Bazoo

Thank you very much. This is dumb, how does one find out what types are in the lake unless you find one or a bass spits one up? I've found a threadfin before, best I recall. I guess it could have been a smaller gizzard shad, as they have a thread. I don't know how to tell them apart... yet.

I heard a saying, if you want to understand the bass, study the shad. That makes a lot of sense to me. So... where do I begin in studying shad? What varieties do I need to study? Will just studying threadfin be sufficient, or do I need to study each variety individually? What are the common types of shad, threadfin, gizzard, golden shiners, what else? Might as well study crawdads too, where do I go for that? Are there articles or books or videos on the subject anyone knows of?

I've seen several random videos of people with pet bass. It got me to thinking, I wonder what I'd learn if I had a pet bass in a large tank. Seen one that had him in a stock tank, with a lot of vegetation. Is there anything to be learned from an endeavor like this? Or is it just a novelty?

I've heard about old school casting competitions, but can't find any details. What was involved? What kind of accuracy and distances would one need to be proficient with? I might just set something up with my buddies if I can get them into it.

That's awesome! Is that cork lining the individual compartments?

I had a satchel box when I was a kid. It wasn't double sided, but it had a top and bottom compartment. Long gone now.

I saw that, I will give it another thorough look. Thanks for sharing again.

Thanks guys. I will try to remove any loose epoxy first. Thanks for the sharpie trick, hadn't thought of that. I do like this little rod, it's a short spinning, 5'6" I think. It might do just right for some creek fishing.

Thank you very much for sharing. I had not heard this, but it makes sense.

I have an old rod that had sat on a covered porch for years. It is in good condition except the epoxy covering the guide wraps is yellow, thin, and cracked. Will it work to just apply new epoxy over the existing epoxy?

Anyone use this grub and can comment or perhaps compare it to the Zoom Fat Albert or Kalin Lunker grub? How soft it is, how does it hold up? It's about half the price of the others. Not something I have seen locally to try. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Big_Bite_Baits_Finesse_Grub_/descpage-BBBFGRB.html

This is an approach I've not heard before. Is this a thing? Or is it something you came up on? What lures? Traps and squarebills?

Well, today I ended up having a couple bites on the trap at the city lake. Probably the same fish. Threw to a spot, fish got on but came off. Repeat, same effect. Snagged and lost that trap. That left a Cordell 1/4 super spot with me, which I proceeded to snag on a bush 5' from shore and lost that. Worst part is it fell in the water right at shore. It's possible I'll be able to fish it out with a magnet. Eh.

This is a good point, and valid questions. I do fish other spots. I fish a small local reservoir, a private pond with little pressre, a river spot, 2 public ponds that's covered with slop, and I fish the main lake sure around the lake. The significance of Freeman Lake, for me, is the fact that I hit it a couple times a week for its convenience when in town with my wife and kids. The like the bathrooms, walking trails, short grass, and playgrounds. Plus it's in the middle of town, so I can drop her off, run over there for an hour and go pick her up. Or, if she has multiple errands, I hit it half an hour in several spots between different errands. The other reason is, I am actively trying to become a better bass angler. I'm trying to learn what I can do to fish pressured, as they are the hardest. I do like the challenge. I like being able to catch fish where others cannot. I do put a lot of thought into it, but for me, that's part of the fun.

Wow that is slick man. Old time fuzzy dice?

Thanks. How long of a leader do you run?

That city lake I fish is 170 acres, and if you catch more than one it's uncommon. The most I've caught is 5 in a trip. I've done that only once, and they were all from the same creek channel area. 4 on a baby brush hog and 1 on the spit'n image.

I actually have thought about that, that the line could transmit some sounds down to the lure. If I'm trying to be real stealthy, I do not let my thumb bar click back hard. I either move it by hand or put my thumb in place so that it doesn't give a hard thump.

I normally throw the 1/4oz size and add a size 3 ball bearing swivel to them to stop line twist.

What's some premium mono? What's a good sleeper mono that is cheap but will hold it's on with the higher end stuff? The primary thing I'm looking for is less stretch and easy handling, in that order. I have been using Big Game, and I don't really have any complaints. I have used Trilene XL in the past and I like it a lot. Just wondering what out there is better. I've tried Stren, but only the 6 pound, and it seemed to have a heap of stretch compared to the Trilenes I've been using. I also have used Sufix Promix 14 on a casting rod. It seemed to have less stretch, but it could have been because it was heavier than the 10 and 12 pound Big Game I normally use. It also was easy handling. Overall I liked it, but I only used a month or so before I changed it out.

If I trim them, it's just to make them a bit shorter if they seem long, not to taper them. I will remove bristles from the front edge if they are too stiff to my liking.

Very interesting discussion. I agree that line is not the only factor affecting pressured fish. The guitar string analogy is something I had not considered, which is odd, because I have owned a nylon string guitar. And monofilament fishing line is made from nylon. Whenever I am fishing a crankbait, my line is taut, maybe not as tight as a guitar string, but tight enough that where the line enters the water the line vibrates the water a small amount. Line, particularly braided line, makes sound when going through the guides on a rod, and thus it stands to reason that it would make sound when going through the water as it rubs against the water itself, any debris in the water, any plants in the water. Water, sure enough, would dampen the sound, but fish hear in low tones that we cannot, best I recall. I know some fish make sounds, cats and drums, which we can hear. It stands to reason that those sounds aren't just for our amusement, but that other fish hear them. I think sound plays a more important role than we give it credit, however, I don't think fish hearing fishing line is the issue. I think they can sense it with their lateral line. The smaller the line, the less they can sense it, and the "quieter" the line, the less they can hear it. And perhaps it's not just the volume, but rather, line that sounds different. Something that gives credence to the sound/feel of line is that crankbaits come in silent, rattle, and hard knock models. That is sound. That rattle also makes a concussion every time it hits, which would make waves which could be felt. But, also they come in wide wiggling and narrow wiggling, which is feel. Replacing the split rings and tying the hooks on also will entice leery fish to bite when they have seen plenty of other crankbaits. This changes both the sound, and the feel of the lure. If the line and lure are sort of a package, changing the rattles in a lure changes the lure sound AND it changes the sound and vibration of the line. I hadn't thought of that detail before.

I've been working on my Rat'l trap techniques. Today, around 1:00 I worked with the trap a bit. I got 2 I think along an inside grass line on a pond, and 2 or 3 throwing out to where I saw bait balls, about 30 feet past where the grass line apparently stops. I lost a couple too. Confidence is building.