fishhugger

i read that the red slashes on the side of the heads (visible on mr turtle to the right) means they were pets. in any event, the california native turtle (i have no idea what the scientific name is) is pretty drab by comparison.....

trying these lures for bluegill... i'm fishing a lake, 7acre, california. i've gone out a couple times at 630a... it's light by then. i've gotten some nice bites from 630 to 645, and there's some dimples near the shores. lake surface is like glass. i use these like topwaters --- twitching on surface, even jumping. i do my best to let them sit for 20 seconds, instead of constant slowly retrieving. my latest thing today was wobbling the rod tip back and forth quickly, slow retrieve... i think using them as crank baits would result in lots of snags, or covered maybe with vegetation. if i did use them as crank baits, which i think is what they are designed for? i can't imagine a hopper or crawfish swimming at mid water. and that's where i'd fish these, until i get more skilled at depth control, and avoiding snags. but - i would tend to use a spinner for mid depth fishing... should i not think of them as what i buy them as (a specific animal that behaves a certain way) and just fish them all the same? i should get my butt out of bed and at the lake when it's still dark, right? esp for topwaters? thank you

am i the only one who agrees with your friend? when i go to fish, i don't want to have to turn all sorts of mental and physical gymnastix to get ... a bite... i've switched to blue gill this summer,. i may return to bass later. i'm between your friend and i guess guys here... okay, it's like this for me: i don't want to play chess with some scaley fish. i want to play checkers. i used to be a tournament chess player. one error, good bye. five tiny errors - good bye.

some people pick up the bait caster pretty quickly...... i bought my first one, practiced with it - went out within days and was - well, not catching fish, that would've been a disaster - but was having fun. and i figured birds nests were part of the process. it didn't take that long to kind of figure out how to untangle most of them. i think i began with mono - it's easier to detangle and i think i heard it's good to start with mono because it's harder to cast than braid. might have worked for me cause i enjoy casting and often am not pressured to catch fish. i've only been bass fishing for a couple years.. i think being a beginner at bass fishing, me, it makes learning bait casting simpler. less pressure cause everything is new. and there's little danger of a 10 pounder grabbing your bait.. just dinks. within a month i preferred my bait caster to my spin outfits.

i'm just kind of asking about - times you're not out to just do serious fishing. i'm talking panfish, near my house, i just drop by.................... no expectation. it was just so pleasant.. if i go up to the delta loaded for lmb or stripers - no... that would not be that pleasant... or if i had my kayak loaded up, going fishing. that might not be so great either, to go fishless....

i'd think hunting - altho i've never done that - could be enjoyable even if you didn't get nothin'. depends on how much you want to get something - that particular day? but i'd guess that a nice, sunny, maybe brisk, but nice outdoor day - maybe less necessary to get that animal. especially if it's not a hassle getting all your gear and travel and stuff.. if i'm pretty relaxed, i like just watching my line flying out in the wind, how it settles on the water, the scenery... but then if i kind of want a fish, like for dinner, i'd be disappointed and probably frustrated. but if i don't really care that day and am just enjoying everything, i'm good.

yeah, i re-edited my op, which was worded poorly - i just have been going out lately to get bluegill - no kayak, no anything really. i keep my rod in my car, and i'm going out semi-bright and early now to do the same - wet a line. for an hour or so. then just back to the car, back home...right there. few expectations, although i'm working on my spinner technique. yesterday it all just 'aligned' - yeah, live in california --- dunno, like it wasn't a big deal to fish, and not a big deal that i didn't catch any.... other days are different.

is there a 'sweet spot' for buying a quality rod? a number of the previous guys (all much more experienced than i) seem to have rods very similar to mine... a shakespeare ... sometimes i put things in terms of cars, since i'm more familiar with them than expensive watches... like, my shakespeare microlite, which i'm happy with, is a honda accord? and the $200 rod is a ... uh... lexus or bmw --- ... and then the $400 st. croix is a maseratti or ferrari???? um, now it makes sense to me, lol!!!

i assume many have... my lake is 2 1/2 miles from my home, and i often just carry my blue gill rod in my car. took a break today fishing for an hour. it was just so pleasant today. going for bluegill, wonderful day, although i usually do not fish in mid day. a newbie, i got my little spinning rod, and a mepps 1. i get a couple bites ---- i think --- pretty sure --- they felt like tugs, but i guess it could be... wood or something. but i thought they were bites. just no pressure at all, just casting, watching that line sail into the air, and then bringing the spinner in. talking to a few people, including a lady who was new to the lake, and asked where was the swimming area. kids jogging by. a guy asking when they stock the lake. (summers they stock catfish; the water gets too hot in the bay area for trout, at least in summer.), people walking their dogs. one dog was very cute, and i was going to ask what kind he was, but he was doing his biz, and i decided not to. almost like - hey, it's nice NOT to be bothered by those pesky blue gill....i mean, you gotta unhook 'em...etc. apologies guys - my original post sounded like no fish for a "day" of fishing, a whole or much of a day is how it was read. i agree, a large part or all of a day getting skunked would be awful. this was just a break from my errands... no expectations, and my spot is right by my house...that's what i meant... original post was poorly worded...

i can't conceive of a $400 rod --- but i'm new at this. i'm using a microlight by shakespeare, 7', little shimano spinning reel, i think 4# mono hi vis. that's my panfish setup. i cast a 1/16 oz spinner --- i'm guessing - about 70''? i'm guessing the rod is about like the okuma celilo, in terms of basic quality.... i'm dumb - what makes a $400 panfish rod worth it? other than fondling it, which, yeah, even as a newbie i'd be into that.

you must have some nice ponds near you.... if i had underwater topo maps of a new pond, i'd be a lot happier fishing with that aid, rather than 'blindly' fishing. i prefer, as another responder noted, small lakes or ponds, over larger lakes. i'm a bankie.

does it make sense to use a spinner as way to locate the bluegill schools? on the one hand, you cover a lot of water, fairly quickly. on the negative, if the spinner isn't very effective in itself, it seems like that is not a good way to find a group of gills.... but i guess i've been trying - search with spinner, then use slower but more effective bait - the jigs with plastics, once you've located a school i haven't located my school yet, but get the odd fish.

i no nothing about alaska.... but here's my two cents. i used to frequent bars. i was in a bar, and this guy had a sister in alaska. he said i should go up there. but, he said, don't take a picture....in a bar.... in alaska........ lol! (actually, i wouldn't. better to be safe than sorry.... ) there's a video on youtube, a recent one, i believe... alex fong - can we mention names here? he went up there, a gal he's with hooked onto a 100# plus halibut... is that a barn door? or a whole barn... i think they must let them go if they're over 100#????? anyway, she did. oh, and then they burned out an electric reel... have a great trip!1!!!!

oh wow, wouldn't have thought of a mini rattle guy....

have to admit - i really don't have the patience to fish using real bait for panfish..... i just don't want to be messing with redworms or something, chasing after panfish. i tried the bait, switched over to a panther martin 1/32oz. i cast that around, my mood got better, as it was a nice evening, and hooked one, he got off. one other bite near that spot... other than that - no luck. i just hate bait soaking and bobbers, etc...

this lake has some nice submerged trees, holes, reeds, within 5 to 10 feet of the bank. if you drop in a fly or worm or trout magnet or hair jig --- if you work a few sides of a stump or tree, how long do you work each drop? a drop as in, you might drop your bait in about 5 spots around a stump. do you leave the bait in, and then out within a minute? are you expecting to work a large area of bank fairly quickly, or is this a pretty slow grind i try to be as quiet as possible and when i'm fishing this close to shore, i try to have my bait enter the water as quietly as possible. thanks - happy fishing

i throw my loose stuff into my shoulder bag. i try to pack out stuff i find, tho, principally fishing line. line is awful to leave, and where i fish, people leave line all over. what pigs. i try to take what i can. if i find a lure, it's a tip! found a really cool rebel popper, a deep diver, which i don't use, some plastics. i generally don't bother with other litter. i leave it for the pigs. do i sound bitter?

thanks, @casts_by_fly. okay, redworms and bobber are much more a sure thing... sounds like i can use this to find where panfish hang... yeah, submerged wood, i do look for deep holes. what kind of jigs are you referring to? trout magnets? i'm sort of cool trying to avoid snags in weeds and wood - while working around them. i do lmb fishing also, so am sort of used to working around snags. any other thoughts on the small spoon spinner route?

hey yall, newbie here. i'm on a 10 acre lake in sf bay area, created by a dam. trying to learn how to use spoons and spinners to search for panfish, particularly blue gill. for table fare. so i'm using a shakespeare microlight series spin rod, 4# hi vis line, 4# flouro leader... 0 mepps, rooster tails, 1/12 oz kastmasters, panther martins. and trout magnets. my current strategy: i prefer to go around dusk, and hit the structure or downers right by shore. there's lots of nice holes - some a couple feet deep, others deeper. nice downed trees, submerged ones, docks, etc.. i hit all this stuff. there's gotta be fish there, right? i'll also 'jig' some spoons or the magnets in the vegetation (cat tails?) that is underwater,but right next to the bank. i'll just drop my kastmaster down, within reach of my rod, and just try leaving it on the bottom, lifting it occasionally, being very quiet, then move on. the mepps i cast out, try to run it along the shore, but i'll try to fan out deeper also. this might not be the best way to catch panfish, but is it a good way? the water right next to shore seems so fish-friendly.....

you can use the super old fashioned way.... a compass? take bearings, then you'll know where your spots are. also, doing it your way, some person could remove your little tags.

mepps 0 or 1......... sometimes with the hair tied on treble. the new ones seem to be identical to my 50 year old mepps.... many other old time lures seem to be not as well made nowadays, or made of different materials than in the old daze

k.... eagle claw are pretty low in terms of quality, sounds like. i can close the eyes on the one pack of 50, which has probably 40 or more w open eyes. it's fine for pan fishing...

relative nb to fishing. i have a couple packs of eagle claw hooks, 50 quantity each. almost all the rotating panfish hooks, size 6, have eyes that have gaps that can let line thru. it seems easy to close them, with pliers. the other pack, baitholder hooks, size 4, almost all the eyes are fully closed. i think it's ok to use these hooks, as they're small and the eye is easily closed. but i'm assuming other brands of hooks won't have this problem?? uh, is eagle claw a low quality hook? happy fishing

thanks guys................ yeah, it seems to dry overnight, if i remove most of the water. just wondering if guys did anything different for natural hair. all my other lures are synthetic, which dry easily since they repel water...

i've just started tossing a mepps with what seems like natural hair around the treble. this is in fresh water. actually, this little lure is probably 50 years old, but mepps seems to sell the same lure, even now, and with natural hair. i'm a little obsessive, and after use dabbed at the hair with a rag, leaving it out to dry w my other non-hair lures... does this seem appropriate, or what? i figure the hook will rust if i don't dry the hairs... i guess another alternative is a hair dryer? which i don't have - i don't have enough hair to dry.....hair on my head, that is. happy fishing, and ty