 had the most liked content!

About papajoe222

  • Birthday 01/05/1950

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    South of Chicago
  • My PB
    Between 7-8 lbs
  • Favorite Bass
    Smallmouth
  • Favorite Lake or River
    Delavan in southern Wisconsin and Balsam Lake in NW Wisconsin.
  • Other Interests
    Shooting, but not hunting. Custom rod building. Red Sox baseball.

Profile Fields

  • About Me
    Retired Teamster, Volunteer with RPD Police Academy, Pastoral Care Minister, Volunteer, Vietnam Veteran

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6,629 profile views

papajoe222's Achievements

  1. When I first started using fluorocarbon lines, I had this exact same problem. The line would break on the cast. I'd loose the lure and sometimes 15yrds of line. I figured out that it was my fault as I often times would kink the line when adding slack, only to reel over that kink. That is what may be happening with you. Once I figured this out, I only had to deal with knots breaking and I eliminated that problem by never using fluoro as a main line for single hook presentations (jigs, T-rigs spinnerbaits).
  2. I live in northern Illinois and even the ponds aren't anywhere near thawing, but if you've a lake by you that is, go for it. For a dropshot in cold clear water, I'd opt for something small that has a built in scent. I'm partial to nose hooking a 2in. tube in smoke/black flake, or a black Reaper. I really don't think there's just one or two baits that could work, but those are the ones I start with just after ice-out. The downside to using a drop shot right after ice-out is you don't know the depth the fish are holding. A double Fluke rig can be fished at any depth as well as a nose hooked Senko.
  3. I don't think this website can support a file big enough for pics of my tackle and that's just rods, reels, accessories and tools. I know it won't support all my lures, jigs and hooks. I have an idea that may work for you, but only if you have a BPS or Cabela's near you. Take a pic of each isle of baits, hard and soft, and think: Papajoe has this, as you look through the pics.
  4. I learned to fish using spinning gear and reeling using my left hand. When I switched to casting gear, the only option was right hand retrieve. I resisted purchasing a LH casting reel for over 40yrs., until last season. I don't know why I waited so long to give one a try, I blame it on my wrist. I can now work a Spook with my rod tip down and not to the side. Same goes for cranking. and my hooksets are better for it, too.
  5. For a main line, I'm on board the Tatsu train. I'm not concerned with line stretch as using a leader vs. straight braid, it really doesn't factor in. I did notice that Blue Label has a larger diameter than most fluoro main lines, but it's thinner than the YoZuri Jar11501 mentioned.
  6. Yea, been there, doing that. The most impactful change I've made, as far as fishing goes, it the amount of time I spend on the water fishing. About four hours of continual chucking and winding, or pitching, or worming, is all this 75yr old can muster. I may be in the boat longer depending on how far from the launch I travel, or how scenic the surroundings are, but the days of 8hrs. of continual fishing are gone.
  7. Looking for a fluorocarbon line to use solely as leader. I've reconsidered my stance on using leaders with braid as I feel I may be missing out on bites in the clear waters up here and even if it only results in one or two more bites a day, those may be the only bites I get. I've been a loyal user of Seaguar lines for quite a while now and recently converted to fluorocarbon for most of my presentations. I'd rather use a line designed for use as a leader than one made for use as a main line. As I only use braid to leader on my baitcasters, I'm not concerned with line diameter vs. lb. test, more with abrasion and knot strength. Is Blue Label a good choice and if there are others you feel may be better, pleas chime in?
  8. I don't recall, but I know it's lighter weight than the one pictured, maybe version one as it about ten years old.
  9. I love my Columbia rain jacket. Lightweight, easy to pack in your tackle box, cool to wear when its hot, doubles as a wind breaker and keeps me dry. I'm sure there are others out there that'll do the same, but I like the fact that they field test all their apparel prior to putting it up for sale.
  10. Thanks. This is the one I’d seen one of the pros tie, but I couldn’t find a step by step All the wrapping is done between the line tie and the keeper. The one I was ising, I had to push the wraps over the keeper and pinch tje line tie to keep the wraps in place while tightening the knot.
  11. I'm looking to change my snell knot. I'm comfortable with tying it, but it's a bear to keep the loops above the keeper and under the line tie. I know there are a couple of easy to tie ones, just wondering which ones you guys use.
  12. Another case of one man's garbage is another's treasure. I modify the ones I use adding belly and tail trebles and removing the ones it comes with. Great bass, pike and muskie bait. I caught two muskie last July over 40in. on one while there was a muskie tournament going on. I believe it was Heddon that came out with a buzz plug that Bill Dance promoted. I bought four and when they didn't produce, I pulled the blades and tossed 'em.
  13. One of the lakes I fish has lily pads that extend out from shore 10-15yrds almost completely around the lake. In the summer, I'll watch, from just under a cast away,the pads for movement. If they won't respond to a frog or worm pulled over the tops of the pads, I'll give the spot a minute or two and toss a punch rig in there. I've been catching most of my big fish there doing just that. I'll slowly work my way around the lake stopping and watching. I may only catch four or five fish doing this, but when they are 4-5lb bass, I'm not complaining. I rarely see bass after the spawn is over.
  14. I wrote an article years ago, here is an edited version. Although some anglers in the deep south are, or will be dealing with pre-spawn, many of us are dealing with winter conditions, or lakes that are iced over. You hear that bass are in a negative mood because their metabolism is slowed because of their cold water environment. Don't misinterpret this to mean that their activity level is neutral, or negative. Bass are cold blooded creatures and as such, still function normally under cold water conditions. Yes, they don't need to feed anywhere near as often as in the summer and their strike zone will be small, but their attitudes change just the same. Here's a quick look at the different activity levels and how to both determine and use them in your quest to catch them, regardless of the water temperature. The activity level of fish can be described as their willingness to strike your bait. A good way to judge that activity level is by the distance they will travel to do so. This is what many anglers and writers call the strike zone, or window. There are a number of factors that can clue you in on the fish’s activity level before you even get on the water and a couple of indicators to pay attention to once you’re out there. For simplicity, I'll refer to those levels as aggressive, neutral or non-aggressive and negative, or ‘I ain’t getting off my !$# for nothing attitude’. If the fish are aggressive, they will travel some distance to strike. If they’re in a neutral mood, they may strike your lure, but won't move far to do so. When they won’t budge, you most likely will have to hit them on the head or surprise them to get any type of response. The good news is they can be caught regardless of their activity level. It’s just more fun when they’re aggressive. Most anglers know that cold fronts will put the fish in a neutral or negative mood as will cold water and post frontal conditions can often times lengthen that effect. This is the simplest factor to recognize for most of us. Those clear, cloudless days can put a big damper on our outlook for success before ever hitting the water. Unstable weather, quickly falling water levels, low muddy or dirty water that is normally fairly clear and the spawn and immediate post spawn are others. Other, less obvious factors may also come into play including water temperature, oxygen levels and recent feeding activity. Being aware of these factors helps us in determining where the fish are likely to be and we all know how important fish location is. Bass relating to structure will venture some distance from it when feeding (aggressive), suspended off of it when in a neutral mood and possibly abandon it completely in search of some secure area when in a negative mood. Fish relating to cover will be at the outer most edges when aggressive, in ambush positions that offer some security when neutral and either extremely tight to or buried in the cover when negative . How do you determine which? Assume they are in a neutral mood and approach them that way. If the fish are there, they’ll tell you if they’re aggressive by the way they take your bait and where, or how they are positioned. Aggressive fish often take your offering completely in their mouths, hook themselves or explode on your topwater offering. Neutral fish will be subtle, their bite is often hard to detect, they’ll be either just barely hooked, or just swipe at your offering. If you don't get bit by changing presentations, after two hours on the water, you guessed it, they're most likely in a negative mood. You can assume the fish’s activity level by observing their positioning on the structure or cover with your electronics. Negative fish rarely show up on your electronics, or should I say the average angler won’t see them. This makes locating negative fish that much more difficult. If you approach fishing for negative fish knowing you may only get a handful of quality bites, you will be able to maintain the level of concentration to turn them into catches. By adjusting your approach you can take advantage of this and reduce the amount of fishless time on the water, plus take advantage of those rare times when they almost jerk the rod out of you hands.
  15. My first boat purchase was the immediate result of need, pure and simple. Shore fishing is all but nonexistent on the lakes here and we all know that anglers in boats have many more opportunities to locate and catch fish than those that fish from shore. That boat, I had it for over 20yrs. opened up a whole new world of fishing to me, I sold it to an acquaintance in 2004 and it's 1950 Johnson outboard still pushes it around the local lakes.
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