Bazoo

Howdy and welcome. I cast bullets, which of course is lead alloy. The same basics apply to all aluminum moulds. Treat them well. Make every effort to not drop them, or ding the interior against anything including the other mould half. Keep the halves together with a rubberband when not in use. Don't use a steel object to scrape or pick at the cavities. If you have any stuck matter in the cavities, a nylon brush or a wooden skewer is the best tools.

When clearing a backlash, what is your procedure? I will put my thumb against the right side of the spool to give it tension as I strip line off. Is there a better way? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about a 1/4 spool bird's nest, those are hopeless normally. I am talking about a 12-24 loops or so. The kind you get when you first start casting into the wind before your thumb adjusts.

Interesting comments. I am working on skipping. Man, I don't see how folks skip while pitching.

I fish a private pond just down the road from church, and most often it's before bible study wednesdays and after church on sundays. So, the hot sunny part of the day. Fishing is definitely a little tougher then. But I do find them here and there, even in the parts that would appear to be no structure and no shade. Now, to be fair, there is a submerged grass, at least in some spots. And of course they get up in that and hide for ambush, oxygen, and shade. It's a slower period, unless you get into some shady spots or current, but I find it to still be worthwhile to fish. You learn a lot about fishing when the fish aren't so easily caught.

I wouldn't say I'm locked onto BPS in general. But I do like the brand. It takes me back to my childhood when I would stare at the BPS catalog for hours. I like the two PQ2 reels I have better than all the other reels I've had/have and all the ones my buddies have, which include a couple Diawas. I'm not sure what model Diawa, I think it was a DC that Ryan has.

Where do you shop for spare spools?

It will probably be next year, but I'm researching and window shopping now. I do have 2 Pro Qualifier 2 reels that I use constantly right now that I love. So I am leaning heavily towards BPS.

Okay, how about, whats the best value in BPS' line up for casting rod and reel? I am specifically looking at Bass Pro branded gear.

I've been watching After The Cast which has Ott Defoe, Edwin Evers, and Andy Montgomery on it and I noticed they use a lot of BPS Johnny Morris rods and reels. I've been eyeballing them myself, thinking about getting a casting combo for an all around rig. Anybody here like them?

I am working on pitching in the yard. Right now I can hit a target about 12" at around 40'-45'. I have a stump in the yard and I try to land a spinnerbait on top of the stump, both pitching, and roll casting, and it's at about 30'. Much harder than it sounds. I get it occasionally. Sometimes I throw to the base of the stump. What should I aspire to?

Okay, I'm just now learning about wrapping my line around my rod to stop tangles during transport. Transport for me is in a car and walking up the bank (mostly). So I put the lure on the hook keeper, reel up the slack, and then wrap the line (from lure to tip) around the rod 2-3 times, stopping so it's past the last guide, which keeps it wrapped. The problem I'm having is that it's hard to get it unwrapped. What is the easiest method to get back into action? Do I hunt for the line, and then grab/put a fingernail under it and reverse the wrap or what?

I appreciate all the advice. Thank you all!

I've been an avid knife carrier and user since I was about 10 years old. I almost always retie with a knife, and I find a knife handy for cutting soft plastics. Anyone else share a knife passion? This case 6265 Folding Hunter has been my belt knife for a few years and it sees a lot of use. I carry this Case XX 6375 Jumbo Stockman most of the time for my pocket knife, before this, it was another 75 pattern stockman. Both change a few lures and see occasional duty, but the belt knife sees the most.

I'm doing a combination of very small hops and dragging.

I have 3-4 jigs, and they all have different head shapes. Some are what I believe is arkie heads, Some are more rounded and without a trailer, wouldn't rest verticle if at rest on the bottom. I don't know what I'm doing here, I'm just throwing jigs and hopping them long the bottom. Any tutorials explaining the differences and what they are best suited for? I assume I can use any head for any technique I want?

I pitched into that bush area and pulled this guy out, plus another that didn't quite get the hook. The would have hit anything, I just happened to be giving the bladed jig a try. Dark under the trees, that must be why they like it. It was the only shade around. I had another that didn't get pinned with the jig, but was able to get this little guy.

I was aiming for bass, but a nice 3lb walleye was a nice surprise. I kept this one and took him to the guy at church, a few more of these and we'll have a good meal come bible study one wednesday evening. Didn't get anything on grubs, water was up.

Howdy and welcome. I suggest getting a rod with a soft tip. My favorite all around rod is an Abu Garcia Black Max. It's a cheap rod. It might not have the backbone to pull a hog out of heavy slop, but it casts excellently. It has enough tip flex for any type of casting, and it has enough backbone for any normal bass fishing, but probably on the lighter side. Certainly on the light side for the trend on this forum. I have owned a Berkley Lightning casting rod and I found it to be too stiff for 3/8oz lures. The tip was mighty stiff. Like casting a broomstick. I finally had enough and got rid of it.

If I had to pick a go to lure, it'd be a fluke in watermelon red, though I don't use it that often. I normally fish spots I know well, and I know the fluke works, so I choose to use something else most of the time so they don't get wise to the fluke. Second lure is a curly tail grub, either on a jighead or texas rigged with a 1/16oz weight.

I just started flukes last year. They quickly became a staple lure for me. I fish them weightless, with a 3/0 offset worm hook attached with a loop knot for better movement. I also started fishing curly tail grubs on a jighead. I have found them to be great lures when the bass want something smaller and slower. And grubs fall below most folk's radar.

So, looks like a regular binder... but what are those organizers?

Thanks Mike. I’ll have to give this a try. When bank fishing, one of the irritating things is that when your walking along one of your lures will come in son and entangle 2-3 others. Sounds like it might just be the cure.

I always keep mine pretty loose. I've never heard of wrapping the line around your rod before. Could yall give me a quick rundown on how to do that, plus the benefits?

I sometimes leave a lure tied on when stored, but I haven't noticed that. I change my line pretty regularly though if I'm using a rig. I like fresh line.

A very interesting and insightful thread.