papajoe222

PM me, I'll give you my address and pay for the shipping, so it'll be completely painless on your part.

Put some monkey porn in the DVD player or whatever. It won't kill him, but it'll keep him occupied long enough for your wallet to gain some weight back.

When I first tied a Devil's Horse years ago, I had limited success with them. The main reason was that my line would get fouled in the front prop and ruin every other cast. Back then, I used spinning gear and rarely used mono over 8lb. test. After switching to baitcasting gear and much heavier line, I was amazed at how rarely the fouling occured. The problem was, it took me like ten years to pick one up again. Prop baits, in general, have worked their way back into favor with me over the last couple of decades and this one is one of the tops in my book.

I don't know about fishing topwater baits in murky water as I've never done it. I have, however, done extensive night fishing with topwater and I can tell you that rarely does a PopR or Spook produce well at night. I would imagine that the same would hold true for fishing muddy water. I take two things into consideration when choosing which style of topwater to throw. One is water clarity and the other is the water's surface conditions. The clearer the water or calmer the surface, I want less disturbance from the bait. The more stained the water or the more surface chop, I opt for more disturbance. I throw Spooks alot. I use smaller ones when it's dead calm, and larger ones with rattles when it gets breezy and there is some chop on the water and if I do throw one at night.

Anyone with first hand experience with this company's ABE7 reel bearings? I'm thinking of upgrading the bearings on an older reel, but can't justify the cost of a set of Bocas on a reel that I only spent $100 on. I saw these for about half the cost of the Bocas, but am a little leary about pulling the trigger on them as I have no experience with this company's products.

My condolences on your new found addiction. It isn't a hard habit to break, it's impossible and it only gets worse. Many anglers have similar experiences when first using crankbaits and I believe one of the reasons is that they fish it like a spinnerbait, or lipless crank. Although you can catch fish presenting a crank in that manner, you're eliminating the most inviting (to bass) retrieve. Cranks shine when they abruptly change direction/speed. Whether it's bouncing one off timber, rocks, or the bottom. That deflection changes both the speed and direction of the bait. Sometimes just pumping the rod or giving the reel's handle a quick turn or stopping it momentarily can trigger a strike. Like the other baits you mention, as your experience with them and cranks increases, you will find that no one bait or retrieve produces consistantly. Your new found addiction will get worse as you develop more skills. Welcome Grasshopper

I agree with Shane's thinking that the topic title is, at the least, an assumption on Tom's part. I don't, however, agree that he is ignorant. The discussion on the topic is very thought provoking and I must say that I do fish the same areas I did the day prior even if conditions have changed. I will, however change my tactics based on conditions as I believe bass do not change their general location under different conditions. I don't believe anyone questions Tom's or Shane's knowledge or experience, but the fire IMO is uncalled for.

I have a hearing condition called tinnitus which is a constant ringing in my ears. As a result, my love of music is limited to those times that it isn't contributing to the noise already in my head. Sadly, fishing isn't one of those times, otherwise it'd be jazz, classic rock and C&W in that order.

Both, depending on the size/weight of he bait I'm using. I prefer baitcasting and use a 7ft. M/Fast Prodigy rod paired with a Daiwa Sol an 12lb. FC line for the bigger/heavier stuff. For the smaller baits and jigs, I use a 7ft. Acadia rod and Daiwa spinning reel spooled with 10lb. FC. For me, sensitivity in the spinning set-up isn't as important as with the baitcaster as I use it more for shallow water or on top of submergent weeds and rely on line watching more.

What I've noticed (and this dosen't apply to just springtime) is that if you stick to a game plan or notion of where the fish are and what they'll bite and it isn't working you'll fail more often than not. I wore my arms off a few years ago burning a lipless crank as fast as I could in 45 degree water in the spring. Why? because the bass were hammering it and it was the only presentation that was working, It took over five hours of not catching for that lesson to get through my thick skull.

A depthfinder. I don't care if its an old flasher unit or a down/side imaging one. I gotta be able to find that structure.

You guys can fight over the hammock from Sun.-Wed. after then it's the sarge's. BTW, count me in for Wed. night.

Braid gets the nod most of the time, but I also use 17lb. Original Stren. It's easier for me to see and has excellent abrasion resistance.

If they're aggressively guarding the bed, I like a Pop R. If they're scoping out bedding sites, a shallow crank gets the nod and if they're on the nests, a tube in a bluegill pattern.

I prefer to approach fishing points casting from shallow to deep and working up the point. It's easier for me to maintain bottom contact and when hooking a fish, they have a tendency to head for deeper water. That means they're moving away from me when I'm playing them rather than them coming at me. There are only two times that I fish a point from deep to shallow and that's during the spring and when I'm using cranks which will stay in the zone longer that way than bringing them up the drop. Either way, if I establish a depth pattern, I'll move and cast parallel to the drop so my presentation stays at that depth for the majority of the cast.

I can't believe you guys fell for this nonsence and he should know better than to post it here (it belongs in the 'everything else' forum) and under a bogus screen name. BTW, The correct answer was a Spook of course.

My favorite, all species, hard bait. From crappie to muskie, a Mepps will catch them. I've also used Vibrax, but I'm more confident when I throw a dressed Mepps

Baitcaster right hand, spinning reel left. I'd likely reel with my right hand for both, but I learned on a spinning reel with the crank handle on the left and fished that way for years. I tried going to right hand cranking, but it's like patting my head and rubbing my stomach; I can do it one way, but not the other.

Well, I'm going to chime in on this one with the little experience I have on power plant lakes up here. I'm not familiar with the lake you mention, but I assume that the lake is either divided somewhat between the intake and output sides, or there is a considerable distance between them. That being the case, current flow will play a big part in your approach to catching. You'll want to focus on areas of increased current, or areas that contain obstructions that will redirect the current, especially if you plan to target smallies. Areas such as between islands, points, shallow bars, are all areas that will increase the flow of water. Deep holes, wider sections of the lake, etc. will slow the flow.The exception, especially for largemouth, would be spawning fish avoiding current. Here again current, or lack of it, plays a big part. The best advice I can give you is to fish it similar to the way you'd fish a gently flowing river. If you'll be flipping and pitching in current areas, the front side of anything that breaks the current will hold active smallies and the down current sid will hold both neutral smallmouth and active largemouth. Check your local fishing reports, as I would think that the smallies have finished spawning and it's also possible that some of the largemouth have too.

With Mother Nature's cooperation, I hope to be busy for at least the weeks prior to the trip. Muskegon MI trip the second week-end of April for walleye and down to Tunica MS the following week for a little gaming and crappie fishing. Hopefully I can keep myself busy with honey-dos and local fishing enough to pass the time quickly. This trip will be my first to a highland reservoir in 15yrs. Table Rock was a frequent destination back then, but since then I've only targeted natural lakes. Really looking forward to my re-initiation!

Thanks guys. I think I'll wait and see how he adapts to my older procaster. I can always get him a better reel later on.

I'm contemplating getting one of these for my grandson to learn using a baitcaster on. Just wondering if anyone can give me some insight? TW reviews are mixed, but I'm a Daiwa guy and the size of the reel is perfect for teaching a kid or lady not to mention I'm familiar with the casting controlls so I'd give it a shot unless someone has had a poor experience.

I was dead set against ever using FC line after trying three different brands until I applied line conditioner the first time. Now it gets sprayed on all my reels spooled with mono or FC before every outing. Thanks for the head's up on BPS's version.

My Bassett Hound Would go crazy when she heard me hitching the trailer up. It got to the point where I had to put her in the truck BEFORE I did it. She'd sit patiently until we got to the lake and would run around while I launched. Then she'd jump in the boat while I parked and would sit next to me when running from spot to spot, but when I was actually fishing, she'd curl up on the front deck and sleep. It's been two seasons since she left us, but I keep her collar around my steering column to remind me of my most enthusiastic fishing partner.

If I'm targeting deep water, a split shot rigged french fry worm. Shallow water gets a stick worm wacky rigged.