J Francho

All my ice cream perished in the power outage. Before someone smarter than me points out the freezing temps, I'll remind them that it almost 70 last week.

Pretty sure bears just pinch their stick baits in half.

If a "weightless T-rig" falls in a forest, will a bear hear it? Or is it just rigged weedless?

In our record tying windstorm last week (some areas hit 95 mph) two people died falling off their roof. Be careful. Six died, all told: two fell down the steps in the dark, one in a fire, and one in an accident.

They're marketing terms.

Governor preemptively declared a state of emergency for all of NY state. So, no school or government work today. I'm at work. Average commute. There's a few inches on the ground, but it's BAU for western NY. Still snowing, but nowhere near the apocalyptic dumping predicted.

I dropped a Loomis/Chronarch combo in my local lake. Went back a week later, and was able to get back with a snagging hook. Shore guys couldn't believe I got it back. I still have the combo - works great.

Definitely have the reel serviced. The rod can just be washed down.

Pretty much all the Shimano baitcasters, at every price point, going back more than 20 years, had attached side plates. From a reel tech perspective, i found them to be a pain. I've never dropped a side plate in the water either.

I've yet to find a Live Target bait that is worth what they charge. Very disappointing in quality, action, and durability. I had a bunch of their craws implode in my tackle storage. Thankfully, BPS offered a full refund for the 50 or so I bought.

Here's a tip: don't drag them on concrete or pavement. Period. I've never understood the "surprise" when people that wear through their hull has when they're dragging them on pavement. You'd be better off getting a cart, and mitigating the issue altogether by not dragging them.

It's really all about fishing water that holds big fish, and accruing enough time on the water to dial in on the big fish. Once a week trips might be enough, but really you'll just luck into a big one. My PB largemouth from NY came over decade ago. If I spent more time on Erie, I could probably up my PB smallmouth, but it's not my focus right now. In fact, a new PB isn't really on my radar.

Looks like junk. There are WAY better swimbaits for $80.

I use 6 and 8# on 2500 size spinning reels.

I use Avid AVS63MLXF AND AVS63MXF paired with Stradic 2500 CI4.

I use 10-12# CXX in these conditions.

That's pretty much the foundation for any successful tournament campaign, irrespective of what kayak, tin boat, bass boat, or tuna trawler you use. Great post @Fishingmickey! I am aware of that series. Hard not to be. Appreciate your response!

A little note on skipping baits... While fishing Smith Mountain Lake during an Elites TX, I noticed Dean Rojas skipping his frog along the shoreline, when there wasn't really any reason to skip it. I asked him about it, and he said it was part of the presentation. I can't say I skip all my baits, but things like flukes, senkos, frogs, even walking baits, I tend to try some skipping.

I use lots of spool tension, zero braking, and a trained thumb.

For wacky, Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap 3/0

Get one of these...so worth the wait:

Matt is a one man operation, and doesn't seem to have these issues.

The Owner list works for me: http://www.ownerhooks.com/basshooks.htm

If you can afford it, and you've had seat time in them all, I'd say move up. You get what you pay for, in features and durability. If they are truly out of your budget, then a Ascend are worthy, and will get you off the bank.