J Francho

Hit it with with a Tacoma!

About as big as mine!

It isn't logic, it's naivete. Some baits are manufactured with inconsistencies that aren't apparent looking at them - they *seem* identical. If you are used to working a bait a certain way, when you replace with another bait that has these variances, it acts differently, and isn't doing what your old bait did, which happened to be what fish consistently bit. That's what we're talking about. There's no way to tell if they're identical without fishing them. When you lose that bait that was working, you probably want to replace it with another, but you can't assume that it will work as well just because it is superficially identical. Some baits are terrible. I provided an example, and a few others provided more. This is why I prefer to use certain brands that have built trust in the quality and consistency of their baits. They also happen to usually be a a little more money, but you get what you pay for.

Get a Popmax. You only need one.

Separate topic, but you just need to learn control with spinning gear. One tip: you don't use your thumb.

For me it comes down to the size of the bait. If it's too light to throw on casting gear, I'm probably not going to use it. But, I'd switch to spinning if I had to throw it.

Light bulb: it isn't the paint job. You were catching them up until you retired it, so the missing paint wasn't an issue. Put the hardware on it and catch a hundred more with it. I have a one eyed Sammy 115 that you can't tell what color is was (Aurora Black) that has had at least a half dozen sets of hooks on it. That bait is a "starter."

I can, but I won't mention names

They probably don't notice your line if your presentation stinks. If your stomping around the bank, banging a set of pliers on the hull of your tin boat, playing loud music, and bomb whopper plopper in their face, it might not be the line. Then again, they may be so hungry all the negative cues are overlooked and you catch it.

The rules clearly state this is a forbidden topic.

Red hook theory is phooey. That's been my opinion since they came out. The finish didn't hold up very well either. That was a fact when I tried them.

Humans are really good at proving themselves right.

I've never noticed any difference in sensitivity. I doubt there's any way to measure or prove it anyway/ One thing I forgot to mention, limp braid is actually harder to get unwrapped from micros than standard guides, and that NEVER happens when pitching jigs, lol.

Baby birds are equally as ugly as baby trash pandas.

So, is that a thin stream of blood shooting out in front of the bait?

I fish whether I'm graphing or not. Unless there's some super compelling reason not to fish, not fishing that water is a mistake.

And we're done here. Good job!

A lot of pros said red line was invisible, too.

Politics? Religion and the tilt of the earth probably have more impact. Better block the 5G with your tinfoil hats because it's all an inside job. lololololol. Sheesh, you guys really want this thread locked don't you. News flash: politicians are way too stupid to have this kind of pull.

I prefer small guides. Not micros.

The only thing silly would be wasting your time coloring the wire. It won't make any difference.

Wow, two in a million. Probably a coincidence, a bad batch of hooks, or improper gear setup that is strong enough to break the hooks. I'm betting on the first and last scenarios.

Missed this part. Unless you mean 80-120# crimped fluoro leaders, then no. If you're truly dealing with pike, use a tieable steel leader in the 10-20# range if you want to prevent pike bite offs. It's been my experience that pike and bass location only really intersect briefly in spring and fall. If you're catching pike, move along because they usually drive bass out.

Try no larger than 8# diameter or 20# braid.

I've only ever caught cats while fishing for bass once in NY, and it was a brown bullhead that must have been spawning or harassing spawning bass. Otherwise, I would catch them occasionally, but that was VA and south. Seems like you have to be in flathead territory.