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rjg

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About rjg

  • Birthday 09/10/1963

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Danville

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ISA Member

ISA Member (4/4)

  1. After reading on here I expanded my fishing to the winter months and used the fnf a lot this past winter and early spring with great results. The only thing lacking was my reluctance to foot the bill for a technique specific rod for this application. While you can fish fish the fnf with your 6' rods like I did (and you will catch fish), it's a little difficult lob casting with a fixed bobber and 4' of line pegged under it. Most of the fnf specific rods I looked at were a little on the pricey side. A friend of mine invited me to go crappie fishing with him this past weekend and said we would be fishing minnows under slip bobbers. I really didn't have an adequate rod for this so I buzzed over to the local Big R store and left with a $29 7'6" Diawa Spinomatic spinning rod. Long story short I took a little 6'3" St. Croix and whupped my buddy's butt fishing crappie sliders instead of minnows. I thought "Just wasted $29" until a little light popped up in my head. This is a great cheap rod for fnf fishing. While I wish it was a foot longer the 7'6" length is certainly easier to cast than a 6' rod. The light parabolic action is rated for 1/32 to 1/4 oz which fits the bill nicely. IM6 graphite, decent quality guides, fuji reel seat, hook hanger, and comfortable cork grip round out the package. Just thought I'd share my "find" with some others who might want to try the fnf but don't really have a rod suited for it and are too cheap like me to foot the bill for a real fnf rod.
  2. The local Dick's had Cavitrons on clearence for a decent price so I bought a 1/4 white and took it out on the Middle Fork. The next day I went back and bought out their entire stock. They have a chirping noise that seems to irritate smallies, run true, can be burned or retreived slower than any other buzzer I've used. Just an real quality product in all respects in my opinion.
  3. Phil, I think you'll find that X-fast 6'3" ideal for fishing that slider head tube combo you use. I use the St. Croix Avid with that bait after you showed it to me on the Middle Fork outing last fall and I can skip it very accurately under limbs and into wood piles. Setting the hook with a quick snap of the wrist is really nice too. Ron G
  4. rjg

    line treatment

    Here's a little tip for ya, When re-spooling line, spray a little Reel Magic on a piece of cloth and run the line through it while re-spooling. Then just put a touch up squirt on the spool before each trip and I think your will notice a major difference in limpness and reduced memory. I sure have. Ron G
  5. Well there we have it!! Thanks to all who replied. Our leaders run this organization right and promptly address our concerns. I guess that's why I tell every smallie angler I run across about us. I'll be sure to send that renewal money when the time comes. Thanks again.
  6. Hey, I just realized my membership expired at the end of June and I didn't receive any renewal notice. Do I just hit the new membership link on the home page and re-join?I didn't see a renewal option on the form. This is one place I actually want to pay my money to, lol. I don't want to miss anything. Ron G
  7. An outing is an excuse to go fish'n and I need more excuses to go!! lol. Honestly I've only been to one and got paired with Phil F who promptly schooled my butt that day. It gave me the desire to try and become a better all-a-round angler. Did I mention is was an excuse to go fish'n ? You get the idea I'd tell ya all my secret spots if I knew how to find'em again myself. Guess I better go find some new secret spots cuz the floods this spring washed all my old ones away. Stupid river anyway!! Ron G
  8. Greg C, Congrats on that new PT. I handled one this week end and thought it seemed like a very nice reel with a lot of nice features. I hope it does the job for you and causes the smallies in your local waters much grief this season, lol.
  9. Guess I'm I budget baitcaster, lol. I prefer spending the big bucks on my rods and go with the mid to low priced baitcasting reels and I have several. The Quantum Accurist PT is a fine reel and if you pitch or flip flooded cover during high water the flipping switch is not a gimmick. The reel is engaged instantly when you release the thumb bar and a lot of the hits are instant and it can make the difference between getting the fish up and out before you get wrapped. The Diawa Exceller is a nice "surprise" budget reel. Lots of high dollar features with a $69 price tag.(You could do a lot worse. BTW it's namesake in the spinning line is one fine reel too!) My old green Shimano Curado is a trusted friend. But hands down my favorite is the ABU Revo series. The S is quality through and through. Smooth as silk, handles light line and baits without a hitch, stump pulling drag power, good looks and ergonomics, comfortable to palm, and economical ($99). The Truth is there a just a ton of quality baitcasting reels out there made to fit a wide variety of uses and budgets. Asking on a board is a good start but in the end you should really try taking your rod to a store and try as many reels on it as you can. feel and balance, features that intrest you and your style of fishing, gear ratios, etc, all play and important part in your decision. I wouldn't put a lot of emphasis on brand name as just about every manufacturer makes a quality reel just as every manufacturer also makes a few lemons( nobody's perfect). In the end buy what YOU like Ron G
  10. If you are having trouble with line twist using flukes give this a try. Get a pack of the "Hitchhiker" clips from Bass Pro ( they are like $4 for 25) they are a little screw lock clip that pops onto the bend of your hook. You screw the nose of the fluke onto the clip and then attach it to the back of the hook. No more rigging issues or line twist. The hook acts as a keel and the fluke wont spin regardless of retrieval speed. I use 1/0 Gammy octopus or 2/0 wip gap finess hooks with mine. Don't worry about reduced hook ups with the bait trailing behind your bare hook, every smallie i took last season attacked the bait head first. another plus was that 90 percent of the flukes had little to no damage from the bite. Ron G
  11. Welcome, Definately try to hook up with Phil. I spent the day with him this past Saturday and had a great time. I'm in the Danville area and you are more than welcome to join me on one of my fish'n fiascos anytime. Ron G
  12. Necessity is the mother of invention I guess. I broke off my last football head jig on a trip about a month ago and when I looked in my bag all I had left was a package of Arkie u-bolt head jigs for presenting finesse worms. It's a 1/8 or 1/4 oz. round jig head with a standard eye to tie your line to and an eye on the back with an attatched free floating 3/0 offset shank standard gap worm hook. Wal-mart sells them here for $1.80 per 3 pack. They are great for fishing the worms but the fish were biting on Netbait baby paca craws. So I did what any other guy would do in this situation. I rigged a paca craw on this head tex-posed and give it a toss. Jigged it in short hops along the bottom. Got nutt'n, I mean nada. In disgust I just reeled this in steady to switch to something else and could feel the head bumping into rocks on the river bed and POW!! an 18" smallie smashed it. The key when useing this presentation is a slow steady, bottom bumping retrieve. The action of the paca craw arms are amazing when fished like this and those stinky hog lard impregnated paca craws must really appeal to the smallies because they do not let go once they grab it. If you're looking to try something different I suggest you grab a bag of green pumpkin baby paca craws and a few of these arkie heads and give it a try. After playing and releasing several quality smallies you'll be glad ya did. Ron G
  13. John, I modified one of my torpedos this week by removing the middle treble and putting a single size 1 barbless streamer on the back. I'll post how it works out. I also have one modified with a larger middle treble with one arm clipped off and the rear hook removed and a small colorado spinner attatched to the back. It should be intresting to see what it produces on a steady retrieve across the surface. kend, There is a lot to be said for what you suggested and my notes can back that up. The torpedo is one of the very few hardbaits I carry anymore and if my modifications don't pan out it's going to be replaced with plastic single hook baits. I know this is a blood sport and this stuff happens to all of us but it really turned a relaxing enjoyable outing into something less than perfect. With my busy work schedule and lifes general daily grind I really want those oh so few trips to the river to be nothing short of perfect. Sounds kinda corney but thats just me.
  14. I killed a nice 15" fish while fishing the South Vermilion drainage last evening. No, it wasn't intentional but I still feel awful. The fish hit a Heddon tiny torpedo and when I lipped him to my dismay there was a blood flowing freely down his side. The rear treble was underneath his gill flap and had pierced and severly damaged the fish's gills. I removed the hook as quickly and carefully as I could and returned it to the water but it rolled belly up and quickly expired. This really disturbs me due to the fact that I keep a journal of each fish caught that includes the lure used and the hook location in the mouth. I went back and reviewed my information and quickly found that when using the tiny torpedo most fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth with the front treble but a large percentage also had the rear treble embedded in the gill flap or side of the body depending on the size of the fish. I absolutely love fishing this lure cuz nothing is more exciting that having a top water blasted by an angry bass. I also can't abide by the fact that my information shows a higher potential for injuring/killing fish when using it. I will be be removing the rear treble when fishing it in the future in hopes that last night won't be repeated. If you use this lure alot you might consider doing the same.
  15. My "short" wading excursions always turn into something else. I just have to see what is "just around the next bend". The next thing I know I've spent the whole day on the river and the lawn didn't get mowed AGAIN!!! lol. I kinda like it that way.
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