sal669

The waters I fish here in MI are realy clear (zebra mussels).On my spinning reels I'm using 6-8 lb P-Line (clear) or Tectan Premium (light greenish). Tectan has a lower line diameter per Lb strength than most other lines. Sometimes I'll go with Power Pro braid (15lb)and about 6ft of fluoro leader. Most of the cover is vegetation. On my baitcasters I have 10-14 lb of the same mono or 30-50lb PP braid. In cold weather (like now) I'll use trilene XL for some applications; seems to be more manageble. Hope it helps, Alex

Hi, I Checked out my Dick's store today to see if there are any bargains and i found 2 Premiers 66MHF at about $70. The color of the rods is grey with dark red/brown wrapping on the guides(6+tip). The reelseat doesn't have the cut-out so the finger touches the blank. Could anybody tell me how old are they andif is a good deal? Thanks, Alex

I voted "Roostertail" because that's my first option, but I use other brands too (mainly Mepps,Panther Martin, Blue Fox...)

Yes, for plastics with up to 1/4 oz weight. I would go MH power for jigs (mine are heavier than 1/4 oz). I prefer MH with moderate action for spinnerbaits ( and other "faster" moving baits)

Easier, better hook penetration... less snag proof... Wood=brush guards Weeds=Y guards Just my opinion...

If I hit the Jackpot, it'll be all TD-Zs for me...

Daiwa. I kinda phased out other brand. I still have a Symetre,a Quantum, a Pinnacle, a Prodigy and a BPS Extreme. When these die, it will be all Daiwa. Shimanos are good reels, but Daiwas feel smoother to me.

I own 2 Capricorns (2000 and 2500), but the older model (silver ), not the orange/copper ones. They are awsome reels for the money. There is no need to buy a more expensive reel, except to show-off. I don't know how the orange ones compare to the older model, but I don't think Daiwa would drop the quality of engineering of the same model/name product. The question is if they kept the same quality components or used somthing cheaper (like bearings). You know, the "bottom line"/corporate profits isue... No doubt, the Tierra is good stuff too. But since you allready pulled the trigger, enjoy the Capricorn ! It's a bargain.

I see you're fishing in PA. I fished in your state a couple times, and this time of the year the "basses" are active, getting ready for winter. I would have a spinnerbait tied on one of my rods. Jig is good year around. Have you tried swimming a white-ish jig with a white or chartreuse 4" twistertail grub as trailer (tail pointing down)? Crankbait is a great search bait, and the senco is good for "follow up" or just saturating a good spot, finessing a couple more bites. Have you considered a jerkbait ? Rattletrap? My plan for this time of the year would be to fish relatively fast until I find them (they are schooled up, probably), than coaxe as many bites as I can from that school. They are prowling, looking for food. The bite should be better the second part of the day.

I tried Yo-Zuri Hybrid a couple years ago In #8 on a Daiwa spinning reel (2500 size), and I didn't like it at all. I prefere P-Line or Tectan Premium(when it's not to cold). Close to freezing temperatures I'll use Trilene XL.

Yup there is more to just using pliers on the line tie shaving the lip can make a big diff also and it dont take much.LC,s might have more QC but losing a $20 lure would P&%S me off more then tuning and losing a 3 dollar one anyday Totaly agree ! I had days when I lost 4-5 lures to toothy critters called Pike. Thanks God my most expensive lures are the Rapalas, otherways I'd go bankrupt.

Wellcome to the forum ! You got some good advice already. I'd add that you get your hands on some books and magazines and learn as much as you can about BASS BEHAVIOR. Is more important to cast your lure where there are some fish than in empty water. Buy sofisticated tackle only after you can find the fish. You can't go wrong with soft plastics. good luck

Good post !! I was within 1/2 lb on all except one. I used the size of your hand and fingers to size up the fish. And yes, I agree, most fishermen overestimate theri catch, including those with their own fishing shows...

I'll second this... *** the majority of fishermen know allready, the most important thing is to FIND THE FISH !!!!!!!!!!!! In real estate they call it LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. In any body of water, 80% of the fish will be in 20 % of the "water surface". For example, in a 10 acre pond, at any given time, most of the fish will be in about 2 acres of water. At spawning time, most of the bass will be on the spawning flats that offers the best conditions for the eggs to hatch; in the middle of the winter look for them in deep water, etc,etc... I own the"Largemouth Bass Secrets/An In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies", and I highly recomand it to any beginner in Bass fishing. It is of paramount importance NOT to waist your time casting your lure where there is NO FISH. I recomand that you start your bass fishing in small ponds, where you have access to most of the water surface, and you can FIND the fish. For the first 2 years I fished exclusively soft plastics on spinning tackle with 6-8lb line, 1/0-3/0 hooks, 1/8-1/4oz bullet weights; I used 4 to 8 inch worms, 6" lizards, tubes, flukes, slug-gos, craw immitations. Good luck! And welcome to the forum !

WHAT DODGEGUY SAID !!! It's all about physics, specificaly about the light waives. Every object reflects light, specificaly the frequencies of it's own color. All other frequencies are absorbed. White objects reflect the whole spectrum, black ones absorb the whole spectrum. Water acts as a filter, stopping the penetration of different frequencies as light travels deeper. The RED color/frequency is filtered out somewhere between 12-15 ft, depending on water clarity, suspentions, etc.Muddy warter is a different issue. Below this depth, the red frequency of light spectrum is nonexistent, so a red object will have nothing to reflect and they will absorb all other colors. As a result , any red object becomes BLACK. To be invisible an object has to be 100% translucent, and even in this situations there is the distortion of light passing through a translucet object (like glass, for example). That's all in a nut shell. Stick with clear or light green lines...Add some red to your lures...

Never use "hardware" when I'm bass fishing, unless the lure comes with one from the manufacturer ( like split rings on crankbaits). Learn to tie a couple of knots that would give you the most strenght & lure action. After you practice a bit, you will be able to tie knots as fast as if you would use "hardware". Anyhow, you need to check your line often knicks/freing(?sp) and cut a couple of ft to the fresh(er) line and retie your hook or lure. Tight lines,Alex

The Regal series is not a $100 reel, if I remember correctly they retailed for about $40-50. I am a Daiwa guy, and I voted Stardic, because the Shimano is the better reel (it also costs double) .But to be fair, you should compare the Stardic to the old Capricorn (the silver colored), wich retailed for the same price as the Stardic. And the Capricorn is sightly better than the Stardic (Tackletour) It's not fair to compare apples and oranges... Tight lines, Alex

Spinnerbait (slightly doctored, White/scale or white/cartreuse) Crankbait (shallow or medium diver, shad color) T-rigged worm or creature

Hmmmm... Drop shot...??? :

Just a "heads up", BPS has them in clearance for prices around $112 (spinning and baitcsters) For those of you guys with the Bait Monkie working even on Labor Day weekend... Tight lines, Alex

When the fish expoldes on my bait, I immediately point my rod to the blast (that generates some slack in the line). Than I start reeling in the slack and when I feel weight I swipe the rod sideways to set the hook(s). Meantime I'm munbling somethig like" o' mee gosh", "Holly cow", Goodness gracious" , etc. Why am I settig the hook sideways and not upward??? Because I had a Rapala Skitter-pop hit my glasses at "full speed "; luckily with no major dammage. Never set the hook upward when you are fishing topwaters; IT might come strait at you !!!!

As the old wise man said: A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS !

Well, Bluebonnet souds like he is the owner or sales manager of this "Acadia" company. I never heard of it. Daiwa for me !!!

For 6" worms I use 2/0 EWGs or 3/0 offset worm hooks (gamakatsu).You could go one size up.

Welcome to the forum ! The "performance" of a baitaster combo is factored by how well "in-tune" the components are. The major player is the rod; it has to load near perfectly with the weight of your lure. Just to give you an example: it would be difficult to cast a 1/4 oz lure with a heavy or XH (power) rod and 20lb line( suppose you have a decent reel), because the rod will not LOAD UP with that weight . So I hope you chose your rod with the aproximate weight of the lures in mind. A classic lure for pike would be SPOONS. If it's weedy, go with the weedless sort, like the Johnson "Silver minnow". "Practice makes perfect"