J Francho

VA is one of the nicest places I've been. NY is pretty great, but I live here and generally make the most of it.

Did the same thing, except I got mine at Field & Stream, they were PopMax poppers, and I only used one because it slayed them last night. No time time to try the other two (they were the same color).

I've had trouble with Laker brand snaps and swivels. I got them at DSG. I don't think they carry them anymore.

I started using fluorocarbon a long time ago. Using it for bass fishing is a relatively recent thing. We used fluoro leaders for salmon and trout both in float and drift with pin or spin tackle, and for fly fishing. It was also starting to catch on in pike and musky fishing. It was clear, tough, and sank. Clearer than wire, almost as tough, and didn’t float a small fly. It came in small spools usually something like 25 yards for $10 TO $25, depending on the size. Sounds EXPENSIVE? Yep. But you only used a few feet at a time, and the salt guys swore by it, so…I, and many others looked for applications in our fishing where it would be an improvement. This leader wasn’t appropriate for reel fill at all. I think this is where fluoro got its reputation for poor handling. It’s no exaggeration to say the leader material would fly off the spool. It wasn’t meant to be put on a spool. It was used for the business end, while the main line was traditional nylon line, or more recently, braided or fused microfilament line. Eventually, line makers started making reel fill. Actually, I think I read that they tried selling this stuff as long as 40 years ago, so there might be a bit of prejudice and bias there, too. Reel fill makers tried to address the issue of handling on a small diameter spool, and casting by softening the formula. I have no idea how – co-fluorocarbons, copolymers, whatever they did, it wasn’t a standard thing. The different products vary greatly in their characteristics widely – much more widely than the four or five “mono” lines we became familiar with as bass anglers. Truth, lies, fact, fiction, marketing, propaganda… This I know: there are few different things I do to catch bass, and fluoro – specifically, InvisX and Tatsu fit the program. I can say the same for braid like Power Pro, Hevi-Core, and 832, fused lines like Supercast, and so called copolymers, like CXX. Note, there is no traditional “mono” in that list. I’m rarely specific about brand recommendations, but line choice is so personal, and the selections so varied, I’m adamant about sharing what I use, how I use it, and why it’s working for me. To make any declaration about any line in general terms is irrelevant and possibly uninformed to the point of being ignorant. But, if you tell me you tried, and it didn’t fit your program – how YOU catch bass, then I believe you and there is no room for debate. Only sharing experience remains. There’s some interesting things distilled in this thread, but nothing that sheds any new light on the topic to the point that I’m rethinking my line choices. I certainly don’t feel duped by using what I use – to the contrary – it’s the best system I’ve come up with to date. That’s always subject to change.

At some point, I realized I wasn't the center of everyone's attention.

Don't gummy worms dissolve in water? How long before you are dealing with a slimy mess?

I use an Owner Beast 8/0 for the 6" bait.

Jig worm.

Next time buy the real trash fish. I love them!

$14 Hemo-Cuts work fine for me.

You can stand in it, I do all the time, but there's no secondary stability. If your trying those two out,then you owe it to yourself to get your butt in a 115x.

Conesus was on fire tonight. Caught around 25, mixed green and brown.

It an ugly stick.

I'd just buy a new bait.

20 years old and still looks fast on the trailer.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot-bedding-bass.html

Got a couple decent fish tonight on the hard gill.

Whenever I see a female on a bed, she's spawning, about to spawn, or just finished. I leave those fish alone. Males on a nest, I'll tease them, or search for cruisers.

I like a short rod with a long rear grip, stout power and "not so fast" action. This mostly for jigs and plastics. For moving baits, I just use my topwater rig.

My first was a $40 Daiwa from the mid 80s. A buddy still uses it. The only magic bullet I know of that prevents backlashing is skillz, with a z.

Off topic posts have been removed.

The E is not riveted.

I have a new Pinnacle Optimus LTE in a slow ratio that I've been testing for review and it's every bit as good as anything else in its price range.

Females locked into a male on a bed are really tough to get to bite. They never seem defensive, mostly the opposite, or uninterested. Cruisers, just beyond can be s better target.

Oh man, a year and a half? I didn't make it a month. It's not terrible, it just doesn't fit my program, and I just didn't like the way it felt. That probably makes no sense to someone that likes it.