J Francho

I've done this for decades and never got a bend. Same for rods that sat in rod lockers all season. It's not the issue some make it out to be. That old rod probably wasn't graphite, and was likely subjected to forces greater than leaning in a corner. Don't.

Dude?!? Where you been? OP: 15-20% is my starting place. It's never less than 15, even if it wasn't a good time. Often it can be 25 or more, for a really great day.

Yeah, plumbing comes easy for me too.

It's always about find the food. They relate to structure, but not in a small way. They relate to it via movement of what they're eating. My guess is pick a crepuscular time to fish - dusk or dawn - when the bait activity is high. I fish a VERY deep quarry and this has been the only time I can catch the plentiful smallies there. I typically bomb topwaters from shore over what I perceive to be structural bottlenecks to the bait. You can't fish this anymore, so I don't care about sharing it here. This is the quarry I'm talking about. Here's a typical catch, sorry about the butt. Man I hate that I have pics like this.

Barotrauma is only an issue of you put the fish in a live well. Immediate release is almost never an issue. Even then, I haven't had too many issue with fish caught from 35 FOW. It's when you get close to the 40' mark. You better have tools and skill to vent the fish, if you are keeping them in a live well.

I don't need a tradesman to replace a tap. I'm revoking your man card.

Sorry, Lepisosteus osseus = Longnosed Gar

It's weird how their range just stops at New England. I have them all over the place, but there aren't any downstate, closer to New York City.

Do they come and redo the work? Who compensates me for that? Who cares how good they are at replacing broken junk. I paid MORE for stuff that works right the first time.

I'm married to Seaguar. She's the best!

If you want to use fluorocarbon and manageability is a concern, then you should use Invisx or Tatsu.

Off topic political posts have been removed, as they aren't allowed here. Keeping an undersize bass is also illegal. Discussions of illegal activity is also forbidden here. This topic is closed.

This is infuriating. I paid a handsome sum for the name brand kitchen faucet to replace the trusty one that leaked for years. The new one leaks, unless you shut it off from a certain position. The $40 cheapo I put in for the deep sink in the basement works perfectly. I sold that house, so not my issue anymore. Oh man, sorry to hear it. Get well soon.

I've unintentionally let two state records go in my lifetime. I caught a huge bowfin, weighed it at 11 lbs. That record would have only stood for a few months anyway, though. The other was a rock bass I caught in my home waters, which are known for huge rockies. I let her go, and immediately remembered that record was up for grabs. A little kid registered a new record a couple years later with a fish - get this - caught from the same water. Proud of that kid and my home water, https://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/2020/06/upstate-ny-boy-8-sets-new-state-freshwater-fishing-record-for-rock-bass.html

Nice one!

I don't know why it is assumed that he would be editing and uploading all of his videos himself. Even some of the smaller operations I've worked with just take your raw footy and edit for whatever social platform it will appear. In other words, using YouTube to bolster the argument that he does have time is weak.

Good seeing you guys tonight!

Idler gears have been plastic for like 40 years, lol. Welcome to the space age!

A Ragetail Space Monkey rigged weedless with no weight has been a VERY good bait to me when the dragons and damsels are buzzing about the pond. Just burn it across the surface like a toad.

That's a beautiful Texas cichlid!

I've used rope flies. They're basically unraveled nylon rope on a split ring, a few inches long. Spinning gear handles them fine. We have them up here, but the ones I see down south are much bigger. They're kind of annoying when they gather in a quiet cove to sun by the 100s.

What reel can't hold 4 lb. line? What a strange thing to praise. At any rate, you should be able to fish a reel straight out of the box. If it requires service to function, then it's been sold as defective.

The longest I've used was 11' but that was for float rigging for steelhead. The terminal rig can be very long, and the length is helpful for that. You don't really cast it either. It's more of a pitch or lob. This was a two piece rod so storing and transport was easy. My longest rods for bass fishing are 7-11 or 8'. A couple are for swim baits, a few punching rods, and a deep cranking stick. They are all a gigantic pain in the butt to store and transport.

Your reel only has a single felt pad. This is pretty much the norm for a 1000 size reel because they aren't intended to be used for more than a few pounds of drag. You get a multi stack drag on 2500 and larger. size reels.

There's a lot of threads about them already, and you might want to start a new one since there's been a few new models this year. Try here: https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/forum/10-bass-boats-canoes-kayaks-and-more/