PhishLI

During sales I have a habit of ordering in 2 waves: The stuff I have to have right now, then some things I want. I waffle on the "want" stuff until the last minute before pressing the button. I've been waiting for this sale to grab the Quantum Monster 301 in particular. My brother is out of his mind buying swimbaits and has four rigs to do so, but they simply fill a niche for me. He's got a Tranx 300 which is very sweet, a Lew's Super Duty 300 which is very nice, and 2 Quantum 300s. He disliked his Lexa, so away it went. I've thrown baits with all of them and concluded that the Quantum is just fine. It's held up well and you can really chuck a bait and not be concerned. My brother just added the second one a few weeks ago and it wasn't necessarily out of being thrifty. It's a nice reel that gets the job done, has stood up well to big baits all season, and for 80$ on sale I think it's a steal. Well worth a look if you'd like to dabble but don't want to fork out bigger bucks. It's all aluminum construction too: frame and sideplates. I'm putting it on the Dobyns FR795SB I got from Dix last night for 97 bucks. Pretty sweet deal in total. My poor Curado K can rest easy now.

I marched out of Dick's/F&S a few hours ago with a Dobyns FR795SB. Got the 25% off. They didn't blink.

Punch, Dodgeguy touts that reel often so he's got me looking at it. I'm liking the P2 (X-Ship) and the externally adjustable centrifugals. I'm just wondering how it does with lighter baits under a half ounce down to a 1/4oz?

I used the 10lb and 12lb Advance most of this past winter as it kept me fishing at near freezing temps far better than braid could, then into the post spawn right before the weeds totally took over. I pulled in some really good fish on both. I had one break-off on the 10lb which was totally my fault. Otherwise, no weirdness. But I felt it really needed line conditioner as a matter of course. As an aside, I got a spool of 17 Siege that was junk. I'll be spooling up a few reels with the 10lb Advance soon. It's less squirrerlly than the 12lb on the brink of freezing. Hopefully I won't get a bum spool of it.

Mattlures Magnum Strong Gill. 7 3/8". 4.25 oz. Shazam!

t bone, We have lots of bass fishing spots in my area, with the biggest lake being a mere 240 acres. There are plenty of 20-ish acre ponds we call lakes. I've had the chance to fish at many of these spots throughout the island I live on. There are lakes about 70 miles east of my house where daytime fishing can be very productive. However, where I live the dusk/night bite is the deal. So, some lakes are good night bite lakes exclusively and some can be very good during the day. I'm pretty well networked with the local hardcore grinders. I'm one of them. I know what goes on and who catches what and when for the most part. My local spot is well known as the second most highly pressured water in the entire county. It's broken many spirits. While bass are occasionally caught during daylight hours, it's rare. But hit this spot at dusk and fish for a few hours afterward and your reward can be great. Crazy action and legit big bass. You'd never believe it if you'd fished it only during the morning or throughout the day. At one point I was convinced one particular local spot was devoid of fish, or that aliens had beamed all the bass to pluto, until I fished it at night. So, maybe you can try to mix your fishing times up a bit?

The BG 4500 is a giant and heavy reel. I wouldn't go more than the 3500 if you're set on a big spinning reel. It'll be fine with 40lb braid. Probably ok with 65lb. But in my experience, using heavy-ish inshore spinning setups for freshwater bass fishing is sort of miserable. Not fun.

Mattlures Meathead Perch. Delicious!

My newest diabolical delicacy: Shellcracker G2. It'll get a workout tomorrow night.

Is it a pitch/flip or the long cast? I have an itch for the long cast.

PfB, You're asking alot of any MHF rated to 1oz throwing the WP130. You'd be better off throwing the WP75. Personally I didn't love the Mojo 7' 1" 2pc as an all arounder. It may be for some people. Everyone has a different feel. I tried the OMB 2 7'1" MHF 2pc and preferred it. Blasphemy, I know. I ended up with 2 more for travel and convenience. Plus I like a full cork handle. I've put them through the ringer. They've been shown no mercy. Not one problem and I've dragged out lots of good fish through pad fields and I've clipped lots of tree branches. I prefer the 7'3" MHF one pc a bit more. If I can only take one rod on a wade that's the one. I really like it, but it doesn't break down. TW is closing out the the OMB 2s for a decent price.

Same here! However, after I'd readjusted to the '78 Ugly Stik's odd action, it's very clunky and whippy, it can be fun. I think most people can adjust to anything eventually. I had no problem target casting with it once upon a time. The reel's still tight and was pretty fast for it's day. I don't mind it too much, but it's a little weird being the only guy at the lake with a constantly engaged clicky anti reverse. I'd never considered the noise the reel made back then, and I used to catch lots of fish with this setup. Now I'm positive the clicking sound scares them away! Ignorance is bliss.

You have good taste, Sir! This past April we were on a good bite one day, then hit a multi hour slump. The conditions by that point screamed spinnerbaits, so we tied on willowblades. Zilch. But because I had my entire box of spinnerbaits that day I also had my Wigglers. I tied on my yellow perch looking version. The original yellow and black skirt had turned to goo, so I'd replaced it with a generic Wht/Yel. I targeted a juicy looking spot and went to work. On the second cast I flung it into a stand of cat tails because you can do that with the wiggler. I reeled it out about 5 feet then felt a hard pull. Fish on, but just barely. The trailer hook had found just enough thankfully. She was a dandy for these parts. My son in law couldn't help but laugh and shake his head as this wasn't the only time this ancient lure has hit paydirt while I was fishing with him. The corkscrew blade gives it an almost chatterbait-like action. It's still a great bait, IMO.

A No.3 undressed Mepps Black/Yellow saved the day today. I threw it as a last resort. The bass was so small...I just can't show the picture, but the skunk was off the boat! Should've probably thrown it earlier as we had to leave right after that. This isn't the first time I've thrown it as a last resort and had success. I need to remember it.

I agree with you here. I noticed it the first time fishing mine while I was burning back a lure. I actually thought the handle nut might've been loose at first, but that wasn't it. The main gear drive shaft just has a bit more lateral play between it and the frame than I'm used to with my other reels. The clicking sound is more audible anyway. My Chronarch has a dash of play, but it's far less noticeable in use. I checked a few Ks at a few different stores and they were the same, so I got over it. There's a remedy though. If I get bored enough once the ice comes in I might fiddle with it. Otherwise the K is a dandy. I had my first multi-lunker night earlier this week with it in the mix, so I like it even more now!

on sale on eBay

Right this minute the wind is howling. It's Dusk. It's overcast. The air pressure is low. My buddy's there right now hammering them. I'm stuck home in the midst of a digestive emergency instead of there slinging with him. How come nobody's invented wading diapers yet???

I grew up a few blocks from the largest lake in the area. Armed with crusty hand me down spincasters we'd fish when we could. Worms from anyone's vegetable garden were the bait of choice, but I got bored of that fast. If we hit the lake on any summer morning at around 5:00 am, the first two guys there would always be old man Charlie and old man Bill. Old man Charlie was truly old. He was like a gregarious character from a movie set in Brooklyn in the '40s. Old man Bill was probably only 40-45, but anyone with a touch of grey looks old to a little kid. He was reserved and quiet, but kind. He was always in deep concentration it seemed. Looking back at it, the dude was just grinding. I can relate to that now. Both of those guys caught bass. They were both "The Man" to us. Charlie would sling out Killies on 3 ounce sinkers with knuckle busters, or bobber fish, then sit around and wait for a bite. That wasn't much different than what we were doing with worms. Bill, on the other hand, had a slick spinning setup and was strictly throwing chuck-and-wind baits. He never stopped moving. That really appealed to me. I had to have a setup like that. I needed to fish like Bill. I saved up money from mowing lawns and shoveling snow for the next several months. I had my eye on a nice setup at the local B&T, but the pricetag was way up there for a 12 year old. But I had to have it! When that day came and within a penny, early in '78, I was there with wings on my feet. I'd explained to the owner where I fished and he suggested the Arbogast Hawaiin Wiggler to get through the weeds and pads. I was sold, but I needed to save up for that now! I eventually did. I grabbed a few Super Vibraxes too, and I was ready for battle. I really cleaned up with my setup that spring. I started catching bass regularly while my friends were stuck with sunnies and yellow perch. I managed to hold on to the Daiwa 1000C and the Ugly Stik all of these years later. I still fish the combo now and then. And the Wiggler still gets their attention.

I was happy to find a perch pattern paddletail, but I had doubts about this bait at first as it's action is other than what's been working well for me. I was wrong though. The bass are all over this thing. It casts like a bullet which is good for covering water and getting out to secondary grasslines. Due to the nose's shape it comes through weeds remarkably well. I also swim this thing through heavy pad fields letting it drop in holes or burn it in like a buzz toad. It's super weedless when rigged on an Owner TwistLOCK Light Weighted CPS 6/0 3/32oz #5167-706. It has a belly slot and the hookup ratio rigged this way is great. I'm up to 19 fish on the bait pictured. It looks no worse for the wear. My buddy picked up a pack and has done very well with them too. If this type of bait produces for you then this one's worth a shot.

Good fishing tonight. The bigs came out to play. Almost full moon. Prefront. Chucked several baits, but the Norries Spoon Tail Shad got all of the attention.

I moved to a new location a few years ago. The lake closest to me holds bass including some whoppers, for the northeast anyway. It's a notoriously tough lake though. Most of the old timers that fish there complain about the pressure and reminisce about the glory days of 20 years ago. I'm chatty and talk to most people who fish it. Some guys go weeks or months without a catch there. Truth. I was one of them for the first 7 months I fished it. Granted, I really started there late and it got cold fast. As a matter of fact I didn't witness one bass caught by anyone there from late September of'17 through March of '18, and I fished there alot. I could only manage to catch Pickerel. Around that time I put in lots of work figuring out the bottom contours and weedlines there. No boats are allowed, so long casts with jigs were my only means to examine the place. My catch rate went up, but was sporadic. I had one full week of catches in June, July, and August. The weeks starting on June 22nd, July 12th, and August 10th all yielded 7 days in a row of catching bass. But in between? Rough. Dinks or skunks. The remainder '18 went the same way, random, but was broken up by one day where I caught a giant and two really good fish. As soon as the ice melted this past February I was back out there. A Shadow Rap in perch put me on the fish. I picked up a 3" Megabass Dark Sleeper at the Suffern fishing expo in March and began hammering them immediately. This bait led me to the Megabass Hazedong Shad 4.2" and I started hammering them with that. I'd picked up the Norries Spoon Tail Shad 5" at the previous year's expo, but couldn't find a rigging I liked. Once I did I began hammering them with it. I've caught some really good fish, not the numbers compared to the other baits mentioned, on the Beast Coast Miyagi 5". But it's a much bulkier bait than the others. Yellow perch are in this lake. A few weeks ago I picked up a pack of Berkely "The Champ Swimmer" 4.5" in perch pattern. I've caught fish 8 out of the past 10 trips there on this bait, including a really nice donk. The Storm 360GT 1/8oz has been another killer bait, especially on days when they're not fully committed. All of the other baits I mentioned I rig weedless. The Storm is open hook and tiny. It's hard to miss a hookset with this bait if they bite it. Just a note; I caught exactly 3 fish on anything Keitech at this lake and zero fish on either of the Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper or Little Dipper. I really tried. The Keitech catches came on a jig head with eyes. All of the baits I mentioned previously have eyes. Keitechs and Dippers don't. My suggestion is this: Try some realistic looking small profile paddle tail baits. Bass feed mostly on small baitfish. Yes, a bigger bass will choke down big bait fish and very small bass will hit a giant swimbait, but they're eating small bait fish for the most part. Once I dedicated myself to this strategy of smaller torpedo shaped swimmers my catch rates at this very tough lake went from sporadic and skunky to logging hundreds of catches this season including several legit northeast mondos. I've caught fish there on most other bait types I have, but none are remotely close to the small paddle tail/boot tail for numbers.

I went through a number of different hook types trying to get the Norries 5" Spoon Tail Shad to run the way I wanted it to. I found the answer in the pictured Owner TwistLOK Light Weighted 6/0 3/32oz. Rigged with this hook I'm able to run it slowly high in the water column. A bonus feature is that it has an unusually long shank. This takes care of short strikers nicely. As it turns out, this hook works very nicely in other torpedo shaped baits like the Berkley HD The Champ Swimmer 4.5. My hookup percentage is awesome even though the hook isn't an EWG. 5$ at TW for a 3 pack.

Bucca time! Bull Wake 6". Bull Shad 6" slow sink. Bull Gill 5" slow sink.

Clever idea. Added to cart! Thanks!

I wouldn't encourage you to do anything that you have no faith in. That said, I've busted off tree branches and dragged logs in with 50 and 65 lb braid while wearing these gloves. They work great and have aided in saving lots of lures. Holding up a thrashing 20 lb snapping turtle with 15 lb braid high enough out of the water to crush the hook's barb in order to release it was a test this type of glove passed. I have zero fear of injury while using them in these circumstances. Just like a pair of needle nose pliers or forceps, I'm happy to have them with me when I'm fishing.