J Francho

This was the first plastic rig I learned from my grandfather. Called it a "jig worm." Pretty awesome for high pressured waters and tough days.

I consider a lighter mandatory tackle, whether you smoke or not.

Port Bay was on fire Saturday. At least it was for me. Many said they struggled. I caught fish on everything but moving baits, save for one on a YUM Tip-Toad. Seemed odd, since the wind was whipping out of the south. All said, fished from 6 to 11:30, caught around 30. All green fish. Tip-Toad Fish: Biggest of the day, not quite 4: Steady 10-15 mph winds all day:

That's pretty sweet!

And if that still doesn’t work, contact them. They’ll get you one that’s right.

I don’t trust the tape. Always use a at least 20 turns of mono.

I carry Dingers because sometimes I think the slower fall gets bit. I'm testing the new General from Berkley and reports say it falls faster than a senko. I realize it's not all about fall rate, but I like to know these things.

It's the weight of the nail at the end. Price of admission.

They're $20 more than a comparable regular Mojo. I'm going to say grips and guides contribute to the added price.

This is my favorite configuration.

Email is a very inefficient way to communicate person to person. It is nice tool for storing receipts from online purchases, status updates, tracking info, etc. But trying to get across a question or complaint? Call them. Find them on Facebook. I guarantee you'll get a much faster response.

Is the spool over filled? Look underneath and verify that the line isn't rubbing the frame.

Yeah, I saw that. It wouldn't bee too bad a repair, unless he wore clear through the hull.

Nice fish. Time for a scale!

There's a couple ramps around here I would not undo the bow strap until the boat was floating, but they were really steep. There's one on my home waters that is so steep, I've seen smaller vehicles get dragged down the ramp. Most state ramps are so shallow, I have to back the truck in where the water is half to the hubs on the back wheels.

Time for a scale.

None of my boats ever slid, but I had a buddy whose did. Creeped me out.

How does that happen?

That GY plastic formula is like magic.

I think bias built over two decades of experience with a line is totally OK. Even if you're sponsored. Speaking of sponsors, I'm lucky that our site sponsors put a VERY diverse bunch of baits in our hands, to test them out. Rarely is there a "bad bait." Some I can't use that much, like the hujungous glide bait Savage Gear sent me, but the thing swam well, and did what much more expensive baits do. So plastics. I have a few favorites for certain things. Ragetail Denny Craws, GYCB Senkos and Ikas, YUM Dingers, Jackall Crosstail Shad, Robowoms, and RI Sweet Beavers will always be in my box. I'll be looking forward to trying a pile of new Berkley MaxScent baits. I used to fish a ton of Powerbait plastics back in the 90s, so I already like their stuff.

Maybe... I heard the story from Big-O. We were talking about how minor things can really define a great bait, like the "rudder" on the Crosstail Shad. He brought up that while many worms will work on a drop shot, some are better at holding in current, and he said that bait was the perfect design for a DS bait. He went on to talk about how the Dream Shot was born. The Shad held in current perfect, but was too bulky, to trim the fat. The stories from a baitmaker/engineer's perspective are fascinating. Solve a problem. Form meets function. Cool stuff.

The Dream Shot is just a Caffeine Shad sliced in half. You know who was doing it, and a "new" bait was born.

I accept that it's the biggest fish on record for the state, but official state records should be from public waters. NY's record was caught under similar circumstances - private pond. It's not likely to be broken any time soon.

The problem with sharing a cleat from the bow and stern lines and the fenders is placement and how much rope you can fit on a cleat. I solved the issue somewhat on my Bullet by installing a third set of cleats, mid-ship for the fore fenders. However, I was doubling up rope for the aft fenders and stern line. A sport track would have been a nice solution.

Yuuuup!.