J Francho

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31420.html

It would probably work in spring, too, but in the lake. Winter tributary rules outlaw a swimbait anyway. You'd end up snagging more than you actually get to bite.

Browns destroy anything that remotely resembles a rainbow trout in early fall.

I think I'm doing a raid on the Salmon New Year's Day.

I have one that I use to blow snow off the roof.

Seriously, open seat all winter long, if you can get here.

I'm curious about that logic.....they both stretch about the same. CXX is far tougher comparing similar diameters. Anyway, 20# works for me. Most of my baits are < 5 oz.

Yep, I have all the gear you need.

Thanks Marty. Happy New Year to you!

Ideally, no it doesn't. The line that goes through the guides shouldn't touch the water on float rig. But when you catch a fish, the fish takes your line under, and you can't help it. KVD on the mainline and guides helps a lot. When you get some ice, just rap the blank with you hand, and it falls out. Now, the float and shotline, that gets iced up bad. I was a little worried for a few bigger fish that the swivels encased in about an inch of ice would fail, but they didn't. Troutsicle: He'll taste nice after a nice bath in Teriyaki and a trip to the smoker. ;D

I went 6 for 9 hookups. Lost a monster brown, might have been bigger than my personal best, which is 22 lbs. This fish is 30" x 20.25". Real nice buck for middle of winter.

We're actually not getting anything noticeable, a couple inches each day. Should be in the 40s this week.

Yellow snow? Tastes like lemon.

My 13' trout rod is a two piece.

Can't you just draw two humping bunnies on a bottle you already have, or can get locally? ;D

http://goldensnowball.blogspot.com/

Metallic prints are SILLY nice. Very cool gift.

All my cranking rods have either a Sol or Alphas on them. :

Oh, and the real answer here is to get a lefty Sol. At 5.8:1 and about 23 IPT, its a great crank reel.

I find it really matters what reel you put on a rod once you get into the lighter sticks. I have the Teaser, Sweeper, and a custom build on the 7-9 Swimbait. The Teaser pretty much stunk with a super light Alphas Ito Ai. Plop a Zillion on there, and its a great for lighter feel baits. The Sweeper needed a lighter reel. The swimbait was setup to balance out a Calcutta. I have the Avid version of the Sweeper, and that rod was a dud with a Daiwa TD-A HSTA. I put a TD-X 103HSDL, and it was a different rod. The moral is, you gotta put a reel on the rod and get a feel.

Depends on how much you throw cranks, and specifically what type of cranks you throw. I have 5 different crank rods now, though 3 of them can do other things. The spinnerbait combo could throw lots of things besides spinnerbaits.

There's three LH Curados, and one LH Citica. None of them are low IPT reels.

I think the pitching action may be a little easier, and obviously remove backlashes, but I prefer casting because as soon as my jig hits the water, the little movement in my reel handle engages the spool, where as on spinning I have to close the bail then put my hand on the handle, although thats merely personal preference. With some practice, you can learn to feather the line and close the bail with your right middle and ring fingers. Its one of the reasons I hold the rod with three fingers forward. I use mostly for pitching a drop shot, since it can be a bulky rig to lob.

Pretty much par for the course with Zoom baits. There's always a few messed up baits in the bag.

Jfrancho, stock or not, that is one sweet Z71..... And now tell me your not showing it off. Heck, I would be That, and trying to add a little levity to the thread, LOL.