J Francho

Look like this has run it's course.

There's no point in arguing about your dock morals on an Internet forum. It has no bearing on the original question.

Sounds like braided line spooled with no backer. The line slipping, not the the spool. Prefer easy to figure out. Mark the spool with a non permanant marker and pull the line off. If the mark doesn't move, your line is skipping on the spool. Refill the spool using a few turns or more of mono as a backer. Tie your braid to that and fill the spool up.

Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse hooks in 1/0 suze are my first choice for 4 and 5" senkos. I like the Owner hooks, but with the finish they use, they aren't very durable. I wish they came in black nickel finish. They'd be my first choice if they did.

I generally just eyeball it. You don't want the two hooks to catch each other. You can go up one size usually if go with a short shank hook. My personal favorite replacement hook is Owner ST-36. VMC Vanadium Inline hooks are a good choice too.

I guess it would have more to do with weight of each bait than which bait. Over 1/2 oz, I'd go to the heavy. Anything under 3/4 oz., medium heavy.

You can snap the rod tip up as well.

Uni, Palomar, snell knots all work fine for me.

Where and when has a greater effect on your success than what and how.

Braid and leader is ideal in wood. It's a strong enough system to get the fish away from cover quickly, but if you get hung on wood, you can break off without dragging the tree to the boat or disturbing the spot. If you pay attention, you can feel the connection knot pass over the limbs. It really helps you know where your bait is. Same goes for fishing a jig or Texas rig plastic in wood.

Up here, putting in a dock is a privilege. It is not private property, and in fact by putting in a dock, you must also allow any boat safe harbor. Growing up, we had a pretty big dock, with a hoist, upper deck, and a second gangway. It was one "those docks" that extended out to 17' water, and had a weed line intersecting the middle. Never mind the three brush piles nearby, I have no idea how those got there. In my life I can pretty much count on one hand how many times there was stuff attached from a careless fisherman. No one really cared if a boat fished it, and most guys would either pass it up if anyone was there, or ask to fish it. If someone got hung up, they simply got out, retrieved their bait, or someone on the dock would help. No big deal, since they probably had a dock that we fished. It's funny, one of these dock skipping barons introduced me to a Texas rigged worm and casting gear, when I asked how he got the baits through the weeds. Super nice guy, and I'm not sure he'll ever know how he changed a 12 year olds fishing forever, unlocking a while new world with the 5 minutes he spent, and the few baits he gave me. People that rant and rave about their docks, and the water around them, and what is theirs and not yours… well, I feel sorry for them. They're missing out. Most people on there docks ask how the fishing is, some even invite you to cast for a big fish they saw under their dock. It's part of the culture of living on the water. Maybe it's a northern thing, with our short summers, to just enjoy things as they are. It's not like docks are littered with line and baits, or boats all dented or scratched. Treat others as you'd like to be treated. Pass by the one in a thousand that thinks they're dock is so special, it deserves a barbed wire fence around it. I'll just finish by reiterating, the original picture depicts something built for mooring boats, not to prevent fishing.

Ask him to slow down a bit, or see if you can get some time running the TM.

Doesn't matter, I pick the one that is the least hassle. That usually means wacky, unless the weeds are so thick, I have no choice, and then I go weed less.

Someone threatens me on the water, and I call the sheriff. A little video if the perp never hurts either.

It's to keep guests' boat from rubbing on the dock while moored on the side. People come up with all sorts of homemade contraptions for this. When you see chicken wire going from the dock down under the water, rest assured that's a fishing deterrent. What you have here isn't.

I've caught on them from spring through fall.

I close my hand and seat the line on the roller as well, but in any modern spinning reel, what you're doing by hand exerts the same wear and tear as closing the bail by tuning the handle. They aren't like they were years ago.

When you close the bail, you are decompressing the spring, irrespective of how you close it.

I use pretty much the same rule for any terminal rig: braid for weeds, fluoro for rocks. If you're concerned about line visibility, use a leader with braid.

I'd be looking for "funnel" like areas, where what was a shallow cove near deep water has flooded brush and ideally where water has been running in. Literally imagine a funnel - a place that will hold water coming in without washing out. Another type of place is where a point was exposed and now under water. Think of it this way: we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to describe the bottom structure in our minds, and you've been staring at what is now underwater for two years. It's an advantage, now use it.

That doesn't always guarantee safety, though. One guy in our club gets on plane, and then has engine trouble, and slows. Next guy, who's boat is slow to plane, plows into him. They were luck, just minor boat damage and no injuries.

2010 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext. Cab. 6.2L, 6 speed auto, Z71, 4x4, towing diff and 1" lift. If I did it again, I'd pass on the Z71 suspension. It's a little bit of rough ride at times, but it IS a truck after all.

One of my best days fishing Oneida Lake was a Take a Soldier Fishing events. My guys threw black Yum Dingers and each caught three limits of smallies, many that were over 3 lbs. why black? It's what I had a lot of. I don't think color mattered so much as the location. Many fished deep shoals and sunken barges and blanked. We fished shallow shorelines near spawning flats for active prespawn fish. Location trumps color every time.

I'd probably let them get up on plane, and let the next boat go. I've fished a couple that were "shotgun starts," and that was fun. Mayhem, but fun.

Just spent the day in a Jackson Coosa. Had a ball with a 3 wt flyrod, chasing big blue gill.