Fishing Reels, more in-depth, Part 1:

Spin Cast reels, Spinning reels, Bait Casting reels, Level Wind reels, AHHHHH! It can all be so confusing for some people. Why so many choices? Which one is right for me? I went over the basics of reels in another post now its time to dig a little deeper.

Seeing how I’ll be going considerably more in-depth into reels I’m going to break this up into 2 different posts. I’ll start out talking about the good old Spin Cast Reels. Chances are this is the type of reel a lot of us first started fishing with. The spin cast reels are very simplistic in design thereby making them very easy to use. Basically you push and hold the push button, bring your arm back, swing it forward, release the button when the rod tip is at about the 2:00 position and out goes the line. That is one of the big reasons kids love spin cast reels, they can be cast a long distance, which kids really enjoy and at the same time they are very easy to use

I know my first reel was a Zebco 202, which I already mentioned. This reel is ok if your doing basic stream type trout fishing or sunfish but it will not stand up to the rigors of big trout or bass fishing but the bottom line is that it was not designed for that. In my opinion, it’s just a great starter reel. There are other spin cast reels that are of a higher quality that will stand up to any fishing situations. Once again, in my opinion the Zebco 33 falls into that category.

Now let’s move onto the spinning reel. Also known as open faced reels because unlike the spin cast reels the spool and line is exposed. With a little practice these reels are quite easy to master and like the spin cast reels you can cast light stuff, lures, baits etc., a long ways. Basically the only difference in casting between these reels and the spin cast reel is your finger. You grab and hold the line with your index finger, flip open the bail, the little metal hoop that holds the line and cast the same way as describer above releasing the line at right about the 2:00 position.

I remember quite a few years back when dad and I went fishing on San Carlos Reservoir, located on the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. I watched the locals catching fish with line wrapped around a tin can. They would make side armed casts and were able to cast quite the distance and then fight the fish by winding the line back onto the can. Me of course forever seeking knowledge, I questioned him because I was very curious. He explained that he could not afford the fancy rod and reel setup I had but he made due with what he had. It was then that I discovered that the Spinning reel design is very similar in design to the basic rig he was using. It also made me realize that one does not need the latest and greatest tackle to be a good fisherman, but it sure is nice and makes fighting fish much easier when you at the very least have a rod to assist in fighting the fish.

Spinning reels are available in a wide variety of sizes and actions. Everything from ultra light models designed for 2-4 pound test line to extra large models that are made for deep sea fishing with heavy line. I prefer to use a spinning reel when trout fishing, finesse bass fishing with small baits and light lines. A couple techniques that fall into this catagory are split shotting and drop shotting, which I discussed in other posts. Spinning reels are also an excellent choice when the crappie bite is on. While I primarily fish with a bait casting reel I do have a few spinning reels in my arsenal.

Whew, I hope I didn’t bore you too much and you actually gained some knowledge concerning the reels I talked about. Be sure to check back soon when I’ll discuss the bait casting type reels.

Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon

Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!

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Winter time boating safety.

Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts winter time can be a great time, a virtual gold mine, when it comes to bass fishing. During the middle of winter on a sunny day the bite can be exceptional. I have seen more than once that even though the water and air temperature are down right cold the bass action has turned on thus making the cold weather seem not as cold and considerably more enjoyable. But as a fisherman there are precautions that we as fisher people must take to assure a safe trip.

During the winter it is a wise ideal to be sure to take along a fishing partner, not only to have someone to talk to but to assist you in various things throughout the day and to help you should an emergency arise.

Before we even set off to the lake there are a few steps we must take. First, remember to take along enough clothing to be able to dress in layers. You want to stay warm through out the day but at the same time you don’t want to get so hot that you start sweating, remove too much clothing and in turn the wet sweat chills you to the bone. I personally figure there is no reason to dress heavy to stay warm before you leave, that’s what the heater in your vehicle is for. Just be sure to put on the layers before you exit the vehicle. I have found from personal experience that if you get out, get cold and then put on the warm jacket you tend to stay cold.

You arrive at the lake, get dressed appropriately and now its time to prep the boat in the parking lot. First, mare sure you didn’t forget to put the plug into the boat. The water is going to be way too cold to jump in and put it in place. Don’t forget your gloves, head and ears warmth protection, something like a beanie, and some kind of face protection for when your running across the water. I like to wear a full head neoprene barcalave with a beanie on top of that followed up with a set of full face ski goggles. Yes it may seem a little extreme but I stay warm going across the water and it only takes a few seconds to remove it all upon arrival to that first spot.

The following advice I cannot stress to much, make sure you have a personal flotation device for everyone in the boat and make sure you wear them at all times, especially when under power. It could save your life. Trust me, it does not matter how good of a swimmer you are, the cold water alone will take its toll on you but due to the fact that you have layers of clothing on if you do happen to fall into the drink the wet clothing will restrict your movement as well as add extra weight, especially when they absorb water.

Nothing could spoil the day worse than having to call your fishing partners family and telling them that their loved one is in the hospital for hypothermia or worse yet that they drowned. The technology of today’s personal flotation devices, PFD, are light years beyond the old fashioned orange vests of yester-year. They are not nearly as obtrusive and they are actually fashionable.

So now your prepared to launch the boat. You notice that the ramp appears wet from the previous fisherman launching. Pending on how cold it is that water could have frozen over and really be ice so watch your step because you don’t want to slip, fall and hurt yourself. Also if it is ice you will not be able to get traction in your launch vehicle. I found that if there is a dock and its in the middle of the ramp try launching on the other side of the dock.

Launching and recovering are 2 times when its nice to have a fishing partner during the winter time because you can back the boat down to the water’s edge, disconnect the winch strap, hop in and have your partner splash you into the water and pull the truck up into the parking lot versus having to do it yourself. During the warmer months if you happen to get a little wet its no big deal but during the winter getting wet can make for a down right miserable day.

Make an attempt to get out and do some fishing during the colder winter months, you just might be surprised at the results. Have fun, enjoy yourself and be sure to be safe.

Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!

Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!

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Let the feedings begin.

The dog days of summer are over and the morning air is considerably more “Crisp”. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer and this can only mean one thing, old man winter is on his way.

I’m no fish biologist but from years of fishing experience I do know that when it gets colder not only is the forage scarce, crayfish bury themselves in the mud to take a winter nap and baitfish die off in large numbers the colder water temperature causes the bass’s metabolism slows down considerably, they become lethargic so your presentation needs to slow down considerable as well as be more precise. As a general rule for the most part, reaction baits are no longer used during winter so use them now. However like I have said in the past, nothing is written in stone. I have more than once experienced fast action reaction bites during the cold winter so be sure to keep an open eye and mind, even in the coldest days of winter.

Now back to the subject at hand, the fall frenzy. Its during this time of the year that the bass become aware that winter is on its way and its time to put the feed bag on because their food source’s will soon become very limited. I don’t know about the rest of the country but I know in my neck of the woods the action has increased considerably, especially for the bigger bass, as they prepare for the upcoming cooler months. It has once again become that time of the year when fun fishing, reaction baits, excel.

Some of my favorite baits are of course top water, jerk baits and Spinner baits. Top water and jerk baits of course are fished in the good old snap, snap, pause technique. Vary the amount of snaps and the length time of the pause until you start getting bites. When you figure out their pattern, duplicate it. Something of note, don’t forget to throw soft jerk baits, Sluggos, and Flukes in addition to the hard jerk baits.

Spinner baits can also be fished a variety of ways but my favorite technique would have to be to reel them in at a medium speed then stop reeling it, let it die, next to a possible ambush point, a bush, point, whatever. This looks like a bait fish swimming along and dieing thereby triggering the, weakest must die, instinct in bass.

Deep diving crawfish pattern crank baits are another excellent choice this time of the year. Toss them close to shore so when you start reeling their bouncing off the bottom, like a crawfish rooting into the bottom. Toss them out across a point so they come in contact with structure as you reel them in. One of the best tips I can give you is to try and contact the bottom with your crank bait. Yes, you will get hung up more often doing this but at the same time it will increase your bite to cast ratio, just be sure to carry a good lure retriever with you to get back your lures.

If possible, be sure to get out and do some fishing during the late fall, it can be a blast!

Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!

Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!

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Fish Lately?

That is a common question I get asked so I thought why not ask it back in a slightly different way, it just took a little longer than I expected. Let me explain, it goes back a little.

My birthday is in mid June so sometime around March my wife said she wanted to purchase me a personalized license plate, also known as a vanity plate that would reflect the fact that I am a fisherman. Thus began a quest on what exactly I would like it to say.

Out here in California the plates can only have a maximum of 7 characters, at least as of the writing if this. Of course my first choice was BASSNMN so I logged onto the CA DMV site to see if it was available, of course not. I then tried every variation of it to no avail.

I then posted the question, Help me choose my vanity plate, on one of my favorite online forums, SilveradoSS.com. Everyone on the site knows that I am a bass fisherman as well as the fact that I drive a Silverado VHO, which is a Silverado SS without the body accents. The suggestions poured in but nothing really caught my eye.

I then thought of that popular saying Got Fish and thought of GOTBASS, so onto the CA DMV I went, yep you guessed it, already taken. Then I figured I’d try A different variation of it, GQT BASS, thinking it looked close and as long as the little tail in the Q was hidden by a license plate frame it would look close enough so I started looking for plates with a Q in them to see how they looked. I tried convincing myself that it looked close enough but I just was not happy with the way it would look.

Then I thought about GET BASS, I checked it online and it was available. At this point I figured I had found it. Before I actually placed my order a guy at work asked me it I had fished lately. Fished Lately? Of course I had fished lately, that was a silly question, then a bell went off in my head. FISH LATELY! Now how to narrow it down to the 7 characters maximum. After some thinking I came up with what turned out to be my final choice, FSH L8LY.

After almost a month I finally placed the order sometime around mid April thinking I would get my plate right around my birthday, boy howdy was I wrong. I also went with Lake Tahoe theme plates because they had a lake, mountains and cattails in the background and I figured it looked like a bassy spot. Anyhow, due to budget issues in our wonderful state there were delays in the processing of my plate, which I personally found as strange seeing how it is the prison system that makes our plates. I contacted the DMV and was told it would take at least 5 months, WOW! A little over 5 months passed and I once again contacted the DMV via their 800 number because I had to go into our local office the next day for other reasons and figured I’d take care of it all the same time but I was told that they had no update on the status of my plate.

The following day I arrive at our local DMV office, did I mention in the past that I live in a smaller town? Anyhow, I’m standing in line, which was not that long and its my turn. As I approach the counter, Angie an old friend who works there says that she was just about to call me because my plates had arrived and everyone thought it was great. I immediately took the plates outside, swapped them with my then current ones and surrendered my stock ones back to Angie.

I know this post really does not have anything at all to do with fishing but I just wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoyed reading it because I enjoyed sharing it. If your ever out in California and see an all black Silverado Extended Cab, black camper shell and the license plate FSH L8LY, oh yeah, it also says Bassnman.com on the rear window, be sure to say “HI.”