PressuredFishing

Huh, I wonder if dfg fines people for dumping these invasive species in the lakes, I mean even if they are not killing the fish, it grosses me out picking slimey snail shells off my hook, maybe that's just me

Squarebills over grass in ponds are underrated. Rod tip high and burning them is a really good technique. This can be a lesson that the learning curve for bass fishing is very high, fishing isn't always about catching.

Assuming you know how to dial in a reel and cast effectivley, I would take it back immediately to shimano and ask for a full refund and not a replacement. Get your money back if it's a lemon, I know the feeling, you can get a refund on most items that you haven't had to long. The reason I say ask for your money is so you can buy another one if YOU want instead of giving them the opportunity to decide for you.

How many years do you have up your sleeve? Just curious because you keep calling me a kid.

I use bfs for very niche situations, small topwaters or buzzbaits for the fast gear ratio or flipping and pitching for trout in streams. I don't use bfs for panfish or trout in lakes because spinning gear casts farther, and If I'm fishing cover I use a 10ft rod to drop a rig into tulies. if you like braid because of the sensitivity and lack of line twist on spinning, that's fine and dandy, just remember if you are using braid on bfs I warn you, it's not smart. Warped a bfs spool (scorpion) from using braid on a 4lb bass. I got the fish but the spool was messed up and the braid deformed the spool. The new usdm curado doesn't have that issue. Personally I feel like I get better hookup ratio with mono, so do many others, you may get a better catch ratio from feeling subtler bites and not dealing with line twist. Also important to note crappie can be line shy by using heavier line or colored line (braid or the colored monos, and have noticed a huge increase in bites using braid to leader.

Good information, yeah people dumped their goldfish in the pond, they didn't last long with the bass though, or do goldfish turn into carp? There are Carp

looks good for clear water largies as well.

Not a bad Idea, will do that

When fishing the other day I was reeling my lure in and finding alot of the milfoil had small snail shells about the size of a dime, some a hair smaller, all of the ones that whereon my hook seemed to be dead, because nothing was in the shells. I have never seen this in this body of water, which is making me slightly worried for the fish. has anyone else experienced this???

To put simply, the industry is changing

Depends on the style of worm that he is talking about worms with alot of appendages and movement dont do as good in winter as a trick worm or dropshot worm. Worms are good year round, jigs are also good year round, really depends if you want more bites or bigger bites. Jigs also do better in winter on bottom because of grass, it usually dies off. worms do a little better in my experience slithering through hydrillia and milfoil compared to jigs. both a trickworm and dropshot worm are interexchangable with a jig in the winter months. Personally my plan for winter fishing is probing deeper water with a Carolina rig or drop-shot so if I snag im not out a nice jig, Find the spots that have fish+structure, and fish that small area effectively with a jig that has a weed gaurd and weight suitible for the structure your fishing. Find the structure with your electronics, but not all structure has fish on it, so search around mark spots and if you get bit on a smaller worm you can upgrade to a jig and soak it in the area. This is what I do, although if you just want bigger bites go with jig, and if you want more bites you can go worm. Jig and worm complement each other really good!

Ah interesting, Yeah I was a little dissapointed with the action as well, I guess I really like it because its in that 3-4 foot zone so its really good in ponds compared to others on the market like soft plastic bluegills, Not to say they dont work, but the bass are suspending below the surface for me at the moment and the bottom has a ton of aquatic snails and algae. speaking of aquatic snails, are these good or bad for a pond??? every cast I get a few on my hooks if they reach bottom, wasnt sure if they where good or bad. They look like this and only get as big as a dime, even sometimes a little smaller. Not sure if they will hurt the pond, never seem them before in all the years of fishing this body of water.

Welcome! Bass fishing has an endless learning curve, I hope you learn alot, I know I have from this website!

I'm just stating the obvious tried and true method of panfishing and fishing for species with delicate mouths, again this thread has nothing to do with rods or reels, only line, not quite sure why you brought that up... if you want to stand out from the crowd and be cool and catch crappie on a baitcaster with braid go for it, doesn't mean your hook to land ratio is better, far from it. I was just giving information to those who are willing to listen.

Of corse, but I didn't think this was about hook setting techniques, instead I thought it was a fourm thread about lines for crappie, 2-6lb mono is less likely to rip out of a crappies mouth compared to floro or braid, even taking into consideration proper hooksetting technique. Mono helps not tear a crappies mouth because bringing a crappie with zero stretch tears a larger hole in a fishes mouth, and with light wire hooks they come right out. Braid and floro does work on fiberglass rods but I'm assuming nobody here fishes with fiberglass for crappie often. Give is a must in crappie fishing, it's up to you wether Thad be in the rod or line. Same as jerkbait fishing for bass, you can use a mono with medium fast action or a medium moderate action with floro.

If you want to do everything, medium action will do good in the grass and will be able to fish panfish trout and bass. Winter time or panfishing 6lb line and grassy lakes or bass 8lb. If you are only going to have one rod perhaps invest in a spare spool for your Supreme, than you can get the bonuses of 6lb line techniques and the strength of 8lb. You can also just tie a 50ft leader of 6lb mono to your 8lb mainline. Mono or braid is a must for a do it all combo. Floro sinks which prevents you from throwing topwaters, which makes the rod not a do it all rod. Braid to leader allows you to use different line types and easy changes on the water, but you may loose fish when learning hard leader knots like the fg or Alberto or uni etc. If using braid upsize to 15-20lb. Mono is cheaper and knots better than Braid+ you can use easier knots to tie such as a blood knot or surgeons knot. Personally I use mono for my spinning combos because it's cheaper and I don't have to constantly tie Braid leaders.

The conversation was about line not rods or reels, mono is better for crappie, experience is assumed to be had...

Braid and floro for crappie is less than ideal because they have paper thin mouths and you can easily rip the hooks out of their mouthes, like REALLY EASILY. Training yourself to feel crappie bites is the best way in the long run. Their bites in the winter feel like mush is on your hook and it's gets a little heavier. They can also hit hard, but that's easy to detect. They feel like mush in winter because they just suck the jig in without moving.

Exactly whats happening to me, on a more severe side because of CA drought. Bass are in survival mode and have tight lockjaw when this happens, and you can get bites dragging a worm, but they will still react to moving baits really well, my theory is because if water has dropped 50% in my lake in 2 months bass are super hungry and go crazy. If it isnt as severe as this, target deeper water right next the the structure that got dried up, bass dont want to move far, just far enough. If there is a layed down tree in the water or a grass line that dried up, fish the deeper part of that downed tree or a deeper channel near that grassline or downed tree. Also check nearby points, or backs of coves, because its fall

I'd reccomend telling me what you want to throw and where+what time of year. Most spinning techniques here in socal are usually medium to medium light, and 6-8lb line, 1/16-3/8ths. Need to know what you are throwing, D.S, finesse jig, worm, finesse topwaters, swimbaits, and for trout what lures or weights, than we can match something up.

Painter tape

Ah yes, I forgot to mention this was a large pond, there are small baitfish like minnows and bass do eat those to, they get 2-3 inches. Interesting, what colors are your favorite, I got a phantom trout and bone

Today I went out with nothing but one rod and a bait tied on for about two hours at a local body of water. I tied a jackal gantarel Jr and was using a slow reel method, a slow retrieve with pauses, and a light twitch stop after swimming. I ended up getting one bite and saw the fish flash, but It was a pounder or two and I think he just nipped at it without swallowing it. Because I want to learn more about the jackal Ganterel Jr, How do you guys fish it? I got my bite on a very slow steady retrieve, It doesnt look as good twitching it hard like a S waver does, so I was wondering how to work it more effectively. (Also interesting to note I went yesterday and the day before with normal baits under same cold 60 degree weather conditions and only got 2 or three bites over those last two days, perhaps the fish are just so pressured upsizing is having a similar effect downsizing has???

never had a bass run towards me so fast I could not keep up, even with a slower 6:4:1 gear ratio or something. Salmon is a different story, and this is true with them running towards you even on the fly without a barb, teaches you to keep pressure on the fish because if you loose tension the hook comes out. I remember throwing small hula poppers for schooling bass in 20+foot clarity... the results are well.... disgustingly overpowered.

Absolutely, I use an eagle Claw fiberglass ul rod with a 20 dollar cheapie reel with mono, is really good fun, lost a 8lb bass on it though so simple bit me in the Butt, rod bent in half and drag went *zip zip zip* and was sticky and treble popped out. Now I don't fish with "super cheap stuff" because my pb of 5lbs was caught on a night crawler and a piece of split shot on a little shakesphere dock demon rod, thank goodness it was winter but the drag was cranked all the way down and the fish kept pulling, 6lb line, but we all know the pre spooled line those reels have is 4, and a short foot and a half rod, who's knows how I landed that fish, got wrapped up I'm tulies but it somehow swam itself out. Personally don't go simple anymore much because simple almost lost me another nice fish.