J Francho

My friend Marty has a place up there. Water is VERY high, no wake. He said he was lucky since he has a floating dock. He left the pilings 40" above the dock. There's only 18" left!

@RichPenNY I in fact will add a Duolock to that Cleo setup pictured. All my spoons have a split ring and swivel. The added Duolock let's me use a Palomar knot without much hassle, and change out baits quickly. I have yet to find a snap swivel that measures up.

Of course. I have three OG Stradic CI4 and an older wood knob Stradic. @fishnkamp recommended SFT. Very nice people, and they usually have everything you'd ever want in stock. Think TW "East".

It's of my opinion that you're on the fish that will bite that style of lure. I think most anglers don't move enough and also don't stick on biters long enough. Balance, find what's biting and why. It's usually tied to what cover is there, and what lure gets in their wheelhouse. Unlock that, and your game changes.

Accidental spoonplugger. Never realized I was doing it. Watched my uncle dissect pelagic salmon while mating on his salmon charter, and sort of applied the techniques from there. It's not all exactly the same, but trolling theory isn't as simple as it is boring.

Those TRDs are a pain to rig up. If you've rigged an Elaztech, you'll know what I mean. It helps if you heat up the hook with a lighter.

My general preference is for St. Croix rods or customs build on their blanks, and Daiwa baitcasting reels, and Shimano spinning. Due to my work here, testing and reviewing gear from our sponsors, I have been using a wide range of brands for the past couple years. Almost all companies are making great stuff at each price point - especially that %150 rang, in both rod and reel. You can't really go wrong.

I like that idea. Keep us updated!

Honestly, I never used mine. It came in a care package from them, along with a bunch of other unusual designs I never tried, like the lizard/frog thing. I would guess it would make some splashing, if worked fast enough.

Found the Snag Proof product: Wiggle Wog. https://www.snagproof.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=80_81&product_id=82

And on the next day, the results might be reversed. Or the ribbontail worm. Or the spinnerbait. Or the...ad infinitum.

Nope. Plenty of guys up here use spinning only. Baitcasting does make using heavier lines, and fishing heavy cover easier. It's something you'll want to learn as you progress.

Exactly how I located smallmouth on Lake Ontario, even with old, dated electronics. Catch three in a certain pass, anchor up, and soak tubes.

If you can open a bottle of soda, you can change out the handle. Call Shimano, and order a new handle.

@collards, the P-line Technical Snap seems like it would help you a great deal. The Bullet and Omega are indeed nice reels. I'm glad you can still fish, too. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/P-Line_Technical_Snap/descpage-TPBB.html

And this is proper use. The original intention was to be able to change out trolling weights to get the baits to the right depth. I like this application as well.

It's knot too often I can't tie a Palomar. I'm a little lazy with spinnerbaits, and just do a fast imp. clinch. It seems to work fine for me. I really don't like Uni knots, because they "un-cinch" easily.

No, there is no standard. It's easiest if you contact the manufacturer and buy an OEM replacement. Or, you can measure the bearing and order from a third party maker.

Palomar when I can. Uni or Improved Clinch when I can't. Alberto for braid to leader connection knots.

Good call, I forgot about the web app: https://webapp.navionics.com/

Cavitron, or go home.

Snaps, sometimes. Swivels, sometimes. Snap Swivels, never. Certain lures require a swivel, like spoons and inline spinners. For those, I attach a small split ring to the lure, and then a swivel to the split ring.

Just be careful with added weight on some of them. It can really throw off some of the more subtle baits. Flashminnow is one that comes to mind.

I'd rather buy baits that came with quality hooks, but there are a few must haves that need better hooks. Jitterbugs and Spooks come to mind. Rebel Crawfish is another.

I try not to shop at Walmart, but I have to go in occasionally. They're the only place locally that I can find the right filters for my industrial Bunn-o-matic coffee maker. I'll stop the outdoors dept., but I rarely see anything of interest or use.