Dwight Hottle

I always use a mono leader with 10lb braid on spinning tackle. I did have a good buddy come over that used straight braid for his first 6 lb smallie. All his subsequent 6 lb + smallies have had a leader attached. The leader does give you a little stretch in the system. The leader also helps with abrasion resistance.

I have always carried reels in carryon luggage with line to both Canada & Mexico. No problems. I have seen TSA say they should be checked on time but it wasn't me. My argument would be choking by line is no less likely than someone's belt or shoe strings. You can carry rods with you as two piece or three piece in tubes if they don't exceed the carryon size restrictions.

I think he is trying but in a somewhat crude way.

Welcome. You will be happy here.

Now that's a pretty cool story . Congrats on the PB's.

The smallie pattern in the bay in the spring is prespawn & spawn. Not much smallie action in the bay in the fall. You need to find them out in the lake.

z7master167 are you fishing the bay or the main lake?

If you know the answer why ask the question?

Usually not because the water is still too warm & they are still deep.

Both frabill & beckman make good nets.

Nice story & some very nice northern bass.

Go with a MHM.

They just opened one up in Erie this year. Not a bad store. They are owned by Dicks sporting goods .

Your right on target Lou.

Not the norm. It depends on the species.

I fished with a very respected guide for three days musky fishing. We were skunked for all three days . The guide offered us a free day the following year which we accepted & I caught a nice 47" 15 minutes from the dock at daybreak . As long as the guide is professional & competent he should still get paid & tipped. It is his choice what concessions he might offer to his customers when the fishing sucks. Some concession will usually be satisfactory to the experienced client.

Happy Birthday. Your wife is a keeper.

Glad to have you.

I just started using it on two combos. I put on some 15lb & fished it a week ago for the first time. Spooling it up I noticed how extremely smooth it is. Feels like mono. There is a clear coating applied from the manufacturer. I'm comparing the smackdown to suffix 832 & power pro super 8 slick & daiwa samurai. The smackdown is the most round & smooth of the group. Very easy casting, quiet and does not dig in on the spool. If the coating stays intact long term this line will be a pleasure to use. It is more expensive than suffix 832 & power pro super 8 but less expensive than the daiwa samurai. The stated line test poundage is thinner than either power pro or suffis 832 of equal test. The stated diameter of 15lb smackdown is smaller than 10lb suffix 832. So you need to look at the chart or info stating diameter to compare to the same diameter you are using now. Smackdown like samurai is thinner than the others & the poundage or breaking strength is more closer to the actual rating. Addressing the smooth versus not so smooth question I believe that fish detect less vibration from smooth braid than from rough or raspy finished braid. Sometimes fish seem to have an adverse bite reaction to a lure being presented on braid versus mono. I am not talking about the visibility factor. Just the sensed vibration aspect of retrieving a lure on one line type or the other. When there is a tough bite using braid vs mono the smoothest braid does the best. Obviously the roughness of braid can be tempered by using a mono leader. The longer the better if the fish seem to prefer mono presentations over braid. My experiences regarding bass reacting poorly to braid vs mono have only occurred in Mexico. A-Jay & Jeff (00 mod) have reached a similar conclusion. Steve Parks alluded to the same thing in one of his posts. Some days you get more bites on mono than braid. I have never detected that difference on lake erie fishing for smallies. I have never noticed fishing in Florida either. But I have noticed it in Mexico.

Braid is the most sensitive. The only time floro is more sensitive is with slack line presentations.

Great accomplishment. I wondered why they had to vent a fish taken from 15 fow. I know they tried their best to revive her.

No

That's the right way to break in a new rod.

So what did you get?

An elderly couple had just learned how to send text messages on their cell phones. The wife was a romantic type and the husband was more of a no-nonsense guy. One afternoon the wife went out to meet a friend for coffee. She decided to send her husband a romantic text message and she wrote: "If you are sleeping, send me your dreams. If you are laughing, send me your smile. If you are eating, send me a bite. If you are drinking, send me a sip. If you are crying, send me your tears. I love you." The husband texted back to her: "I'm on the toilet. Please advise."