Hammer 4

I did the braid with leader thang some years ago, for about a year. What I found was, there was No improvement in my catching fish, what I did experience was a loss of a 20.00 lure from the fc snapping during a cast, which was likely my fault. After that day, no more leaders. Braid..froggin, flippin and punching. I have 1 spinning rig with fc, and 1 baitcaster with fc, for bottom work. All my other rigs are filled with mono. Once the fc wears out, those rigs will get spooled with ...you guessed it, Mono.

Slow blues from down under...Slide in E. 1 More Slide blues..The Sky is Cryin..

Looks great..Nice work..

Been using mono for many years, still use it to this day.

That smile is worth a thousand words.

With Smackdown, 30 min..40 would be better.

Should be fine..

Being that it was a Gift, I'd keep it. Also, was your's made in Japan..? if so, definitely keep it. I miss my old Calcutta 201..

Uni to uni..I do 5 loops on each..

Irod Genesis II Fred's Magic Stick. 7'5" 1/2 oz to 2 oz..Great rods for the $$$. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/iROD_Genesis_II_Series_Casting_Rods/descpage-IRGCT.html

I have a couple of city park ponds that have that snot grass in it, during the warmer months. Seems like no matter what I threw, it would wind up dragging some of that muck with it, so.....What you might try is the Megabass Dark Sleeper, I use the 1 oz size for most thick stuff,and yup it will end up with the moss on it sometimes, but at least I can get it to where the fish are. I've had some success with a 6" roboworm with a 1/8 oz bullet weight pegged, so that's another option.

Gee, I and likely many others were, and are fishing those baits on a 6 speed reel. I honestly don't see the need for a 7 speed for any of those baits, except maybe a chatterbait, which can still be fished very well on a 6 speed.

Yup, you wanna bend the hooks upward and outward a touch. Also, make sure the hooks are Super sharp. I take it your using a heavy powered rod, and at least 50 lb braid. Doing these will increase your chances, then there's spending the time on the water.

So, if I may add to this, how many of youz guyz use Painted blades on a regular basis. I.e. red, green, black, ect. And what is your success rate with them..?

I don't have either of those XT rods, but I do have heavier XT baitcaster's, and I would say that for what you want, the Med would be what I would go with.

For y all that don't want those glide baits, ect...you can send them to me @...

When I was about 9 or 10 yrs old, I use to catch snakes, mainly gofer snakes, black and blue racers and king snakes. I had about 10 snakes, mostly very young snakes..We had pastures, that had hay bails on them, and I would catch small/baby mice for food for the snakes. I usually let them go after about 3 to 4 weeks. About 10 years ago, I was up in the mountains here in so. cali..had to take a nature break really bad, so I parked, went to a secluded spot, that had a very small clearing with bushes around it. I took a couple of steps, looked down, and there was a Huge Western Diamondback rattler, looked to be a big female, the girth on it was easily 2 1/2" in diameter..Came so close to stepping on it, lucky for me it was asleep, cuz it never moved. I moved away to let it sun it self to get ready for the day. I haven't seen a snake since that day, shame, but I do have lots of lizards in my yard..

I started fishing in the 1960's, obviously there was no interwebs back then. It was 99% trial and error, except for the older guys that offered tips now and then. Equipment wasn't what it is these days, so if didn't have gobs of $$ you made due with rigs that weren't designed for the type of fish you may be catching, in my case a light action spinning rod with a 3000 size reel..spooled with 8 lb mono, which I used for freshwater and saltwater to catch 10 to 15 lb. Bonita, you learned quickly how to fight a fish. Nowadays, things are much different, I pick up tips now and then from here and youtube, but not much..

The whole area up there...

I always have, and continue to set my drags with a pull of my hand. Never had any issues with line breaking, and I don't play fish to tire them out completely. On a spinning reel, your finger can be very useful if your drag is set to low, and your thumb can work wonders on a baitcaster.

^^^^This. Go on the tackle making forum, ask those guys how much time, and money they invested just making a really nice crank bait, or any hard bait for that matter. A lot goes into producing a nice swimbait. And usually in the long run, you get what you pay for. I know where your coming from, the first 150.00 hard swimbait I bought years ago had me gasping at first, but then I realized what goes into making them, and the cost then didn't seem so bad.

I throw 1/2 oz spinnerbaits from shore all the time. I get longer cast's, and If I want to slow roll them on the bottom, 1/2 oz gets to the bottom faster, and is easier to keep it there vs a 3/8 oz..I do throw both sizes depending on conditions.

Been tossin spinnerbaits for a long time, and still do..They catch fish.!

Also, Spro makes a couple of smaller swimbaits you might like, reasonably priced to. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Spro_BBZ-1_Baby_Shad/descpage-SBBZ1BS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Spro_BBZ-1_Shad_Swimbait_4/descpage-SBZSFS.html I have a few of the BBZ Shad baits, they do catch fish.

Q.C.. musta missed that one.