Bazoo

Thanks. I haven't thought about figuring out a why to get out of it when I'm frustrated. Thats good advice.

Yesterday I was fishing with 2 rods and I decided to try to skip into a culvert while bank fishing. The angle wasn't great, but several attempts resulted in a birdsnest. Second rod was employed some time shortly thereafter in another attempt with the same result. Glad I had a spare reel with me that had fluoro on it to try, otherwise I'd have been done. It was a pretty frustrating time. I have skipped into these culverts before but not with these lures. I normally use either a texas rigged baby brush hog. Yesterday it was a fluke and a bitsy jig. I can't cast as good when I'm irritated, either, it seems.

Keep in mind I'm a shore angler at this point. I don't catch doodly squat during December and January normally. I know to fish the sunny spots instead of the shady spots. I know to slow down. I don't know exactly where to fish in wintertime. In summer, I know submergent creek channels, submergent grass, bushes, docks, shade, but in winter do I target the same things? Is there other places I should target, or of these places, that I should not target? I normally use the same lures in winter. Beetle spins, texas rigs, crankbaits, split shots. However, in the previous winters I didn't use lures that I now have confidence in, flukes, roostertails, jigs, which I will be using this winter. I also, in the past, have tried a lot of lures I don't have confidence in. Sort of a try and see mentality. I will stop that, and focus on things I have confidence in, or things I know to be good wintertime producers. While I don't have a lot of confidence in them yet, I am thinking rat'l traps and jerkbaits will do well. I saw my buddy catch a few small bass on a narrow bridge channel that goes into the main lake using a 1/4oz suspending jerkbait. It was a husky jerk in glass minnow color. I've picked up one. I don't fish that area a lot in summer. I have some, but it sees a lot of pressure and I've not had much luck there. He didn't catch anything big there either, not that I would rather get skunked than catch small ones. So we're talking about the city lake I fish, that has a lot of pressure in summer. In winter it has really low pressure. With this lake there is coves that I fish on the main lake, as well 2 ponds that each connect via short channels on the north end. In times past I've caught a few in February using squarebills and curly tail grubs. The squarebill catches were were a creek channel comes in, and the curly tails were off a laydown.

From last years deer season.

I got a bottle of it. I've used it a little, and I didn't see an improvement in bites. If I slather that crap on, I expect to get bit, but nope, nothing out of the ordinary the times I've tried it.

I'm not a tournament angler, or an expert. I have had my success with a zoom super fluke, using mono and a loop knot to a 3/0 offset wormhook.

After looking through their offerings, it was Suffix Promix. I didn't use it extensively, just a spool on my casting reel until it got replaced, but I liked it.

I've had success cranking a squarebill with a sweep/reel or burn/stop even when it isn't banging against stuff. I've not fished it specifically over submerged grass.

Braid gets into the hooks on topwater. It gets in the split rings. It ties an overhand knot on it's around the front hook. Mono is easy to cast and work with. Unless you get a birdsnest from snagging something on your back cast, it doesn't knot up normally and just makes loops.

Glad to hear you're on the up side of it.

From what I'm gathering, fluoro is only really beneficial when used on pressured waters. Yeah, I'll have to try something better than the Big Game fluoro I currently have.

I am primarily a bank fisherman currently. I cast it out there, let it set, dance the rod tip a bit, drag it 3-6 feet and repeat.

That's the general idea. I might not ever be a pro angler in the sense of being on tour, but I want to be at the same skill level. I am thinking of entering some local tournaments. Thanks. For me, deep is over 10 feet.

Yeah, but they wouldn't use it if it sucked. I expect they don't have any patience for line issues.

Thanks all for sharing. This gives me a lot to chew on.

Is it junk or decent? Not, is it the best, I know it's not the best. I see the pros using it. Would they use it if it was junk? Thinking of trying it and just running it a while to see how I like fluoro.

Interesting. It's pretty much what I expected. I don't know what the answer to FFS is. I used to think it's killing the sport, but now I ain't so sure. I think that bass will eventually become conditioned to it, and thus, it won't be as big of a factor. As the technology improves, it'll become easier for those that can't currently capitalize on FFS to utilize it, thus leveling the playing field again. I'd like to see total day bans on it. So, if you fish 2 days... then allow it only on 1 day. Or have every other tournament ban it completely.

Thanks. Did you have an increase in bites, or just an increase in hook setting and landing?

I've been known to say "fish on" when fishing with a friend. More of a challenge to them to get in gear than an advisory statement.

Howdy and welcome. If the fish see a lot of senkos, switch to another type of soft plastic, such as a lizard or a zoom trick worm.

Did you see any increase in your catch quantity or quality?

I know all of the benefits of fluoro, I don't see how the benefits are better than mono. I don't see why mono would not work just as well for most applications. Lets say for deep texas rigging, sure, fluoro would be better. But that's specialty. For normal texas rigging, would not mono work? I don't see why for skipping docks it would be better. Lots of pros use fluoro mainline on their casting rods. Why? Perhaps they also use mono and I just don't see it, is this the case? I guess another way to put my question is... if a pro dropped fluoro for most applications and used mono instead, would they still be competitive? Okay, let's say it this way, am I missing out by not copying the pros and using fluoro. If I use a quality fluoro on casting, or braid to fluoro on spinning, will I increase my catch rate with no other changes?

Why do pros use fluoro? I've seen a lot of folks here say something to the affect of that it doesn't really matter what line. Why then do they go to the trouble of using braid to fluoro? Why not just use mono? I can understand not going straight braid, but fluoro has all kind of orneryness compared to mono. Why not just go mono? I see advantages in things like texas rigs, where you can feel the bite better, but for other things, I see no point of using braid or fluoro. So, I guess this is what I'm thinking. If the pros use every advantage they get, what advantage does fluoro offer over mono that makes it worth it vs all the extra hassle?

After thinking about it, I don't normally say anything if I'm by myself.

I say, "There's one!" Bill Dance says, "There he is!" Do you say anything when hooking a fish?