CANE POLE CRAZY

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Comment by Johnny wilkins on September 23, 2014 at 11:20am

You are right - most of the time that line on these plastic float rigs is useless- stiff, crimped and has sat on the winder so long it won't straighten out. The line is cheap quality boat rope - very thick. Many items from China are seconds which we find on Ebay - there is a reason they are so cheap, seams, paint, poor design and bad.

The floats I see made on here are much, much better from our members such as the awesome quills and cobb floats - these are functional and not plastic. Plastic is heavy and communicates poorly - is hard to pull under by the fish - clunky. Line markers vs. these plastic floats- big advantage line markers. In many situations, the proper float can not be matched by anything for presenting the bait to the fish in varied wind conditions, depths and distance from shore.

This weekend was a cold-front bite at a new lake for me. When I [ plumbed it up ] - pole anglers you should know this term - I found a small man-made cut just outside of pole range. Where my kids were going to fish, it was only 9" deep. Curtains in the cold.

With the wind, my 14' poles wouldn't reach that drop-off. I am almost positive the fish would not pass this point in numbers, this extra foot of water would hold many fish. Unfortunately, the mom who picked the spot was telling me where we should hold the event.

I did what I could with 9" of water following 2 days of cold and rain. Sometimes, people don't listen to facts and knowledge. We as humans tend to know -it. When we do, we miss out. Simple. She missed out on 250 fish for her kids. Even i still listen to what the fish tell me. I said there was a lake a mile away which I knew the area- she knew differently. It is good to try and think outside of your box - many times. Your knowledge can box you into a coffin, it can help you miss a lot.

I just have to finish what I started - I am very near completion but I have worked for 5 years now on the perfect gear for all fisherman but especially for panfish / bluegill anglers - it is my favorite fishing, catching 50 - 450 of these on a Saturday can't be beaten by much else. I have some tools, some floats and soon some rigs and definitely the best selection of hooks and leaders available. 

As for the deep hook - I can get a hook out of the outhouse the gill just used if you know what I mean. A company stopped selling the good hook removers so I worked to find these also and get them back on the market. The iron hook remover was around in the 1870's - made by Pflueger - it doesn't float and it is really heavy.

Essentially - our tackle is bad because of the popularity of bass fishing. Nothing else matters to these tackle manufacturers. I went to look for the telescopic pole a member posted on here and it appears there are only 2 left in North America? This really gets my blood boiling. 

Well - I close by saying - anyone in the cane pole area- you are doing it right. You are outside the box and enjoying the direct connection to the fish you catch. You are a quick-strike predator. With your gear you are a top bluegill angler. This is the method which I used to catch 2,011 fish in one day and is also the method used for the current world record - a pole, a line, a float a hook. Action jackson!

Comment by Charles ( wolf ) Gibson on September 23, 2014 at 8:24am

Hey everyone just got my new phone now I can get back on here been reading posts sounds like yall are having some fun the hook line bobber set ups yall been talking about I have been using for years most do good if you are using them for pan fish or its good to keep in your pocket so if u run up on a small pond it's a good finger rig and them telescopic poles are awesome I have had a few in my day and just got a new 16.5 crappie pole is what they call it at bass pro shop but works real good on gills and I can hit holes in the pads I couldn't reach with my 13 ft pole I plan on going to get some gills this afternoon I will post the pics if I get any

Comment by Suzanne Lazar on September 23, 2014 at 7:56am

David, I'm surprised to hear that these outfits aren't unusual. I'd only seen such a thing once before, at  little grocery store at Chautauqua Lake, a couple years ago. That's very interesting about tabbed hooks. I think it's barbless too, so that'd be even better for non-fishing folk buying this for their kids while spending a day at the lake.

Johnny, I don't trust that tackle either. The rod is nice and whippy, and sensitive enough, so I tied on some 15 lb braid and a snap swivel for a mono leader. The line that came with the rig just looks weird to me, and it has memory of that too-short winder. Unfortunately I can't try out the sinker & bobber right now- they're in NY, I'm in bone-dry CA.

Comment by Joe Angelucci on September 22, 2014 at 6:40pm

Suzanne

With switching to line markers, I barely used floats this season. I use a 7 foot Japanese telescopic pole, #18 hook and 2# test. I caught fish in the 2-9 inch range with the majority between 4-7 inch. The markers detect both up and down as well as side to side motion. Think I had maybe 2-3 deep hooks the entire season of over 800 bluegill all C&R. This season taught me that short pole, short lines work from the shore. You just have to work a bit harder since the effective range is only 8-10 feet. 

Comment by Johnny wilkins on September 22, 2014 at 3:53pm

I don't know the printer of that piece - it came from a vintage book. Might be an old Rendezvous from Ye Ole Giantore BlueGill (the scroll)

Comment by Johnny wilkins on September 22, 2014 at 3:51pm

I have to weigh in. Plastic - bad. Line, bad, hook bad - the winder looks like it might be helpful - nope, too short - bad. 

That said- it probably will fish better than most things in most tackle stores (bad).

Suzanne, can you put it in a bucket of water with the split shot off the bottom?

I would love to see their idea of a one split shot rig and float balanced out. My guess is that 85 - 90% of that plastic bobber is going to sit above water and it will lie on its side. (bad).

Great you are fishing a cane pole - there is no better way to catch fish. The rig leaves a bit to be desired and - advantage fish.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on September 22, 2014 at 11:21am

This stuff comes from China, Suzanne.
It's the usual stuff these days. The tabbed hook is also pretty common in Asia, from what I've seen. They are intended for snelling, and work fine that way.
The stuff works, if not made in USA.

Comment by Suzanne Lazar on September 22, 2014 at 10:03am

Also thought I'd share a couple pictures. These are details from a cane pole kit I bought ($2!) at a neat little outlet store. The pole is bamboo, breaks in two, about 5'; great for dock fishing. It came with these for tackle: (no, I haven't used it, I don't trust that line!)  Notice that the hook has no eye!

Comment by Suzanne Lazar on September 22, 2014 at 9:56am

Thanks for the tip Joe! Hooking them too deep is often a problem for me.

(Also had two gnarly catches this summer- the hook went through the poor little guy's eyeballs! It was probably from using a cane that was way too stiff. I'm retiring that one...)

Comment by Joe Angelucci on June 29, 2014 at 3:30pm

John 

Thanks. The marker post is the one  that most cane post fishers can use. The item is really about 2 dollars  if you use poly wool . Just need a bright color and use an over hand knot every 18 inches. Just need to use three markers on the line about the water line. 

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