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I'm a total novice interested in learning to fish. I went pond fishing with my grandfather as a young kid, and have done a couple of inshore/deep water half-day charters in the past few years, but I want to learn how to do it myself. I live in Mississippi and have access to at least a couple of private ponds that are home to fish like crappie, bream, and bass. I can borrow a basic rod, reel, and some tackle, and I can pick up live bait. I'll probably be fishing from the bank or a dock to start with. What skills do I need to learn before I get out there? I'm thinking about fundamental knots, how to set up the terminal tackle, casting, how to remove a hook without injuring the fish, etc. I can look that stuff up on the youtube but I feel like I don't know what I don't know. e: oh jfc what a bad page snipe
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Sep 10, 2020 20:50
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:One of us! One of us! Thanks for all of this! The terminology is super helpful. Looking forward to my wife rolling her eyes at me watching fishing videos constantly now. I don't have a reel (or any equipment beyond hand tools), but I'm sure whatever I borrow will be a spinner or spincaster. Bass fishing seems like a a good way to start out so as to get some repetition. If you handed me a spincaster right now I could cast it just based on muscle memory from the handful of times that I've fished. I've used a spinning reel before too, but I'd have to fiddle with it for a second to remember how to cast it. I don't know how to load line onto a reel, so that's another thing I need to add to my list of things to learn. What sort of conditions are conducive to this type of fishing and what conditions are hopeless? Air temperatures are currently in the 60s at dawn and 80s at dusk. We haven't had much rain in the past two weeks but the forecast shows some next week.
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Sep 10, 2020 22:11
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On the advice of someone in Discord I picked up a Ugly Stik 6' med/med spinning rod+reel combo last weekend and have been out every day working on my cast and playing with different lures. What would be a good complementary second rod+reel? I'm targeting bass to start out with but also have crappie and catfish in the nearby ponds. So far I've had luck* with a Texas-rigged worm but with fall just around the corner I'd also like to try some topwater. *I've caught one little bass
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Sep 17, 2020 20:15
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Yeah I had been fishing for a week when I decided I needed a kayak. I got one of those $300 Lifetime Tamarack Angler 10 footers and it's been great. Of course then you have to budget for a PFD, better paddle, crate, cart to haul it, anchor to stop it, and so on, but it seriously opens up your options. e:  
Easychair Bootson fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Nov 10, 2020 |
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Nov 10, 2020 15:45
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What kind of fishing-related deals should we be on the lookout for as we move into the holiday season? I expect that brick & mortar stores will have some black Friday specials but what are some of the online retailers to watch?
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Nov 10, 2020 22:19
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Syano posted:Help me find bass. Ive been hitting ponds pretty hard this year and got semi decent at finding and catching the fish. Ive been out to the big lake twice now in a boat and I cant find bass to save my life. Where do I look? The lake is probably more heavily fished than the ponds. Is it a state-managed waterway? If so see if they have a fishing report available online. Maybe try a finesse technique back in a cove?
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Nov 15, 2020 01:15
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Speaking of Florida, I’m planning on coming down to the Pensacola area solo in a week or two to fish for a few days. My plans are flexible and evolving. If anyone is in the area and wants to wet a line, give me a shout.
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Jan 10, 2021 15:36
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If you can find an Expride 7’ med/fast in stock anywhere I think that’s going to be pretty much a perfect rod for what you describe. I have a bunch of Dobyns casting rods and they’re good for the money but tend to run a little lower on power for a given rating. I’m not sure if you’d be better off with a 2 power or 3 power.
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Mar 13, 2021 15:35
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I. M. Gei posted:Holy poo poo Dobyns Rods is headquartered right near where I live. A medium/fast spinning combo and a medium heavy/fast baitcast combo is kind of the canonical two-rod setup, for pretty good reason. You can throw all but the lightest finesse baits for bass on a medium power spinning rod, and it'll be more versatile than a medium light. But you could definitely do a medium light and a medium heavy. I still think a medium and a medium heavy is the best one-two punch.
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Mar 15, 2021 03:41
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), would I be better off going with medium or medium-heavy for bass?
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Grandito posted:I posted a couple months ago about my failures getting fish in the north texas ponds. I decided to try again now that the weather is nice and I've finally got the hang of it. The trick was realizing I've got a co-worker who's a competitive bass fisherman. Ned rigs catch fish, and catching fish is fun. Lately I've been catching a bunch out of bass and a few crappie out of small ponds and creeks by using a 3/16oz Booyah Pond Magic spinnerbait. They're $2.99 at Academy and fishing a spinnerbait is super fun. Give it a shot.
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Mar 25, 2021 19:44
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ihop posted:Gave the Ned rig my first honest try this week and managed to haul a half dozen small bass and one large one out of two heavily pressured ponds. I guess I'm sold. I am having a hard time feeling the strikes though. I'm using a light setup on 4lb line but more often then not I only realize there's a fish on when I go to retrieve. You want to remain "in contact" with your lure as much as possible by keeping the line from going completely slack. You'll often hear this referred to as a semi-slack line. It takes a little practice to get the feel of it. And while there's absolutely nothing wrong with using monofilament, I like using high-vis braid (12-15#) to a fluorocarbon leader (6-8#) to make it easier to see the line and to feel bites. The braid lasts basically forever, and has a lot of advantages on a spinning reel (sensitivity, lack of memory, easier casting). I replace the leader when it gets down to a foot or two from retying lures. e: you can absolutely use mono as your leader if you don't want to mess with fluoro but still want the benefits of braid
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Apr 1, 2021 17:42
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Bass Forecast seems to rely on temperature trends, wind, cloud cover, lunar cycles, and what the fish should be doing based on the season. The latest version will tell you what factors are used to determine the score. I take it all with a grain of salt, and the app isn't a substitute for experience or local knowledge. You can see what the fishing forecast says, go fishing, and then let your results inform you about how useful the forecast is.
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Apr 2, 2021 15:17
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ihop posted:Wacky rigging I could never get to work, but I think it mostly came down to poorly matched line and rod. Right now (spawn season) is the time to fish a wacky-rigged weightless senko. I fish it on a medium/fast spinning rod on a Gamagatsu finessee wide gap weedless 2/0 hook. Fantastic for skipping up under docks or overhanging trees.
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Apr 19, 2021 11:00
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LeeMajors have you ever fished topwater lures? If you're in the southeast, now's a good time to get them on the topwater. Try late afternoon / early evening. Here are a couple I caught on walking / popper baits yesterday between 5:15 and 6:15. Both were less than 5 feet off of the bank. If you think catching bass on a Carolina rig is fun your head will explode when they start hitting on topwater. 
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May 8, 2021 13:42
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LeeMajors posted:I’ll definitely pick up a couple. They’re not weighted right? Snap swivels ok? I haven’t tied one on in like 30yrs. Yeah something like this or this (both in the 3" size) for the popper, and along these lines for the walker, although I haven't fished that particular one. I'm sure snap swivels would work fine, but I just tie straight to the line tie. I fish these with mono line on a medium power rod.
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May 9, 2021 11:58
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Oh we're talking about chunks that we caught on Kobold's Workshop tackle? I took an underspin and replaced the blade with a 5g dickspoon from KW as a bit of a goof and 10 minutes later this gal chomped it. 4 lbs 10 oz. 
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May 11, 2021 02:18
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:To conceal the source of fish as by channeling it through an intermediary. 
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May 11, 2021 19:59
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LeeMajors posted:I’ve already been looking at kayaks. Last year I went less than two weeks from buying my first fishing rod to buying a kayak: a $300 Lifetime Tamarack Angler 10' from Tractor Supply, and I don't regret it a bit. I did buy a Crescent CK1 Venture this spring but hung on to the Lifetime boat so I can have a spare for my kayak-less friends. Pedal kayaks are great if you're fishing bigger water, but I'm mostly on ponds, creeks, and small rivers. If you have a place to store it and a way to haul it I say go ahead and buy a cheap one and go from there. Since we're talking about kayaks and topwater fishing, here's a spotted bass I caught out of my cheap kayak on a 1/4oz buzzbait back in mid-March 
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May 13, 2021 02:54
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Farking Bastage posted:I got my first over slot trout this year Do you have any advice for me, someone who will be at Pensacola Beach in a couple of weeks? I won't have a boat, so I'll probably just fish off the dock into the bay. Wondering if I can hope to find any speckled trout or redfish. I'm planning on throwing paddle tail ~4" swimbaits and ned rigged worms.
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May 24, 2021 14:47
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Ventus posted:For getting farther casts with a baitcaster, should I loosen my tension knob more, or decrease the number of brakes I'm using? I've been keeping my brakes on max and loosening my tension knob and have seen some results, but should I be doing something different? Still getting used to having my thumb on the spool (feathering I think it's called). Spool tension is the key, yeah. If there's too much resistance at the spool you're never going to get maximum distance. You've got to use good casting technique and trust your thumb more than the brakes so they don't steal your distance either.
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Jul 5, 2021 18:54
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ihop posted:What's the general wisdom regarding storm fronts moving through? Elsa is passing by and I can't remember if fishing is supposed to be better/worse before/after a weather system. I have a friend who's a very successful kayak bass angler in the southeast and here's what he had to say on the subject in the past: quote:Some people swear by solunar tables, but I’ve personally not noticed a huge correlation except MAYBE when weather and water have been stable for several days. Stable weather and water conditions (clarity, level, temp) is almost always good. In transient conditions, slow cooling trends in the fall, warming trends in the spring, slow water rises, sudden influxes of warm muddy water in the spring, the day just before and day of a front passing are usually good. But rapid cooling trends, influxes of cold muddy water in the winter, rapid falling or rising water, the couple days after a front passes all seem to have negative effects.
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Jul 9, 2021 11:52
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Farking Bastage posted:Solo Skiff Stuff What do you do to anchor or otherwise maintain your position in wind and/or current?
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Jul 15, 2021 02:30
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Academy had a 20% off all fishing stuff earlier this week, so I impulse-bought a Daiwa BG3000 with the intent of using it on my 3-piece medium / mod-fast spinning rod. This is the combo that I'll use for inshore fishing on the Gulf Coast (Florida panhandle). I have pretty limited experience down there, but have always used (and never had an issue with) 15 pound braid with a 15 pound fluorocarbon leader to fish for speckled trout and red drum. That Daiwa will take nearly 300 yards of 15 pound braid, and that's way more than I need for this application. Should I jump to 30#, which will give me a little over 200 yards of braid, or stay in the 15# range? I know that I can use a backer to take up some of the unneeded space but I've been getting away from that recently in favor of tying braid directly to the spool.
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Jul 16, 2021 14:25
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LeeMajors posted:considering we are probably about to refinance our house. So you’ve got some equity freed up, yeah?
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Jul 16, 2021 23:03
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Farking Bastage posted:I didn't find any redfish back in my hidey-hole here today, but I caught a few speckled trout, one of which was around 24" on topwater. She was really weak when I landed her because the water surface temp is north of 90 degrees F and trout aren't well suited to low oxygen environments, so I didn't take a photo. Real nice, friend. Wish I was there.
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Jul 25, 2021 04:36
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Hekk posted:I’ve been fishing in rocky shallow parts of the very northern part of the Mississippi. I caught 7 or 8 smallmouth the other evening over the course of 30-45 minutes just casting plastic Ned rigs. Being rocky though, I am finding I lose a bunch of lures. You might try some EWG-style Ned heads like these https://www.amazon.com/Lifted-Jigs-Ned-EWG-Jig/dp/B07PH48ST7 Maybe a finesse football head jig, too? Gives you a head more suited to coming through rock, and a (very light) weed guard https://www.keitechusa.com/catalog/model-ii-tungsten-football-jig.html
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Aug 12, 2021 16:55
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If you have so little braid that you're getting into your mono backing on a cast (or when a fish is pulling drag) you have way too little braid (and probably too much backing). I tie braid straight to the spool with no backing or tape. This video shows you how to do it: an arbor knot followed by a series of half hitches. This prevents you from getting down to the backing (because there is none), and if you want to repurpose that braid down the road (by putting it on another reel, for example), you have a longer stretch of braid to make use of. FG knot is great and I use it a lot for leaders but a well-tied double uni should do fine on spinning gear. I know a lot of people use an Alberto knot for leaders with good results. Try using a small dab of super glue to keep your knots and tag ends intact.
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Aug 13, 2021 22:02
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KingKapalone posted:Yeah I mentioned that I'm not really getting to the knot on the cast, the knot has just maneuvered it's way up to the surface. I'd still have to pull out what looks like a large amount of line to actually see that mono-braid knot make its way up the rod. Gotcha, my mistake. I jumped to that conclusion because I’ve done it before I got away from using a mono backer. Like joem83 I’m a fan of braid to a mono leader for the reasons he mentioned, plus you’re not losing braid length every time you tie a new lure on. A 6’ leader lasts several trips. I’ll use fluoro leaders for super finesse-y stuff or if I need a line that will get the bait deeper in the water column.
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Aug 14, 2021 12:50
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Jonny 290 posted:Hook prices were insane so i didn't buy too many. i'll probably buy one of the 1k for $10 packs on amazon...other'n that, maybe some fluoro and make some leaders at home? What gaping holes (again, https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yamamoto_Senko/descpage-YAS.html Fish it Texas rigged or wacky rigged and have fun catching all the bass e: agreed with titties on the line rec Easychair Bootson fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Aug 23, 2021 |
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Aug 23, 2021 19:56
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) do i have?
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bewbies posted:I had a spirited debate with my stepdad who is an elite fish man who generally really knows his poo poo last night and I want to know more. Starting out it just made sense for me as a righty to fish what's known as a left-hand baitcast reel, where you reel with your left hand. The obvious benefit is not having to switch hands mid-cast. Plus, I feel more confident in my right thumb to control the spool, and my right wrist when I'm pitching. I'm not a skater or surfer but if I were I'd ride goofy. I also shoot long guns left-handed, due to a bad right eye, so maybe I'm not the best data point.
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Aug 25, 2021 14:42
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PSA: Tackle Warehouse is having their Labor Day 15% off sale this Wednesday (starting at 8 PDT) and running through Friday. edit: I saw this posted somewhere else, but I think it was probably erroneous - haven't seen anything else about this year's sale, if there is one If you don't need any of that bullshit then go support a goon and buy your stuff here: https://koboldsworkshop.com/ Easychair Bootson fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Sep 1, 2021 |
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Aug 30, 2021 20:39
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Valt posted:Had a good day on the Colorado throwing poppers with fiberglass 3wt. I caught several decent sized bluegill which is weird since I rarely catch them out there. All of the big stuff I was catching on a popper which is also weird since normally don't catch anything on a popper out there. Not sure about your seasons but in the southeast we're just this week getting into the fall transition which is a great time to be fishing a popper, spook, or some other kind of topwater walking bait. Nice fish btw!
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Sep 25, 2021 03:25
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Is there a / What is the ethical way for an angler to cull largemouth bass as part of a fish management strategy? A lake in a state park has this to say in their fishing report: [the lake] is bass-crowded, and anglers are strongly encouraged to keep their limit of fish under 14". A colleague of mine wants me to come fish his farm pond and cull anything under a certain size (12 inches, maybe). He thinks the pond is overcrowded with small bass. Is it okay for me as an angler to keep/kill fish that I don't intend to eat or otherwise use? If so, what's a humane way of doing it that hopefully doesn't involve me gutting dozens of fish?
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Nov 19, 2021 17:18
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I. M. Gei posted:Speaking of reels, what do y'all consider to be a good beginner casting reel for bass fishing? I'm partial to the Shimano SLX MGL, particularly if you want to be able to cast lighter lures. I've got a bunch of nice reels but that one stands out as being a good all-arounder, and a good value. FYI if anybody is looking for a gently-used, left-hand SLX DC reel I'll sell it for $125 shipped in the US. PM for more info. edit: also FYI Shimano is implementing a price increase on February 1. It's fairly modest (like $10-20 on rods and reels), and not every single line is affected (I don't think SLX is).
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Jan 30, 2022 16:09
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I caught maybe 50 bass over the weekend, just piddling around. Nothing over a couple of pounds but that's just how it goes at this little lake. They've been moving up shallow for a few weeks but now it seems like they're moving up and staying. Water temps near the surface were just getting to 60 degrees. This is in the southeast... B'ham-ish. Craw-style baits have been killing it for me, as have little paddle tail swimbaits. Chatterbaits are good, too. Wacky-rigged senkos are just around the corner for me. Can't wait for that first topwater bite of the year, but it's gotta be at least a couple of weeks away.
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Mar 7, 2022 21:49
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ihop posted:Man I am trying and trying to make a chatterbait work for me but it's just not clicking. There's lots of wood, laydowns and small dead branches in all the water near me. Where there isn't wood there's thick grass with thicker algae. Fishing slow and close to the bottom leads to way more snags than the other lures I use. I have yet to find a lure that will come through the grass with coating itself in algae. Putting a fat, flat trailer on helps a bit with the snags but I feel that type of plastic doesn't work as well (for me) as a swimbait type. Keeping it up above the wood/grass feels like too-fast of a retrieve for the hot lazy fish around here. Hangups aside, I also just don't feel like I get the bites on the CB that I do on spinnerbaits/crankbaits. I'll keep trying, if only because the fish I have caught on the CB were on the larger size of what I get, but it feels like I'm just not quite getting some important detail. I have little confidence in spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but the chatterbait works well for me. I use green pumpkin and bream types of colors. Blade color seems important, or at least I've convinced myself that it is. I've had some of my best luck with a Rage Menace trailer to imitate a crawfish. Lots of pauses/pops in the retrieve, especially after encountering some grass. They don't come through algae well and I don't fish them around laydowns a lot.
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Jun 26, 2022 12:46
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Easychair Bootson posted:I have little confidence in spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but the chatterbait works well for me. I use green pumpkin and bream types of colors. Blade color seems important, or at least I've convinced myself that it is. I've had some of my best luck with a Rage Menace trailer to imitate a crawfish. Lots of pauses/pops in the retrieve, especially after encountering some grass. They don't come through algae well and I don't fish them around laydowns a lot. Checking back in to say that I lost what might have been a personal best largemouth bass today on a chatterbait. Guess I didn't get a good enough initial hookset because I had him pinned then he jumped and welp
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Jun 28, 2022 01:03
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I'm going to be visiting some family on the Alabama Gulf Coast (Orange Beach) and will have the opportunity to do some fishing off the pier on the gulf side. I've got a 7' MH/MF three-piece rod and a 3000 size reel that I think has 30# braid on it. I'll tie on a leader but I think the heaviest I have is 15#. I'm a bass fisherman. What kind of line and terminal tackle do I need to catch fish off the pier? My 13 y/o niece has been fishing down there many times and said that shrimp are the go-to bait. She seems to do mostly jigging as opposed to casting into the surf. But maybe there are fish to be caught deeper? Attached is a pic of the pier in question.
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Jul 26, 2022 02:12
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Dik Hz posted:I’d tie a pompano rig on a 15# mono leader. 2-4 oz of lead depending on current. Getting really fresh shrimp is very important. The frozen stuff sometimes doesn’t work. JRay88 posted:Pompano rig with shrimp are good. If there are redfish or Spanish in the area then a gotcha plug works well for them. For the toothier fish you may wanna pick up some heavier fluoro for leader, I used 20lb or 50lb depending on target. Cool. Between this and the advice in Discord I think I can figure something out! Will the artificial stuff I have for bass fishing catch anything off a pier? I'm thinking a shrimp-imitating Ned rig or a 4" pinfish-imitating paddletail.
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Jul 27, 2022 13:44
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I need to try the BFS thing because my spinning gear never gets used. As I have dipped my toes in the Daiwa baitcasting waters I find myself wanting to move more that way. I've been using a Zillion SV TW on my jerkbait rod and it is spectacular. I don't touch the spool tension knob and run between 6 and 12 on the brake dial (max of 20 I think). I thought the clicking drag was gimmicky but in actual use it's very nice.
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Oct 10, 2022 10:50
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