Darren.

Only hooks I've broken were a BPS split/drop hook size 1, and a size 2 Hayabusa muscle hook. Neither were on a fish. Agree that it just happens sometimes, but I've never had a Gammy or Owner break on me. Gammy are my favs.

TX rigging can be weighted or weightless, just like Wacky. At NNPK, and Harwood's Mill worms work great rigged wacky, TX, mojo, Jika, etc. Extremely productive there especially when fished by laydowns, etc. I can show you spots on NNPK one of these days.

Good one!

Welcome aboard, Tony!

Nice! And looks like a great area for yak-fishing.

Might could arrange something one of these days! We can pick it up via PM (personal message). I could probably swing a M or T for a couple/few hours in the late morning or early afternoon.

Treasure that! I lost my Mom this year to a stroke...out of nowhere. At least all my boys got to know her. I wish their kids would have as well... Treasure the time you have. Oh, and I pretty much agree with your Xmas thoughts. I prefer to buy my "gifts" during the year - be it fishing, tennis, or whatever.

Nice! Were you on NNPK, or Harwood's Mill? I've done well at NNPK this week, all wacky.

Some beautiful, fat smallies!

Believe me, you can spend a lot of $$ on the hooks. Personally, I really like Buckeye's Flick-it jigs as they have a football style head which for some reason just really works for me. The only problem is with the wire guard. It will bend out of shape, and will weaken as you put it back every time. If you need weedless, that is. I've yet to pull the trigger on Gamakatsu's Wacky Jig Head, or Jackall's. I have tried the Owner Wacky jig head, but I must caution you against them. Price is good, but the hook is very thin/weak. It'll bend very easily on a snag, and once it's bent, it'll bend even easier the next time. I bought a lot of these on sale before and tho they're nice, I can't recommend them much around cover. Oh, I've even had a good size bass bend the hook on me. I'm sure others have had positive experiences, so just take my experience as mine -- unless others share it. Good luck experimenting! That's part of the fun

Welcome aboard, Justin!

As finicky as I've been -- or on the fence, if you prefer, I have finally purchased the $15 FedEx return slip for my St. Croix Avid. So I'm going to replace it and I've decided to go with the 6'3" MLXF model. I was in Richmond for a soccer game today, afterward I spent some time at the BPS there, which has a LOT more freshwater rod selection than the Hampton VA store. Got to hold and futz with many different models of rods, was impressed with many, but felt replacing the Avid was/is my best option right now. Looking forward to adding it to my spinning arsenal....

I primarily fish weightless; however, when conditions are windy and there's chop where I want to cast, I'll tie on a weighted wacky hook, or I'll pinch on a bit of lead a short ways up the line. Have a look at Shin Fukae and his weighted wacky wizardry via Google. He is quite good at the technique. Wacky is best letting the bait do its thing; but as you grow more experienced in it, you'll discover times when adding twitches to the worm action will work better than dead- sticking. Experience is the best teacher here. Try different things. With weighted, let it hit the bottom then slowly raise your rod tip, let it fall again. Other times you may give three quick twitches up, then let it sink. There's no real "this is the only way to fish it wacky" or else we'd all be in trouble.

A 20" smallie is no...small fish Congrats!

Often. Love it when it happens

Welcome aboard, Zach!

Absolutely I do. And so do I.

You're obviously talking top of car loading? In that case, I'd go two across middle and one for each bow, stern.

When you say "balance" are you holding your finger above the reel seat and want the rod to be level? If that's the case, I can tell you that my Stradic 1000FI reels balance perfectly with my 2 MF Carbonlites at 6'6". I also hold my spinning reels with the reel seat between my pinky and ring finger, and my index finger reaches up to touch the blank. Absolutely love the 1000 size for bass fishing.

Agreed. I should have added the nose hooking option. I've done that, as well. Also like fishing these on a split shot rig or weightless TX. Just a killer soft plastic all around.

See now, Pacu are rough, but your simple solution is a cold shower and wear Speedos. Problem solved, nothing hanging out as a "low hanging fruit" for picking...by a Pacu

Welcome aboard!

My suggestion: downsize your line, lures. Try a 2 or 1 size Gamakatsu split shot/drop shot hook, and wacky rig a Yamamoto Shad Shaped Worm in watermelon red, green pumpkin red, watermelon gold. These are killer (at least in my book) for attracting a bite from multiple species. I catch a lot of bass on them especially when the bite slows down. Cast it, and let it shimmy. The little tail will attract a lot of attention from small and large fish alike.

What a fattie! Bulging eyes... Congrats!

Sweet pup! Love dogs. Love 'em.