J Francho

Funny story about frog fishing a local pond that has some BIG fish in it. I getting blow ups, but they were not right at the bait. I couldn't figure out what they were doing and why they were missing. Then I saw it happen closer to me. They weren't missing. They were nailing blue gill that were distracted and nipping at the skirted frog legs! So, I used a two pronged attack: fire a frog out there, let a bunch of gills move in, then toss a floating Mattlures Hard Gill in there. Caught quite a few.

Great advice. All I see are spinning rods in the pics, so I think he's all rigged up.

I degrease with Perfect Solution, rinse, dry. Depending on the situation, I have a few different greases I prefer. You can't go wrong using the grease from the reel manufacturer. You can call them and order direct. For bearings, they are soaked in acetone. Swirl around, and replace the acetone until it runs clear. Then dry, and one drop of oil at the edge of the shield.

Hawgtech, Hedgehog Studios, Smooth Drag, direct from the manufacturer. You can also find stuff on eBay and Amazon.

This is a spinning reel he's asking about. What you recommend is great advice for a baitcaster.

As with any setup, set the drag to the weakest link in the system, whether that be the reel, the rod, or the line. I suspect the line and rod are about the same lb. rating. If the rod is lower, set it to about 1/3 of the rating. If the rod is rated for 10 lbs. line, set the drag to 1/3 of the line rating, or around 3 lbs. of resistance.

Grease goes on gears. Oil in bearings.

I don't see any reason to change bearings on a spinning reel, unless one is shot.

As a tournament fisherman myself, it's just a courtesy thing, not a rule. Often times, you know, or are familiar with the guy in the other boat.

Sacandaga? Look out for pike!

Try the new plug, but it might just be defective.

My condolences to his family and friends.

It's determined by votes from show goers.

There is no real standard hook sizes, though they're close. For those baits,, what's more important is the gap. For those, the Buckeye J-will 1/8 oz. jig head works well. It's a 4/0 hook. The heavier jig heads feature a 5/0 weight.

Can you get up out of a chair? It's about as much effort.

11.5 - 7 is 4.5' hanging over. It's probably fine, but the bed extender is relatively inexpensive, and might make launching and loading a lot easier.

Every reel I use, if it's not for review/evaluation purposes, gets a Carbontex drag before I even think about fishing it. It doesn't even matter if it has some carbon drag from the factory. After that, I may mess around, add knobs, or a Hawgtech handle, but the drag upgrade is the most important to me.

How long is the bed with the gate down? I transport a 14' kayak in my half ton GMC with a standard bed, no problem. My boats pretty much live in the bed all summer.

That's the make it or break it moment when landing any fish, and when you have to pay the most attention, be it bank, shore, canoe, bass boat, kayak, or pool noodle. Most fish are lost right at the boat.

It's dead even with the back fin. In fact, I used to be able to see the turbulence from paddling in my other boat. With Mirage drive, that's gone. Unless a prop drive is chopping water, and adding air, it shouldn't be a problem either. To understand what SI is "seeing," think of the unflattened image like this: /\ ________/ \_______ The triangle in the middle is actually under the bait. The flat parts are the SI.

I've had braid on reels for years without issue. The Comic Sans font made my eyes bleed, lol. But yeah, @Team9nine is right, he's referring to saltwater fishing, since that's a salt water reel.

Wes is making some amazing stuff, just nothing really targeted at bass fishing. I'm not sure he even has a level wind reel.

You're all good. This is VERY large forum, and sometimes we get inundated with similar threads. Sometimes I can merge them, but other times, like this thread, the questions are unique. I and other moderators often drop in links stickies as "public service." Thanks for understanding. Side note, I'm a member first - an average joe fisherman -and moderator only when have to be.

These threads don't exist in a vacuum, many others read them. Someone might be looking for the best rod under $100, and see this. Then they can see my links to the multitudes of threads about the best rod for $100, and not have to start yet another thread. Make sense?

Well, if you're both under way (moving) Coast Guard rules of navigation say that you are to pass on the right, with the port sides facing each other, irrespective of fishing or not. When I pass another boat, angler or not, it's lines in as we pass, and then I continue fishing. If the other boat is moving much slower than I am, I'll swing out deep, and leap frog the slower boat, again lines in, and at least a cast length away.