jwo1124

I actually just posted a thread similar to this the other day. I have always heard when using a texas rig use the lightest weight possible. The reason for this is to give the lure the most natural appearance and action possible. But then I heard that sometimes the fish are going to want a fast drop, which would call for a heavier weight. Low Budget seems to have the right approach. When fishing a plastic take into consideration its size, the depth you are fishing, the cover you are fishing, and the eastimated mood of the fish(aggressive, neutral, negative) I bring this into account, because if youa re working with neutral or negative fish, you are going to have to offer a more natural presentation.

Yeah I know that most saltwater charters prices are heavy, and they are best if you go with a group of people so you can split the cost. I know there are tons of ponds and lakes in MA, just none that are in my general vacinity. Plus that fact that I don;t own a decent fishing boat makes fishing frustrating at times. I would never plan on going on a trip like El Salto until I was in my 30's or 40's and I have the money. I recently saw a few sites for guides up in New Hampshire. A couple bass guides and a couple trout and salmon guides. Prices are around 250-375. I saw a nice salmon/trout charter that had great testimonials that was 375 for a 8 hour day, which I would pay in a heart beat. It was just something that came to mind, I know I should do some research on the subject, but I just wanted to get some opinions. I am thinking about a few in '08. Early Spring: salmon/trout trolling up in NH Winnupasake Early Summer:bass fishing up in NH Mid-Late Summer: Striper/bluefish out of somewhere here in MA. Probably Glouster or Beverly Those three trips will probably cost me around a $1000, I'll get (hopefully) three great memorable fishing trips. Catch alot of fish, get out on the water with knowledgeable anglers, hopefully learn a lot while I'm out there.

There is a chance that the reason your raps are getting hung up is becasue they are suspending versions. If you are using cranks around any sort of cover you want a floating model that will bump off and float away from any thing that might cause ahang up. Suspending models are good for open water or working it above the bottom or where you suspect the fish to be, hopefully the stalling and sitting of the lure will draw strikes from hungry fish below that spot an easy meal.

I have heard that a white or orange belly is a good choice. I think the action of the bait is more of a factor than the color. But a baby bass or perch/firetiger might be a good choice.

I think some people have the wrong idea surrounding scents. They look at them as attractant, like they are going to bring fish to your lure from distances. Sadly, thi sis not the case. Instead they are made to be a deal sealer. After the fish has been attracted to your lure via the action, sight sound, vibration, it will swim up to it in an attempt to eat it think it is prey. If a fish smells an offensive odor on your lure or it does not smell like natural prey, it may be inclined to resist attacking it. A scent will stop a fish from disregarding your presented lure due to a negative odor, or even seal the deal with neutal or wary fish that may be suspicious of the plastic baitfish susoending in front of it. Do not think that an attractant is like chum, more like a cologne for your lure. If you think of the lure as a guy and the bass as a woman for a moment. The man(lure) is sitting by the bar(lake, pond, etc.) putting off all the right cues(action vibration, sound) when the woman(bass) spots the man(lure) from across the bar(pond) Instinctually the woman is attracted my the man and feels the need to go over to him to introduce herself. Thi sis where the scent or cologne comes in. Let's say the woman is intrigued by the man from hi slooks and action but then once she gets within a few feet of him she smells this terrible odor, chance are she isn;t going to pursue this. But let's say the man is wearing his new Mega Strike cologne the woman will have positive reinforcement to pursue what she is doing...the deal is sealed. Chance are the woman is not going to be attracted solely by the scent or thi sman's cologne initially. One due to the distance she is from him, and two scent is not the main deciding factor. If it was a 300Lb. guy blading with a bear belly and a budwiser shirt that smells good...she's probablly going to call it quits before it even starts. Attraction is usually through visual cues at first along with the insticts that follow. Scent is the last deciding factor, but still a factor. I hope I didn't confuse anyone by the use of the metaphor, but if you think about and got what I was saying, it makes a lot of sense.

I should say that the charter I looked into was $500 for a 4 hour trip or $875 for an 8 hour day, but these rates are for groups up to six, so when it coems down to cost per person, this isn;t very much for a guided striper/bluefish charter. But then agian, that means you only hook up with 1/6 of the fish...is it worth the $$$

This may be moved to Everthing else, but I'll give it a shot here. Has anyone ever been out on a fishing charter with a guide? I'm not talking about deep sea fishing, more like a one on one deal. I love to fish, but there really isn;t any great bass fishing around my area. There are a lot of ponds, but not really any productive lakes. There is a great striper run throughout late spring into mid fall, but to really get at them you need a boat. being a college student, I don;t have alot of money, there for a boat is kind of out of the question. I have a 12' aluminum with an electric motor, but that can only do so much. I will be graduating college in a couple years and getting into a career, so I will be able to start putting money away to increase the quality of my fishing endevor. I looked into a few different guides and to give an example most striper charters up here in Mass. run about $100 an hour. This may be zeal and inexperience and young age talking but I think paying $400 for a 4 or 5 hour fishing trip with a guide, out on a boat fishing places I could never get to, and a guarentee to catch keeper fish is worth the money for the experience. I know it is only a one time thing, but I look at the quality vs. quantity ratio. Obviously if a guy is going to charge me $100 he better be giving me a quality fishing trip. If I wanted to get my own boat insure it, get a moaring, register it, maintain it, gas it, I am looking at a few thousand for an old used boat with these a good chance of things wrong with it(just like a used car). I think a once a year trip for $400-500 bucks will truly be worth a high quality, unforgetable fishing trip. I am thinking as a sportfisher, what will be more rewarding: fishing on my own weekend warrior style beating my homewaters to death, or saving up and going on a couple charter trips each year, while still fishing recreationally around my homewaters as much as possible. I mean I could fish a whole summer off the rocks putting in a few 4-5 hour days fishing off the rocks for stripers and only get a small ration of fish....really doesn't sound too compelling. Or I could go on one really sweet guided trip one or two days out of the summer and really get my fix of Stripahz for that year. I wait tables in the summer which is the busy season, and working a 12 hour days I can pull in over $200 bucks. So figure working two doubles(12 hour shift) I could pay for a 1/2 guided charter. If I saved all summer I could probably go on a few day expedition to mexico for peacock bass or El Salto largemouth. When i think of all the money I would have to spend to get my own boat, loaded with fishing gear, and all the time I would have to put it to get the results I would get with a guide....it's unfathomable. I know being out in nature, using your own knowledge, and trying to hunt down the fish is half the fun, and what really makes you a better angler...But sometimes I just wanna feel that tug on the line, you know what I mean? Any thoughts?

Thanks for the replies guys

I was kind of wondering that same thing about scents. It seems every brand has at least a handful of different scents to pick from. Craw, Shad, Bass Feast, Bass Hammer...I don't understand?!? I kind of think of it this way though: Scents to fish are like cologne is to the ladies, there are different types of colognes, but as long as it smells good to them, and covers up any offensive odors :-? it will do it's job. I still don;t get the deal with the garilc scent though. I have heard it just covers human smell, but garlic is probbly one of the most offensive odors known to man...I guess the bass likeit though.

By the way, that frowning face isn;t suppose to be there. I typed a ":" and a "(" next to eachother not even thinking that that face would come up. d**n you little yellow ........

I am pretty much a noobie when it comes to plastics. I would much rather use a spinnerbait, buzzbait, crankbait, or a jerkbait. I know there are times when the bass won't chase things down and are looking for an easy meal, especially the big mammas. Anyway, I read some where, I think it was actually a post on this site where a guy said he won;t go above 1/4 oz. for his soft plastics because anything heavier will straight out kill the action of the lure. I am trying to come up with a gameplan for my plastics, so I am looking for alittle help. So far I have: Texas Rigged Plastics and Tube Jigs:(not in heavy cover flippin) 1/8-1/4 Carolina Rig:1/2-1 depending on depth and wind Flipping Vegetation with plastics:1/4-1/2 depending on how heavy the veg is Finnesse(Drop Shot and Shakey Head) 1/8 on ML tackle Also two other questions regarding plastics. 1.) When should I use a jig+Pig over a plastic when working heavy vegetation like high hydrilla beds or heavy lilies? 2.)When should I use a plastics buzz frog over a buzzbait? Thanks Guys.

I think the coffee is a cover scent. I was at a Filene's one day with a buddy of mine and he was trying to pick out a new cologne. After smelling a couple the girl behind the counter pulled out a jar of coffee beans and had him smell them to rid his nostrils of previous smells. Maybe the coffee smell will help cover up offensive odors to fish.

Hey Avid, I had some questions on fishing out of a canoe. RW said that you customized yours with stabilizers, and it looks like a few more accersories Just a few questions: How much did the stabilizers cost? Are they easy to install? How's that thing hold up to boat wakes? Do you just load that in the back of your truck bed?

I was thinking about purchasing an older used canoe or kayak to fish out of. I heard this is the newest rave in Striper fishing.(On the Atlantic Coast) I was just thinking about taking a canoe out to fish with on the ponds. My main concern though being, how do these things stand up in the wakes of motor boats? I was fishing from the shore the other day and this guys came putting by in one of those family style pontoon boats at a slow pace and his boat gave off quite the wake. I don't want to be lesiurly fishing and all of a sudden have a boat go by and flip my canoe. I don;t mind getting wet, and I'll be safe with a floatation device(plus I'm young and in faily good shape to swim for my life if it depended on it) but I don't want to lose hundreds of dollars worth of fishing equipment. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of fishing out on canoes or kayaks. I would guess that since guys take kayaks out into the ocean that they should be fairly stable in rougher conditions, but I'm not sure about canoes.

"A 71-year-old Yonkers man was found dead at the bottom of a pond clutching his fishing pole in upstate Brighton after he suffered a heart attack and fell out of his canoe while fishing Wednesday, authorities said." I hope this isn't being disrespectful, but that was the first thing that came to my mind when I read that. At least he went out fishing. God Bless him. Probably a G.Loomis or Kistler... I hope his did not offend anyone.

I think I can understand what Other is saying. I am sort of getting the same feeling now too. I also feel the same way brokejaw feels, that fishing seems more frustrating than it is fun. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the feeling of hooking into a nice fish. The rush is great, but it seems like the more serious I take fishing, the less fun it gets. Which makes sense. It seems like purchasing hundreds on top of hundreds of dollars worth of equiptment made fishing more like a competition than a fun recreational activity. I always find myself more stressed out when I'm fishing now. Now, instead of having a happy go lucky attitude when fishing, I'm on a mission, to catch those friggin' fish come hell or high water, and it seems to make fishing a chore. It could also be just fishing the same spots over and over and over. Not having a boat right now really makes this a problem. It seems like fishing the same few spots makes fishing monotonous. I reccommend trying a new pond, or lake, or even just trying to find a couple new spots on a body of water to keep things fresh.

I don;t neccassarily think scent will attract fish to your lure in the sense that it will bring fish distances to your lure. However, I do think that fish within a small range of the lure will be able to smell the scent, making them more apt to believe that the lure is actually real prey. I look at it like cologne. If you wear a nice cologne to a bar on a Saturday night, your more apt to get the attention of a girl than without it. Is it neccessary, no. But, it will is a great aid. I have seen fish sprint right up to my lure, only to quickly stop in their tracks and take off. I sincerely believe this is because they sense that the lure is just plastic and metal. I read that a fish's sense of smell is about 100x stronger than a dogs. You have to think about how much debris a fish comes across floating in the water. From 7 feet away a small piece of flaoting debris(stick, leaf, junk) could look like food to a fish, but after closer inspection, using its sight and smell, the fish realizes it isn;t food. Same thing with a lure, after swimming up to it, the fish realizes, although this thing appear to be the shape of prey, and moved liek prey, it can sense, possibly with its sense of smell, that it is indeed just plastic, or wood, or wire. Scent is just another tool to fool those fish. I certainly don't think you need it to catch fish. But, I do think it will catch you more fish, and possibly turn a slow un productive day into a decent day.

:-X I guess when you put it that way. Still, $15 a lure is freakin expensive. But, I guess when you are taking fishing serious, it takes a serious commitment. I guess sometimes that comes in the form of spending long hours fishing, long hours researching, and buying the best gear you can. Are Lucky Crafts twice as a good a lure as a Rapala? They cost twice as much, therefor I think they should catch me twice as many fish. Fair is fair.

I am not trying to shoot anyone down, but we all have heard the saying: A lot of lures are meant to catch fisherman, not fish. I would love to see a scientific study done on how a $20, highly designed lure does up against a $5 lure. To me the thing that is going to get a fish to hit a lure is action and profile, and lesser: color shade. I don't think a fish is going to sit there and examine every little detail of the lures manufacturing and then decide if he wants to strike the lure. I bet if you threw out a cork with a hook and put some scent on it you;d catch a fish. No one needs these expensive baits, it's all an ego trip. I bet a fish can;t even tell the difference between a Lucky Craft and a Rapala underwater, especially in any windy or stained water conditions. Its all marketing, and they are fishing for fisherman. Let's just hope they catch and release! ;D To each his own though. I perosnally feel Rapala's are a high end lure. They are high quality, have great action for a hardbait, and they catch fish.

First off, I want to say I personally think using scents makes a difference in fishing. I have had great success on days when I used a certain sticky scent I have for trout and salmon, and then when I don;t use it, I have off days. Anyway, I am going out to buy a couple containers of Smelly Jelly after reading reviews. I am going to get the original sticky bait that comes in the jar and not the bottle. I read it stays on for hours becuase it is made of a wax-like material. Anyway, for those who have any experience or knowledge about this scent; what is a good way to put it on your lures. Since it's not a gel or spray, I was kind of interested in how I was suppose to get this on my lures. Do I put a little on my finger then smear it on? But doesn;t this defeat the purpose of covering my human smell? I was thinking about just scooping alittle with a knife and working a generous amount on my lure. Any thoughts or tips?

You Got It! Brown Trout do spawn in the fall.

Anyone watch the Bass Masters this past weekend. I think it was called the Capitol Clash down in MD. Skeet Reese lost like 4 fish in a row. You shoulda seen how mad he was. The first couple times he took it quite well considering he is fishing for his living at the time. The next two fish...he kinda went off.

I've caught my share of 1-2 lbers. out of ponds up here in Mass. on these.

It depends on why you fish. If you are fishing for recreation, than I think that's a little overboard. But, if you are fishing for money, than it's not that bad. Say you spend 5,000 a year on tackle. Say you fish in a few tournaments, and the first place prize in each tournament is 2,500 dollars.(This would be a small local tournament) If you win three tournaments, you are up 2,500 dollars. You may not win every tournament, you may not even win one. But in order to even have a chance at winning, you will need most of that tackle. Hell, I love to catch fish. It's a lot of fun, it gets my heart racing, it's just a great rush. But it's not worth 6,500 to me. But, that's just me. I mean I could catch fish with a bobber and bait. I just think it's better with lures. So I have to spend a little extra money. But I do think there is a thing called excess.

I read somewhere once that spinnerbaits are best just under the surface, up to a foot under. The article read that outside of this zone, there ar elures that are better choices because they are more productive. Has anyone else heard this, or feel this way? I was watching a show with Shaw Grigsby fishing down in Mexico and they were putting 1 oz. weights on their spinner baits to get them down to 10-15 feet. So I'm guessing this article was a crock of you knwo what. But, I just thought I'd ask.