J Francho

Mustad USA HQ are about an hour from me. My long time friend and fly tackle company owner fishes with one of the "and Sons" of Mustad and Sons. He pronounces it "muss-TODD."

Hanging from an accurate scale.

Why would that matter? Bass engulf their prey. I can't see this mattering one bit. flipping the hook around on a head weighted bait sure looks worse to me, than what's demonstrated in the video. Not sure where the complaint about it being a poor hook comes from. I couldn't tell what hook it is. Or do you have problems hooking bass with offset hooks?

For my brand of cranking, yes. It is stretchy, but it's a measured stretch, then it locks down. The amount of pressure between lockdown and breaking is greater than any line I've tried. Knots hold well, it's very sensitive, and has a small diameter.

Trilene manages slightly better than AbrazX in similar diameters. InvisX handles better than both, though has a bit more stretch. I used Trilene for cranking, but I use Tatsu now. I like AbrasX in 17# for spinnerbaits and small soft swimbaits. InvisX and Tatsu 6# on drop shot and light line finesse.

I think most of us can spot the obvious gimmicks. Others are up to the individual to decide what is marketing hype and what is an actual advantage or gives us an edge in fishing. Stuff like the Banjo Minnow, Flying or Helicopter lure can, and do get bit. If it gets a person through the front door and into fishing, so be it. I'm cool with that.

Reeling too fast? Once my deep diver makes contact, the retrieve gets pretty slow, and often times, I move the bait with the rod, taking up slack with the reel. My hope is that the crank looks like a distracted, feeding bait fish. The tip of my admittedly fairly whippy cranking sticks are barely bent, with a pronounced wobble. I feel like I get a better feel of the bottom, and bites this way. I'd also swear I can feel the vortex of a biting fish, before the bait is engulfed. Probably sounds crazy, but I'm not the only one that reports this. I should point out that I use moderate taper, graphite sticks for cranks.

Same goes for my spring scales.

SQL programming never gets old. Lol.

I fished "blind" quite a bit this summer; never installed a graph on my new kayak. Granted, I know the water I fished very well, but it led me to fish places I always passed by. Some spots were very shallow, and produced. I generally fish a little deeper, but I know there are always shallow fish, and was able to put it together. The key was cover. Weeds, and wood or docks. Wherever those two elements converged, odds were in my favor. It's sort of the same philosophy I follow in a boat, with "underwater eyes": look for edges. When bass holding elements converge, you can be assured there will be fish.

Less than 2 lbs.

Displacement, while not practical at all, would be the true measure of what's "largest," though I agree that mass is a better measurement than just length.

Read the original post, I wouldn't be fishing for a living.

Retail would certainly employ someone with my skill set.

Two things every business needs, irrespective of size or revenue: Lawyer and an Accountant.

I saw them years ago, at the Canadaigua Holiday Inn. They had at least one original member. They were great. I was probably around 14.

That would not be a tragedy, lol. Though I don't *need* to be anywhere specific to do what I do. My last job, most of the operations were in Texas, Europe, and Brazil.

I'll have to get a pic up of the jigs I had Mike at Siebert Outdoors make for me. I can't wait until spring!

This might help: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translator.html

I've always wondered if I could somehow work in the "fishing industry." I don't mean as a salesman, a pro, a TV personality, or some other high profile, public position. I'm a business intelligence analyst by day, basically I collect and measure data, present trends, and forecast. Sort of a business weatherman, though most of what I do lately are snapshots of the business, and historical reporting. I've always wondered if there's a place for this. Certainly, the larger companies employ this type of position, but I never hear about it. I know one friend, a web developer, is involved with that side of the business. Anyone ever hear about this stuff? Or know someone that does something like this? How about what you do? Would it translate? Would you do it?

I'll check it when I get home tonight, but I'm pretty sure it's at least 90mm. I was also able to find a PDF with the new reels, but it's too big to attach here. I'll try to figure something out.

That's kind of my fault. Sorry about that...

Deep, my second baitcasting reel, a Daiwa, was purchased in the mid 80s, and it was a lefty.

LOL, I fixed the title. I am not brand loyal, though I have favorite models. Daiwa Alphas/Sol are probably my all time favorite low pro reels. Anything Saint Croix ML/XF is special. CXX in 10, 12, and 15 is some the most used line for me. I have a lot of 6# Tatsu spooled up as well. Love that stuff.