PondBoss

Thanks for the reassuring comments. I like a little stretch when I'm fishing spinnerbaits and crankbaits, gives a bit of time for the bait to get in the fishes mouth/bounce of the cover before setting the hook. When I'm flipping, it's braid to a flouro Yo-Zuri leader.

I was able to get out today and make a few casts at a local pond for a few minutes. I found that it was pretty darn abrasion resistant. I was in the trees seemingly every cast today (wind blowing 30+) and had zero problems. Caught 2 fish on back to back casts in lest than 2 feet of water in basically the same spot. The water is fairly clear, so maybe they can't see that red line after all. Biggest of the 2 was 19 inches and a solid 4lbs. ;D

I just bought some of this in the 12lb and was wondering what the reviews are of it. I searched and found basically nothing about it. Is anyone using it with any success? What are the ups/downs to it? I thought I'd give it a try just for shagrins as it is really inexpensive and I wanted to see how its supposed "invisibility" stood up. Lets here it, thanks. Matt

What is the deal with it costing more for a replica than the actual skin of the fish you caught. Kinda sucks that you have to spend $100 more to save a lunker.

Looks like you guys had a blast, but is Charlie Moore as much of a ****** in person as he appears to be on tv? It was funny though seeing him be such a pansy and afraid of those snakehead.

The last 3-4 days have been highs in the high 60's - low 80's over night lows in the 40's-50's. There was vegetation and most of my fish were either in it or just above it. Maybe the bigger fish are just waiting for the water temps to get up just a bit more.

Just got back from fishing a couple of ponds with a buddy. We caught a few fish (20), but nothing big. What is the trick to finding the bigger fish early in the year? The biggest fish we caught were only about 1-1 1/2 lbs. Lots of dinks and a couple of crappie. My guess is we weren't fishing deep enough? All of our fish were caught in 5 ft of water or less. Any ideas would be helpful, thanks. Matt

I agree with Bassman, I'd also like to throw in that it might come down to what presentation you like to fish. If you are more likely to flip a jig or worm, I'd go with the structure on the stained lake. If you are more of an open water fisherman, maybe look for the clearer water.

those frogs are spooky, great work.

I'll take a dozen like the ones in the last 2 pics. Those look great. If I had the tools and know how I'd love to make my own. I'd love to use some fur or feathers or whatever that stuff is. Just like the way it moves in the water. Good show

;D my wife and I love to watch his show just for that

Yes and no, all the new modern tech is great and I'm sure it helps. On the other hand all the new modern tech is great and can hurt too. Back in the day there were less choices. I think an angler had to be more of a technician then with the presentation. Now there are so many things to choose from that if this isn't working, you just tie on something else and cast away. When maybe the first bait was really the ticket, you may have just got in a hurry to try other options. Lines and lures are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were 20 years ago, but in the end "it's the Indian, not the arrow". (please excuse the maybe not so PC quote)

One other thing; If all a guy ever throws is purple worms with blue flakes, or firetiger crankbaits, then every fish he ever catches, will be caught on purple worms with blue flakes, and firetiger crankbaits. Peace, Fish Funny how that works out.

On an average day in the summer I'll go through at least one bag of trick worms.(watermelon w/red fleck) usually I will switch colors when I run out and keep on catching them. Went through 3 full bags one day. (100 fish day)

The best things for me hands down are my FootJoy winter golf gloves. They are thin enough to thumb the line on a baitcaster yet keep your hands warm.

Try some P-line CXX. It coils a bit more, but I don't find this to be an issue at all on casting gear and its abrasion resistance and strength is unmatched. It's also cheap, so if you don't like it you're only out ~$10. Thanks for the heads up, going to Academy this evening maybe I'll pick some up. Do they make a clear braid? I've heard of invisabraid, is it any good?

Thanks for all the replies. I'm more confused now then ever. But seriously thanks a lot, I had kinda figured on a slightly longer/firmer rod and a high gear ration reel. Really looking forward to fishing for the big ones this winter. ;D

I use the yozuri hybrid line too, but am thinking about getting away from it. It just doesn't seem to have the abrasion resistance that some others do. Maybe I just need to check my line more often. lol nothing like setting the hook and having an instant snap.

Thanks for all the feed back, although I have to say that I'm rather confused by all of the classifications of rods. I guess I'm just not in the loop. The general consensus though seems to be to go with a bit longer rod. It totally makes sense as far as moving more line and helping keep a taught line through out the hook set. I do use braid as a backing on all my reels. The ponds I fish are pretty clear so a mono or flouro leader is a must. Ususally between 12-14. Now that I've got your opinions on rods, what about reels and gear ratios? Thanks again Matt

Me personally, I like to find rock. Whether that be chunk rock, boulders, gravel, or rock walls. I fish a really big pond that has big sand stone walls where the pond narrows into a creek. Flipping and pitching jigs up against the wall and in and around the cover that lays up against it is dynamite when the water gets cold. Not sure if there is any relevance to my idea, but for some reason when I think cold water I think crayfish. That makes me put on a jig in orange, red, or brown colors and fish every place I would be setting if I were a fish. Caught the fish in my signature pic just last week with water temps in the 40's We caught 12 fish weighting 39lbs.

Me personally, I like to find rock. Whether that be chunk rock, boulders, gravel, or rock walls. I fish a really big pond that has big sand stone walls where the pond narrows into a creek. Flipping and pitching jigs up against the wall and in and around the cover that lays up against it is dynamite when the water gets cold. Not sure if there is any relevance to my idea, but for some reason when I think cold water I think crayfish. That makes me put on a jig in orange, red, or brown colors and fish every place I would be setting if I were a fish. Caught the fish in my signature pic just last week with water temps in the 40's We caught 12 fish weighting 39lbs.

Me personally, I like to find rock. Whether that be chunk rock, boulders, gravel, or rock walls. I fish a really big pond that has big sand stone walls where the pond narrows into a creek. Flipping and pitching jigs up against the wall and in and around the cover that lays up against it is dynamite when the water gets cold. Not sure if there is any relevance to my idea, but for some reason when I think cold water I think crayfish. That makes me put on a jig in orange, red, or brown colors and fish every place I would be setting if I were a fish. Caught the fish in my signature pic just last week with water temps in the 40's We caught 12 fish weighting 39lbs.

So I'm new to fishing a jig, but after that last time I went out I will always fish one. My question is what is an ideal equipment set up for fishing jigs. As of right now I'm using a baitcasting reel and 6'6 med/heavy rod. Pitching 1/4-1/2 oz strike king pro model jigs with matching zoom chunk trailers. Any help on set up would be appreciated, as I am asking Santa for a "jig" set up. Thanks in advance

I mainly pond fish so if I don't catch at least 30 for a whole day I've had a bad day. Of course my ponds are wicked awesome to fish and the average bass goes about 2lbs with many fish in the range of 5-10. But when lake fishing I'd say 5-20. Depends on the day, though I can only count the number of days I've ever been skunked on one finger.

It makes sense every now and then to try something different. Almost 90% of my fish come on spinner baits and T-rigs. Last year I started learning to fish a jig, that would account for the other 10%. This year I've decided to try the Carolina rig. I've been reading as much as I can in the old forum logs, but had a couple of questions still. One thing that popped up a lot was the hook set. Everyone was saying to use a sweeping hook set as apposed to the over the head move. Why is this? Can someone please define the sweeping hook set to me? Another question I had was is there any difference in the way a bite feels than from say a T-rig? And last but not least, how to retrieve? My best guess was more or less a stop go sweeping of the rod. Thanks in advance for all the help.