J Francho

And for anyone worried about a bass's teeth cutting their CXX (LMBO at this notion), here is a 37" 12-8 Northern Pike caught on a small Luck Craft crankbait. The bait was swallowed deeply, about 7" inside the pike's mouth. No leader. The line? 8# CXX.

LOL, no joke, huh?

I'll send you a clump of zebra mussels that says your wrong.

The problem with the jig as a drop shot weight has been discussed here before. First, each bait requires a different hookset; how do you know which bait is getting bit? Second, that palomar knot, if tied correctly, puts a kink in the tag end, additionally that tag end is run back through the hook eye in an effort to keep the hook perpendicular from the fluorocarbon line. Using stiff fluoro leader material goes a long way here. When there is pressure on that knot, the knot sometimes swings back through the hook eye. What do you think will happen when its a bass pulling on the tag end of that knot? I can't tell you how many drop shot fish I've caught, where the drop line has broke off or left in tatters behind a hard charging smallie. Bottom line, if you want to fish a jig, tie on a jig. If you want to drop shot, tie up a drop shot. I am sure there will be others that have had success, and to be truthful, so have I. But, I have had some failures as well, and couldn't continue to use or recommend this rig.

I've heard that name too, Raul. Its funny, because my grampa would call the rig with the hook above the weight a bottom rig, or off the bottom rig, and the universal, or with the bank sinker above the hook the on the bottom rig, LOL. Always sounded backwards to me. I guess he was referring to the bait, not the weight. Rhino, have you ever seen "spilunking" for trout. Same idea, the heavy weight is set below the bait, which is usually some kind of spinner rig. It primarily used in the Pac NW as a high water tactic. You get you line set up, put the rod in a holder driven into the bank, clip a cowbell to the tip, and sit in your car until the bell rings. While the history and evolution of terminal rigging is interesting trivia, the part I enjoy is the way certain terminal rigs solve a particular problem. In the case of the drop shot, there are several "problems" that are addressed. In deep, snotty water, it keeps your bait out of the scudge, but down, at a measured distance off the bottom. Its also a great way to fish traditionally weightless baits in deep water. Use a longer drop line, and let the weight expedite the bait into the prime strike zone. Another great use is pitching to shallow and mid depth targets, and using the weight to pin the bait in place, while imparting subtle (or not so subtle) action. I also like to run it through weeds, letting the weight hang up briefly, and then popping it free. the jerk after freeing the weight is when you get bit. My last tip is a new one to me, fishing it in the cone of your graph for suspended fish. I recently had a lesson in this from a Lake Erie specialist.

I know, I fished that rig, we called a bottom rig, or catfish rig. We still use it for live bait fishing and its a great rig for kids to learn on. The modern drop shot rig just offers you mush more control and sensitivity. If I'm not mistaken, you have started using this recently? After many, many fish - especially fish from the 20'+ range - you will appreciate the difference in sensitivity.

Actually to me, this is a MAJOR difference, since the critical part of why the drop shot rig is such a successful finesse tactic is that it gives you the ability to detect the lightest bites, since the there is a direct connection between the hook and rod tip.

I like spicy, double fennel, made on the spot at Costanza's. Got about another week before he closes shop for hunting season.

I hear you there, and I agree with some of what you are saying. I think in this case, though, those fish have spent a great deal of time just living in the lake, being trout. These guys are fishing in the right place, at the right time, with the right baits, and catching the biggest fish in the lake. Consistently. Record fish are all a little weird, or something is different about them or their environment that allows them to get so big. We should probably start a new thread. Topics like Share-A-Lunker, pellet fed trout, NYS record LMB caught out of a private, stocked lake, triploid trout, tiger musky, FL x Northern strain crosses, etc. etc....... And, oh yeah....I'm a HERO!!! :D

I thought you knew they were triploid trout? Are you saying it doesn't count? Don't even go there, man. Record fish are all about the anglers, and especially in the case of these guys. They are not the typical dickhead that catches a 10 lb. bass with a Zebco 33 and Ugly Stick. They've dialed into these monsters. if their trout don't count, then any bass caught outside of its natural range (i.e. Cali) can be erased too, as can the brown trout above.

LOL, OK dude. Sounds like your justifying your original post through backpedaling.

Burley, you need to try some Zweigle's Pork Hots.

How do you know its the employees' error? Someone might have simply moved the items. The right thing to do is to tell en employee that they are in the wrong spot. Often they will fix the error, but give you the lower price. Dick's has SKUs and a description on the peg hook price stickers that match the correct item. They have no obligation to honor the price if it doesn't match. In fact, in NY state, the only time a price must be honored is when it is printed or written on the item itself. Switch price tags or moving items to lower priced hooks in order to deceive a cashier is considered shoplifting.

Marty, Roger and Shirley both had a couple of bite offs, fishing a worm. I lost a jig on braided line. After that, switched to bigger baits, for the most part, and didn't break off. I was lucky with the big one, though.

3/0 Wide Gap Plus, no weight. Work great on the chin spin jigs mentioned above as well.

Get two SOT fishing kayaks.

Flukes, or Super Flukes? Or one of the other two sizes? For Super Flukes, I don't use any weight, and I either nose hook them with a 1/0 snelled Owner Mosquito Hook, or rigged weedless with a 5/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus. The Baby Flukes make great drop shot baits. Any of the sizes are also great on Sworming Hornets and Fish Head Spins.

You can't imagine the good deed this is. Good for you, and great for the guys you took out. Some really nice catches there, too!

What you describe is what pro staff do. There are plenty of threads here that detail the prerequisites and responsibilities associated with such a privilege.

Is it Abu Silicote? If so, its junk. Didn't we answer this question in the three other oil threads you posted?

I had some dry spells at the noontime pond, and I always attributed those spells to my fishing technique, that i was missing some part of the equation - not that the fish "figured me out." I only had less than an hour to fish, so experimentation time was limited. But, more often than not, I caught fish, and even the same fish several times.

Largemouth. Looks like the fillet'o fish strain to me.

Super Troopers "Its as if the entire natural world was turned upside-down"

One of the most shocking and despicable sites were the lifters at Burt dam during the peak brown run. Literally hundreds of them. I must have looked like DEC that day, because they all froze, and stopped fishing and stared at me as I walked by. We ended going downstream to fish the frogwater. I ended up with trophy steelhead that day.

You know I love them browns, too. They are the thugs of the trout world ;D.