Team9nine

Based on the test data, I’d say you won’t be able to tell a difference between the two, except at the register, and with the bonus of having better abrasion resistance ?

Agree - test data I’ve seen shows BasiX has significantly more stretch at every test point across the entire curve compared to monofilaments (nylon) like Big Game or Berkley XL. I’m not certain if these were wet or dry tested though, so that might be the caveat. It does have good/better abrasion resistance, but slightly weaker knot strength. Still a solid line for the money. I’d buy it over Red Label or AbrazX.

Here’s an older graphic of some Berkley testing done showing the amount of force required to penetrate certain areas of a bass’ mouth with a hook. For reference, they described the areas as; (1) the left inside toward the front where there is very thin skin, (2) the right inside farther back in the oral cavity where there is thick gristle covering a hard boney plate, (3) the inside floor of the mouth in the region of the tongue, and (4) the inside roof of the mouth.

Got the clouds and the wind I thought I wanted, but the bass weren’t overly excited for some reason with the conditions - maybe too much wind (30-40 mph gusts). Still managed 15 with a little work, and the thumb officially needs a Band-aid before the next trip, so I can’t complain ?

I am old How much older were you expecting? Lol. I can post a photo of my AARP member card "You're fishing pressure?" Lost me there - See, I'm old and slow

A little more sun; a little more warmth; but less wind, and the water is continuing to clear each day. Still managed 35 this afternoon with a couple better fish in the mix (a pair of 3 lb. fish today), but might have to change things up shortly…or not - lol. More clouds and strong winds in the forecast for tomorrow, plus Friday severe storm potential.

One of my better quality fish ponds has only produced a single bass this year. I’ve almost stopped going to it until things warm up, hoping they pick up. The pond where I caught the 8 at a couple years back has only given up a couple fish all winter. My largest one which is usually a good mix has only been numbers this year. Got my first decent fish out of it today (3 lb.) - has me worried. I’m on a downswing over here. None have good drains, so heavy rains don’t help other than staining the water.

Show off - now you’re just rubbing it in ? This might be a banner year over there. I’ve only seen one good fish this year from my little lakes. Starting to wonder about them. One has almost gone dead, while a couple numbers lakes have only produced small fish. Might be a tough year over here Our lack of good drains is really starting to show itself. Maybe once things warm up it’ll change - at least, I sure hope so.

These them? They might be suspenders though.

Wouldn’t be my first choice, but you can make it work by fishing them more like a jig or blade bait on points and steep banks or in deeper water (lift and drop), or use them traditionally on shallow flats or in the backs of creeks in water 5 ft and less.

Yesterday was 64, sunny, and a warm south wind - I stayed home. Today was post frontal - another half inch of rain overnight to go with our nearly 2 inches the previous 36 hrs, heavy cloud cover all day, a NW wind at 10-14 mph, and a high that only briefly touched 45 deg. Still managed 45 bass this afternoon, and got to let what is the best numbers lake rest for another day. Blade bait did all the heavy lifting today. Here’s a few (biggest fish got off right at my feet today - was almost able to grab him, but…).

Someone on here will buy some and report back, I’m sure ?

But if I don’t lift the bait, how is it going to fall? Because we all know from books, articles, and these forums, 90% of the time bass bite worms/jigs/tubes on the fall ?

You might check out Jonny’s stuff over at his ‘Fish The Moment’ website. Some is in written/blog format, and a lot is in video format (YT), but it’s all heavily focused on offshore fishing. A lot of training material for sale from the looks of it, so not certain how much of the older stuff is still available, but probably worth a look for what you’re wanting.

NO - 1 rod, 1 reel, and whatever tackle fits in a small box, preferably in your pockets. I prefer old Rapala boxes with the clear plastic lids, or old soft plastic zip bags.

A bigger set of channel locks to tighten that drag down good will help the cause ? ? ?

The only thing that matches a good drain is a great wind - lol - and we had plenty of that today. Steady 25-35 mph sustained winds with peak gusts of 45-48 mph. Combine that with high, stained water (received another inch overnight), and that usually means a good bite, even if air temperatures were only in the low to mid 40s. Twenty bass later, I can confirm the pattern ?

It can be overwhelming. As you’ve probably figured out; > Every knot known is someone’s favorite here > Every lure made has caught a fish > Every line sold has someone who loves it - even Vanish and Fluoroclear ? > Every person here has caught a PB, as well as their share of dinks Read it all and filter, but I’d recommend figuring out those few posters, authors or sites that you can relate to in some manner; location, type of waters fished, experience, trust, confidence in what they say - whatever it is, and just follow their advice and recommendations for awhile until you have enough time on the water to start developing your own thoughts and opinions based on your experience. Take what they say or write as gospel in the beginning and just run with it. You’ll figure out what works for you and what doesn’t soon enough.

Super nice looking drain n the background. I had a couple like that back about 20 years ago that were dynamite after every good drenching. Sure do miss them these days ? Had to go out in the 43 degree, “almost stopped” misting rain, along with 15 mph ENE winds today to see what that Rozante looked like. Wasn’t the best pond or conditions for it, but got to get a feel for it - and even caught a few. Then I got in a shallow windblown pocket and caught a bunch more. Twenty total for the afternoon. No biggies (this pond only has a couple in it), but healthy and aggressive fish running 14”-16”.

If my math is right, 8 baits per pack times 255 fish per bait is just another 2,040 bass - no way that would last me ?

If I stick to just Ned rigs, Possibly the rest of my life - jigheads, baits, line and leader material included Anything else...hard to say. If I'm willing to just let some baits go as I run out and switch to other stuff I don't use presently, or often, maybe another lifetime ...but a TW order just showed up today, and another is on the way - because you can never be certain

Apparently I was fishing the wrong pond again today based on @The Bassman report ? but I’ve got a Rozante on the way from TW, so maybe my luck will change soon - lol. I could only get one on a jerkbait today, so switched back to a couple blade baits and ended up with 10 fishing between lines of passing rain. Reports are for 1”-3” by the time this all ends Saturday, so I’m guessing heavily stained waters will scuttle my TW attempts at enticing a couple bigger fish ?

As I thought, the bite picked up with the second day of warming and the clouds moving in. Winds turned out lighter than expected as they died down to just a breeze after lunch. Probably would have been fine taking the boat out in hindsight - oh, well. Still had a good time; caught 21, mostly on blade bait. Need a few days of rain to let my “tennis elbow” recover a little bit ? Here’s a few…

4” Cash Custom Lures Diamond Back Worm is my favorite. Some great color combos to choose from.

Pretty much this ^^ You can go all the way back to the Dance's Craw from the 80's or 90's and count up the failures