Category Archives: Fishing Tackle

Rods and reels to live bait

Fishing Fathers’ Day Gifts

A Few Ideas for Dad’s Day Gifts

By Frank Sargeant
from The Fishing Wire

Forget the socks and ties, OK? We want outdoors stuff for Father’s Day. Here are a few suggestions:

Anglers are hard on shoes, no doubt about it. Our feet are frequently wet, from spray, from rain, or from hopping over the side to beach the boat. It’s not uncommon to have shoes drizzled with fish blood and slime and with mud, either. And most of us spend long hours standing up to fish–sitting restricts casting efficiency too much.

Most of us also like “kick off” type shoes, low-cut, just in case we someday fall over the side–it happens to everybody eventually.

Finding shoes that are at home in the water, stain-resistant, comfortable enough to make long hours of standing bearable, and easy to get off and on can be a bit of a challenge.

Soft Science is one good solution. Their “Fin” model shoes are amazingly comfortable and light–under a pound for a pair, which is about half the weight of conventional shoes. The microfiber mesh uppers keep feet cool, whether you wear socks or not, and the material is both strong and stain-resistant.

The removable insole is made of a soft composite the company calls Trileon, which is waterproof, stain-resistant, odor-resistant and washable, and which provides great arch support and heel cushioning. The sole is made of this same material, and it’s non-marking on boat decks and very “grippy”, even on wet fiberglass or mossy boat ramps.

Vents in the sole allow water to run out if you go wading, and the sole wraps up well over the mesh uppers to give a bit of protection on rough terrain. Fins are available in sizes from 6 to 13, and in five colors. Price is $79.99; www.softscience.com.

The Impecca Power-It is an amazingly compact jump-starter, about the size of an iPhone 6 Plus (but thicker) and yet it’s got the oomph to kick off your outboard or tow vehicle for an emergency start. It’s also a charger that works for 12-volt marine and automotive batteries, and it also has dual USB outlets to charge cellphones, tablets and laptops. It includes an LED flashlight with SOS signaling device–all for $79.95 in the 8,000mAh version.

The company says the product will recycle 3000 times before needing replacement. Larger versions capable of jumpstarting even large trucks and big RV’s are also available; www.impecca.com.

Also for those who need portable power, the Olympia External Battery/Dual Solar Charger provides charging and battery power for those who go “off-grid” in areas where electrical power is not available. The system includes a 5500mAh rechargeable battery, solar recharging panels and both USB and micro-USB ports for charging. It’s designed to handle wet weather and the bumps and shocks of backcountry life, according to the company. It charged my iPhone 6 in about three hours, and the company says it will charge most tablets in 5 to 6 hours. It’s $59.99: www.olympiaproducts.com.

Every outdoorsman can use another set of Cablz, the clever sunglasses retainers made of stainless steel cable or heavy monofilament. These things not only keep your glasses handy at all times, they also don’t hang on the back of your neck and draw sweat, as cloth retainers do.

The rubber tips of these retainers slide easily onto the ear pieces of most glasses, and several models have adjustable lanyards, especially handy if you need to keep several pairs of glasses handy, as I have to do these days–one for running the boat, one for reading the GPS and one for tying knots. They’re 11.99 to $14.99. A flotation device that slides on the retainer is also available–I’ve never had one blow off, but considering the price of prescription sunglasses these days, probably a good idea; www.Cablz.com.

How Can I Catch White Bass?

A Cast to the Other Bass white bass

Overlooked and underappreciated, white bass are a blast

By Mitch Eeagan

You’d be hard-pressed to find an avid angler who doesn’t recognize bass as the most sought-after sport fish in North America. We all have our favorite fish, but statistics prove that bass are #1.

Overlooked and underappreciated, however, is a bass of a different color. Its DNA differs from the most popular, yet the species roams a majority of waterways throughout the lands. I’m talkin’ white bass…. And they are a blast to catch.

Mae Edlund and White Bass

Eight-year-old Mae Edlund is all smiles during the Mississippi River white bass blitz! An H20 Precision Jig and minnow or B Fish N Tackle Pulse-R is like candy to these voracious pelagics!

White bass fans look forward to massive spring spawning runs in rivers that connect to the large natural lakes and reservoirs the fish call home during the rest of the year. But after the run, most anglers set their sights on other species.

So why are they summer’s Rodney Dangerfield, earning such little respect?

It can’t be their unwillingness to whack a vibrating or flashing lure. The fact is, white bass have voracious appetites, and once schools are located, the catching comes quite easy.

It’s certainly not what they lack during battle. White bass zig-zag and power-dive straight for the fathoms. And, by far, it’s not their poor table fare. On the contrary, white bass make for good eats if you ice ‘em right away or keep them in a well-aerated livewell – and then remove all the red-colored flesh when filleted.

More than likely, it’s simply because they aren’t easy to find come summertime. Just like their saltwater cousins, the striped bass, white bass turn pelagic. They don’t dwell near bottom or hug shoreline structure, making them more difficult to find. Instead, white bass rove high in the water column and create havoc with pods of nomadic baitfish.

Or maybe they’re simply not trendy enough to target. But that’s about to change.

When the lovin’ is over

Enter ardent angler Jim Edlund, who is far from troubled to speak in favor of targeting white bass. The Minnesota-based outdoor writer says he fishes white bass every chance he gets, and now coaches his daughters on how to catch them year-round; even well after the massive spawning migrations have ended.

“Springtime is primetime, typically when water temps are in that 50 to 60 degree range. Fish a day or two before, on, or immediate after a full moon and you’re really rocking. That’s when the spawn is in full-swing. It’s the perfect bite to get kids really excited about fishing. Not surprising, my kids are big fans of white bass,” says Edlund

Although spring can be easy pickings, Edlund says good electronics can help you find white bass the rest of the year.

“Despite all the pretty pictures of bridges and sunken boats you see in the advertising, what Side Imaging really does is minimize the amount of time it takes to find fish,” says Edlund. “I simply idle around river points, sandbars, feeder creeks and watch for white splotches of bait and fish on my SI screen. Once I see life, I scroll the cursor over the spot and boom, there’s the waypoint on my LakeMaster map. This lets me back off and idle into the spot from upwind with my Minn Kota and get the kids casting without spooking them.”

A fan of river fishing from a small, aluminum Lund that’s taken years of abuse, Edlund calls his system “high-tech, old-school.”

“To think that a guy can get Side Imaging, Down Imaging, mapping and 2D sonar for under $500 is awesome. Fishing with the Humminbird Helix SI GPS is like drinking Don Perignon on a Boone’s Farm budget.”

As Edlund nears the waypoints he marked on Side Imaging, he switches to split-screen view of 2D sonar and LakeMaster map, noting the depth marks start appearing, more than likely the same depth white bass will move into if the wind kicks up and waves roll over sunken islands or points adjacent to the deeper water.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped jigging walleyes on the Mississippi River to chase a school of white bass. I have buddies who just shake their heads. Then out comes the casting stick for as long as the whities will play along.

“Same goes for North Dakota’s Devils Lake. Take a break from walleyes and survey a few windswept shorelines with Side Imaging until we find fish; doesn’t take long. And they’re giants out there. They’re just too much fun to be ignored, especially with kids in the boat. My new plan is throwing Clousers at ‘em with a 4 or 5 weight fly rod. That should be a hoot!”

Overall, once white bass have spawned, they move out into the main lake and can be found in areas with a turbid layer over ultra-clear water. In reservoirs, both bait and bass are often found along the old river and creek channels. In natural lakes, white bass tend to hover over main-lake flats. It’s in these areas you may see baitfish leaping for their lives, indicating there are white bass below attacking the clan.

“Although electronics are great, always pay attention to what’s going on around you, like busting bait and surfacing fish. And watch where the birds are feeding on the water,” says Edlund.

Once it’s determined the bass are at the surface or just below, it’s time to cast into the chaos.

Fin-Wing Lure

Fluttered deep or burned across the surface, the Fin-Wing is a nemesis to white bass

Gearing up

Lures and gear should be beefed up from what one might expect when catching fish that range from 1-4 pounds. Because white bass feed on shad and shiners, lures that match the size of the baitfish are best. Vibration and flash are key as well.

Soft jerkbaits with large paddle tails, such as 3.5-inch Castaic Jerky J Swim Series and Custom Jigs & Spins 3.25-inch Pulse-R Paddle Tail, rigged onto a jig head with a narrow shape like an H20 Precision Jig, or the Rapala Ultra-Light Rippin’ Rap are some of Edlund’s favorite baits to cast. He throws them with 10-pound-test superline and an 8-pound-test fluorocarbon leader on a fast-action medium-power St. Croix AVID-X spinning rod.

“I could use lighter gear, but I don’t like to baby ‘em. Plus, it’s a numbers thing; I want to boat the fish without any unnecessary ballet and get right back out to hot fish. Plus, these same river spots can produce some big ‘eyes, smallies, cats … when there’s a lot of bait getting slashed, your next fish could be anything,” says Edlund

Spinners are also a great choice for whities, with number-3 and -4 Mepps Aglia in-line spinners mainstays. Spoons with a wide wobble that can be fished both fast and slow and can be stopped and fluttered on the fall, such as a size-1 Fin-Wing or Custom Jigs & Spins Pro Series Slender Spoon, work wonders, too.

Cast, retrieve, repeat

Overlooked and underappreciated? That’s the white bass. Once located high in the water column, catching them is straightforward – just cast, retrieve and repeat. Once you land a few you’ll realize just why white bass should rank right up there with black and brown bass.

Jason Halfen with White Bass

Jason Halfen with a chunky and spunky white bass snared on a Fin-Wing

Mitch Eeagan is a writer that lives off the land and water, who resides in the heart of the mosquito-filled cedar swamps of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Why Is April A Big Bass Month?

April is a great month to catch a big bass and it will just get better and better the next few weeks. A couple of text pictures reminded me just how good it can be. Peyton James sent me a picture of two bass he caught a few days ago at Lake McIntosh. Both were over five pounds and they hit a pumpkinseed Fluke. Peyton catches some big bass – a few years ago I talked about the big bass he caught at High Falls Lake.

Peyton’s fish hit in shallow water with some grass. Eric Bruce also sent me a picture last week of a five pounder he caught on a Rooster Tail in shallow water. All these five pounders came from smaller lakes which warm faster than the big ones. But the big lakes are getting good, too. The 5.65 pounder I caught at the Top Six was the seventh largest fish caught in that tournament, so there were some good ones. Mine hit in about three feet of water and I caught it on a Carolina rigged green pumpkin lizard with its tail dipped in chartreuse JJ’s Magic.

As soon as the water starts warming and the days start getting longer bass get the spawning urge. They start their annual migration from their deep winter holding areas to shallow spawning flats, usually in the backs of protected coves. Hard bottoms are key. And they feed heavily getting ready for the stress of bedding.

After they spawn the females are hard to catch for a week or so, then they go on a feeding spree. And the males guarding the nests and fry will hit anything that comes near them. While they are bedding you can sight fish for them, dropping something into their bed to irritate them into hitting. But that can be a slow, frustrating process. I have cast to an eight pound bass on the bed for over two hours, only to give up and leave without getting her to bite.

Some say catching bass on the beds is bad for the population, but biologists say it does not hurt them in our waters. Although you may remove a bass and keep it from spawning, she has already spawned many times over the years, so her genes are well established in the body of water. And bass spawn so prolifically, with each female producing thousands of eggs each year, that fishermen can’t really hurt the population.

Some northern states have closed seasons on bass fishing during the spawning times. They may need it since bass do not reproduce as well in colder waters, and have less time to spawn. Here in Georgia bass will spawn from late February through June on most lakes. Some females will be spawning all those months, and some spawn deep enough you can’t see them to sight fish for them.

I have to laugh at a fisherman who says he will not sight fish for bass on the bed, it is unethical, but he will drag a lizard all over the spawning flats and catch bass off the beds he can’t see. Sure, he is not sight fishing, but he is still catching them off the beds just the same.

No matter how you like to fish for bass right now is a good time to go to any of your favorite pond and lakes and catch bass. Sight fish for them if you like. Or try Flukes, Rooster Tails or lizards in the shallows. You might catch the biggest bass of your life.

Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifer Baitcasting Reel Review

Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier Baitcasting Reel – List price $99.99 – often on sale for significantly less.

buy now

A few weeks ago during a club tournament the level wind on one of my favorite baitcasting reels started sticking on the side when it started to reverse. I have had this problem on several reels over the years. With heavy use the paul that moves back and forth in the screw and moves the line guide wears and sticks. Everytime in the past it was a simple matter to get it replaced but my repair shop could not get one for this reel. So I needed a new reel.

I had heard some good things about the Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifer reel so I checked online and they were on sale for $79.99. The reviews there were very good. I have a media discount card – disclaimer, I get 25 percent off on Bass Pro Shops branded items – so I drove to the Macon Bass Pro Shop. Unfortunately for me, the sale ended the day before I went, so with my discount I got two of the reels for about the sale price that I missed.

I put the reels on two of my rods, replacing the broken reel and changing out an old round reel on another rod. That Saturday my bass club had a youth tournament at Jackson Lake and a club tournament on Sunday at Lake Oconee, so I got to test them out under tournament conditions.

Both reels were great! I cast a chatterbait on one and a crankbait on the other. I had spooled both reels with 14 pound Bass Pro Shops Excel Monofilament Line.
buy now

I have used this line in the past and it is a very good line for the price. I got a 120 yard spool for $10.99, a little less with my discount.

Goth reels, with just a little adjustment, were easy to make long casts without backlash. They were very smooth during the cast and retrieve. And the drag with smooth and easy to adjust to the tension I wanted for the rod and bait I was using.

Bottom line is, I will definitely buy more of these reels to replace some of my older reels.

Rapala DT 6 Crankbait Review

A broken DT 6 and bill, one with a cracked bill and a XR full of water

I have a love/hate relationship with Rapala DT 6 crankbaits right now. In five club tournaments so far this year i have won two, placed second in two and fifth in one. Of the 19 keepers I have weighed in, 17 have been caught on crawfish Rapala DT 6 crankbaits. In January the first tournament I fished I had three keepers and the biggest one, a 3.7 pounder, hit the DT 6. The second January tournament I won with a limit and caught all five on the DT 6. In early February I had just one keeper, but it was on the DT 6 but then in the next one I had a limit and caught all five on the crankbait. In the first March tournament I again had a limit and four of the five were on the crankbait. And in the December club tournament two of the three I landed hit the DT 6. But I have broken five of the $8.00 crankbaits in those five tournaments!

I started using them last fall when I did a Georgia Outdoor News article on West Point with guide Ken Bearden. He caught several nice bass on the DT 6 crankbaits that day so I bought a few. They all run true right out of the box and have good hooks on them. And bass seem to like them.

Breaking the first two were my fault. I slapped them on the water to get a leaf off and broke them. The first one I thought it was a defective plug or I had cracked it somehow, but the second one made me realize I could not do that so I was real careful after that. But while fishing at Bartletts Ferry in the third tournament one broke on a cast. Then after the fourth tournament at Sinclair I was retying to get ready for the West Point tournament and saw the bill was cracked on that plug so I got a new one out.

During that tournament I was reeling the new plug very slowly, bumping the bottom, when my line went slack. I thought a bass had hit from behind and ran toward me so I started reeling fast, and reeled in the lip. A few seconds later the plug floated up.

Rapala has always made quality lures. I caught many bass on the floating Rapala while fishing ponds growing up and then caught a lot on the Countdown modle in bigger lakes when I started fishing tournaments. And I have caught hundreds of bass on Shadraps since they came out in the early 1980s.

I had another problem with the Rapala XR jerkbait. I tied a new one on at Clarks Hill in February and after a few casts it started sinking. I looked at it and it had water in it. I did catch two bass on it after that but by then it sank so fast I quit using it.

I am sending some of the broken plugs to Rapala. It will be interesting to see what they say.

Second Place At West Point Lake On A Rapala DT 6 Crankbait

Two tournaments at West Point in the last month showed fishing can be good but the water is still a little cold for it to be great for everybody. The Potato Creek Bassmasters had a tournament there on February 14 and the Flint River Bass Club fished our tournament on March 8 and both had some members with decent catches but others struggling to even catch a keeper.

In the Potato Creek tournament, 16 members fished for eight hours to land 15 keepers weighing about 36 pounds. There was one five-fish limit and nine fishermen didn’t catch a keeper. At West Point largemouth have to be 14 inches long to keep but spots an be 12 inches long.

Lee Hancock had the limit weighing 14.33 pounds and won, and his 3.99 pounder was big fish. That is an excellent catch any time of year. Bobby Ferris had four at 9.83 pounds for second, third was Eric Blessitt with two at 4.96 pounds and Ryan Edge placed fourth with one at 1.83 pounds.

In the Flint River Tournament 19 members fished eight hours to land 24 keepers weighing about 49 pounds. There were two five-fish limits and eight members didn’t have as keeper. The water had warmed some and the weather was much nicer the day we fished, making it a little better.

Niles Murray won with five weighing 9.31 pounds, my five at 9.08 pounds was second, third was Chuck Croft with three at 6.11 pounds and Jack Ridgeway had two at 5.80 pounds for fourth. Gary Hattaway had a 5.30 pound largemouth for big fish. There were only four largemouth weighed in, all the rest were spotted bass.

I have a love/hate relationship with Rapala DT 6 crankbaits. Last Saturday when checking and getting my tackle ready for the tournament I looked at the bill of the one I had caught four of my five keepers on at Sinclair. It was cracked so I tied a new one on. Sunday morning we started at 8:00 and by 10:00 I had caught four keepers on it.

A little after catching my fourth fish I was reeling it along, bumping the bottom, when the line went slack. I thought a bass had hit it and ran toward me so I started reeling fast, and reeled in the bill of the new plug. It had broken just behind the line tie.

So far this year I have broken the bill on five of these $8 crankbaits. The first two I thought were my fault since I slapped them on the water to get leaves off them and they broke. But the third one broke at Bartletts Ferry soon after I landed my only keeper that day, and the one I caught fish on at Sinclair was not useable since it was cracked.

I wish I was not catching almost all my keepers on this bait so I could quit using it. I am scared I am going to hook a big bass on one and lose the fish when the bill breaks. That is when I will throw all of them away. But right now I would rather catch fish and take a chance on breaking the bill than not catch fish at all.

I have three of the baits on my table to send to Rapala. It will be interesting to see how they respond. I have always liked Rapala baits. One of my favorites growing up fishing ponds was the 11S floating Rapala and then I started catching a lot of fish in bigger lakes on the Countdown model. And since they came out Shadraps have caught many bass for me.

I landed my fifth keeper on a jig head worm after losing one on it in the tournament. I got seven bites all day and landed five of them so I was happy with second place.

Can A Dockworkers Strike Affect My Fishing?

Dockworkers Strike Keeps Fishing Gear From Anglers
from The Fishing Wire

“We have hundreds of containers sitting offshore right now,” one fishing industry executive told me last week at the Bassmaster Classic, “the country’s losing hundreds of millions of dollars every day and the administration doesn’t even seem to notice-or care.”

Thousands of containers on hundreds of ships clogging ports on the west coast may finally begin to unload as a tentative five-year agreement has been reached after nine months of extremely contentious negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). On Friday evening, the groups issued their joint announcement crediting Labor Secretary Ray Perez with helping break the stalemate.

These latest rancorous disturbance is really nothing unprecedented in a rocky relationship that traces its roots back to the great depression. This latest slowdown was never really a strike, because dockworkers used what owners called “questionable safety violations” to slow work to a crawl. In retaliation, the owners cutting nights, weekends and overtime hours in retaliation.

But not everything is immediately back to normal. Industry officials I’ve spoken with tell me it will take “some time” go get supplies of finished goods and manufacturing components back to normal levels. The Port of Los Angeles, for example, has as many as 54 ships waiting to offload and hundreds of containers sitting on the docks waiting to be processed.

Bassmasters Classic Outdoor show

Crowds of consumers walked, shopped and even purchased product as the 2015 Bassmaster Classic visited Greenville, South Carolina. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo

The Port of Oakland says it may need eight weeks to catch up with processing, and that it, like Los Angeles, will work to offload perishables and other needed cargo as priority items.

As the fishing crazy crowd wandered through the exhibits of the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, they really had no way of knowing that many of the new items on display weren’t available for purchase. That’s because, as one exec told me, “they don’t know just how deeply this slowdown has cut into the country’s safety net of product supply.”

Overall, the mood at this year’s Classic was improved over the last couple of events. The mood was lightened somewhat last year as boat manufacturers reported they were finally seeing a consumer resurgence after four years of a faltering economy. This year several manufacturers tell me their big challenge isn’t rolling out new product, it’s keeping up with demand.

Upgrades to existing boats remained a hot market, but manufacturers like Rigid Industries, manufacturers of high-end performance LED lighting for vehicles, say that while demand remains strong in that category, many new buyers are planning the lighting upgrades into their original purchasing budgets.

St Croix Rods At the Bassmasters Classic

Class of the Classic

Four top St. Croix Rod pros qualify for 2015 Bassmaster Classic
from St Croix Rods

Park Falls, WI (February 15, 2015) – To qualify is a big badge of honor. Winning? Well let’s just say the medals and commendations might require a caddy to carry and reinforcement of the fireplace mantle. The Classic trophy alone looks to exceed the maximum poundage for check-in luggage.

The Classic is a weighty matter, indeed. And there is a quartet of Elite anglers who will be throwing their weight and baits around under the flag of an all-American brand. Classic qualifiers James Niggemeyer, Stephen Browning, Scott Rook and Brian Snowden will have St. Croix Rod pinned to their chests and immaculately crafted rods in their hands.

South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell sets the battlefield for the 2015 campaign. The phrase “intimidating” might best describe the 56,000-acre reservoir and its 962 miles of shoreline. Rugged foothills and plummeting piedmont foretell what lies beneath the surface, as Hartwell’s waterscape is a pulmonary arrhythmia of structure.

True, for one, Niggemeyer is impressed by the scope and cragginess of Hartwell, but definitely not intimidated by the manmade lake. “Hartwell reminds me of some of the lakes I fished out west,” said the California native, now proud Texan. “Before Christmas, I went on a scouting trip to familiarize myself with the lake. I left feeling pretty comfortable.”

Pre-fishing is one thing, prognosticating another. Niggemeyer tested the waters in late December, but the dates of the Classic put him back on Hartwell in late February. So how does he expect the bite to play out?

“I predict that the bass will be in a late-winter pre-spawn mode, meaning both deep and shallow patterns will be in play,” said Niggemeyer, mentally preparing for basically everything. “I want to fish my strengths, and working a Strike King jig is one of them. It’s a powerful cold-water tool when fished around vertical structure and cover types both shallow and deep.”

Painting a waterscape with a precision jig necessitates the right brush, the perfect rod. “I’ll fish a St. Croix Legend Elite (LEC70MHF) 7-foot medium-heavy rod to get the job done. It’s extremely sensitive to soft bites from sluggish cold-water fish, but still has the action and backbone to maximize my potential to land each bite.”

Niggemeyer’s secondary approach involves raking crankbaits along fast-falling banks. “I have had a lot of success in late winter/early spring, fishing a variety of Strike King crankbaits to draw reaction strikes from fish that are otherwise reluctant to eat a slow-moving presentation.

“Pre-spawn bass tend to relate to 45-degree banks because they offer quick access to deep water. And using the right rod for crankbaiting is crucial, which is why I will reach for a 7-foot 4-inch St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass (MBGC74MM). The fiberglass rod gives me an edge anytime I fish crankbaits, but especially in this cold-water timeframe when fish have a tendency to swipe at baits, resulting in fish that are just barely hooked.”

Niggemeyer’s larger Classic prediction? “The tournament will most likely be won by the guy who consistently catches them day after day, as opposed to the one who has a monster day and hangs on for the win. With that in mind, a carefully thought out strategy with multiple options will be important.”

Similarity, not familiarity, is the battle cry echoed by St. Croix Rod pro and Bassmaster Classic qualifier, Brian Snowden. The Missourian is intimately acquainted with Table Rock Lake, which he says mimics South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell. “I have never fished a tournament on Lake Hartwell, but I did have the opportunity to spend an entire week on the water prior to off-limits. It fishes very similar to my home lake, Table Rock.”

In Snowden’s academic opinion, the calendar and cold water will have bass in a pre-spawn frame of mind. “The fish should be in a late winter or early pre-spawn pattern. For fish staging deeper than 10 feet, I plan on using a 1/2- to 3/4-ounce football jig. For this technique, my all-time favorite rod is the 7-foot medium-heavy St. Croix Legend Elite. The rod is very light and phenomenally sensitivity. Plus, the Legend Elite has a fast tip allowing for accurate casts, but with plenty of strength through the lower section of the rod.”

Snowden, like Niggemeyer, already has his fingers on the seams of a follow-up pitch. “My second prediction is that bass will be in major creeks, on channel swings and secondary points. One of the best techniques for catching them is running a crankbait. My choice for throwing smaller, lightweight crankbaits is the 7-foot 2-inch St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass (TBC72MM).”

There is a hardened Lake Hartwell expert in St. Croix’s ranks as well. “I fished the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on Hartwell,” said Arkansan Stephen Browning. “I didn’t fare well, but I really like the lake. I did spend some time before cutoff trying to familiarize myself with some areas that I didn’t fish during the 2008 Classic.” Seems that a winning formula for Browning will involve hybridizing 2008 intel with knowledge gained from more recent pre-fishing efforts.

“I’m going to hope for stable weather patterns leading up to the Classic,” said Browning, metaphorically pounding the Farmer’s Almanac with this fist. “This will help me analyze the winning pattern, or patterns, during the Classic. Nothing would suit me better than if there was substantial rainfall about a week out. That would move bass shallower, which would set up nicely for some shallow cranking.”

Again, akin to Niggemeyer, Browning snares a crankbait-specific St. Croix Rod off the front platform. “I’ve put the Mojo Target Cranker to the test the last two years with wins on the Red River in Shreveport, LA, and would love the opportunity to do the same at the Classic.”

Browning’s Plan B considers dryer conditions. “If we don’t see the rain and the fish are relating to deeper structure, a football jig on the end of a Legend Tournament Bass Carolina Rig rod will play a big role. This is one of my favorite ways to catch fish during the late-winter season.

“If I can find fish using either of these techniques, I should do very well. Confidence is a major player, especially at the Classic, and I know that there are no better rods that fit my styles of fishing than those that carry the St. Croix logo.”

Rounding out St. Croix’s fearsome foursome is veteran B.A.S.S. angler Scott Rook. The Arkansan is maybe best known for his adaptability; able to drive crankbaits with a burly baitcaster and effortlessly drop it to the deck and come back up with a finesse spinning outfit.

Matching Browning’s history with Lake Hartwell, Rook laced ‘em up at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. And this time around, as he stated in a recent story written by David A. Brown for Arkansas Wild magazine, Rooks said deciphering prevailing weather conditions will be the key to the kingdom.

“In late February, if we have a warming spell, it will be shallow-water fishing; if we have a cold spell between now and then it will be more deep-water fishing,” he said. “More than likely, it will be won deep, but if it continues to warm, you can continue to fish shallow.

“The weather is going to be the biggest factor in what you can do. And you might have to mix it up some.”

St. Croix Rod, like its water-warriors, wears a badge of honor. And the symbol stands as the company’s pride in both its pros and the premium rods they’ll be fishing.

What Is the Proper Spooling of Spinning and Baitcasting Reels?

Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Proper spooling of spinning and baitcasting reels
from The Fishing Wire

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A family member bought you a nice spinning outfit for Christmas. Despite the cold, your desire to cast the new rod into water propels you to a local Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lake to try to fool some winter rainbow trout.

Spooling Tool

A respooler like this one from Berkley makes line winding quick and trouble-free, but home systems, including a spool on a pencil, will also work with care.

Dutifully spooling on some fresh 4-pound test monofilament, you cast a red and silver in-line spinner a few times. As you move to a new spot and shoot a cast, you hear a sound similar to a flushing covey of quail and see a ball of spaghetti moving up the rod.

You now have a bird’s nest of epic proportions, requiring cutting off the mess, pulling out the loops and retying the lure. You curse the brand of line you bought.

In all likelihood, it isn’t the line’s fault. Properly loading fishing line onto a spinning or baitcasting reel is a skill many anglers take for granted, but often do incorrectly, greatly reducing the line’s performance. Incorrect line loading often causes tremendous line twist, the main culprit behind bird’s nests.

For spinning reels, first make sure the line you’ve selected matches the capacities of the reel. These capacities are always labeled on the side of the reel’s spool. Don’t load 10-pound test line onto a reel designed to accept lines from 2- to 6-pound test.

Begin by placing the filler spool onto a table or floor with the label facing up. Run the tag end of the line through the stripper guide – the largest guide closest to the reel – and to the reel. Open the reel’s bail and wrap the line twice around the middle of the reel spool, tie an overhand knot and tighten. Follow up with another overhand knot and clip the line about ¼-inch from the knot. Make sure to clip the tag line, not the main line leading back to the filler spool.

Reel some line onto the spool and stop. Lower the rod toward the filler spool. If the line begins to jump and twist, flip the filler spool over, placing the label down. Sometimes, the direction the line was spun on the filler spool at the factory and the direction the spinning reel places line on the spool are not in synchronization, which causes enormous line twist. Flipping the filler spool alleviates this problem.

If the line comes off the spool in big loose coils and doesn’t twist, keep reeling until you fill the spool to the thickness of a nickel from the spool lip.

Another way to load the spool involves a helper. Have the helper run a wooden pencil through the hole provided in the center of the filler spool housing. Run the line through the stripper guide and tie on to the reel spool. Ask the helper to hold the spool and pencil assembly perpendicular to the reel, similar to the way a wheel rotates on an axle, and apply gentle pressure to the filler spool with their fingers.

The line must come off the top of the filler spool toward the reel, not the bottom, or it incurs line twist.

Resist the temptation to overfill a spinning reel’s spool. If you’ve ever opened the bail on a spinning reel and line shot off it like a top, then you’ve witnessed the results of overfilling the spool. You can lose half a spool of line from twists, tangles and bird’s nests from overfilling a spinning reel.

Choices of Line

There are lots of options in refilling a spool-just choose a line suited to the task, and respool frequently; good line is critical when the big one bites.

Manually closing the bail of a spinning reel with your hand after making a cast is one of the best ways to keep line twist at bay while fishing. Each time you close the bail by turning the reel handle, you apply twist to the line. Over a day of fishing, these twists add up and produce loops and tangles that eventually lead to a mess. After a few fishing trips, manually closing the bail becomes second nature.

To fill baitcasting reels, run the line from the filler spool through the guide closest to the reel and through the line guide of the baitcasting reel to the spool. You can simply run the line through the holes in the ported spools found on most baitcasting reels today and start reeling. Or, secure the line to the spool with an arbor knot. Both techniques work.

The pencil through spool with a helper technique works best on baitcasting reels. Again, make sure the line comes off the top of the filler spool, not the bottom. You can also do it by yourself by placing the filler spool on a table with the label up and checking for twist, but the pencil through the spool method works much better for baitcasters.

Fill the spool to within a 1/16-inch of the rim and, again, resist the impulse to overfill the reel.

Don’t let line problems stemming from improper loading ruin a day of fishing. Following these simple procedures will achieve the best casting distance for your spinning and baitcasting reels, keep tangles at bay, and extend the life of your line.

Author Lee McClellan is a nationally award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.

First Bass Tournament of the New Year

Last Sunday was the first tournament of the year for the Flint River Bass Club. Only six members showed up at Sinclair on a cold, cloudy day. There was only one limit but everyone caught at least one keeper. The 18 bass we brought to the scales weighed about 29 pounds.

After fishing from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM Lee Hancock won it all with a limit weighing 9.63 pounds and big fish with a 4.15 pound largemouth. My three keepers weighted 6.27 for second, Don Gober had four at 5.15 for third, and Jack “Zero” Ridgeway had three at 4.89 for fourth.
I started the day fishing a crankbait on a steep rocky bank. After an hour I was ready to leave but saw some brush sticking out of the water ahead of me and fished to it. I’m glad I did. A 3.7 pound bass hit by crankbait by the brush.

After fishing that area hard without any more bites I moved to a cove with docks in it. There is a rock pile between two docks where I have caught bass this time of year. The very first cast I made to it with a jig head worm I felt a tap and my line started moving back to the boat. When I set the hook my line broke.

After saying some choice words and trying to retie, my line broke every time I pulled it tight. Something was wrong with that line, I guess it had deteriorated on the reel. So I switched to another outfit and tied the jig head on it.

The next cast to the rocks produced another hit. My line started moving out, I set the hook hard and my rod bowed up on a heavy fish, and the hook came out of its mouth. That happened on four consecutive casts! I never hooked a fish there. I have no idea why I could not hook those fish unless there was a school of gar there and I could not get a hook in their bony snout.

After noon I ran down the lake to another place and caught my other two keepers by docks, then broke my line when I got a hit on some rocks. This time it was my fault, I had been fishing rocks and had not checked my line.

The Sportsman Club meets this Tuesday and our first tournament in this Sunday at Jackson. Time to join us!

About Fishing

Welcome To About Fishing