Another take on why fish (possibly) strike lures in general (not accepted by most)

[Hawnjigs]

Couldn't you tie a spare outfit to your yak? Sh** happens, broken rod or guide, many ways to lose a critical amount of line off a reel, and altho infrequent reel mishaps can occur too. Ever had a gear tooth detach or bail spring break?

Being a banker, I usually keep a spare in the vehicle just in case, and it allowed continuing a session after equipment failure a few times by myself or a bud. Typically, my spare is a step up or down line class just in case the fish are smaller or bigger than anticipated.

My late friend Murray claimed to have 70 high end rods - G. Loomis, St. Croix, Fenwick, customs and his truck camper special under roof racks were always bristling with fully rigged setups in addition to those lying on the truck bed. Prepared he was.

 

[hookup]

Couldn't you tie a spare outfit to your yak? Sh** happens, broken rod or guide, many ways to lose a critical amount of line off a reel, and altho infrequent reel mishaps can occur too. Ever had a gear tooth detach or bail spring break?

I build rods and typically use top end materials.

On most floats, I'll have a rod I'm using, and a RAM rod holder hanging a rod off the back.

But on floats I typically only do in the summer and have a class III rapid, I'd prefer to carry only one rod in case I flip.

And that rod would be an ugly stick or similar so the pain won't be as bad if I loose it

As far as reels, fish have stripped gears. But the worst has been top end Shimano's binding when wet and their customer service telling me it's user error.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Sounds like you're a Stella kind of guy and yet you use old Mitchells? Are Stella-Sustains really worth the extra $? I've got Saharas that perform as well as need be - not a single critical wind knot the entire month on the Big Island of Hawaii.

I never lost a rig off my paddle board clipping it securely to my rod holder in transit. Fervently tried to avoid but sh** happens and sneaker waves dumped me off the board a cupla times.

 

[hookup]

Sounds like you're a Stella kind of guy and yet you use old Mitchells?

Don't own any Stellas.

Because of Shimano Stradic's binding issues when they get wet, and their maintenance people believe the binding is user error, I no longer will spend $$'s with Shimano. Shimano's worked great until I started fishing rivers from a kayak or canoe.

Diawa Ballistics and a Tatula are my goto's nows. Like the 2000 to 2500 size. Smallies tear them up after a couple years - especially in Canada

The old Mitchells I get at fishing shows in the winter and rebuild. Donated a few to veteran organizations and the really nice ones stay in a box in the garage.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Looked up the Ballistic and Tatula, don't understand how they can wear out on you, as my 20 yr old Daiwa Capricorns 1500-2000s are still hauling in big trout. One stripped gears so is a parts reel, but still have 3 others working tho only 2 handles left

The Ballisitic spool capacity seems excessive for fresh water, and the Tatula high speed gearing is not my preference.

In my experience a fully dunked reel will bind, and needs disassembly and drain. Have you tested the waterproof feature of the Daiwas?

 

[hookup]

Looked up the Ballistic and Tatula, don't understand how they can wear out on you,

In my experience a fully dunked reel will bind, and needs disassembly and drain. Have you tested the waterproof feature of the Daiwas?

Smallies wear out gear. Go to Canada and catch 50-75 pigs day after day and you'll understand. I typically buy 2000 sizes. Add a bunch of pike & 'eyes in there too. The Daiwa's anti-reverse clutch wears out. First happened to a couple SSII's. Sent them back to Daiwa and they asked me WTH am I doing with these reels & sent me new ones. After that, they won't replace them.

And yes, fishing from a canoe or kayak, running the rapids I run, everything gets soaked. Including the reels. I go through them only once a year. The Daiwa's never bind. But they have their own problems.

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

All I really need is one rod/reel, handful of jigs in various sizes and a couple bags of soft plastics, so yup!

Me too. My sub-hobby is lure design so having 4 rods with different lures ready to cast saves time. I photograph fish caught on new lures and store them on the PC in folders designated: a folder [name of the particular water fished] and within that, a folder: [date fish caught].
Photo-proof forever answers questions such as, 'can clear uncolored hard and soft plastic lures catch fish?'

When I post photo examples, I hope no one thinks they're faked just to prove a point. In fact anyone can catch fish on the examples given.

 

[Hawnjigs]

No fake posters on this forum.

I too keep a catch log, but am finding more & more that yesteryears news can become obsolete & irrelevant to the present. Mostly just a record that catches continue sliding downhill.

As long as I still got half a brain left what needs remembered is. Haven't lost my car in the Walmart parking lot yet.

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

Wish I didn't lose my carriage in Walmart so often.

 

[Arne]

lol, long as we can find our way there and back, guess we are doing ok. Arne.

 

[hookup]

As long as I still got half a brain left what needs remembered is. Haven't lost my car in the Walmart parking lot yet.

Wallmart. The Mall. Home Depot. Lowes. Lost my car in each parking lot LOL

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

I guess what is come down to (and has been ever since I caught fish on lures) is what fish strike and why. Resemblance to prey is not something I believe is a reason. Certain shapes and actions combined are key and which do so consistently is the question. It's like having more than one favorite lure I can count on for many fish species.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Sometimes anything gets bit, sometimes only one, sometimes nuthin. I gave up trying to figger why.

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

My other post regarding the magic of lure shapes that have kicked a** year after year - with many photos - illustrates my point when it comes to the magic of fish-provocative shapes and actions that never fail. Plus, many can be used with different presentations.

 

[hookup]

Today, color really mattered. Fish were finicky but once I landed on the right combination of size, action and color it was game on

 

[Arne]

nice fish. congrats. Arne,

 

[Arne]

Forgot to tell us what color. lol, Arne.

 

[hookup]

Forgot to tell us what color. lol, Arne.

No I didn't LOL

 

[Arne]

LOL, love it. Bet I can narrow it down to a close 4 or 6 anyway. Great fish tho. Arne.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Yah man, I wouldn't want strangers grabbing the lures I posted and showing up at my spots to bite into my catches.