BassSteve

The reels rotate through are: 1. Curado 200 2. Curado 70 3. Bantam MGL 4. Scorpion BFS 5. Stradic 2500 What is yours?

Oh yeah, I know the last fish I caught in the pictures is a Mayan cichlid, but I had no idea that peacock bass are actually a cichlid! Thanks for telling me

Not too many fish but they were great size. It's really cool to catch peacock bass in the same hole you catch largemouth. It may be my imagination, but peacock bass seem more aggressive than largemouth..? Oh, my foot is 10.5" by the way for scale lol ?

Yeah, I was looking at that one and it is a performer I'm sure. The thing is that rod is a bit more than I want to spend right now. I would probably spend up to $150

So I'm looking for a new rod to go with my curado 200k. Currently I have it paired with a cheap 50 dollar rod....doesn't do it justice, especially considering the curado is not a cheap reel. I know there is a curado rod specifically for the reel and I'm sure it's quality, but do you guys have any good rod options? I'm looking at a MH 7' - 7' 3" rod. Thanks

the reel is the shimano scorpion bfs reel. I previously had 8 lb test on it, now I installed 10 lb test fluorocarbon. It only holds around 50 yards of line if I remember right. the lures I fish are between 1/4oz and 3/8oz. If I let all the line out, and reeled it all in again but keeping firm pressure on the line, would it fix the problem?

Hey, For the first time I am experiencing a weird thing. On my small bfs baitcasting reel I have it loaded with fluorocarbon. When I reel it in, the line makes a crunching sound as it is going back on the spool, like it is crunching against the line already on the spool. I have never had happen with any of my baitcasting reels before. Can you think of any reason this is happening?

Hey, The lake behind my house is stocked with tilapia for some reason. I am not sure of the benefits, I never looked into it. I know people eat tilapia, but I strictly catch and release fish. When I fish, the tilapia never go after my lures. They seem uninterested, but sometimes when i reel it in i can feel my lure bounce off the fish, like they just let it hit them lol. Well today I decided to toss out a rooster tail (yellow and black) with a red siwash hook. The tilapia went after it like crazy! I have never seen them react to a lure like this before, and i always use inline spinners. Could the red hook color have set them off? I really can't explain the sudden interest but I like the fight they put up. Also, if I want to target fish for them, what bait or lures do tilapia go for? Thanks Steve ??

You are dead on about that. Just yesterday I caught a bass that got hooked on the top of its head! ? it didn't put up much of a fight because I'm sure it was painful but he should be ok. I released him asap. I use the gamakatsu siwash and they are very sharp. Release is so simple and they can usually just throw the hook themselves ?✌

Thank you for your great advice! Yes I switched to using single siwash hooks last year. On this particular lure I did not have a siwash available but this hook will do the job. I crushed the barb down too. If you keep line pressure there really is no need for a treble, it took me a while to learn that. I snipped off the top of the wire and removed the faceted bead... It turns out it was grinding into the underside of the spoon not allowing it to spin properly! Now I took it for a test run and it works perfectly! My problem now is the loop you tie the line too is only bent in a u shape...there is not enough wire to wrap any remaining around the main wire to secure it. Will it hold, or do you think the first bass i catch will straighten it out and I will lose everything?..?? Thank you very much, the bead was rubbing against the blade just like you thought! ? You're right the glass bead was rubbing against the blade. On this particular lure I don't have a clevis, its panther martin style ?✌?

thanks for the good info. Whats the chances I can open it back up and remove the faceted bead that touches the blade and put it back together?

hmm..I have a smooth gold bead above and below the blade. I can spin it with my finger it seems to spin just fine. Does it make a difference how high up or low the blade is positioned in relation to the body of the spinner?

Hey all, I tried my hand recently on making inline spinners. I made two so far, the first one functions perfectly. They are panther martin style without the clevis. My second one does not spin well, I constantly have to reel faster or slower to get it going it seems. The first one had less decorative beads on it, but I don't know why it won't work properly. Please give me your take on why it may not be working well ? Thanks

I was very close to saying that also! I have had a lot of luck with the grape "Charlie's worms" 6 or 8 inch ribbon tail worm for a long time. They smell great too, almost good enough to eat... I won't argue with that sir ? hmm cinnamon purple huh? Neon blue blood line? Very interesting colors.

We all know when it comes to fishing for bass you can catch them on pretty much any color soft plastic. If you had to think about it, of all the soft plastic lure types, what color gives you consistent results, at any time of the year? For me, the most successful and effective color has been junebug. On sunny days or close to sunset it didn't seem to matter.

Ouch man, sorry about that

Happy to hear you will be getting back into fishing. I hope you catch plenty of fish

So I fished for 10 minutes in the lake behind my house after work and I finally caught something. I knew it was a bass but it felt strange, not putting up much of a fight. I finally get it to the surface and I have him hooked by the tail! Lol ? it looked so strange dragging him in as if I hooked a dead fish from the bottom. I was fishing with a 1/4oz chrome rooster tail with a single hook. The only thing I can think of is it struck the lure, it bounced off him and ended up in his tail. I love those gamakatsu hooks, they really are very sharp! At the last second it gave a snap of it's tail and was free of the hook. I'm sure this has happened to many before but this is a first for me, it must not be a very common scenario. I wish there was time enough for a picture! ?

So what then they are marketed for salt water fishing? I would sure like a baitcasting reel I could go from 6:3:1 to 8:2:1. That would come in handy instead of buying 2 of the same reels but in different ratios...

That is sweet, 4:1 gear ratio, that's really slow. I may be wrong but they don't create baitcasting reels these days with that feature anymore right? If they don't there must be a reason, like it's not practical or it's not something that has a demand etc.

Now that is a sweet looking real I have to say, even for the time. Yeah 200 in 1990 is probably 400 or 500 now, that was pricey. Wow so what is two speed feature? Does it mean you can change between gear ratios or something or it just controls how fast the line gets reeled in?

Pretty ancient looking compared to today's baitcasters huh, it's amazing how they evolved and how sleek they are now. I'm not trying to make fun, but are the knobs on that thing some kind of rubber? They look like leather lol.

We all have that sentimental feeling about our first reel, even if they were not so great. It's all about the memories with friends and family, and hopefully catching a lot of fish with it ? What was your very first baitcaster reel, and do you still have it? My first was in 2009, called the quantum escalade lol. I was 17 at the time, cost me 50 or 60 dollars back then. I still have it, kept in a drawer. I know that I will never use it again, but yet I still don't get rid of it. Just one of those things ?

Nailed it on the head

Oh I forgot to mention, I changed out all the treble hooks with single. They actually go through grass pretty easily and continue to spin when they exit. This is my experience anyway. I replace the treble hooks with different size open eye siwash hooks. Best decision I ever made. They are so sharp sometimes I bring the fish in hooked in their head or side of the face! But usually they are perfectly hooked around the mouth, easy low stress removal ??