J Francho

This is not new. Using a heavy weight for a speed drop/reaction bite is pretty old school.

This. The bass are using the structure as normal. They use the shoreline to contain their prey. I find the same thing to be true.

Was this at Champ? I say shill, unless he was at the north end, which I doubt.

I agree, "The Larry" might have something close swimming around. I've seen a 7+ pulled out Keuka at a tournament. That fish was actually eclipsed by an 8-5 largemouth - FROM THE SAME BAG!! Keuka is one of those Finger Lakes with a good forage base, and big smallmouth, so maybe there too. The eastern shore of Lake Ontario, Chaumont Bay is producing some larger than usual smallmouth as well. Not quite Erie, but close.

It's for winterizing the boat. It's a heavy oil you spray into the intake until the motor stalls. Prevents corrosion on the internals.

Both Quantum Hot Sauce and Ardent Reel Butter failed my bench test. Both fouled and turned black in a COMPLETELY stripped, degreased, and rebuilt reel. Not only would I not recommend those products, I would recommend you avoid them at all costs. Any gold lithium grease, Shimano Star Grease, Shimano PermaLub, Cal's Light Purple, Cal's standard drag grease, will all give long lasting results. SuperLube and Penn grease work well, but they're really messy. I do like Penn for saltwater gear. For oil, Shimano Bantam Oil is my favorite general purpose. Oust Metol is my favorite performance oil. For cleaning and degreasing, I use Perfect Solution (NOT SIMPLE SOLUTION!!!), Dawn, pure acetone for a beauty supple store, told tooth brushes, and elbow grease. For tools you'll need size 0 and 1 phillips, 1/6 and 1/8 slot. 10mm thin wall, deep socket, and a ball peen hammer to smash yourself in the head when your too frustrated to finish. I suggest you start by getting an exploded diagram of your specific model reel. Gather your supplies, and start watching videos. If you can't COMPLETELY take apart every single part from the reel, don't bother, since any old grease left behind will foul the new grease. I like to use a muffin pan to keep each of the sub-assemblies together. De-grease the bearings by swirling in a glass jar with Perfect Solution. Rinse and let dry. Repeat with acetone, but the soak should be longer. Sometimes overnight. No rinse required here. Let them dry, then add one drop from a needle oiler to the inside edge of the bearing race. Bigger bearings can take two. It doesn't really matter, even though many will tell you otherwise. The excess runs out in short order. Once your done there, reassemble the reel. Gears get a tiny bit of grease pressed into the teeth. Leave the drag pads and washers dry and clean. The engagement kick plate, and other parts that move around the yoke posts get a bit of oil. The yoke and pinion get grease. The worm gear can get anything you want. I prefer oil, or ATF. They don't attract dirt as much as grease. Knobs get oil, unless want buttery smooth, the pack them with grease. If that scares you, send it to Mike at DVT.

Invisible. As in I leave them at home now.

I put new ones in after burning off the fogging oil, each spring. Those old ones get shrink wrapped, and put into the repair kit, in case one gets fouled while on the water. Be sure you properly gap the new ones to spec.

The smoking Rooster is a dead ringer for the small bullhead and madtom that are all over the place here in the spring, during the spawn. I Rage rig them, and gently guide them through spawning flats. I don't particularly target beds with them, though. Boom: 30+ bass yesterday on the new Savage Gear Goby Tube. Drop shot the smaller size. Bust: Whopper Plopper. I caught a few on it. Meh.

I chuckled a bit. You will not find a river smallmouth bigger than what's swimming around Erie. River smallmouth expend too much energy in current to get to the size that lake bound fish do. Yes, you will find some 4 pounders, and maybe a five, but nothing approaching 8 and a half pounds. As far as the rock bass, they occupy roughly the same niche as smallmouth, though when the rockies are big, so are the smallies. Speaking of rockies and records, the rock bass record is ripe for the picking. I threw back one that would have eclipsed the record. Had no idea it was just under 2 lbs.

A well made spincaster is great for people that may not have the angling skills of a weekend guy. I keep a couple of old "33s" on hand for guests. Helps eliminate the frustration, and just let them fish.

I have a GL2 804 JWR that I like for this. The EX6 line would be the equivalent.

I guess personally, I like tough conditions or a tough bite. Last team tournament I won - Oneida - we had six bites, my five to my partner's one, and half the time we spent hiding from a torrential downpur under the Rt. 81 bridge. My five won it at around 15 lbs.

I fish a Ragetail Space Monkey in much the same way - unweighted, buzzed across the surface. Very effective in my local pond spots.

There's a lot deep structural interest in that 10-20' sweet spot. The lake is just a little over a mile long. Really, you should be able to just fish it and dissecting with time on the water.

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For me, length has more to do with what cover I'm encountering, and how long a cast I'm making. I like the shorter rod when dealing with laydowns and docks, in close quarters, with the fish on a short leash. Longer casts, maybe in deeper water, I'd go for a longer rod.

Agreed, it a little over the rods stated lure weight. You can probably get away with it, but gentle lob casts only.

That's gonna be tough, without looking at UL, like panfish series rods from St. Croix. You might consider a custom build. Delaware Valley Tackle is a sponsor, and Mike the owner is a friend of mine. I'm sure he can come up with a reasonably priced rod your daughter can use for a lifetime.

No joke! Even 1' marking lines don't show certain things. I found a 30' long trench, about a foot deep, that appears on no maps I've ever seen. At first, I thought the TD was ajar or something, but went back. Dropped a ton of way points, and recorded that sucker.

I only had one come loose, and that was an Avid prototype made in 2000. A couple years ago, they addressed the guide and rebuilt the rear grip and reel seat for $65. Not bad for a rod that was never supposed to be under warranty.

Bailey is a spitz type - mostly Shiba Inu - so I can relate to the personality of a working dog. They are something else, a ton of work, but the payoff is great. Bailey's off leash training is going so well, I'm looking into clicker training. I think she'll pick it up quickly.

That looks like trouble, lol.

Ha! My Bailey will not go in the snow. I have to keep her bathroom shoveled and ice free, and carry her to the truck, if we're going somewhere. Otherwise, she acts like her legs are broken. It's pretty funny and pathetic.