papajoe222

Late March last year. It was only my third time on the water. It started out okay, but got progressively worse. I blew up my favorite reel, that I'd just spooled with Sniper fluoro, so bad I couldn't get it untangled. That was two casts after I broke off setting the hook on the only bite I'd get all day. About 1/2hr. later, I got hug up on an anchor rope that my lure retriever was useless on and ended up braking a custom build rod when it wedged between the boat and the TM shaft. I decided to call it a day, but the gremlins weren't done with me. The TM died a slow death on the way back to the launch (TM only lake) as the headwind picked up. As I approached the dock, my car alarm went off! I tied up to the dock, ran to the car and couldn't get the alarm to shut off. I loaded the boat in record time and headed to a local garage to see what they could do, the alarm beeping the entire way. I started having butterflies in my chest and headed home instead (15min. away), Called 911 on the way and the ambulance pulled up two minutes after I parked. Spent the night in the hospital. It only costs $22k and the Dr. suggested I avoid fishing as much as possible...................I found another Dr. I was back on the water a week later.

It also depends on the gear you're using. 1/2oz. may be a little much for spinning gear. The only time I go 3/4oz is when I want to get it deep and keep it there. My favorite is no longer made, but I still have a few, the Diamond Shad by SK. Current production lure would be a Super Spot (Copper Craw).

Bluebasser, is that a spot, or a LM? I know there's a way to distinguish by looking at the dorsal fins, but we don't have them in our waters up here and when I do go south, I can never remember.

Many of the lakes in Wisc have a combination of stained water and light colored bottom. Rather than try to match the bottom color, a smoke/purple flake seems to work better in water 10ft. and under. I can't see bottom at that depth, but the fish seem to be able to.

I've been using circle hooks for wacky rigging for a number of years. Started out in an attempt to keep the wife from gut hooking fish. I haven't gut hooked a fish since. Haven't missed many either.

I've never heard of scrubbing a grub. Care to explain?

I think you're putting too much emphasis on the lures you're using and not enough on where the fish should be. That saying; 'I'd rather throw the wrong bait in the right place than the right bait in the wrong place' sound like it may apply here. The other thing may just be that the fish just aren't active when you have the opportunity to get out. I noticed the only soft plastic you listed was a senko and I'm assuming that you weren't fishing close to or on the bottom. When catching is tough, soft plastics are your savior. Trouble is, if you only present them in one part of the water column, you may miss out.

Smoke is my #2 color for tubes and is likely to take over first place this year. I purchase the 3.5in. ones in 100pk. The larger ones in 10-20 packs when needed. I've found that they excel on overcast days and in stained water. I'll use them in deep, clear water on sunny, cloudless days on the business end of a split shot, or C-rig as a hybrid 'power-finesse" presentation. I don't know if it's the fact that the fish don't see tubes presented that way regularly, if ever, or if the color has more to do with its success for me. Funny thing is, I don't throw any other baits in this color, just tubes.

My tourney days are well behind me, but I'll share my thoughts on this and hope you benefit from them. When I had the opportunity to pre-fish an event, I would attempt to locate multiple spots and I'd choose the order that I was going to fish them by the size and numbers of bites I got. The majority of time, I'd start out at the most productive of spots and after getting my limit, I go to the one where I'd gotten the biggest during practice. Of the many lakes I've competed on that I was unable to pre-fish, I would get as much information as I could from maps, calling local tackle shops, checking weather history, etc, work out a game plan and then just eliminate areas when it came time to fish. In both instances, catching a limit was my initial focus and I was rewarded with many top five finishes. I should point out that at weigh-in there would always be one or two guys with two or three nice sized fish that wouldn't make the cut because they didn't limit out. 13lb-15lb bags would put me in the money the majority of time.

Reviving an old thread that I revisited recently about the importance of lure color. Some good observations, pro and con, were made. Two really struck me as important to consider. #1 ”Now one day I used just about every color in my tackle box. Nothing hit. I threw everything again with different presentations. Nothing again. The bass are there, this is a hot spot. I put on a chartruece firetiger color and caught fish. This taught me we can have different water conditions in the water column too. As the conditions on top may look clear as we go deeper it could be stained to muddy depending how much sun lite it gets too.” What struck me as important about this quote is that my first thought, if it were me in that situation, would be that conditions had changed and the fish had become active. Interesting #2 was the last post (above) where the focus was on the shape Moore so than the color of the bait. Although that falls into my way of thinking, that color is at or near the bottom of factors I consider when choosing a bait, it brings to light a factor that I rarely consider.

As water temp. is such a big factor in determining early pre-spawn movement, I suggest starting where it will warm the quickest and not cool back down at night to the point where it started in the morning. Two shallow areas come to mind. The first is a shallower, protected area of rock or rip rap, or a similar area with a dark, muck bottom. Those areas will warm quick IF a day or two of sunshine and warm temps. proceed your outing. That shallower lake, especially if it has a dark bottom would be my first choice with an area similar to what I described that's close to known winter hang out in the other. If not, I'd target the deep water, winter hang outs. If you observed ice fishermen in the same areas over the winter, any of those within casting distance of shore would be likely targets (Area C).

6.4:1 is a good all around gear ratio, though maybe not ideal for some presentations. With a little adjustment on your part, you can crank, jig, buzz, or whatever. The downside to any gear ratio different that what you're used to using is adjusting to that difference. I have three identical reels, two have the same gearing, one is faster by about 8in. per handle turn and I use them on similar rods for similar presentations. I ended up marking that faster reel so I wouldn't forget to make the adjustment for it. Personally, I find it easier to have most of my reels with similar IPT.

The problem with bobber stops is you have to put them on before you put your weight and hook on. The OP was asking for ways to peg the weight after tying on the rig. There are a number of plastic or hard rubber pegs on the market and all will get the job done. I use braid for my worm fishing and use a toothpick. I don't recommend one for fluoro or mono.

Try moving your post to the Fishing Flea Market Forum. I have two of the 3/4oz.but not looking to sell or trade as I've been unable to find them at my area big box stores. Have you tried that auction site?

Welcome. Awesome first post. Don't be a stranger to the forums and now that you're hooked, don't forget to put a little money aside to buy mom some flowers for mothers day. The bait monkey will be introducing himself in the near future and you'll have to hide some cash from him for stuff like flowers.

Who Uses Them? Obviously, I do. What size (weight) most often used? It varies between 3/16oz and 1/8oz. but I've used up to 3/8oz. Do you pour/tie your own? I tie my own. Most productive color? White/brown stripes and black/white What other species have you caught on them? Crappie, walleye, sauger rock bass, white bass, trout, bowfin and northern pike. Do you add any type of trailer? I've added everything from minnows (awesome for small mouth ) and crawlers (walleye), to curly tail grubs, drop shot worms and tubes. Most often, though, the plain hair jig doesn't need a trailer to produce. Most productive retrieve? Jigging and dragging bottom.

I don’t believe they feed during the actual spawn cycle. That being from the time they pair up until the fry hatch for the male and for the female, when she no longer assists in guarding it. With stable weather, it moves along without interruption, ,but fluctuating weather can extend that time frame considerably. When you add the fact that not all fish spawn at the same time, it may seem like they don’t feed for a month. Highly unlikely, but then again I’ve never seen scientific evidence one way or another.

I have to admit that I am not big on finesse fishing. My answer to tough conditions leans toward downsizing my power presentations, The Ned rig, to me, appears to be a downsized shakey head presentation and that's one I never considered downsizing, so......................................... The set-up I'm considering is a St. Croix 6ft. Med.Lite/Fast paired with a Pfluger President,10lb. braid and a 6lb. mono leader. It's a very similar rod to the one I use for my hair jigs, but shorter and it's a spinning combo. I figure using braid as a main line will eliminate most of the issues I dislike about spinning gear. Pros/Cons?

You could try patching, as BlueBasser suggested. Flatten and apply J B Weld from the inside an use screen patch material and fiberglass reinforced epoxy on the underside. It’s not readily available, but it can be sanded after curing. Maybe $50 for materials and 4-5hrs of work. Just an idea to throw out there.

I have a system, not lockable, that holds my rods fairly close to the interior roof and out of sight of passersby. Using one of those, You could fabricate something with one piece of PVC, split down the middle, in front of your reels and another behind, drill holes in the ends and pass a cable lock, like the ones used for handguns, through the holes. A bike cable lock could work. You'd have the benefit of having them out of sight and locked together. Hope you get the Idea I'm attempting to convey. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/rod-saver-vehicle-rod-carrier

Light line on a baitcaster only results in troubles when the operator relies solely on the reel to control overruns. The use of your thumb when casting, in conjunction with your reel’s controls will eliminate backlashes. There is a learning curve in doing this. I learned using reels with zero braking systems and spool tension adjustments that left a lot to be desired compared to today’s offerings. my advice to the OP is to keep practicing and use your thumb.

I'm assuming that this is your first baitcaster. After you watch Glen's video, keep this in mind; Don't try casting for distance when first starting out. A smooth, fluid motion and proper spool tension will prevent most backlashes. When attempting to cast for distance, many anglers put more effort into the forward part of the cast than they do their back cast. This results in a quick start-up of the reel's spool and the line coming off the spool isn't being pulled out fast enough. It stays on the spool as the spool turns and results in an overrun, or backlash. You can get away with that type of cast using a spinning reel because the spool doesn't spin. The line is pulled off the spool and that's what you need to accomplish with a baitcaster. Let the lure pull the line off the spool. A cast that results in the same amount of effort placed on both parts of the cast allows the lure to pull the line fluidly off the spool and the spool tension and braking system help to keep the spool from spinning faster than the line is being taken off.

I really enjoy teaching youngsters this sport and had a eight grader I first took fishing when he was six years old ask me: “ Papa Joe, why are you fishing a shallow running crankbait in 15ft. of water?” I had taught him early on that cranks work best when they’re digging, or deflecting off the bottom, bumping cover, or ripped free of the weed tops. To him, I wasn’t practicing what I preached. It dawned on me that, for many anglers, that is the only way they fish cranks and they’re missing out on the other instances where cranks really shine. A crank doesn’t need to deflect off of something to produce its strike triggering quality. We can impart that on our own, at any depth and that is why cranks are more versatile than most anglers are aware of. A stop and go retrieve can, and does trigger strikes when there isn’t cover, or structure to bounce it off, but using your rod to impart erratic action to one is much more effective. Crank the lure down to its running depth and twitch, sweep, or rip your rod tip to impart more of that strike triggering quality of the bait. Plus that pause you get from a stop and go retrieve is an added bonus when you go to pick up the slack line. Don’t concern yourself if the bait rolls on its side as that is what frequently occurs when you bump cover. Suspended fish will respond to a crank presented in this manner more frequently than a finesse presentation and you can cover a lot more water at a ‘target’ depth. My little fishing buddy continues to improve his angling skills by asking questions. He’ll be out fishing me in no time.

Because the line tie is on the bait's body and not the bill, this is going to happen with regularity.Two things you can do to avoid it. First is get very familiar with the bait in question. By that, I mean get a good feel for when the bait has picked up a blade of grass on the lip, on one of the hooks, or is rolling on its side. Even with a rod that isn't designed for cranks, you should still be able to feel the slight difference from when the bait is running normal As soon as you detect grass on the lure, pause it and let it float up for a count of two. maybe more if it's a slow riser. A quick rip of the rod tip should clear the bait and you won't be digging it into the weeds as it will be above them when you do this. The second thing you should do is relegate that bait to fishing timber or rocks and use one with the line tie on the bill for fishing weeds.

Prop Bait...........WhopperPlopper, or Torpedo Popper...............Lunkerhunt Impact Popper Stick Bait............Zara Spook The Torpedo is a great bait for ripping and pausing, where the Plopper is best when used with a straight retrieve adding an occasional pause, or twitch with the rod tip. The Lunkerhunt popper is heavier than a PopR and often times I find a longer cast is necessary when they're hitting poppers. What can I say about the tried a proven history behind the Spook. Walk it fast, slow, dead stick it, just be sure to mix it up and the fish will tell you how they want it. I don't know of another bait that will call fish from 20ft. like it does.