papajoe222

One piece of advice I'll give to those that don't live or fish in an area that attracts fishermen; Ask the ER doctor if they've ever removed a hook before. About ten years ago, I got a hook in me while unhooking a smallie. I cut the split ring and the other two hooks of the treble off leaving just the shank/eye and the one hook. I bandaged it and continued to fish. I decided to drive the six hours home and go to my local ER as I knew my insurance would cover it. The lady doctor proceeded to freeze my finger and then grabbed a set of forceps and began twisting, turning and pulling on the hook. I stopped her when I realized she didn't have a clue on how to remove it. Lesson learned. Pulled another one out myself last night. For some reason as I get older, it seems to be happening more frequently.

It's the nature of the beast. Because the hook eye is attached to the jig head and not directly to your line, when you set the hook, it is forced to follow whatever direction the jig head pulls it. Very rarely do I get hooks in the roof of their mouth this way, where as, I almost always hook there or the upper lip with a skirted jig. About the only thing you can do is change the way you set the hook and that'll take you down a road that's hard to come back from. If your concern is harming the fish, I suggest smashing down the barb on the hook. I'd venture to say that I land 80% or more of the fish I hook with barbless hooks. Just keep steady pressure on 'em and try to keep 'em from jumping. Heck, you're gonna release 'em anyway, so it's really not that big of a deal if a couple get unbuttoned prior to you putting eyes on 'em.

#1 Fluorocarbon has very little stretch and sinks. Therefore, you get more depth using fluoro vs. mono. Your crank may run a little deeper using the same pound test, but it's because of the smaller line diameter, not because it sinks. #2 Mono is outdated as there are much better lines produced today. Yea, that's why almost every line manufacturer still offers at least one mono. Maybe they do that just for us old guys that love using mono???? #3 Early morning and dusk are prime times for top water. Maybe for the guys that put them down the rest of the time.

Big Bite Baits Craw Tube and Berkley Pit Boss. The craw tube gives you a slower fall presentation than most beaver style baits. It's also more slender than most of them, too. Great for the really thick stuff that's hard to penetrate. Another reason why RM likes a Senko for punching.

I know there are a bunch of anglers on this site that are limited as to how much they can spend on their fishing addiction. I'll be the first to admit that the quality of many angling products can make the sport more enjoyable and productive. That being said, until the kids were out of college and the house was paid for, I did just fine fishing local tournaments from a jon boat with an old 10 horse Johnson, transom mounted TM and a Humminbird Super 60 (flasher) depth finder. Three combos that I paid less than $75 for *back in the 80"s. Other than plastic worms, all my lures fit into 2 Plano 3700 tackle boxes. My success in those local tournaments and in my everyday outings depended on finding fish that I could catch with what I had available. The reason I mention all this is because you will read about a lot of higher end products in some of the posts here. Great products, some offered by sponsors here. The main reason for this site's being is to inform, educate and share fishing knowledge. Quality products only add to your enjoyment of this great sport. If all you can afford is one combo, mono line and Wal-Mart bargain bin lures, don't feel that you are missing out. The fish are still there for the catching. Use what you have available, whether from shore or out on the water, but use the information about the fish, seasonal patterns and the different presentations you read here, or see on video to become better at finding fish that you can catch. When and if you ever have the funds to enjoy a custom built rod, or a $25 swimbait, you'll not only enjoy its benefits, you'll know exactly where to use them.

Familiarity with the lure you have tied on is one of the best means of strike detection you can acquire. Line watching is another. Knowing what your jig, or worm feels like as it falls, settles, comes through weeds, bumps rocks or wood, moves from soft to hard bottom, will help with strike detection. It will also reduce the number of times you set the hook into a laydown, stump, etc. This is also applicable to other lures like cranks and spinnerbaits and is one reason why many pros are faithful to a particular lure.

Over half the bass over 6lb. that I caught last season were caught on 6in-8in. paddle tail swimbaits. I don't know if they tend to catch bigger fish, but they are what I use when I have a spot zeroed in. As for hard swimbaits, I can not say as the only ones I own/use are for muskie.

Sorry JF, I assumed you were speaking of the Forest Preserve lakes. You know the saying about what the word assume begins with? That’s me on more than one occasion.

Check out Glen's video on how to cast a baitcaster. The advice on setting up the reel is spot on for the reel you mention. One piece of advice; Educate your thumb to using a baitcaster, your casting accuracy will improve and backlashes will diminish.

Okay, I'll ask. Why are you using a leader. The FP lakes around you aren't very clear and snapping a tube, or stroking a jig is more of a reaction presentation where the fish focus on the bait. I use straight 10lb braid in the clear strip pits west of you and I doubt I'm missing fish because of line visibility. If it's a confidence thing for you, retie often, go to heavier fluoro, or switch to mono. Any one of the three will reduce knot failure for this presentation.

There is no best in any lure category. Some produce better than others in certain circumstances. Take Rage Craws, when a lot of action is called for, they reign, but other times you're better off crawling a craw with claws that float to draw attention to it.

Pulling a boat around any big city is a challenge, especially with construction going on. It's even more challenging that driving a semi (trust me). As Sam mentioned, drivers, especially city drivers, aren't used to people towing trailers and many don't check their mirrors, or don't have them adjusted to see the lane next to them. I'm a retired truck driver that worked with an insurance company to help reduce the accident rates of bigger fleets. Keep this in mind guys. When passing another vehicle, try to make eye contact with the driver. They will turn their head to look at you and hopefully see the trailer. When approaching an on ramp, when possible,change lanes when you see a vehicle on the ramp. Be alert and safe. No one wants their loved ones getting a call other than to hear how many you caught.

Luckily, the lakes up here are only a foot or so higher than normal for this time of year. I think, maybe, I just need to stay on the water longer. Haven’t had many days with over five hours out there.

Late here, too. Water temp is only 68 and that’s surface temp. Bluegill are just starting here.

Am I the only one here having difficulty catching quality bass this year? Here it is July and I’ve yet to boat a bass over 20in. Pre-spawn didn’t even produce one. Grant you, I do catch most of my biggest fish of the year in July and August, but by the end of June I normally log a half dozen or so. You could blame the unstable weather, but I don’t. For me, tough conditions swing the odds in my favor for catching some big girls.

And the winner is (drum roll) the Zara Spook! It is for me anyways. BTW Cak920, you asked for our favorite and then listed more than one of your own. Very confusing for us mentally challenged seniors.

I use a pair of side cutters. They also double as hook cutters, toenail clippers and, of all things, wire cutters.

Think of me when you're thinning out. The lightest I throw on a baitcaster is a 1/8oz. hair jig. On spinning gear...................what was I thinking, I don't use spinning gear.

Welcome to BR The more information you can provide as to the type of lake, water clarity, fishing from the bank, etc. the better your chances of getting useful information. You can also try the fishing location forum, I believe Illinois is under the northeast. You can access it by clicking on the forums tab. A new page will load. Just scroll down until you see it. Generally, the same techniques that you used in SC will work, but always keep in mind that you need to locate the fish first. It's possible you are fishing dead water. A good place to start is on the web. Do a search on the lake that you're targeting. Most have a site or two with fishing reports that can point you in the right direction.

If a lake has a decent population of big pike, it's a good bet there is also a good population of bass. Pike prefer forage that, like themselves, have difficulty making quick turns because, unlike bass, they capture their prey using their mouth. Perch, young walleye, etc. As for recommendations on particular lakes, you can do a search of the fishing locations forum/central bass fishing and also ask there.

I'll add something I believe a lot of anglers overlook when fishing lures and it's more important with spinnerbaits than some others. Straight, mono-speed retrieves may catch fish, but changing speed, angles, or bumping it into cover on your retrieve will get you bit more often. Add to that, the bite is usually more agressive resulting in good hook-ups. Spinnerbaits can be used to cover the entire water column, not just the upper few feet. When fished shallow, it's a great target bait. Cast it past a target and try bumping that piece of cover, or at the very least, pop your rod tip so the spinner's cadence is interrupted. When allowed to sink deep, it's great as a search bait when covering large pieces of structure like points, or ledges. Drop down a size or two on the main blade to keep it in the zone, or allow it to sink to the bottom a few times during the retrieve.

You're pegging the weight, so there is no need for the bead. Unlike a C-rig, the weight isn't sliding down and banging the knot and when pegged, the weight isn't knocking against the glass bead emitting noise. The only useful thing it may do is add a bit of color, but you want the fish to focus on the plastic, not the weight or the bead. Like most things in this sport, personal preference and confidence play a major role in how we do things. If using a bead is your thing, go for it.

The problem is that it's a spinning reel. Get a real reel (get it?) and put it on a real rod, not a fairy wand. That should get this thread going. Seriously, I've never had an issue with my Daiwas, so I can't comment on their customer service.

The two adjustments work on different parts of the cast. Spool tension keeps the line from peeling off faster than the spool is spinning at the start of a cast and brakes slow the spool down during the lure's flight so it doesn't spin faster than the line is coming off. Start with one or the other, but be sure to adjust both accordingly. What works best for you will be trial and error. Many anglers set the spool tension on the light side and use their thumb to control the initial spool start up and slow down. Others rely solely on the reels ability to control backlash.

The problem is a result of the equipment you are using. Although the hooks are small, the bait is hard and when a fish takes it in its mouth and closes it, a good hook-set is needed to expose the hooks to flesh. Many times, the fish will hook themselves attempting to expel the lure. Either way, you need line with some stretch, but not so much that you can't get the hooks to penetrate 10-12lb. is the norm for fluorocarbon. The other thing to consider is the rod and how you position it during the retrieve. Keep the tip pointed down and use a rod with a med/med heavy power and a moderate action. Keeping the tip down allows you to move more line when sweep setting the hook while cranking the reel.