papajoe222

Welcome to BR Bass (and all fish species) feed year round. The question I think you wanted to ask is: Will female bass be actively feeding with water temps. in the mid 40's? There are a lot of variables to consider and the biggest would be recent weather conditions. IF daytime temps. have been consistently warm AND the sun has been shining over the previous three or four days, the bass should begin moving from their winter homes. Catching will likely be better later in the day when the sun has had a chance to do it's thing, but don't expect to find numbers of fish up shallow and close to shore. A flat sided, bluegill colored crank or swimbait may pick up some fish, but if you're fishing Webster or any of the lakes near it, a perch pattern may be a better option as they will make a move to the shallows before the bluegill do.

Mine are not prescription, but I did add 150X bi-focals (the stick on ones) so I can tie knots with 6lb. mono.

Try the 580 in green (not green mirror). Like WIGuide, I wear mine from sun up until sundown and sometimes longer. I'm an old fart and sometimes forget I have them on.

About the only thing you can do to avoid it is to shorten the length of your pause. The downside is, doing that can turn them off the bite. I know guys that will smash down the barbs on the tail treble to minimize severe damage to the gills when this does happen.

Hair jigs, tubes, suspending jerk baits, Spooks and spinnerbaits. Smaller in rivers and in spring.

Mustad Ultra Point Big Mouth light wire tube hook

He also mentions another hook, the HP hook. It's also a wide gap hook without the bend behind the line tie. It has a small clip that keeps the tube from sliding down its shaft. The down side to that hook is that it doesn't work well with solid nose tubes. Nore than likely, however, you're using too small of a hook, or your gear isn't beefy enough to drive what is similar to a worm hook home. The hooks gap should be twice the diameter of the tubes when it is collapsed.

I've been told that straight fluoro is more sensitive than braid on slack line. Take it for what it's worth,

Welcome to the forums. When you get the chance, stop by the introductions forum and tell us a little about yourself. He likely had a big bow in his line also. Chances are he's very good at line watching while you were likely waiting to feel the bite. Bow in your line, or not, you need to watch where the line enters the water, especially on slack line presentations. That may have been the other difference, he may have been letting the tube free fall and you were letting it fall on a semi-tight line. Don't be afraid to ask questions of your partner, especially if he is more experienced.

I've been looking to add another Daiwa Exceller EXE baitcaster to my collection, but have been hesitating. A workhorse in my collection is an older TD Pro that I'm guessing is 8-10yrs. old. It's didn't see use last year, but I hung onto it rather than use it as a trade in at the BPS Classic. I'm glad I did. The wife was at a resale shop and called me to let me know they had some fishing gear and she thought one of the reels looked familiar. I checked it out and although it was an Arid 100H (I don't own one), I figured for $5 it was worth it just for parts. The star drag w/clicker and the swept handle with the bearings in the grips fit that old workhorse perfectly and actually reduced the weight. I cleaned her up and switched out the bearings and for just over $13 she's back in service paired to her old AllStar partner, which I just gave a face lift to. A new reel would have been nice, but I'm really pumped about using that combo again. Love tinkering with my gear.

Welcome to the site. Just a bit of friendly advice; Many of the members here, like myself, have a slightly twisted sense of humor and a question like yours just begs for some twisted answers. My left hand was my first thought. The tool holder on my boat is made of nylon strapping with loops and is mounted just under the gunnel.

I really like the look of the ramp thread work, but haven't seen any 'how to' videos on it. Can someone post a link, or recommend literature on how it's done?

The near zero stretch of fluoro is a misconception. Both mono and fluoro will 'stretch'. The big difference there is that mono will return to its original configuration.

It looks sick. Not just the stomach, but its entire body, looks malnutritioned. Spawning does take its toll on females, but I've never seen it that drastic.

I know this sounds obvious , but I'd suggest something that either imitates a crawfish and stays on or near the bottom, either solid red or a combo of brown and red. I do have a question for you: What did you catch those fish with? Venturing a guess, I'd say a dark colored bottom contact bait. The same or similar type bait with red in the color scheme may get you an extra fish on your next outing.

Try a weightless plastic on a light wire hook. Fish it on mono and you should be able to keep t on top of the weeds. You can dead stick it, hop it off and let it settle back atop them, or slowly drag it. Go with something without appendages and a lot of salt like a tube or gjelly worm. It's also a great way to fish submerged vegetation anytime you're presented with it.

About the only time I consider changing colors of a bait is when I'm on fish and the bite dies off. You can pick up a few extra that way. If I'm confident that I'm on fish and they aren't responding, I normally will move on.

I'm sure you are aware that different retrieves work at different times. In general, I've found that a steadier retrieve works better in the spring, a stop and go ( including ripping it out of vegetation) during the summer and yo-yo or stroking better in the fall-winter. I choose the bait accordingly. A trap, hot spot and red eye shad

Sounds like you may be missing the spool tension spacer. Without it, despite tightening down on the knob, no tension is placed on the spool shaft. Check the schematic against what you find under the cap. If everything is there, send it off to DVT.

I'll switch up for the purpose of covering different depths on a spot and then repeat the process from a different angle. The only time I switch up say a mid-running crank is when I catch a couple on the tail treble. That tells me, I'm at the right depth and have a good presentation speed, but they will likely hit something a little different with more authority.

The regular Lindy sinkers that free slide on the line and their No-Snag sinkers (which will occasionally snag) are what I use for trolling. If you loose a lot of sinkers, you may want to use a three-way swivel and attach the weight with lighter line. You may loose the sinker, but you'll still bring back the main part of the rig. Reattaching another sinker is quick and you're right back at it while your partner hasn't missed a beat.

See what old age does to you? To answer the question; They didn't have those when I was a teen, so give me the above two choices.

The crazy glue will melt the styrofoam. Try Gorilla Glue, the one that you add water to activate, but remember that it expands.

It's likely the gears meshing together. Back off the drag, press down on the spool with your thumb and turn the handle. If the vibration stops, it's the gears.

You said you just respooled. My guess is your reel was in the trunk of your car on the drive there and the outside temp. was somewhere in the 40's or lower. Cold temps will inhibit uncoiling. That is why ice fishermen use light line. Take the reel off your rod and bring it in the house for a while. Then go out and make a couple of casts. That could be what is happening.