JCrzy4Bass

Anyone know how to access or take out the bearings to be cleaned? Looks like the idea here on the forum is to place them inside lighter fluid in a small type dish barely covering the whole part? How long do I leave them in there? Any help would be great. Sorry if I seem oblivious. I just don't want to ruin my reel by disassembling it to the point of no return.

Yo Bassin man, mepps has caught a BUNCH of bass on those inlines! dude is one of the only old school guys that still uses em' on here for largies. But hey man, whatever gets that lunker on your line...so be it! I normally use em' for smallmouth, not so much for largemouth but I'd be willing to try it in my local ponds. Will have to transfer them from my smallmouth tackle box though. Favorite Pond baits: -Mann's Minus One Shallow Crank in a Frog Pattern -Rapala Rattle Trap in a painted Firetiger Pattern -Strike King Red Eye Special in Chartruese/White with single colorado and single willow blade -Dean Rojas Spro Frog in a normal frog color pattern of course I throw the occasional senko!

Hey fellas. Had this reel about 8 months now. At the beginning of the season it squeaked like all get out so I cleaned it based off Shimano's maintenance for the reel listed on their website following all the directions. I'm not great with taking things apart and putting them back together but I know I did that right. I also oiled the maintenance port and the bail arm, and the area where the handle is (taking off the handle and putting a drop or two in there). It's good for about 15 minutes then starts squeaking again. I'm trying to get this fixed rather than go out and spend 40 dollars on a new one. Anyone have any advice? Do I need to use grease anywhere on the bearing, or check to see if it's not functional anymore? If so how do I look at the bearings and do maintenance with them? I'm really clueless at this point so any help would be appreciated guys. My Shimano Symmetre 2500 reel is working like a charm still and is a great reel. Used to think the same about the Sonora until this issue. It's actually so annoying sometimes I don''t even want to fish that pole after a while. Hopefully you guys can help me find a solution. Appreciate anything you guys got.

Saturday at 7am fellas. The dam at Lake Royal. See you guys there, gonna be cool to finally see you out there Dan. Looking forward to hooking up with everyone else too. I'm gonna hang til' 9 or 9:30 if I don't end up getting anything by then I'm gonna hit a new hole my dad and I found a few weeks back. But hopefully there will be no need if they are bitin' alright at Royal. Been catching em' like crazy lately on traps and Mann's Minus One's at local ponds so, we shall see. Don't know whether the crankbait bite will be on, but I'll have spinners, and jigs nearby. Cover all the water. Can't wait guys. See you soon. Andrew congrats on the catch dude. You'll get more this weekend! Simon see you out there buddy!

I have gone too crazy as well and have stopped replacing lures after losing certain ones. When I get low on something I only buy a couple as Id on't have space in one bag to accomodate everything. The other thing I do is have a side area in my closet to keep my totes of extras. This way day of or night before I go out I can change up what I don't need in my tackle box for something in the tote that I may need. Just get some extra cases for your lures put them aside and organize your bag each time you go out. Think of where you are fishing, what the conditions are, what you may want to throw today and always bring some kind of backup lures. Whatever plan b or plan c might be. Or consider some backups for windy condtions, different water clarity, etc. Helped me out quite a bit making a system like this. For some it's too tedious but for a weekend warrior like me who occassionally finds time after work it's helpful. I keep a lighter bag during the week so it doesn't hamper me down walking quickly and running and gunning along the shoreline.

Yup, and then we could always meet up at Tim's River Shore for lunch... mmmmm! Haha. Be cool to meet some new guys out on the water and have more people to fish with around here. Always good to have extra buddies so you can compare work schedules and see who is available when and so forth.

Thanks for the info Vekol, very informative. I think we should be able to piece something together for that if we end up heading up river far enough. If not we plan on fishing over by Belmont Bay (good spot for us last year). There is deep water here, plenty of docks in deep and shallow water to flip, whatever grass may be there now, and other features that make this a lockdown spot. We may also work our way around to some of the smaller creeks off the Occoquan River and Occoquan Bay there. They are hard to navigate though so depending on the tide we may have to head further up to the Potomac and hit either Neabsco or Powell's. But if we hit one of these places I'll try and use some of the info you got me. I appreciate the help man. Anything to help us find our way anywhere near fish is great lol.

After doing some reading and thinking I'm probably just better off buying a baitcaster at this point for my topwater plugs unless I find an alternative to this line issue. The braid will not impair the cranks but since it does not sink as well and is more visible in clear water I don't think it would be a good option for cranks, plus the no stretch with treble hooks could mean the hooks would rip easier through the fish's mouth with continuous pressure. I think I am going to try and cut off some line today (the problem line from yesterday and day before), see if this helps, try to find a way to get the line to spool tighter, maybe snapping my wrist down and pulling to the left or right, and try some other things. maybe a heavier topwater would help instead of a spook jr? Anybody think this could be a remedy? If so what would you recommend for walking the dog? Worst case scenario I guess I will have to spend more money, though I really can't afford to right now with a kid on the way.

Only prob is that I use this rod for cranks too, will braid work fine for my crankbaits or impair the action on them? If I do use this rod for my topwater plugs and cranks and end up lining it with braid, what brand would you guys recommend? If I have a bit more input on this I may be willing to go out and try this to see if it solves my problem. I don't see why braid would hurt crankbaits but I just want to be sure.

Nice fish Vekol. I plan on heading out of Occoquan this weekend at the Regional Park Ramp and moving down torwards Occoquan Bay/Belmont/etc. We may make our way down to the Potomac depending on water traffic through Occoquan and the bay/wind/etc. where abouts you fish for those guys? Don't want location but type of location. Where you hitting open deep water? Creek mouths? Secondary points? drop offs? Just an idea of what type of pattern we may wanna look for. I know we are at the end of a basic late winter pattern so I have that much to go with, but I just want to get an idea of how these fish are positioning with water temps rising up to above 50 on the surface now during the day. I gotta think they are almost in transition by now. Good luck on day two. I'm sure you guys will reel in some more. Take care man. P:s: Did you guys throw hard jerkbaits at all? I guess it would depend on the specific area you were in and whether the temps allowed at the time, but I figure that may be a good bet in some areas out there right now.

Dam seems easiest and holds a lot of folks. Maybe we could meet there, we could all pick out what areas we may want to fish, spread out cover some spots. We should be able to put together a pattern somewhere on the lake between all of us. So we can all chill at the dam for a bit, talk, make a few casts and get warmed up, then spread out and hit the areas of best potential. Sound good?

So in other words it's time to bite the bullet and go out and buy a decent baitcaster and learn how to use it strictly for my topwater plug techniques such as spook jrs, jitterbugs, poppers, and chug bugs? Any other advice would be awesome guys. Thanks for the quick responses though. Anybody know what would be a good combo to start out with for baitcasting gear? I'm a shimano guy so are there any lower end reels you'd recommend and a good rod to pair it up with? I'm looking at spending under 60 dollars total if possible. It's just a starter deal. Something that will give me decent action on the lure and allow me to learn baitcasting. I don't know how to use one yet so first I have to get the casting down practicing that and stuff, then I have to get the walk the dog down again with a different reel. So baitcasters allow for slack line more so than a spook? How come senkos work well with spinning gear then? I fish a senko with slack line with no problem, at least I did last year (on 10lb or 12 lb test line). Ps: I'm a BPS and Shimano guys, I like the bps rods as far as the tournament series and cheaper img graphite series rods they have. I like Shimano reels and rods and have never really had a problem with a reel until now with this spook issue.

Here's the 2lber. Not too fat but failry long, didn't have a ruler though. Noticed it had that melanin deal on his body just like my dad's fish he caught out of Mercer last year. But he fought real well and seemed healthy, just guess this is genetic in some of the ponds and lakes around here. Only two small spots, not covered like my dad. Good fish though. Promised a pic. Here it is.

Bass number 100 weighed in at 1lb 5oz. Caught it at my local pond where I've been doing pretty well lately on cranks. I threw a Painted Fire Tiger Rapala Lure and caught him over some newly formed spadderdock that were forming in the shallow right side of the pond. The sun beams down on here all afternoon and I've noticed them hanging on the outskirts by a beaverdam lately. Tossed it in there he hit it twice, the second time I got him. Nearly swallowed the bait. Dude was hungry. And I was happy. A great moment in my recreational fishing career I will never forget.

Hey guys, here's the deal. I've been fishing spooks on 10lb test for about 6 months now, no problems up to last week. When I cast and I walk the dog back to the shoreline I see that all the line is winding at the bottom of the reel. It is extremely loose and not winding tight. However when I cast out a rat l- trap or Minus One crank I have no issues whatsoever. The line I am using is Suffix Superior and is great for casting cranks and topwater plugs. My reel is a Shimano Symmetre 2500 with a 6 2 1 ratio (pretty sure). Most articles I'm reading online are saying to use a lower gear ratio like 5 1 1 or something. Could it be my reel? My line? The way I'm retrieving? I even watched the line on the bail arm and I can see it's not sitting tight against the arm but is rather loose. So I see why it's not winding tight. I know you need to fish these things with slack to make them run right but when I do this I'm having my line sprial so much all the way out to the water that by the third or fourth cast I birdnest on a SPINNING reel. It sucks. I spent half an hour today (three different times in less than 10 casts fixing birdnests and eliminating the line that got tangled up. Any help or advice would be appreciated guys. Please let me know. Same issue happens on my worm and jig pole. I have 15lb test (stren) on it and when I use a weightless senko it forms littler loops in the line down to the water. But with a jig or single hook type lure like a spinner I don't have the same problem. Is this simply just a line to lure weight ratio problem? I'm almost positive I'm spooling my line correctly and taking my time in doing so. I had problems the first time so I made sure it all spooled in one direction, I made sure there was plenty of pressure on the line as it spooled, etc. I don't understand why I'm having these issues. Any help fellas. Sorry to post in here for line issues again. You think I'd figure it out by now... egh, so frustrating. I only have money to two poles and stuff so I use one for cranks and treble hook lures, and another with more backbone and higher rated test for my jigs, spinners and worms. Any suggestions on my line issues would be awesome.

So I tallied up my efforts from last year and this year on my profile and it looks like the next fish I catch (whether largemouth, smallie or striper) will be my 100th bass. I know a lot of guys who are recreational keep tabs on numbers just for themselves as goals and so forth. I'm definately one of em'. It just let's me compare certain months, situations I'm better in, etc. Gives me motivation so to speak. Anyway... pretty cool to have gotten this far after remembering back to June of last year thinking how will I ever catch these things. Guess in some ways I'm starting to figure that out. I'll post the pic whether large or small fish just for the personal value this moment is worth to me. Going out today, Friday and Sunday. So hopefully it will be up soon. I'll keep you guys posted, Jason

Yea, slomoe if it's the spot I'm thinking about, or the general area you are talking about those spots can be gold mines all year long. Only need two baits, a blade bait and a senko. That's what I love about this place, it's always good for a fish as long as you fish the grass, mats, beds, etc the correct way. We still need to catch some hawgs together man. One weekend we need to hit it up. Kit.

I wouldn't throw too much at him at once. honestly when I got my dad into fishing on Father's Day last year I started him out with one lure. He didn't have his own tackle so he used mine. I showed him the spinnerbait and the crankbait on the first day and those are the only two he used, mostly the spinner the first few times out. What happend? He caught more fish than me. I lost some lol. But he got the hang of the spinner, the type of retrieves like slow roll, burning, waking, yo yoing, etc. He got awesome with that. After watching me slam them on senkos all summer he swore to learning those. Tied on a pumpkin colored senko and caught fish consecutively for three months. He tore it up. I showed him patience, placement, how to rig em' for certain situations, etc. Take your time, most importantly find something within his style. If he's run and gun or impatient let him run a crank or spinner. If hes casual laid back and wants to wait for the fish teach him the jig, the plastic worm, or finesse techniques (though I'd hold of on those). Give him something he feels comfortable with. If he's anything like my dad he will ask questions or pay attention to you half the time to see what you are doing. But definately let him develop his own style and don't throw too many terms at him at once. Some things to remember. My dad outfishes me probably 60% of the time if not more. He has a ton of fish over 3 lbs and some over 5, I don't have anything over 3. Best is 2lbs 14oz. I've caught numbers but I can't get on the biggun's. Make sure when your on the water you spend time bonding and the fishing will come. That's the great part about this sport. If he doesn't understand the worm, get him on the senko articles in this forum. Some of the best advice on em', if not check out the GY home page, you can find it by googling him. Awesome advice on the swim senko there. For jigs, for starters watch LBH's jig fishing video. Helped me out a lot. Basics, but very well put. You can use the search function here for that video. The other guys were right, there are you tube videos on each lure as well. Maybe not as well done, but your father may find something that hits him the right way and he will want to master it. Good luck in both your ventures and hope you guys land some fish of a lifetime together. Nothing better than father and son fishing. Of course unless you have kids or your wife/gf loves fishing too.

Dicks in Manassas does have them, i saw them last time I went up to pick some new 2008 lures. Check the aisle with the Zoom, GYCB, and Yum plastics. If not check the aisle with the jig heads and tube heads and such. Should be in one of those two.

Take it from a guy who used to party every weekend for the last 3 years or so at my friends apartment. We'd do karaoke and sing and play music loud on Fridays and Saturdays while we drank til like 3am. We had maybe 1 complaint, possibly two over the years and the neighbors came over around 10 or 11 and asked if we could turn it down. Luckily mostly teenagers and younger folks in that complex. But we did. If you ask and just knock on the door 90% of the time people will cooperate. They don't want the office or cops involved. Trust me. Most of the times we invited people in lol. Just made the party larger. d**n those younger couples. It's funny though, now that I'm married and have a kid on the way we never wanna go out and drink anymore (especially since the wife can't), and after work we are too d**n tired to do anything. So it's funny how quickly you mature and get outta that scene. Some never do though. Simple solution, just ask. I know it seems weird going up to someone to just do that, but most of the time they will apologize and thank you for coming to them first.

Yup, had to chime in again. This always happens with my dad and I. I'll move to his spot that he gave up after he catches a couple. He moves to mine where I had caught none. Sure enough five minutes later dad's gotta fish on lol. Sucks, haha.

Just completed it bud. My dad and I don't fish tournaments, but many times we head out on the Occoquan and Potomac rivers on the same days the tourneys are held just to see how we do in comparison to the tourney anglers. I have a lot of experience on the water with many of the boaters that launch out of there, tourney guys or not. So I believe my input should be just as important as we are indirectly associated or part of the concept as a whole. There are questions in the survey that include recreational anglers as well so it's fitting. Anyway, great survey, some very interesting questions. You will definately have to let us know what kind of findings or report he puts together for this. It would be interesting to see if it has any impact whatsoever, even if it is just in the region he's a part of. Later man.

Hey fellas, any of you NOVA guys fished the Occoquan River (not to be confused with Lake Ridge/Fountainhead/Bull Run) from shore yet this year? Going for my first time tonight after work to toss a few. Went a couple days ago for cats and perch but didn't get a single bite on minnows. Water looks really stained and the tide was down when I went so that sucked. Anyone know the tide schedule for today? Has anyone had any luck whether by the launch ramp, retaining wall, floating dock, shoreline areas? If so let me know how you are working the water if you could. Don't need specific baits just how you are going about covering the water and where you think the fish may be holding right now. The pond I fish lately is seeing bass come up pretty shallow sitting in dead vegetation or growing vegetation (mostly spadderdock or dead plants). I don't know if the water is warm enough in the river for that shoreline to be growing those weeds that covered the left of the ramp last year but I do know there is some dead trees in the water and there is always algae by that shoreline, just a matter of how much is in the usual spots. Only other things I can think of is fishing off the high point in the woods to the left of the ramp and casting out as far as I can covering a lot of water. Slomoe? Anglernfuego? Any of you bass boater's I see out there? Any help would be appreciated. It may just be too cold, but I'm not sure. Any guys get an accurate reading of surface temp lately out there? If so could you clue me in? Great, looks like I'll be fishing an outgoing tide. High tide is at noon or so and low at 7:30 or so. I'll be up there around 4:15 fishing until 5:30. Sucks for me. I may park by the entrance and try and find a spot next to some of those deep drop off rock walls, run a deep crank and a jig.

Tuco, No prob boss. Paul, yea refer to page 7 of the thread. Still at Royal, scheduled for 7am. I do plan on lake hopping after a couple hours or so if the bite isn't great at Royal. But I will give the lake a chance since I've heard so many good things. If I do leave, it will be more than likely over to Mercer, if not... depending on tides I may hit up a hole on the Potomac. Probably over at the Pohick Bay shoreline there. If the grass is starting to grow back and the temps are on the way up like they are at the ponds and lakes there could be a few in the spot I normally fish. I'll check tides a few days before and make a decision if I end up moving to a different spot.

After doing some research there a few reports on this lake on another site but there are some to look at. Just search for the lake and put in SC for your state. I found this guy on the main Carolina Angler Team Trail website, might wanna email him and see if he can provide info. The fish look like they've been on here... here's his info and here's the link to their site: Brett Collins Carolina Angler's Team Trail LLC bcatt@truvista.net http://www.carolinaa...steamtrail.com/ Normally I wouldn't put a guy's name and info on here but if it's on the main page of the site I don't see why it would be an issue. Good luck out there. Wish I could fish some of those impoundments in SC. Later man.