J Francho

Living where I do, it's REALLY hard for me to drive anywhere outside a 2 hour radius. That radius includes Erie, Oneida, Ontario (and all it's bays), and most Finger Lakes. Think of it this way, I can fish very weekend from April through December, and not fish any lake twice.

There's no trolling motor for this: For scale, see the semi in the background on a calm day: Pics by my bud Wade.

Exactly this.

It's just not safe....

I didn't say that. The fact is, this "ban lead movement" originates from a Tufts University college professor's study. It's NEVER represented as PETA based. The study preys upon emotion about loons. Loons disappear when there is pollution and water quality issues. They have made quite the comeback in the last decade, and they represent environmental recovery to many. It's those people that associate the health of the ecosystem with the loon's success that these guys ensnare. Trust me, I live in a state with a lead ban and it wasn't a bunch of PETA/treehuggers that banned it. It was a mislead (no pun intended) voting public.

That was done as satire. He's not actually fishing it, in fact the pic was taken while his boat was on the trailer. It's just a sarcastic statement he was trying to make about castable umbrella rigs.

The only thing that affects hook size for me is the diameter of the bait, not the length. I like to have a gap that's about twice diameter of the bait.

KVD himself recommends going up one size when replacing with the Mustads.

Always a good reminder!

Mike did the other half of Burnie's presentation at the seminar last year.

If you think you are battling PETA over this issue, you are sorely mistaken. What you are up against is a knee jerk, emotional response from the common public (anglers and non anglers alike) when shown gory autopsy photos of a few a dead loons, showing the results of ingesting lead. The next sentence is that this is from lead sinkers, and that is that. It's an easy decision when it seems that simple. The facts are, lead from fishing isn't impacting the loon population one bit.

I grew up on Port Bay, NY, which is a protected bay off Lake Ontario. If conditions permitted, we fished for small mouth in the "big lake." Otherwise, we fished for blue gill, sunnies, and bass in the bay. Dad and me before one of our legendary 100+ fish days, in the 90s.

My "small" swimbait rod is a SC 4C79HF, a 7-9 heavy power, fast action rod. It's got a fast tip, and it's heavy, but it's not a moderate action stick like my flippin stick. The top 3rd has some flex to it, and it really doesn't feel like a heavy until there's a fish on. When you get into the bottom half the rod, it moves big fish fast, but it's got to be bent to do it. My flipping stick only bends under great stress.

No TM, but many guys do. I don't move 3 mph while I'm fishing in my boat, so I don't think it would matter.

I know a ton of guys running both HB SI and LSS units on kayaks. I can get 3 mph with basically zero effort, over 6 powering along.

Yeah, but most people just eat asparagus.

They have the same amount of parts, sometimes more. A decent spinning reel need not carry the same tolerances, materials, and machining necessary to build a comperable baitcast reel.

Look for a 7' MH/F rod, and make sure the reel has an aluminum frame. It's gonna be tough in that price range, but it can be done. Pay attention to the Flea Market here, and clearance sales.

You can say that again!

Thin air. It's bull.

That's fine and dandy, you make iron parts from sintered iron - not surprising to me. Baits out of discarded tires? That's a stretch. Even if there was a way, the process would be expensive.

Tungsten isn't poured at all. Basically they form it under great pressure, which creates great heat. That's why it's so expensive. Lead, in the form we use for fishing isn't toxic unless burned or swallowed.

My kids.

Thanks, Todd. That may have to come later - three LSSs (two for the boat, one for the kayak) is a tough pill to swallow.

Or ship yours to me. They kill up here, LOL.