Dwight Hottle

I found a source that tied up single strand titanium wire in weights from 20lb up to 120lb. The knots were covered with a type of black plastic shrink wrap so you didn't have any sharp edges exposed with a quality swivel & cross lock snap. They were light enough that you could use them with jerk baits without affecting the action.

@TnRiver46 So what did you do with the lamprey? The first one I caught hitchhiking on a bass I tried to smash with my foot. It didn't want to die that way so I had to resort to a knife. They have such nasty looking mouths with all those circular teeth.

I have bought from them numerous times & they ship fast like 3 or 4 days. They never emailed me regarding confirmation. But I always used PayPal for payment.

@Aaron_H I agree with you totally on the hooks. In my opinion the round bend hooks suck on hook ups & keeping fish pinned. I much prefer a hook point that bends inward rather than straight up. The Mustad Triple Grip or KVD elite trebles are a good choice as well as the Owner ZoWire STX trebles my favorite. I switch out all jerk bait & crank bait hook as well as swim baits for these two choices.

You have got my support.

I have had two DD's on a rattle bait. One on the SK red eye shad 3/4oz in sexy shad color & my current PB on a SK red eye shad tungsten 2 tap 3/4oz in crome/blue back color. Guess what bait is the king of lipless crank baits in my opinion? I do change out the factory hardware.

I like to use the Owner Twistlock Light hook which weighs 3/32. I use the 6/0 for full size flukes & the 5/0 for smaller baits like the caffeine shads. These hooks run on the smaller size regarding hook gap hence the larger sizes.

Loons are usually found in pairs.

Yea I get it but Great Lakes trout like big browns & Steelhead don't. They will light you up!

I feel for you. Hopefully your bad luck is ended & you will be blessed with a run of good. Good luck on your medical procedures. The fish will be there when your ready.

That’s my guess.

My observation regarding cold fronts in Florida the day of the front arriving is good as @Zcoker mentions. The next best day is the first day after the front arrives. The second day sucks big time. The 3rd day starts the recovery & the 4th day is partially ok before it returns to normal. But sometimes unusual external conditions such as pumping water or opening flood gates or water control gates can or change the conditions prompting an aggressive bite. My previous PB was caught the morning after they flushed the system by opening all the gates on the south end of Stick Marsh. That morning the temperature at the ramp was 38 degrees at daylight but we had a killer day in spite of the cold front. We had over twenty bass over 5lbs. Three over 6lbs & two 7lbers. Plus my buddy's PB an 8.5lber & my new PB at the time an 11-2. Best largemouth day in Florida for me. The previous day the first day of the front we only had two or three small bass plus a mud fish & a pickerel.

@Susky River Rat Your making me jealous. Good work. I have got about five more weeks until I can get a taste of some smallie action.

Nasty virus. I hope you heal quickly.

If your always fishing from the front of the boat go with the foot pedal. If your fishing style has you mostly fishing from the back of the boat go with the remote. On the great lakes most of the fishing is done from the back of the boat especially if your trolling at all. You can always try the pedal and see if you like it.

Your other choice is to buy some live shrimp and use them as bait. You can keep them in a bait bucket tied to the dock.

@fastfed The newer versions of top end Shimano have eliminated the tensioner knob. You only adjust for line type & pick a setting for brake force from high to low.

Lot of pressure on a 11 year old to break that PB going forward. Congrats to Stetson.

I just got mine last night. I’m super impressed by how light it is for a 7’-6” spinning rod. I can’t wait to use it on some Lake Erie smallies. I honestly think it will handle all techniques from hair jigs to 1oz jerk baits. It was worth the 6 month wait. The sale price was $295 plus $10 excise tax with free shipping. It has to be a $600 dollar rod at retail.

Looks like the Steelers want him at least for a year. His new home is in Pittsburgh.

I believe the frame sizes are different on the 200 series versus the 150 sizes across the Shimano line.

#2 for me

@Columbia Craw Mine is supposed to be delivered this Monday. I'm pairing mine up with a PCLT2500_H Diawa Exist. Should be a super lite combo.

https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/state-tiger-trout-record-rescinded-after-investigation-reveals-angler-caught-fish-without-a-license/article_4c65be82-dda8-11ee-9227-cf1282a2c0d2.html

Looks really sweet. I hope you enjoy it.