BrianMDTX

Went out this evening and caught this bass on my first cast.

I took off tomorrow, but as I may get something from Delta, I decided to hit the local pond this evening in case tomorrow is a washout. As they were calling for possible precip this evening as well, I left my inflatable at home and fished the bank. I brought limited tackle and two rigs- a baitcaster on a MH rod for a jig and/or TR, and a spinner on a ML for WR. I already had a jig on the BC and a 5” green pumpkin/black flake Senko on the spinner. I laid my gear down, opened the bail and flicked the Senko parallel to the bank about 25’ and...bam! I had a strike right off the bat! Not a bad bass, either! Caught a dink and a superdink (the Senko was longer lol) on the WR. Tried the jig. Nothing. Switched to a weightless 9” Mann’s Jelly Worm in blackberry on a Gammy 3/0 EWG and missed a strike but this guy hit it hard. Not a big’un but it put up a good fight. So, a couple hours, a little rain and four catches. Not a bad evening!

I thought about that for my old Daiwa Millionaire 3H. Just don’t know if it’s truly worth the cost. Likely not lol.

I do that as well periodically, but normally not right after respooling unless there seems to be a major issue with twist. But as far as the initial respooling is concerned, I’ve never had line lay so well as this. I do the post-spray after respooling.

I know we’ve all struggled with spooling line on a spinning reel before. Do it once and it’s tight and lays straight. Respool the same way and for some reason it seems to have a bunch of twist. I’ve heard a lot of tricks to help with that. One is to spool on new line, remove the spool and soak it in hot water to remove memory. Which sounds ok, except the line is already on the spool. So I tried something different. I filled a bowl with hot water from the tap (not boiling!) and put my bulk spool of 8 lb YZH in it and let it soak a good ten minutes. Then I pulled off enough line to run it through the first rod guide, tied an arbor knot and reeled the line on the spool under tension (like in Glenn’s video)...while the bulk spool was still submerged in hot water. Wow. It spooled up great. No twisting, laid tight and it seems to have taken “memory” of the reel spool vs the bulk spool. The proof will be in how well it fishes (which I hope is tomorrow evening or Friday, Delta permitting), but I have to say this is the best I’ve ever spooled line on a spinning reel before!

Welcome Yev. I was attacked in a canoe by a beaver at Piney Run once lol. Hit us like a torpedo!

Define “slump” lol. My catches have really slowed since late July-early August and definitely in September. There were times I was getting strikes every 3-4 times I casted a 5” Senko WR. Not lately. But...I’ve avoided the skunk, and that’s ok with me. I enjoy the time on the water. Looking back at all the time I’ve spent in a treestand, bow in hand, staying still and silent in frigid temps and either seeing no deer at all, or too far to shoot, has made slow fishing days seem action-packed in comparison.

I started with circle hooks. IMO, octopus circle hooks are better. Hookup ratio was better and about 95% are hooked in the corner of the upper lip and stay hooked.

My Fenwick lost the last 3” at the tip on 08/02. I was told I may get my replace sometime this month.

I use 1/0 Gammy octopus circle hooks for 5” stick baits. I rarely miss a hookup.

Congrats! I don’t remember my first bass, but I do remember the first sizable one. It’s been 47 years and I can still recall it like yesterday. Still have the same rod and reel!

No experience with that rod, but I started off with two Black Max’s and so far I’ve had no issues. I spooled 12 lb YZH but Big Game would have been a good choice. I had some experience fishing a BC 30 years ago, but still, I haven’t had one bad backlash yet. As in “cut the bird’s nest out” bad. Pretty simple to set up spool tension and the magnetic brake is a snap to adjust as well.

Good point. Yeah, the T-Wing is not a requirement.

I’ll check that out. I’ve been looking at the Daiwa Tatula CT.

I plan to purchase a baitcaster that is an upgrade over my two Garcia Black Max’s. I’m just entering research mode. Something between $125-$150.

I’m never going to tow anyone in my 7’ inflatable lol, but this was a good read. Many boaters think they know all there is to know about boating, but they don’t.

What’s the issue with YZH that gave you that opinion? I’m interested to hear your take on it.

They built things to last back then!

Yeah, I thought so. So not a Cherry Max. They looked like bucked or squeezed rivets to me.

Were they solid or hollow? A boat built in the 50s could have used rivets you’d likely never see today. Like icebox rivets.

Really lol as I just got back into fishing after a almost 30-year hiatus. Long enough that once I checked out BR, I learned about braid and FC, which may have been available back then but nobody I knew used them. Everyone used mono. But, what the hell. At least now I’m using copoly. But I still get stares hunting with aluminum arrows!

I do not think those are not Cherry Max rivets. Cherry Max rivets are essentially pop rivets on steroids. They are a type of blind rivet, meaning you cannot access the off side of the material being riveted with a bucking bar or a rivet squeezer.

Truth is, some anglers simply abhor tying leaders and prefer one line from reel to lure. That’s just the way it is. It may not be “perfect” for every application, but for some, it’s the choice they’ve made. Not so long ago, unless you were fly fishing or after toothy quarry, it was de riguer to have one line filling your spool. And that was mono. It caught fish.

Granted, if it’s a very expensive item, it’s understandable. Don’t ship a $20K diamond ring that may get lost. But standard shipments should be covered up to $1K. It’s an easy way to limit liability.

I don’t get the “insurance” thing. You ship a package, it should be insured. How a business can take your money, lose or destroy your package and say “Oops! You didn’t insure it! So sorry!” is hogwash.