J Francho

The term co-angler usually means team format, in which case yes, both would be the winning boat. But in case where the non-boaters and boaters compete separately, it isn't always the case. Simply put, sometimes, and sometimes not has been my observation.

I don't know about overhyped, but we tested and reviewed them and they work. The General sinks faster than a senko. They don't really have the same texture as most soft plastics, so I consider them a different bait altogether - think Gulp! that doesn't dry up in a heartbeat. https://www.bassresource.com/search?search_api_fulltext=maxscent

My sketchy answer: Mine was disconnected, and the trailer passed NYS inspection every year. The boat hull was only 1280 lbs. though. I'd think if it has brakes, and the tongue is need of service, a trailer shop is where to go.

After today, we'll only have those piles of black, salty snow and ice.

Thanks for that - glad I'm not the only one! The beauty of this situation is I often still have to buy another reel.

These don't work well from shore unless you're at a very high angle, but from a boat, I am 100% successful at getting baits back from snags. The retrievers on the long telescoping pole work best from shore, if the bait is within reach.

Yes.

It would help if we knew what was on there, and what your towing. What you show is what was on my trailer for an 18' aluminum boat. The link in the later post is for a trailer that has brakes, and was on my trailer for the Bullet. It was a PITA being more than 20 years old.

I buy quality baits that work right out of the package. I don't upgrade split rings. I don't upgrade hooks. I sharpen dull hooks when possible, and replace them and split rings as needed. Any time I've bent or distorted a split ring, it was me, not the tool, not the ring, nothing other than me using the wrong size ring, or being too aggressive with it. I have said it before, I probably have more split ring pliers than most here (including two pairs of of the TT pliers), and until I got the model @NorthernBasser has a couple months ago. These work the best for me. Sorry for all the TT fans, in my hands, the TT pliers stink. I probably still bend out 1:20 rings to this day. Life goes on, and I start over. I use Owner Hyperwire, Eagle Lazer Claw, and Spro hardware, though not always interchangeably. I can distort every one of them, if I'm not careful.

I try not to let any bias creep in before settling on a combo for some purpose. Sometimes the purpose changes, other times the combo changes. I'd include line in that formula as well. I NEVER get it right the first time, or for what I intended the gear to do. This is how I ended up with a frog rod that was north of $1000, lol.

I like Duo-Loc clips, and I'd say somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of my baits have them on them already. I usually remove the split rings when I open the package. I don't like leaving my knot for more than a fish or two.

This exercise can be really mind numbing for me. I start at the bare minimum, and that's simply how the combo feels. Then casting and retrieving. The last thing I think about are specs to consider, like drag and retrieve ratio. Feel is most important to me.

This map shows the range. The orange is it's native range, with the red showing the extended range.

That definitely sounds like whoever was in that van was installing the 5G.

Most of the water I fish up here is not that clear, but this particular lake is VERY clear. Agreed, 100%.

The only thing I've done that's close to a blades on an umbrella rig is put a spoon on the center wire. Truth be told, I felt like the spoon alone would have been enough.

Your comment made me say "Huh..." out loud. I had a couple days where it was breezy, warm, prefrontal, with intermittent clouds blocking the sun. I noticed when the sun was bright, a Skinny Dipper on a belly weighted hook was fully hooking fish that were missing a spinnerbait. Seemed like they were crashing the blades, because they were throwing a ton of slack when striking. When the clouds blocked the sun, the Dipper was ignored, but the spinnerbait was crushed. It never occurred to me try combining a plastic trailer and spinnerbait, because I never had any reason to, but I'm rethinking when that might have been the better thing.

I hope he got it fixed, it's been a decade.

Sunday mornings won't work for me until summer, and even then I may be out fishing.

If they're that keyed in on the bait, why not run that trailer bait on it's own? Honest question, and I don't know what trailer you're using, so that might be impossible if it's one of those skinny deals like this:

Buoyant sinkers - sounds like an oxymoron. This has been weighing on mind in a massive way. It's displaced all my other thoughts. I wish the problem would float away, but I have sinking feeling it won't.

You guys had funky science teachers. So a steel ball that weighs 10,000 lbs. has the same density as a steel ship that weighs 10,000 lbs. yet one sinks and the other doesn't. Weird, because they have the same density, volume, and mass. Seriously, though you can't simply mix and match concepts to suit your argument. I have no clue what any of this has to do with the bullet weight on my Texas rig and the fish (that's bigger than yours :P) that's on the hook. A fish is incapable of determining the difference between a 1/8 oz. and 3/4 oz. bullet weight and the any angler that says they didn't get bit because they used the wrong weight is fooling themselves. If you got bit using 1/2 oz. tungsten and then no bites using 1/2 oz. lead, I'm going to tell you this: it wasn't the weight. I mean, probably, maybe, or not. Profile, fall rate, and the action of the bait is all influenced by what weight you choose. Most importantly, where you put that bait is the key factor in getting bit.