J Francho

1/4 or lighter, sure.

I can easily be sold, if it's makes improvement or something truly revolutionary. Ragetail comes to mind, though it wasn't until the craws and chunks were available that they caught my interest. Braided superlines took me a while to latch on, but I won't live without it. Other things I dis veered on my own, either through curiosity or time on the water. I know swimbaits are something I simply would not had success or patience for without Speed, Randall, and others telling me they don't work, lol.

Your beard is weird.

Why not try a little grub on a 1/8 oz. ball head jig and see what it is?

Docks, docks, and docks.

I don't get caught up in the butterfly effect. When something fails, that's when I examine the limiting factors. Every success is preceded by many failures, most you probably won't even recognize. I prefer to celebrate the success. Good job catching!

New Zealand, Philippines, same thing, lol. Good to hear from you, wish you all the best. Btw, there's no fish in that quarry!

He's a good guy. Too bad we never hooked up to fish when we lived minutes apart. Took an international forum to meet, lol.

I spoke to Paul this past spring. I think he's in New Zealand? Something crazy like that.

Spinnerbaits are notorious even on calm days. The Chronarch relatively trouble free in the wind. So is any Daiwa with Mag-Z brakes. Pinnacle Primmus is another reel that I use that handles wind pretty well.

I have it and don't know where to purchase it yet either. It's a legit question. Sometimes companies send us products. We try them out, and report back to you guys. Doesn't mean we have all the information. I looked on some the big retailers' sites and couldn't find it yet. So, I'm wondering as well.

Also, I'll mention that I have a bit of resentment toward the "just another sponsor plug" type comments. I'm actually using many of the products they sell. Some are sent to me, some I pay for out of own pocket. Many I already use. I know sometimes it sounds like a toothpaste commercial when we post about them, but it's for that reason I try to put as much honest effort into the reviews I write. Go look them up, the full name is "John Franchot" and Google will get the results if you combine it with fishing. The fact is that we don't really have any duds in the sponsor list. Some are underrated, and deserve attention. Tuf Line is one company that is actually developing new stuff. Four totally new types of line in the past year and a half. Let me know on or offline if you need help picking a line to try. They're more purpose specific, and it isn't always clear from the marketing what works best for certain applications.

Tuf line sent me three spools to try and review more than a month ago. The line I tried first was Hevi-Core braid, in 30 lb. strength. It's equivalent to about 12 mono. It really reminds me of old school Power Pro, except it sinks. I really like this line, but I'm a big PP user. I'll have a more thorough review of it, and several other products. I have no idea what the price is or where to get it, yet. I haven't tried the T-8 line yet, but again, it looks and feels very similar to slick 8. For those that have tried 832 and slick 8, you'll know what I mean. They're not all the same.

That's a great idea farmer. Why the heck didn't I think of that?

Maico uses the fob to control his boat. It's no more effort than scratching your nose while fishing. Each style has it's strengths and weaknesses. My buddy Jim has nearly the same boat as I do, but with an iPilot. In open water, he kicks my butt holding a spot, but working docks, lay downs, or other tight cover, a cable steer allows you to use quick, controlled bursts, and it's fast enough to whip the nose one around one way, then use a burst in the opposite direction to stop it. I know I have a hard time with the electric steer in those situations. I wish they made a hybrid system, where you could switch between both. It would be a pricey bit of gear, though.

On a sabiki rig, the flies are on short leaders, off the main rigging. With that setup, you lose the direct contact with the bait. Similar, but it's purpose is to get lots of bait, fast. Sort of the vertical version of an umbrella rig.

Yep. Don't mix weed less with open finesse hooks - two different hook sets with no way to know which got bit. The thing I don't like is the kink on the tag end of the first Palomar. Be careful tying up, or you'll be heart broken.

That's a good reason. I'm on the trolling motor as soon as I hook a fish. Some times it helps when they bum rush the boat. Somewhere I have a great video of me fighting a decent steelhead in bass gear and the the thing jumps, does a 180, and tears off straight at me and the past the boat in the other side. It took what seemed forever to catch up with all the slack. I don't know how it stayed buttoned. Not really related, but you reminded me of that fish. Carry on!

Retrieve speed doesn't matter too much to me, though faster reels are convenient when you want to get a bait in fast to make another cast. Otherwise, the rod moves the fish, and I've never felt any reel was too slow. Mine all range from 5.8 - 7.1:1.

My Xpress has a fresh only pump. I run it on a timer. My Bullet has recirc and fresh, as well as pump out. I use live well treatments by Sure Life, so it's generally recirc on a timer. This system is easier to control temps and the treatments don't get diluted.

Some guys don't care if they have to stop fishing to maneuver the boat. I don't care for it when fishing tight to cover, or in current. In fact, I use the trolling motor to put additional pressure on the fish, using the TM to stay behind the fish, getting the boat away from cover. It makes handling a fish on a short leash easier. In open water, relying on GPS and graph for reference, iPilot is great.

I use an Alberto. No knot will be very strong if it's poorly tied. Practice, and test all your knots.

You could be doing anything from working pads in pockets, to weed lines, to structure more than 40' deep. It'll be up to your boater, so be prepared. I know I'd be looking for brown fish in the deep water. Not because I think that would win, but it's what I like.

To be reliable and perform the best? Anything over $200 will work. Pick whatever brand you like. I like Daiwa, Shimano, and Pinnacle. I've got an Okuma Helios that I'm really warming up to. Been tossing 1-2 oz. swimbait a with it just fine. I'm hard pressed to find a dud at that price. Get specific with your application and weight preferences, and I can get specific, but the criteria as it stands, leaves your choices to a seemingly endless list of reels that for every five guys say is great, another will tank. Good luck with your choice. The reels in my arsenal that fit your criteria are Calcutta B, Zillion, Chronarch/Curado E, D, TD-X, Luna, Optimus, Primis, Helios.

I steer with whatever foot is closer. I'm at the point I don't even think about it. Sort of like driving a manual transmission. At first, you think about what gear you're in, and watch the tach, but after a while it just gets natural. I will say that I fish off the port side most often, so it's pretty natural to have my right foot in the center. Mine isn't recessed, but it's bolted down. My boat is too fast to leave it loose, and where I fish it be flopping around.