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Brozekiel posted:Thanks for all of the help. I was up in Seattle this past weekend with my girlfriend and on the way back to Portland, I noticed a giant store off the side of the highway called "Cabella's." She reluctantly took the next exit after a bit of pleading and with the promise of some kettle corn. I'd never been to a Cabella's before - drat that place is huuuge. I could have spent hours there but I didn't feel like pushing my luck. If you make that journey often you should be aware that you pass Sportco just off the freeway in Fife. I haven't been to that location in years, but I go to Outdoor Emporium in downtown Seattle which is owned by the same people and essentially the same thing. Not as big as Cabellas, but great selection of stuff and the prices are cheaper than any place I've ever been for a lot of the standard lures, etc. Finally got to go fish for Kokanee with my dad this past weekend and did the best we ever have. Ended up with 11 Kokes, most of them as large as we've ever caught. Kokanee are an absolute blast to catch and put up a ton of fight. I made blackened Kokanee for dinner last night and it was as good as any Salmon I've ever tasted.  
BeastOfExmoor fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Jun 12, 2012 17:54
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Anyone know a good, cheap fishing rod rack for cars? I found a few but they are $100+, I'd like to spend less if possible.
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Jun 12, 2012 18:04
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Mustang posted:Anyone know a good, cheap fishing rod rack for cars? I found a few but they are $100+, I'd like to spend less if possible. How many rods do you want to carry? Because this works fairly well as long as your car has a good paint job. http://rodmounts.com/talon/ Same goes for this one: http://www.sportube.com/pages/vac_rac.php?d=rod+rack,fly+rod+roof+rack,vac+rac+magnetic+roof+rod+rack
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Jun 13, 2012 03:42
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Where are you all buying braided line in bulk? I'm getting an Okuma spinning reel that can take 2-300 yards of braid, but it only comes in spools of 125 yards around here. I've checked eBay but it seems like there are crappy off brands mixed in.
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Jun 13, 2012 14:55
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tesilential posted:Where are you all buying braided line in bulk? I'm getting an Okuma spinning reel that can take 2-300 yards of braid, but it only comes in spools of 125 yards around here. I've checked eBay but it seems like there are crappy off brands mixed in. A lot of my local tackle shops will spool it for you and charge by the yard, but my impression is that it's not any cheaper than buying it in large spools. My local stores (not that it really helps you) sell PowerPro in 125 and 300 yard spools. Cabelas online appears to have 500 yard spools as well. Braid is pricey 
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Jun 13, 2012 17:30
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Anyone have advice on calibrating and using a baitcaster successfully? I've been saltwater fishing in Maryland, from Tilghman's Island to the Conowingo for stripers, blues, croakers, spot, mackeral, and seatrout for my entire life. My freshwater experience is limited to perch in the Conowingo River twice a year and Crappie in the Octoraro Lake when my Dad was bored. For bass all I know is black jitterbugs at dawn or dusk, and for crappie I double up chartreuse shad darts. Usually works; I never come home empty. The problem is I see guys use baitcasters and fish weed beds and cover I can never touch without getting hung up or stuck. The other problem is when I use a baitcaster I either cast <10ft or I end up with a bird's nest that takes a knife to undo. I'm using a medium action rod with a reel rated 10-17lbs with 12lb test on it. Usually a variety of crankbaits or poppers. Any suggestions on learning how to do this without feeling retarded? In case no one noticed I've never caught a fish in my life without a spin reel. Freshwater is a lot more convenient these days so it'd be nice to catch something besides bluegills and carp.
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Jun 14, 2012 03:56
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It's definitely about practice. Takes awhile. My suggestion is to start with a fairly heavy lure and dial the spool so it doesn't free reel easily. Most reels have a knob that controls spool tension. Make sure you are casting downwind. Once you get a feel, slowly dial back the tension until you cast further and further. Also you want a nice steady speed cast. Don't whip it. Casting side arm is easier than overhand, imo. When you do get a rats nest, put your thumb on the spool and slowly pull line out until you get to the knot. Then grab by the knot with your thumb and finger and rip up so that you have loose line. Pull more out until you get to another knot and repeat. Hard to explain but you can get most backlashes out with some short work. That's with mono...small braided can be impossible. I could never go back to a spin cast for bass fishing. I'm much faster and more accurate with a baitcaster. Good luck!
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Jun 14, 2012 06:05
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I am overwhelmed in my search for a saltwater lure reel to be used for reds, snook and the like. I was set on Penn SSG($100), then Okuma avenger($40), pflueger presidential ($60), back over to Penn Sargus ($100) then Penn Battle ($100ish) and then read a couple unfavorable reviews and now I'm considering the shimano spheros. My head is going to explode. Everytime I make a decision I end up reading something negative or hearing about a new reel. What reel would you all recommend? I will be mostly fishing off a SUP, kayak, flats or shore. I asked earlier but my budget has increased from $50 to $100, which has opened quite a few more options but hasn't made the decision any easier. What's worse I'm discovering there is a ton of brand loyalty and contradicting advise out there. Such as many great reviews on the Penns while there are many people who say they are garbage and shimano stuff beats it.
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Jun 14, 2012 06:46
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Scrapez posted:It's definitely about practice. Takes awhile. My suggestion is to start with a fairly heavy lure and dial the spool so it doesn't free reel easily. Most reels have a knob that controls spool tension. Is 12lb mono acceptable for the reel I described? When you say lure weight, how heavy is usually ideal at least starting out? I feel like the downwind thing might be a big source of my woes; it makes sense, I've just never heard it said before.
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Jun 14, 2012 21:09
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ClumsyThief posted:Is 12lb mono acceptable for the reel I described? When you say lure weight, how heavy is usually ideal at least starting out? I feel like the downwind thing might be a big source of my woes; it makes sense, I've just never heard it said before. 12 mono is what I usually use. When I say heavy lure, i'm talking a crankbait or Texas rig with 3/8 or 1/2 ounce bullet weight. Just not something like a wacky rig senko without a weight. Once you get good, you will be able tocast about anything. The wind is big with a baitcaster. Casting into the wind is very difficult even with practice...just have to make sure you are adjusting your reel to conditions.
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Jun 15, 2012 13:58
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All my life I've "hated fish," but I'm learning to push my boundaries a bit. I regularly enjoy Mahi-Mahi, and have had some Grouper which I liked as well. I've had some delicious seared tuna, but have also had some grilled tuna which just ended up tasting really heavy to me. With this in mind (Yes, I know this isn't GWS), on a recent trip down to FL, we caught some sea trout, grilled them, and ate them. I didn't love it, but it was good, and was my first experience eating what I had caught (have always been strictly catch and release). So -- assuming I want to someday eat more of what I catch, and knowing my fear of strong-tasting fish, what kind of fish should I be looking to catch in my native Massachusetts? Or should I just reserve eating my own spoils for warmer waters?
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Jun 15, 2012 14:35
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When I bought my bait caster I took me a good two hours straight to even get a accurate cast that did not back lash on me. I used a heavy 2-3 oz egg weight sinker instead of a lure so I could practice in my back yard casting the pole. Eventually I was able to adjust the weight to learn how to cast different weights along with learning how to adjust the spool so I had the proper adjustments on it. After all that I was able to set up some targets in my yard to get my accuracy dialed in a bit more before I even attempted to hit the water. I actually went on YouTube and watched a few videos on how to cast a rod and a few good how videos on how to set your reel up for different lure weights. Now that I have learned how to use one really well, I am in the process of selling my other two spinning rods and replacing them with bait casters as I get the money. I love the reel and since most of my fishing is done out of my kayak the compact nature of the reel is wonderful.
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Jun 15, 2012 14:44
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Don't get rid of all your spinners, that's a horrible idea. Different reels have different strengths, baitcast isn't strictly superior to spinners.
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Jun 15, 2012 19:03
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Achmed Jones posted:Don't get rid of all your spinners, that's a horrible idea. Different reels have different strengths, baitcast isn't strictly superior to spinners. Yeah I will probably keep my Shimano reel mounted on my Ugly Stick for cat fishing in the winter. I do like spinner but for my fishing, mainly kayaking, I think bait caster are far superior to spinning reels for what I need out of my equipment. Like you said though each reel has its strength and weakness and for what I need bait caster meets all the requirements minus costing a bit more than a spinning reel.
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Jun 15, 2012 23:01
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Dammit someone recommend me a $100 spinning reel! Checked out the Penn Battle and SSG and even the Slammer (on clearance for $110) and TBH none felt nearly as smooth as even the $50 shimanos. They honestly felt kinda cheap, is this because they outsourced to China? The battle was the nicest but I could still feel the gears when I turned the handle.
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Jun 16, 2012 00:24
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Got skunked for the first time on my kayak today. I was fishing a crummy over-fished lake so I didn't expect much. I think I need to get a fish finder. At the very least I need to get a read on underwater structure and breaks in depth. Any recommendations? My kayak has a scupper molded for a transducer plus a waterproof area for the battery, so that opens up my options. Still, I'd like to keep it below $200 if possible. Note that I've been going for catfish for the most part lately.
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Jun 16, 2012 22:20
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Some Other Guy posted:Got skunked for the first time on my kayak today. I was fishing a crummy over-fished lake so I didn't expect much. I think I need to get a fish finder. At the very least I need to get a read on underwater structure and breaks in depth. Any recommendations? My kayak has a scupper molded for a transducer plus a waterproof area for the battery, so that opens up my options. Still, I'd like to keep it below $200 if possible. Note that I've been going for catfish for the most part lately. Wow what kayak do you have that has all those nice little additions? I use the Eagle Cuda 300 I think, it cost about $75 and it shows depth, temp, decent structures and drop offs all things needed for catfishing. I know people that use super expensive side scan sonar and all the extra goodies but I went cheap and the Eagle fits my needs just fine even being so cheap.
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Jun 16, 2012 23:26
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tesilential posted:Dammit someone recommend me a $100 spinning reel! I got a Shimano Sedona 4500 spinner for like 65$ last year and love it. I dont use it for saltwater but it is pretty big and solid as gently caress so I don't see why you couldn't. They may have one size bigger too.
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Jun 17, 2012 02:28
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causticBeet posted:I got a Shimano Sedona 4500 spinner for like 65$ last year and love it. I dont use it for saltwater but it is pretty big and solid as gently caress so I don't see why you couldn't. They may have one size bigger too. Thanks for the tip! I actually saw those at Dicks on Friday and made a note because they seemed solid. They were $60 and I would actually go for the 4000 or smaller since I want to freeline shrimp and toss little mirrordines and the like. The reel seemed very solid and had only 3 bearings so to me it seemed designed to be more rugged than smooth. I'm actually taking a really close look at the Shimano Stradic FJ, either 3000 or 4000 size. Retail is $135-150, but they are supposedly really nice, better than the older model Sustains and borrowing a lot of tech from the Stella. The 4000 seems to be one of the most popular inshore reels around, but again I really want great cast distance with lighter lures. Would you all recommend 3000 or 4000 when the primary use is light suspending twitch baits, 1/8 oz jigs with shad, and light gold spoons?
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Jun 17, 2012 03:53
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My girlfriend absolutely loves fishing, but said she needs a new tackle box. Any suggestions on a decent one or what to put in it it? I don't want to give her an empty box as a present. She generally just fishes for bass and pike by her dad's house. We are in Michigan if that matters at all. I've never really fished, but I got dragged out yesterday. Now I plan on picking up a combo deal at Gander Mountain or Bass Pro when I get a chance. It was a lot of fun, though her dad did tie my hook on and all that and she baited my hooks for me.
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Jun 17, 2012 18:25
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:My girlfriend absolutely loves fishing, but said she needs a new tackle box. Any suggestions on a decent one or what to put in it it? I don't want to give her an empty box as a present. She generally just fishes for bass and pike by her dad's house. We are in Michigan if that matters at all. I've never really fished, but I got dragged out yesterday. Now I plan on picking up a combo deal at Gander Mountain or Bass Pro when I get a chance. It was a lot of fun, though her dad did tie my hook on and all that and she baited my hooks for me. I really like the soft sided tackle boxes. They are just a bag with 4 or 5 plastic organizers that fit inside vertically. Nice thing is you can get like 10 of the plastic boxes and switch them out for the type of fishing you will be doing.
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Jun 17, 2012 19:13
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:My girlfriend absolutely loves fishing, but said she needs a new tackle box. Any suggestions on a decent one or what to put in it it? I don't want to give her an empty box as a present. She generally just fishes for bass and pike by her dad's house. We are in Michigan if that matters at all. I've never really fished, but I got dragged out yesterday. Now I plan on picking up a combo deal at Gander Mountain or Bass Pro when I get a chance. It was a lot of fun, though her dad did tie my hook on and all that and she baited my hooks for me. If I remember right from fishing for bass/pike in upstate New York I always remembered catching them on crank baits of various depth and sizes. A cheap alternative to that is a basic spoon lure of various weights, I have caught so many fish of different species just suspending a spoon at a depth and tearing up fish with it.
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Jun 17, 2012 20:39
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tesilential posted:Dammit someone recommend me a $100 spinning reel! tesilential posted:Thanks for the tip! I actually saw those at Dicks on Friday and made a note because they seemed solid. They were $60 and I would actually go for the 4000 or smaller since I want to freeline shrimp and toss little mirrordines and the like. The reel seemed very solid and had only 3 bearings so to me it seemed designed to be more rugged than smooth. I think battles are great. Way better then cheap shimano's for sure. And penn's quality has gone up over the last few years not down for the most part. Also keep in mind drag smoothness is equally as important if not more more important then cranking smoothness. Penn Battles are nice rugged reels both small and large (3000, 6000, 8000) smooth with nice drags. But they are only $80-100, so you should expect a certain level of quality. Shimano Stradics are exceptional reels but they drat well should be at about double the price of a Penn battle. Same with stella's, they are like fine mechanical watches, but 5x the price of a battle. Personally, I feel the larger battles and the like are plenty smooth with really nice drags. But at the smaller reel sizes (4000,3000) the extra precision and quality of a shimano stradic will make you happier. Baitcasters are also a really good option for the type of fishing you are doing (flipping stuff to snook etc) but they have a learning curve for sure, and might be more of a pain on a SUP. Casting distance with spinners is more about the rod length/action and the line size/type then anything else since all spinner reels are just open bails while in casting mode.Being a bit bigger a 4000 will be a little more versatile then a 3000. But If you want the best casting distance a nice well adjusted bait caster is hard to beat with any spinner, just because of how the line comes off the reel. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Jun 18, 2012 |
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Jun 18, 2012 02:52
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The battles do seem like nice reels. Side by side they look and feel much nicer than the SS and the Slammer. Supposedly the latter two are more durable though. I've heard Penn is coming out with a new SS series that looks like the battle but is fully sealed and submersible. Supposed to run 50-80 more than the current lineup. This sounds like something I'd be be very interested in but wont come out until July. I had a chance to play with the stradic today and drat it felt smooth. Much lighter than I expected and just felt exceptionally balanced. The bail looks a little thin but otherwise feels solid. I can get the 4000 for $150 on eBay and am leaning towards that one. The stradic drag is also freaking insane! 20 pounds of smooth drag in a 10 oz reel. Could probably handle a tarpon with little trouble.
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Jun 18, 2012 07:04
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:My girlfriend absolutely loves fishing, but said she needs a new tackle box. Any suggestions on a decent one or what to put in it it? I don't want to give her an empty box as a present. She generally just fishes for bass and pike by her dad's house. We are in Michigan if that matters at all. I've never really fished, but I got dragged out yesterday. Now I plan on picking up a combo deal at Gander Mountain or Bass Pro when I get a chance. It was a lot of fun, though her dad did tie my hook on and all that and she baited my hooks for me.
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Jun 18, 2012 23:23
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Dik Hz posted:Tackle boxes and Bass tackle are highly personal items. I'd recommend taking her shopping and picking up the tab. Let her help you pick out a rod/reel also. That's a good idea, maybe I'll take her down to Cabela's and let her pick out what she wants since I'd screw it up somehow.
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Jun 19, 2012 02:17
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:That's a good idea, maybe I'll take her down to Cabela's and let her pick out what she wants since I'd screw it up somehow. Picking out tackle with your significant other is a great relationship builder!
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Jun 19, 2012 03:09
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Dik Hz posted:Picking out tackle with your significant other is a great relationship builder! Please tell this to my girlfriend next time I drag her along with me to Bass Pro.
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Jun 19, 2012 03:22
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causticBeet posted:Please tell this to my girlfriend next time I drag her along with me to Bass Pro. Just let her pick out a hilariously gaudy lure for you to use on your next trip. From Claurican in the previous thread: Claurican posted:Speaking to both points: My wife only started fishing after she met me, and to conventional wisdom she's completely ridiculous in her choices at the store when it comes to lures. Anything pink or girly or really gimmicky and she's all over it. I ended up with a box in my bag full of her stuff just so I could tie on whatever stupid bait she'd found at the tackle shop so that she'd be happy. Of course I'm the true fool in this story, she ties on this 3/4oz sized monstrosity of a glittery bubblegum pink with laser flash spinnerbait that I would have told you was both the wrong size, presentation and color for the water and species we were fishing being that we weren't fishing for unicorn in a toxic waste runoff on Jupiter.
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Jun 19, 2012 03:38
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causticBeet posted:Please tell this to my girlfriend next time I drag her along with me to Bass Pro. My wife loves picking out tackle. The problem is that her primary criteria for picking is "is it pink, or orange? and is it cute?" The rest, is just the details.
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Jun 19, 2012 13:51
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I went fishing by myself after work, after buying a $40 spinner combo at Gander Mountain. Ran into some cool old guys who gave me some advice and helped me fix my reel after I turned it into a bird's nest. I ended up catching a small 8" small mouth on my first cast and a few bites after that but didn't manage to reel anything in.
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Jun 20, 2012 00:11
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Rythe posted:Wow what kayak do you have that has all those nice little additions? I use the Eagle Cuda 300 I think, it cost about $75 and it shows depth, temp, decent structures and drop offs all things needed for catfishing. I know people that use super expensive side scan sonar and all the extra goodies but I went cheap and the Eagle fits my needs just fine even being so cheap. It's the Trident 13 Angler by Ocean Kayak. Got it on sale and I'm pretty blown away buy it. Can't say enough good things about it! I looked into those Cuda 300s and it seems like they're a little hard to find. I was thinking of maybe getting a Hummingbird or the Lowrance X-4 Sonar which is just over a $100 and looks just right. Also, managed to put in this afternoon for about 2 hours of fishing. The cats have slowed down big time right now but I managed to get two eaters (2-3 lb channel cats) drifting the dam before a storm cloud chased me away. Not bad for the middle of the day in June.
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Jun 20, 2012 00:34
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:I went fishing by myself after work, after buying a $40 spinner combo at Gander Mountain. Ran into some cool old guys who gave me some advice and helped me fix my reel after I turned it into a bird's nest.  You caught a smallmouth bass on your first time out, and you learned the cardinal rule of fishing: Shut up and listen to the old guys.
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Jun 20, 2012 00:43
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Some Other Guy posted:It's the Trident 13 Angler by Ocean Kayak. Got it on sale and I'm pretty blown away buy it. Can't say enough good things about it! That is a nice boat there, I have had a chance to paddle it a few times and I really enjoyed it. The Cuda 300 is not to bad of a boat, I think the Trident is a lot nice, if you ever get a chance to paddle a Ride 135 those things are smooth, comfortable and really nice. The Lowrance X-4 is a pretty good unit, a few of my buddies use it and I have not heard any complaints at all from them. Since it seems like your are into cat fishing, so having a fish finder will increase your fish cat rate pretty good, you will be able to find those all important drop offs and hidden areas catfish low to hide in. I enjoy drifting for cats a lot but I seem to only do it in the winter time around my area, to many other fish to find in summer time to target them kitty kats. Post some pictures if you buy the fish finder and how you plan/mount it.
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Jun 20, 2012 00:50
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IM FROM THE FUTURE posted:My wife loves picking out tackle. The problem is that her primary criteria for picking is "is it pink, or orange? and is it cute?" The rest, is just the details. I have gotten a few pink rapalla's this way, which actually work awesome for bass in the spring.
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Jun 20, 2012 04:50
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Any advice on tying a slip bobber rig differently if I have consistent problems with it getting tangled up on the cast? Usually the tangle occurs with the leader or swivel (or both) getting caught up on my sinker. A lot of times I can tell when it gets tangled by how the bobber sits in the water, but sometimes I can't. In that scenario it kind of sucks because I let it sit out there for a long time only to later discover the bait presentation was horrible. This causes the additional problem of me being paranoid it isn't sitting properly so I end up reeling it in too early when it was fine. Going from top down, I have a knotted stop to set depth at about 10', a bead, then the slip bobber, after that a 1/2 oz. rubber-core twist weight, I usually leave about 6 inches between that and a swivel (although I also have problems with the weight falling down to the swivel), the swivel, then a 6 inch leader to a small hook with either a minnow, half a nightcrawler, or cricket typically.
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Jun 21, 2012 15:19
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EnsignVix posted:Any advice on tying a slip bobber rig differently if I have consistent problems with it getting tangled up on the cast? Usually the tangle occurs with the leader or swivel (or both) getting caught up on my sinker. You might try a 3-way swivel, if I'm reading your rig right. It'll let each part rotate individually and greatly reduce tangles. Would this work:  ?
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Jun 21, 2012 22:33
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I'm gonna fish for tarpon this weekend. I am setting up a fish finder rig on one rod and and freeline a bait/lure on another. They are rolling right off the beach and I can probably get within 10-20 yards of them. Will regular swivel-snaps hold up or do I need the mondo size 2 and 3's? They seem huge and conspicuous.
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Jun 22, 2012 00:47
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tesilential posted:I'm gonna fish for tarpon this weekend. I am setting up a fish finder rig on one rod and and freeline a bait/lure on another. They are rolling right off the beach and I can probably get within 10-20 yards of them. Will regular swivel-snaps hold up or do I need the mondo size 2 and 3's? They seem huge and conspicuous. Even the smallest snap swivels can hold 70lbs or so. So unless you are using a really heavy mainline you dont have much to worry about. The line and knot will break before the swivel.
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Jun 22, 2012 20:46
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Well I took the girlfriend to Cabela's and let her pick out what she wanted. It turns out: +  +  +  +  = a happy girlfriend.Thanks for the advice. Looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the lakes and rivers around here this summer.
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Jun 25, 2012 00:32
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