Fishing Forum

I am wanting to learn how to fish and have a few questions. Is this the right section for asking basic questions or is there a beginners section? My first question is about my basic setup. I fish from the shore on a large lake in Arkansas. Generally I set up a swivel on the end of my line with a small split shot above the swivel. From the swivel I run a 12"-18" leader line of clear monofilament with my lure tied to the leader. I generally use jigs, rooster tails, spinners, various crank baits. Is this a good general set up or should I just tie my lure directly to the line?
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welcome to the site dagwood... I see you have found the freshwater forum but you may want to also give the [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?category=9"]Arkansas state forum[/url] a try...Im sure there are local anglers on that board that help you out with your questions...

MacFly [cool]
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any swivel is better than no swivel at all. The reason for using a swivel in the first place it to reduce line twist. Line twist is a major problem for anglers who tend to do a lot of casting. the swivel allows the line to spin free of the lure eliminating bird nest in your rod and reel.

most people use barrol swivels, it is the same as a swivel snap only with out the clip on the end, Most swivel snaps can be disasembled.

there is nothing wrong with the lenth of your lead. that will work just fine, How ever most guys like to run longer leads. roughly around 3-4 foot.

the resason for the longer lenth of a lead is so that many of the bass anglers can cut and tie on a new lure in a minimal amount of time, and it saves line in the long run.

now if you were to take your existing setup of 12-18 inch lead and add a quick release to the end of your lead, you can utilize quick lure changes with no line tying at all. "I will show a quick release in another reply to this post."

on some lures you can get away with running right off the swivel snap. for that I sugest trial and error. but some of the lures I found to work right of a swivel snap is, Jitter Bug, Rapala, lazy Ike.... some of the larger size spinners and rooster tail and such.

using a weight above the swivel has both positive and negitive advantages. the positive side is that the weight wont slip any farther to your lure allowing it to act more naturaly, the down side is that the sinker can get caught on a rock or reed and end up cutting the line right at the snap.

the times when you want to use a weighted line are, you want to increase your casting ability due to lighter lures and the other is to get your offering down to the depth you desire.

you have come to the right board, in addition you can visit any other of our boards as well, especialy for targeted species like bass or panfish or walleye and other spicific species boards.
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This release can be found in the trout fishing section of most tackle shops. Even tho it is found there for quick release of flies, larger sizes are available for lures.


this too comes in various sizes, the size you use depends greatly on its weight clasification. tho I use the rule any swivel is better than no swivel at all, if the fish I am targeting is 20 pound I wont use a teeny tiny swivel snap. there are only a half dozen available sizes so it wont take a brain stergeon to figure it out.


this is another type of swivel snap, like above, both thiese types are easy to dis-asembled leaving you with a barrol swivel on the right.

Hope this helps..

any other questions, feel free to ask away.
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Hi [url "../../../cgi-bin/community/community.cgi?do=user_page;pg=user_profile_view.html;username=dagwood727"]dagwood727[/url], welcome to the site. If you want you can go to the Arkansas Forum here and give me some details about what part of AR you live in and which lake it is that you fish from and I can surely help you out.

I have fished almost every lake in Arkansas. I have fished most of the Rivers for Trout, Striped and Smallmouth also.

I live in the Northeast part of AR just east of Jonesboro and know some pretty sweet Largemouth ponds and secret spots on many local lakes.

Just Post in the AR forum and we can strike up a conversation that might help you out.

Mike.
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Thanx for the information, I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. I picked up a few tips from a local I talked to but still have a lot more to learn, thanx again.
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Of the three types of snap swivels I have had the best luck with the third picture (dark metal). The gold snap swivel will open if by chance you hook a hog whereas the dark metal ones have a bend on the snap that hooks it onto itself. They are a bit more frustrating to open if you are like me who likes to try every single lure I own at least one time per trip. (Yes, I have A.D.D. when it comes to choice of lures.)

Note, however, that the open spinner baits -looks like a large open safety pin- work better if they are tied to the string. With a snap swivel, the swivel can slide all the way to the spoons or to the hook, and then you're just dragging the lure such in a way as to scare any fish away and to tangle up your line. (Been there too!)

Good luck!

Lesley
http://ncfishing.net
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For Bass use spinner baits and crawdad-colored crank baits fished along gravel to chunk rock banks with timber or blown down trees.

For Crappie use Shineee Hineee jigs and tube jigs fished under a cork 2 to 5 feet deep around blown down trees, timber or brush piles.

Catfish in the evening from the bank using liver or worms. The Highway 12 or 412 bridges are good.

Man, you live in the best fishing area in Arkansas, there are tons of lakes and trout rivers there....
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I don't know about the snap swivel/ barrel swivel thing. We all have our opions in that area.

If you're fishing a lake with particularly clear water, the more ornaments you have attached to your gear, the less likely you are to catch fish.

If you want to attach a leader, say like Fluorocarbon, use an albright knot, not a swivel. Keep it simple, keep it natural, and keep it as light as possible. Tie your lure directly to the fluorocarbon. You'll find plenty that say this isn't necessary, but I beg to differ. Anything will catch fish when they are heavily feeding. When they are not, you need the most natural presentation you can rig up.
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