bighed

I'm fishing club T tomorrow on a small lake that is the color of Nesquick right now. I fished the same lake last week and did pretty good on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Any other suggestions for lures/colors that have worked for you in this kind of water?

I've got an old Lew's Speed Stick, 6' pistol grip. It was my first "real" bass rod and had a ABU 5000C reel on it. Dad gave it to me for my 13th birthday back in '76. Boy did I ever catch a bunch of fish on it! It's retired to my tackle hall of fame now. Don't really know why I don't fish the pistol grip anymore.

I made it out today to prefish for one of this weekends T's The senko bite was pretty good since the cold front pushed the fish off the bank out into 5-10' of water. I keep a box of GYCB senkos in the boat but try to save them for when it counts. I've got another box that has Tiki Sticks, Z Nails, and a few odd ball color senkos I found on sale. These are cheaper so I use them any time. Each of the brands produced fish today. The big fish was a 22"er that took a watermellon/chart. tail tiki. The z nail in watermellon candy caught 4 or 5 1-2 1/2 pounders and the senko in pearl caught about the same. I liked fishing the senko the best because of it's faster fall more water can be covered in the same amount of time.

I love the Senkos. They have been a big producer for me as they have been for many others. They are the stick bait that I have preferred for some time now even though I hate paying $6 a bag for them. I've tried several brands like Creme's, Big Bag's, Zoom's, Yum's, Stiko's, Wave's, etc. My favorite non GYCB lure is the Wave Tiki with the chart. tails and the Zoom Z nails. After a lot of fishing I think that there is room for more than just the original in my boat. The Senko has a faster fall and more action than the others I've used. This is great if that's what the fish want. But what about after a cold front and other conditions that slow the fish down. The Tiki's have less action and have to be fished slower but do catch a bunch and may be better in a situation like this. BTW, I read in other threads like this that the senko's can be "welded" back together using a soldering iron and reused. I save a few used ones for wacky rigging to get a little extra milage out of them too. big

Dropped off my damaged 105H at the local Daiwa service center. They acted like it would be no problem to warrantee the damage and relube it. We'll see in two weeks.

I would love to buy some of these to replace my Japanese reels becuase I'm BIG on Buy American. Two things have to happen first IMO, they need to be proven by someone else over a couple years use and they need the fugly removed and a more modern design used. Like I said, my opinion. big

My dad was a fisherman and loved the water like me. As a child I lived in some pretty cool fishing locations: Naknek Alaska, Wake Island, San Diego, Hampton VA. I love to fish the salt and go many times a year. My SW partner has a nice 26' Twin Vee on the TX coast and we hit the Snaps, Ling, Kings, etc. pretty good. My son and I also wade the surf and bays around Surfside, TX for trout and reds when we are not offshore or bass fishing. I've just recently got into tuna fishing and made my first trip for yellowfin out of Port Fourchon, LA with Tomney Charters. You live in what is unquestionably the best place in the country for bass, inshore, and offshore fishing. big

I'm glad that the two BPS stores here are a 45 minute drive away. Keeps me from going every day. Kind of like having a casino next door to a gambler, lol.

Those are some good looking fish! Congrats ;D

Welcome Jay

Just called and they are out of the TD-Z's. They gave me Diawa's number so I'll call and see if I can get a warrantee repair. big

Got my two today. One spins smooth and quiet. The other is noisy. After a closer look I found that the chrome piece in front of the level wind is cracked. The dilemma is do I return a reel I'd like to keep for a cash refund since they probably don't have anymore in stock or pay to get a brand new reel fixed out of my own pocket. big

Hi Knutt, welcome from McKinney, TX

I've gone the other way with good results. I've got a Falcon Original 7' MH spinner that was my freshwater C rig/flipping rig and used it to catch some nice bull redfish to 26lbs at the Chandeleur Islands. It was about the price you were looking for but it's nothing special. Lots of other good rods like Flacons coastal series will do what your looking for. BPS has some good SW spinners at cheap prices too. So IMO the answer to your question is NO it is not a mistake. big

Sounds like you are getting some really good advise here. It's interesting reading for me . I had a bout of pain in my casting arm starting on the outside of my elbow and extending down the top of my forearm. I could curl anything but could lift nothing with my palm down without a lot of pain. After seven or eight months of putting off seeing a doctor and living with the pain it went away on it's own. I'm still fishing a few times a week and turning wrenches at work like usual. I'm wondering when it will be back. big

Sign me up muddy, I'm a redneck mook at heart. big

That's a lousy feeling for folk who live by the catch and release ethic, been there too. I don't know much about the additives for live wells but wish there was one for fish brought up from deep water. I've got a bad track record on trying to vent fish so I don't do it any more.

My ritual is that I aways over sleep before a tourny, always. I really don't do this on purpose but it works out for me. If I need to be up by 3am it's usually 3:45 before I crawl out of the rack. I'm always running behind and hauling bu## trying to catch up. Gets my blood pumping and by that first cast I'm wound tight! Those unlucky hat hooks got me too. Not in the head but tore a nice hole in the seat of my boat. They are no longer permitted in the boat. big

WOW Glenn, what a day you and Keri had ;D ;D ;D. I got a feeling you'll be telling this story for a long time.

Very cool video LBH, thanks for putting it together. The Duke of Mook, now that's going to be hard to shake, lol. Congrats to Glenn for his hog, I knew I'd miss the good stuff when I had to go back to reality. I think there's going to be a bumper crop of fishermen for '08. I know I'll be there for the duration next year. Maybe I could be allow to smoke up some bbq for the group or something. bert

Ronnie, it was a real pleasure fishing with you! Let's hook up again next year and get some revenge on those fish! The wind and weather change had things jacked up pretty good. I went from hammering them good the week before to squeeking out a few dinks by the time we fished together. LBH, we need dates for 08. Time to start the count down, lol. bert

A little more info would help. Is this a finesse rig for you or just general bass fishing? I've got one on a 6' Berkley Series One medium action and it's a sweet little outfit. Very light and sensitive. Nothing wrong with an Ugly Stik but a Lightning Rod is a nicer rod for under $30. For $50 or so a Bionix is a good step up if you could find one around. I like my Falcon Lowriders really well and they can be bought for $70 around here when Academy has a rod riot. 6' or 6 1/2' medium light or medium action is what I'd be looking for. Good luck, big

I got two of the 105h's through the sponsor link above. Thanks for the heads up!

If you are dead set on a spinner go for it. If you size one to your target fish you should have few problems. I've got a Stella 20K that could haul in a 200 lb yellowfin with no problem but it's sized to the species. A 4000 size is better suited to a striper if you plan to fish for them alot and will work for bass. As said earlier, a 2500 size would be great for lmb. Plan on going to the coast to try some redfish? A Penn 450SSg should do well and pretty cheap. The Stradic is a mainstay of bass fishermen but there are lots of good choices. Go look some over at BPS or Gander Mountain and get a feel for them. I would spend a few extra bucks and get a Shimano, Penn, or maybe a Diawa. I think under about $40 the quality starts dropping off fast. I fish 15lb braid on my spinners with a 6' fluoro leader attached with a uni to uni knot. I do this because I can't stand the twist spinners put in mono. Good luck and welcome from McKinney, TX

I've been having some grief from my Curados as well. Two of the 100B's and one of the 100D's have started feeling pretty rough both casting and retrieving. I fish often but baby my tackle pretty good. None of the reels are over two years old. I've just picked up two that I had cleaned and lubed and they are not any better. I decided to send one to Shimano and see how it comes out. Ended up buying two Johnny Morris reels to help get me through the reel shortage. They were on sale at the BPS spring deal for just over $100. They feel and cast very nice for the money. Maybe I should look into the Revo's. big