J Francho

That's a really good one.

I tossed the NY state record google eye back and immediately regretted it. Later that year, a kid caught it from the same dock and currently holds the record. I'm okay with that.

I will give some of my catch away. They are usually nice eating fish I'd want to keep for myself, but didn't catch enough for a meal or if I feel like they need it more than me. I'm eating a couple perch fillets today because no one at the launch wanted them. I thought I was on them and would get a limit, but it wasn't the case. Milk, egg wash, penko, and hot oil it is.

Every single reel I own has Smooth Drags in them. Almost all of the many hundreds I serviced had them added as well. I run my cranking reels and spinners with a vapor thin coating of Cal's. All others are run dry. After speaking with Dawn, there actually is a proprietary coating that allows you to run them dry. I wouldn't do this with carbon washers that are from the factory. They almost always require some grease.

I tell people that if I kept what I caught, there'd be no fish left.

I have a few 1 and 1.5 oz. baits from an old sponsor here and other than the extra weight being below the skirt, there is t really anything special about them. They certainly were a little more than a regular spinnerbait but not 4-5 times that. They do have a very specific set of use cases and I don't throw them much, but they work.

That is a deal. we don't have any Menards near us. There's a bunch of local independents, but they are really expensive.

Has anyone priced out casters at HD or Lowe's lately? It's cheaper to buy the $11 dolly at Wally World and pull the casters off that and use the dolly for kindling. that motor mount looks awfully familiar - nice job!

That was my point. I bet your baits are awesome.

$14 in raw materials for a spinnerbait? Sounds about $12.50 too high to even think about making money. You cant compare buying parts at Barlow's to the economy of scale of a place like Megabass.

$7.25!!! Well worth it

@DaveT63 I like to give them a tiny bit of bend just before the head. Just lost one today on a northern, but caught two other pike on them. Also, the usual bass or six.

Siebert Outdoors Cosmic spinnerbaits are my favorite premium baits. They aren't super cheap, but they are way better than bargain bin stuff. They come with wire tied skirts that last forever and a stupid sharp Owner hook. https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/categories/spinner--blade-baits

Thank you @Bankc that means a lot.

Glad you know "my problem." Thanks for the advice man. You're doing great.

Without getting too political, this is why being a millionaire means nothing.

@Siebert Outdoors spinnerbaits have served me well.

White

There's probably quite a few of us that are aging into it with our 401ks.

I was waiting to see "Black Betty" on this. I always thought it was originally recorded by Lead Belly. Turns out it was James Iron Head Baker. The very original version was a work song passed on by slaves working in the fields. I like all versions of it, but Lead Belly's is my favorite.

@bulldog1935 those rigs are not too far off the quick strike rigs I used for live baiting northerns way back in the day. They allowed you to set the hook right after the strike and hopefully allow a better release with no gut hooking you see with live baiting. They mostly worked.

I'll take your word for it. I snelled for years. Doesn't really make a difference once the fish is hoisted over the gunnel. The same way you get confidence by using it, I don't lose any skipping it. I can't fault anyone for that.

The snell knot was used before hook eyes existed. The end was mashed, flanged, and a snell was the only way to connect it. In my opinion, the ONLY time to use a snell is when the eye is angle the toward the hook point. This is pretty much never the case with artificial bait bass hooks. That said, a snell is a very strong connection, and I don't necessarily feel it's a mistake to use it. It just isn't necessary.

Root vegetables - it's that time of year!