Fishing_Rod

Greetings All, @IcatchDinks Hah, no good deed goes unpunished, right? Yeah, that whole work things is a total bother to my angling ambitions. Thus, I'm left with a precious weekend time. So I do what I can to make the most of it, when I'm able to. Gotta take care of the Dad stuff first. Once all that is sorted, then the fishing gear comes out. As always, let's be careful out there, regardless of what time you are out there! Be well, Cheers!

Greeting and Happy Fourth All, @JonB2 I am using weedless TRDs on a size #1 EWG with a small glass bead and a 1/64 oz bullet weight on 10 pound mono with a 4000 size spinning reel. This is my summer time solution for weeds and reeds. This configuration presents the small bait in a more gentle approach for the shallow-ish areas. I'm typically a 4 pound mono UL gear user. During the summer months, things are a bit more 'western' so additional leverage is helpful. My only downside is the overall weight of this setup. It is far heavier than my UL rigs. So, I have it handy and use it for those areas. Otherwise like for the rocky edges and ledges, I'm back to my UL rig(s). I hope this helps. Be well, Cheers!

Greetings and Happy Fourth All, @BahnzoBass You have a nice Ultra lite setup in hand with those trout rigs. Give that a go and enjoy while you decide to acquire more gear. Here in Southern AZ, I'm using the same rigs all year long. The cooler months they work well for the trout. The rest of the year it is multi-species to include bass. While I have heavier rigs, I catch more using the UL gear. Also I'm not as fatigued. Tossing that heavy gear about takes more effort. Yes, I understand and have empathy when applying leverage on those stronger fish. Heavier rigs help but only go so far based on conditions. Each break off is a big time bummer for all. A number of the local sticks prefer the braid to leader configuration. The braid tends to float, which does act like a strike indicator. It does help if you're looking. Others have mentioned a bit more diligence in making sure the line is packed on the spool nicely with the spinning reels, this appears to be more critical on flurocarbon line. You want it right and tight to lower the overall drama. There is a local AZ angler that has a TV program and YouTube channel, "Fishing with Johnny Johnson". His latest content included his recommendation of using 8 pound flurocarbon for the leader. His experience shows better presentation action at that line size. Heavier does not allow for his preferred level of lure action. It is nice to have more options, but realize you have good stuff already. Just get something with a good quality drag. Low startup threshold, smooth action, no surging, consistent operation. Be well, Cheers!

Greetings and Happy Fourth All, My effective and fun approach happen to address both qualities in the single package. Effective cause it catches a lot of fish. Fun because it catches a lot of fish. Yeah, just a recreational angler that managed to find something that appears to work well in all the regional waters, all year long. My solution theme somewhat parallels @RRocket approach using the smaller bait profile rigged weedless for versatility. I'm using the TRD baits rigged weedless with a #1 EWG hook. If configured weightless it can be used much like a top water or jerk bait. Pretty effective all along the shorelines, with or without weeds. Add a small 1/64 oz bullet weight and you've got a slow sinker that acts much like the free rig as the TPE floats nicely. Even though it is a small lightweight, I do use a very small glass bead to protect the knot during the cast. I'm generally using 4 pound mono. Good to make use of the most knot strength I can have. The small bait profile provides that full range of multi-species opportunity which is all about the catching! Be well, Cheers!

Greetings and Happy Fourth to All! Triple digit heat, 105F-ish, with over 15 mph winds and gusts in the high 20 mph, Red Flag conditions. What a great time to go fishing, catching. Not too aweful if you're ready to deal with the heat. Just be sure you have a quick and easy exit strategy, along with plenty of hydration. Drink frequently to avoid bad things from happening. I recently found a low cost small 2.5 inch jerk bait at our local big box retail store. I am typically a soft plastic lure user, not a hard bait one. So, this was both interesting and affordable. I mainly intended to use it for the upcoming trout season in the colder months. I looked to use it on my UL spinning gear or my BFS rig. Given the weather challenge I was up for the additional degree of difficulty. I put the new small jerk bait on my BFS rig and took it out to the lake for a try. A few casts and things were going swimmingly. That is until during one of the protracted pauses, the line got tight. When I responded, I was greeted by a heavy tractor pull sensation. OH Golly! This is going to take some time. My BFS is an UL configuration with 4 pound mono on a short 5 foot rod. Very much configured for trout and pan fish. Sure the occasional small bass too. Just typical of what you expect to find in this lake. It took over 30 minutes to be able see what was at the end of the line. The murky water didn't help. I figured it was a catfish. I just didn't know the type or size. The high drama was one the fact that it is a short pole so there is only so much leverage. Also the lighter line and older line too. It is over a year old as I used that reel through last spring till now. The color of the line is quite faded, but it still appeared usable. Then there is the knot. I'd been goofing about with a knot of my design and this is great test of durability. Even after I was able to see the fish for glimpse, there was still plenty of fight left. I got it close to shore a few times but for a fraction of a second before it would thrust away for another round of let see how much line can be pulled off the reel. On the fourth attempt to land the fish, no net, I did manage to get my hand on it, carefully. Just a quick hook removal, and an even quicker selfie. Yeah, amazing in the heat how quickly things can dry. I got this beauty back into the water pronto. Everything worked as it should. The high drama was a nice way to start off a fishing adventure. Not bad for the first fish of the day, first BFS fish on a jerk bait too. There were plenty of small large mouth bass in there too. Those were willing to play on the soft plastics worked along the bottom. Nothing big just all fun. Nice to have the fish catching opportunity at a community water. Be well, Cheers!

Greetings and Happy Fourth All! @ElGuapo928 Fantastic recommendation. Yeah, by your location designation that low elevation just makes the heat even more intense! I regret to admit I've not ever put a line in at Roosevelt. I've driven by there so many many times but no time to fish it. I look forward to fixing that sometime soon. Be well! Cheers!

Greetings All, Yes, very warm these days in my region of Southern AZ. Given the pre-monsoon conditions where it is just hot (triple digit hot) and windy. This past weekend, the entire SO AZ was under National Weather Service declared "Red Flag" warning conditions. The hot winds were well over 15 mph with gusts over the upper 20s. Yeah, just what you need to work out that angling ambition, right? Over the many years of living all around AZ, I find that I don't change my fishing approach too much because of the heat. The typical approach of weedless soft plastics seem to produce results regardless of the ambient air temperatures. Now I am a recreational angler so I'm just out to have a good time. My preferred UL approach works for me. It is difficult to send those small presentations in high winds. There was a lot of low angle casting going on this weekend. @Bassin101 The recommendation to "go slow" is a good one. It certainly produced bass for me in the Tucson urban waters. None of them were large but all were good fun. I still use the same rigging and soft plastics low and slow. Generally as light of weight as possible. Usually less than 1/16 oz - 1/64 oz. All the waters in SO AZ are very popular and the UL presentation helps with success. What does change is my personal preparation. The heat is no joke and is dangerous. Have a good quick exit strategy. Also have plenty of sun protection and stay well hydrated. It is the difference between a good or bad day. My gear includes a large thermos of water. It keeps the water from getting crazy hot. Drinking frequently just to make sure things continue to be good for ya. Also good quality clothing for adequate sun protection is very helpful. Burning is no good. The fish have not demonstrated they are too different in behavior. I do pretty much the same thing in the winter and summer time at the various reservoirs in the region. Also the same when I'm up in the metro PHX areas and the Mesa canals too! Let's be careful out there. Have a good time just make sure you're good. Be well, Cheers!

Greetings and Happy Friday All, Yup, it is rather hot in most places. Southern AZ is one of them for sure. We have an entire weekend under 'Red Flag' warning. If the triple digit temps aren't interesting enough the winds ought to add that extra degree of difficulty. I only just realized in reviewing this thread, that I've been 'finesse' fishing for a majority of my angling adventures for several decades. Yup, I enjoy catching fish and I don't want to work 'too' hard doing it. Sure, I'll heave some of the larger presentations for a bit. Then go right back to catching them with the smaller gear. The recent conditions have the weeds getting on the thicker side. Usually, I do a bit of weedless TRD using a 1/64 oz bullet weight. Just enough to get it sort of down there. It works really well for the multi-species bite. I've also used that setup with and without the weight as a kind of jerkbait of sorts close or at the surface. That has been effective too for many of the schooling bass and bluegills. I had the wind blow it off course and had it land on a weed mat. As soon as I pulled it clear it got smashed! Wowza! that was a fun time on UL gear. I'm mixing it up between the UL spinning and BFS casting rigs. Having a good time using both. It is interesting to see all the products out there you each are showcasing. @GreenTrout That link you shared, THXs! Oh, the bait monkey! Be well, Cheers!

Greetings and Happy Friday All, @SJS Congratulations! New rod, better bass, and a new angling approach success. All great accomplishments. Bravo! Yes, totally agree it is toasty in most areas. Here in Southern AZ we've got the heat with the wind to make for 'Red Flag' conditions all weekend long. It is going to be interesting making a cast under those conditions. We'll see what happens. Let's be careful out there! Be well, Cheers!

Greetings @Bazoo Your reasoning parallels my observations too. When tossing lighter lures with lower effort, the lower spool mass appears to be the way to go based on inertia. My personal comparison with the different low cost casting reels have been with magnetic brakes. I have an older BP casting reel that had both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. A well built reel but I realized I did not need or use the centrifugal brakes, it was all magnetic. So, that is why I ended up with what I currently use. This is also the case for my BFS casting reel. It is used just via magnetic adjustments. I adjust the friction, spool tension, to just where there is minimal lateral play. Just off from the zero movement setting. That works for my preference towards the lighter presentations. I hope this helps. Be well, Cheers!

Greetings All, Great information being shared. Thank You to each who contributed for the increase in collective knowledge. @fish'n Jim Your points, "I see more floaters than I'd like to as I travel lakes. I don't care to see these "pros" flopping fish on the carpet or EVA foam with braid, heavy line, etc. monkey see... They lose skin slime, they need to prevent bacteria. I see lots of infected fish these days. Anything above about 3 # needs to be lifted carefully to not damage the mouth/jaw also. Fish are designed to be supported 360 by water, air doesn't provide skeletal support.", are so spot on. Thank You for emphasizing care of this important resource. It is really unfortunate so many anglers demonstrate poor fish handling. I can only hope through information and guidance that folks realize how important it is to handle them with care. It is not that difficult to do. It just takes a diligent effort to be careful.

Greetings All, Yup bait monkey is screaming. Weekend is approaching. Shopping will be done. The objective is to get a few and actually try them out at the urban waters. I've always used other metal spoons like the Super Dupers, Kastmaster and Z-Rays (originally from Tucson I believe) with reasonably good success. However, these are not designed for weeds. I look to try them just as they are from the package for the initial go. Given the intense AZ sun, these ought to make good use of the flash factor. Besides with the triple digit temps, the soft plastic may not last long. Be well, Cheers!

Greetings All, I can relate on the situation. I wouldn't wait that long. I'd be retying and recasting! Best of luck for that rematch! May it be equally epic but only in your favor this time! Be well, Cheers!

Greetings All, I have converted several 'lures' to single hook configurations. I don't have any evidence of hookup differences that I can attribute to the treble or single hooks. They both work at catching and holding on to the fish reasonably well. The biggest thing is to find hooks with the proper eye size to accommodate the split ring. I had a bunch of bulk octopus style hooks that I decided to use for that single hook conversion. Sure, it is probably not the optimum selection. It is just what I had to try. My example started with a Kastmaster metal spoon. This works in my area for trout, panfish and bass. I use the smaller versions because of my preference for UL angling. I had to modify the split ring to be able to use the smaller eye hooks. The single hook didn't alter the wobble enough to tell a difference. It worked well on the fish mentioned over several years of use. Clearing the hook from the fish does require pliers to assist with getting a grip on that single hook. Also things are less fouled up in the net as you don't have the additional hooks to snag up. Watching many of the Japanese mountain trout anglers who use crank baits, they all use single hook configurations. (possible mandated for conservation) In some areas of AZ we have similar angling constraints to a single barbless hook. It is worth the effort to give it a try. A good pair of pliers is helpful. A split ring tool is also helpful. I originally accomplished it using a combination of pliers (hemostats) and a not so precision screwdriver. Not elegant. It did work. Good luck and great fishing to ya! Be well, Cheers!

Greetings All, @WaskaCrank12 Wow! What a story. Thanks for sharing that experience. Based on information available, I respect your call on the situation. Doing what you think is best at the moment. I've only got a limited amount of pike experience. There are a few of them in AZ too. Always better to be careful and minimize injury. It is my understanding the TPE is better able to breakdown when compared to plastisol materials. Be well, Cheers!