papajoe222

I tend to use a Paca Craw on a T-rig (the full sized one). I have the option of changing the pegged weight size depending on the fish's mood and the claws on a Paca give plenty of action without catching the weed's stems. A beaver bait has a tendency to glide after entering the water, so I shy away from them and anything with legs that have a spiral action.

Early to late fall fishing can be fantastic, but if you're like me, you only have so much time on the water. The catching during this period is easier, but the finding can be more difficult, especially when fishing alone. Aside from my electronics, the one tool I use in my search is some sort of double presentation that can cover different parts of the water column. Two of my favorites are a top water with a small jig tied to the rear hook hanger on a drop line and a football jig with a shallow running crank attached via swivel and some sort of keeper (like adding a trailer hook on a spinnerbait) with a two to three ft. length of heavy mono. If the fish are in the upper water column, but reluctant to strike a topwater, the jig will pick them up. If they're in the lower part, the crank will pick up fish holding off the bottom. Give one of these double rigs a try when looking for fish this season and you can do a little more catching and a little less searching.

If you're literally spooking them vs. them shying away from your presentation, you'll need to follow the advice about being stealthy AND avoiding quick movements on your part as that will also put them on alert. If you can make long casts without much arm movement, all the better. If the fish are shying away from your presentation, downsizing lure and line size along with 'matching the hatch' is likely your best option.

Don't fprget the original floating Rapala. A #9 on spinning gear and 8 or 10lb. mono works great and you can work it fast and still keep it above the weeds.

So my wife loves to fish and I actually enjoy when she goes out with me. Problem is she'll only use her Zebco 33s and even the higher priced ones are problelms waiting to happen, to say the least. I've attempted teaching her both spinning and baitcasting, but she prefers that push button. That said, I'm looking for a better spin caster for her. Any recommendations?

Thanks guys. I figured it was likely too much tension as the off center design is appearing near the center of the wrap and that is when I'm working directly in front of me and where I"m likely adding more tension. I'll keep practicing as I don't want to attempt a closed wrap until I can consistantly repeat each pass.

I'm also guessing that you're either using spinning gear or not thumbing the spool on your bait caster as the lure hits the water. As long as the lure is pulling the line, it's clear of it and won't catch it on the hooks when it lands. To that end, adding a little weight to the rear of the bait will help accomplish this also and has the added benefit of making the bait sit tail down in the water making it easier to work.

I mounted a 24volt Tour Series on the bow of my Tracker specifically for fishing windy conditions. The other thing I do and don't tell my buddies, is anchor. I've tried a wind sock, but the lakes I fish are narrow and I was constantly having to adjust it and NOT fishing, so I sold it. The great thing about windy conditions is they help position the fish and break up the light penetration, the latter is very beneficial in clear water conditions. I prefer to cast into the wind with heavier baits and quarter cast with the lighter stuff as the fish will generally be facing into the wind (current). Lipless cranks and 1/2oz.+ jigs are my go to baits.

They're my pic when I want a ribbon tailed worm and the tail section can be used as a spinnerbait trailer when the nose gets torn up.

I picked up a couple of pkgs. of these from a local tackle shop. I go through a lot of tubes during the course of a season and wanted to get an early start with some close out baits. I was blown away by the detail on these tubes. They're 4in. with three colors, plastic eyes and a scale pattern that's molded into the plastic. They even have protuding fins along with a lateral line painted on them. They're distributed by Northland Fishing Tackle that also distributes Live-Forage swim baits and Impulse soft plastics. I'm waiting to see how these baits hold up, but for the price and outright appearance. If I have to replace them a little more often, I won't be shedding any tears. Anyone have experience with these tubes? What's your opinion of them?

Don't let the moderate price fool you, I'd put this rod Bass Pro Shops® Micro Lite™ Graphite Spinning Rod - ML66LS-2up against some rods costing three times their asking price. I'm not familiar with what size a 2500 series reel is, but I have a Shimano 2000 on mine and it not only casts the light stuff, I can work a 1/4oz shakey head with it too.

X2 The color is nowhere near as important as the action. Black or white will both work on both faster or slower moving baits and a mirrored finish in either chrome or gold would be my second choices. Another observation I could pass along is to slow down when the water is calm and speed up when the wind does. Sometimes they want a slow presentation and sometimes they want it fast. You can do both with a topwater on the same cast, then stick to the speed they seem to be responding to

Any bait you use during the day will work at night (forage doesn't change color at night). That said, some changes can increase your odds. First, you want a lure that gives off good vibrations. Ribbon tailed worms, Colorado bladed spinnerbaits, fat bodied cranks, etc. Although fish have excellent night vision a dark colored lure is easier for them to distinguish. Lastly, a steady retrieve will make it easier for the fish to home in on. This is likely the only situation where NOT changing speed or direction will be to your advantage.

The first thing to consider is visibility above the water, especially when fishing from shore. Aside from the backlashes, getting your lure hung up on bushes etc. can not only be costly, but dangerous if the lure breaks free on tension and comes flying back at you. There are a couple of things you can try to help eliminate tackle problems.The first is know your combo. As in golf, the more you repeat a cast/swing, the more 'memory' of it you develop. Second, set up your spool tension and brakes by casting on land without thumbing the spool. Find an open area (your front lawn or a parking lot) and fine tune your reel so the spool stops spinning just before your lure hits the grass. You still want to keep your thumb over the spool, but what you're doing is letting the reel 'thumb' it for you. Third, don't try to make extra long casts, they're your ticket to backlashes. As far as visibility is concerned, give your night vision a chance to kick in. Keep from using a light for anything but changing lures or retying. With time, you'll even be able to do that with very little light. You can cover the lense of a flashlight with waxed paper to cut the glare and intensity of the light and your night vision will return much quicker after using it. My last suggestion is really a no brainer and it's being familiar with the area or lake you're fishing. If you don't know the water, get out well before night fall and get familiar with the surroundings. Once it gets dark you can mentally visiualize what's out there.

They will have their time and place, but quite possibly it isn't now. With fall upon us faster moving (horizontal) baits may be what the fish will respond to. The exception would be rivers where a tube can and will produce in any season. Look for seams in the current. In the case of eddys, the initial turn from the direction of current will hold the most active fish and the final turn back into the main current will hold the least active. Just remember, a tube with an internal jig head does not fall straight as would a T-rigged one. This is what makes them such good producers, but if you present it the same as a T-rig (with tension on the line), you kill the action. Semi slack line and following the jig down with your rod tip will produce the best action. Also unlike the T-rig, most of your pick ups will be detected by observing your line and not by feel.

Yes. The odd design isn't near the front or back, it's somewhere mid design which makes it all that more noticeable.

Three business men were having drinks after a boring day of meetings and the subject of conversation got around to their sons. Shoot, I told this one already.

I'm new to rod building and thread design work. I've done four complete builds and have added butt wraps to eight pre-builds, all open wraps (seven diamond and one chevron). I love doing the actual thread application and the resulting finished wrap, but was wondering how you keep everything lined up as it sems on every one I've done, one design is slightly off. Not so much that it is immediately noticeable, but enough to be obvious under close scrutiny. I follow the guidelines for marking the blank before making my initial passes and then double check that my cross overs are right on where they pass over my marks. Needless to say after a dozen or so passes, there always seems to be one design that's slightly off. The only thing I can think of is I'm either not keeping consistant thread tension, or I'm pushing excessively when packing the wraps. Any advice or tips would be grately appreciated.

Backing off on the tension knob will result in slight play of the spool on many baitcasters and the slight knock you feel is likely the play where the spool shaft engages the pinion gear. Some reels have a tension spring on the spool shaft that eliminates this. As to whether you may need to clean that reel, I'd suggest you do. Based on the question about backing off on the spool tension I'm guessing that you aren't getting the distance on your casts you did when the reel was new and that's a good indication it may need cleaning or you've lost quite a bit of line since spooling.

I'd recommend a Charlie Brewer's Slider worm (3in.) watermellon or motor oil with the orange tail on a 1/16oz Original Slider jighead

I second the finess approach. After a week-end of heavy fishing pressure on my local water, down sizing and lighter line is often the only way I can put together a decent catch. If you have any of the small, crappie cranks, they can be dynamite on pressured fish. The other thing you can try is to go completely against traditional or local thinking. If everyone is fishing say, 4in. stick worms or a 1/4oz jig and pig, try a 10in. worm or a 1/2oz football jig. Another producer on featureless pond, especially clear ones, is dead sticking your presentation. This can also be done with your top waters. Work either just enough to get their attention and then just let it sit. When you can't stand it and just have to move it, wait thirty seconds and just twitch it and let it sit some more.

Hopefully you are fishing from a boat as shore fishing really limits your options. Most strip pits have a steep drop a short way from shore, but there are a few areas that have a slope vs a drop to the deeper water. One is at the end of a pit where it either bends or turns and another pot begins. With the clarity of water you'll be able to see this from shore. Some multiple pits have small cuts that join them. When mining these pits there was normally a dump area used for surface soil and when mining was complete, that mound was leveled by pushing the soil back into the pit if they hadn't hit the water table. All of these are prime feeding/spawning areas Another common feature is a ledge just out from that initial drop at the shoreline. If you do have a boat you can target non aggressive fish that will stage on them. If you are fishing from shore, minnow baits and top water fished parallel to shore can entice fish. If you can locate one of the other areas I mentioned, a four inch stick worm T-rigged can be a killer. Keep your baits smaller as well as your line size and you should be okay.

The more expensive baits, be they cranks, topwater, etc. tend to have the best quality components and quality controll during manufacturing. This results in a higher priced, better product. Do or will you catch more fish using them? Maybe and maybe not. I don't own any Lucky Craft baits, but I do have a number of Poes cranks. I've never changed out the stock hooks and although a few of them are identical models, because they're wood each has it's own 'personality' in the water. If you were to equate your baits, to say cars the difference is more personal preference. A Chevy and a Lexus will both get you where you're going. If you can afford either, which would you drive?

The other possibility and something that I've encountered, is that the fish was initially hooked lightly in the mouth with the belly hook. In attempting to throw the bait they became impaled on the rear hook outside the mouth. If both of those fish were attempting to escape to deep water, that rear hook wold be positioned above them. Nose bumping occurs a lot during the spring, not that I'd rule it out. Either way, be happy. I'd rather catch 'em and wonder why than wonder why I'm not catching.

That is exactly where I'll begin my search. That and the depth that the weeds stop growing (light penetration) are the two 'magic' depths that I take into consideration when looking for active fish. There are active fish elsewhere, no doubt, but I tend to avoid the bank beaters and the fish that see a lot of pressure.