Daryk Campbell Sr

OK, so I have bought a used baitcaster setup. Got it very cheap, but have never used a baitcaster. I have seen them used, watched a few youtube videos, and went out to try it out. I was able to cast it and it retrieves amazingly. Of course being new to this type of reel, I am not sure of all of the settings. I plan to use this in bass/crappie/gill fishing. It is an Abu Garcia reel, and did not see any direct markings on it. It has a star type drag adjustment and a turn knob on the same side as the retreive handle, and a dial knob on the opposite side. As most will know, I am having some backlash problems, and with out a manual, want to know if anyone could give me some tips on "fine tuning" this reel. I know that most will be figured out with more practice. When side casting I use my right hand, and release just early, as I would with an open face, or spincast, and am usually confident in where I am placing my cast, I am crossing myself and going way to the left. In other words, if I want to cast to the right of my right shoulder, somehow, I am casting in front of me or slightly to the left. When forward casting, going directly over my shoulder, I seem to cast about 10 feet in front of me and, then I get a good birds nest. Any tips are GREATLY appreciated.

Big boys, and a big fish. Nice post.

simply whole kernel corn, dipped in vanilla extract ( the cheap stuff ). I specify whole kernel corn, because a friend of mine was to "bring the corn" when we were kids, he went in his pantry and brought cream style corn. Lets just say, we did not catch any fish that day.

Just some info from my hunters education class... "Snakes are protected in MO, you can kill it if it is a direct threat, but only if it is a direct threat. Other wise killing snakes in MO is illegal." Here is a link from MDC http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/nature-viewing/amphibians-and-reptiles/snakes And to all who did not know, Black Snakes are GOOD to keep around. They do not pose a threat, and they eat rodents. The same rodents that would probably eat your siding or the wires on your car.

Advance to 3:15. Now I see why so many on here are blasting Jet Boats. I didn't realize this was even possible. Bad News.

Sweet!, thanks for posting.

10-15 times on a GOOD year lately. Same story as most, kids, jobs, household duties.... I used to go out a couple of times a week...... Sometimes I can go down to the Mississippi at the St Louis Riverfront and sit imagining I'm fishing for about 20 minutes while I wait for the wife.

.... Side note, due to this board, I have learned that Justin's floats are family friendly and I will strongly consider bringing mine down. If this thread goes no-where, at least I have a new idea for my family on a weekend. :-)

How about designating some monies towards billboards in the areas showing the clean vs the trashed rivers. This may help to stimulate the brain to remind people why they should not litter. I am not happy about a tax/fee/charge, but understand it may be necessary. In the event that one may be started, I agree with Al's statement that it should be deemed to a specific purpose.

Sounds like a fun trip. Very nice wording also.

Al, Thanks for the update, I have not been able to check out much of the locations on the site, so I guess I will start using the other two. I stumbled on it a while back and it seemed to be pretty thorough, but input like yours helps us all. I like the maps that the link Wayne put up also, it is nice to have some idea of where you are. (Edited)

As I was picking up the wife in Downtown St Louis yesterday, I had a temp of 118 in the car. I guess all of the buildings radiate the heat to raise it some. I am just thankfull that we are without all of the humidity. I also observed something I would call odd. Usually when the heat gets to the high 90s, there are many cars on the side of the road with either blow outs or steaming radiators/hoses. Yesterday I did not seem to see but a couple flats, and there was no one in them. Not as many buckles of the roads, (didn't hear of any). I wonder if the humidity contributes in any way to these happenings?

I am not familiar with the "paddlers guide", but here is a neat website that offers info on Missouri's rivers. http://southwestpaddler.com/indexMO.html There is some good info on this site. I am not affiliated in any way with the site, so take the info as you will. It seems to be thorough.

It's not the heat its the ..... Uh, well, guess we have to come up with a new one for this year Y2K12

Ozark Fisherman, Thanks for taking the reigns and getting the answers for the questions. I am glad you were able to make a couple connections in the process. Still in the wait and see mode, but I can surely understand the uneasy feelings that others have been posting. I believe that we must be faithful that the ones who are in charge have an agenda to make sure this reintroduction is a success. At the same time though, we must keep up on the checks and balances.

JD, Home Depot in Festus has plenty of them, but as I understand they are just starting to migrate. I am told, that late June and all of July are prime months for the Jefferson County/St Louis area. I like the bluegill food idea. Another tip, with the Japanese beetles, the bait will attract the beetles from acres away, so you may be getting beetles in your trap that would have never been around your house. So, make sure to place the trap(s) far from your plants.

Ha, just for arguements sake, I have had this conversation with the wife. Sure it makes sense that a white roof would not attract as much heat as a black roof, therefore, in the winter time would it be beneficial? For the "savings" would it not cost more to keep replacing shingles? Oh, and the shingles are made of asphalt, which is oil based...... AHHHHH!!!! Lets all just live in caves, they maintain the same temp year round, and you dont need to roof it. Interesting tip on efficiency I have learned. If you take an old water heater, and dont hook it up to electric or gas, install it between your current water heater and the water inlet from outside. It will work as a pre-heater, and you will use less energy to heat up your water. The reason this works is your water comes in from your water inlet, is colder than room temp. By the water sitting in the first water heater that is not "working" but is in line, the water will raise to room temp. Then the water that is now say 65-70 degrees will be able to be heated to the pre-determined temp on your water heater quicker. Thus using less energy, and getting the same result. I am told that most water heaters that are not working and are being thrown away, as long as they do not leak, will be a great candidate for this idea, and will also save space in the landfills. :-)

Saltine crackers (any brand). Just leave them whole, place them into your trap. Within a couple hours you will have a good start. Raw bacon put into an old empty 35mm film canister or medicine jar will catch the crawdads. Put holes in the container you use for raw bacon and the crawdads can not eat your bait and it will continue to bring them in.

Wow, good job. Great fish.

Yes, that is the park, I have never seen anything come out of it. I have heard many stories, but I can not verify any. I was on the smaller pond, it was closer to the parking lot, and I didn't have alot of time.

Well, it could be said that I am not the best fisherman. But I am consistant in Wilmore Park. I got skunked yet again. I went during a lunch break, only for about 1/2 hour. I really wanted to see how well I repaired my ultra light rod. I did good. First time repairing a broken tip. I reused the tip that was on the rod, I tried to heat it up and pull out the piece of rod that was attached, but it just broke again. I was able to drill out the rest of the material of my graphite rod, and the tip was large enough to re-attach to my rod. Now the tip and the first eye are very close. Looks kind of funny, but it casted well. Back to the report. I had some tiny sunfish going after my white Marabou jig, but could not find the larger sunfish. I seen what I believe was a red eared slider turtle sunning itself on a brush pile in the lake. It was not spooked by me at all, got to within 6 feet of it. It was neat to see, the rear legs were out of its shell and seemed to be spread out (like a human would be in a relaxed position). I took a pic with my phone, I snagged a stick attached to the brush he was sunning on, and he did not seem to care about me moving the stick trying to unsnag. Did not catch anything, but, I kept my reputation at Willmore. Good luck to all. DC

An old liver trick is to use some kind of cloth to hold the liver together. Some people use old panty hose, some use old t-shirts cut into squares, some use netting, ect... Take a 3inch by 3 inch square of 'material', and wrap the liver in the square. Now put that on your hook and you should not have a problem. Another tip is to wrap the liver in a piece of cloth, and wrap it with string, yarn, thread ect. (it will look like a small version of an old 'Money Bag'). Put that on your hook. If you get out to the lake/river and realize you don't have any material to use, you can take a treble hook (not tied onto your line yet), spread open the liver, push the 'eye' of the treble hook into the center of your liver, then tie the hook or clip on to a swivel. It holds pretty well. ( warning treble hooks are not fun to remove from a catfish. ) All of this being said, I have never done "Great" with liver. Shrimp can get more expensive than buying catfish at the store. Cut bait and minnow traps seem to be the ticket. DC

... Well put.

Good job! Sounds like fun. Sorry to hear about the morning, but hey it turned out to be great.

Very nice article. Sorry to hear about your friend.