Hooligan

They're terrible for more reasons that I can list. I was fishing with a friend last week that hadn't changed the sure sets out on some DTs. The fish were really eating the baits, with many having the full bait in their mouth. The fish that would inhale mine with the KVD hook were easily removed and had no harm. Those fish that ate his were about 98% bleeders from the length of hook. They ended up gill hooking. Four ended up as floaters. That's one reason I hate them, another is that they tend to deep hook. They also are very prone to snagging. They're also prone to bending with relative ease. I won't call them the worst hooks ever, but they're really far down on my list.

I hate fanned weed guards. Drives me nuts. Firm believer in that fanning a weedguard gives you a greater chance of a fish not getting the hook. Most times I don't even trim a weed guard, unless it's excessively long.

Dood, if you hit a 9lb smallie I'll crown you king. That's the stuff legends are made of.

What Grey Wolf said is dead on. There are a couple other things that have been thrown at me on Hamilton. Channel swings- never discount them main lake. Current side main lake transitions opposite a channel swing. Thermocline is not the perfect temperature, far from it. It's also fairly low dissolved oxygen because of the current in the lake. Mostly stripers in that water. Largemouth suspend in Hamilton pretty heavily. Many of the islands and main lake points have fish on them year round, sometimes relating to different points or positions on the same point at different times during the day. Lastly, find your deep water transitions and you should be able to start getting a pattern together.

You make a valid point, Roger, in terms of pressure/force.

Glenn's post via Catt is dead on. The rates of delayed mortality of "hook in" fish is greater than 95%. Most often they starve to death because they're unable to pass the hook or it is lodged in a manner sufficient to impair the fishes' ability to swallow prey. Texas had a write up on it in their "news" section not too awful long ago.

Certified is 13-10 for green fish. Caught it on a Castaic hard head. I had another fish from the same lake that went 14-8 but it wasn't a certified scale. 6-12 Certified for a brown fish. Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior, caught it on a 4" Shad Shape worm dropshot.

Curado. That's a perfect reel for small to midsize cranks.

No, I don't see what you mean. The Gamakatsu that you're linking is a circle hook, so you can't compare that. I don't see what you're getting at with it, either. The barb, in theory, on a rounded plane would be the one that wouldn't enter as smooth. Regardless, I don't think it has anything to do with the barb, why would microbarb hooks be so efficient? My thought remains much the same, it's got more to do with torque and tearing on the original hole than anything else.

I agree. I've toned down my reel buying habit, really toned it down, I'd have Calais on all of them if I could, instead I have one Core 100MGFV, two Chronarch 101D7, the remainder are Curado and Chronarch 100SF.

I'm not sure that I understand you. You're saying that the barb is different based on the point of the hook? Pretty sure that has nothing to do with it. Consider Xpoint hooks, they're probably the smallest barb out there along with what, by your classification, would be a flat point. Just for fun, I"m looking at an Owner Riggin Hook and a Gamakatsu EWG both in 2/0 and the point on the Gamakatsu is longer, and the barb is larger.

The difference between the 7-2 MH and MH Xfast is pretty dramatic, really. The Xfast is a really, really good jig rod in that the tip loads easily, and it is considerably more stout than the MHF. The tip on the MHF is softer to allow working plastics as well as giving you a bit of room to work in terms of playing a fish and hook set. The Xfast will really drive a jig home on the set. The difference between Medium and medium heavy is pretty substantial, again. The MXF is a really nice smaller jig rod for fishing 1/4 ounce jigs in deeper water, or for fishing finesse jigs. It loads nicely, handles baits well, and it will also allow you to hop jigs in that 3/8oz size without the tip feeling mushy. The MF is a light T-rig rod. I fish a lot of 6-8" worms with a 1/8 or 1/4 oz tungsten weight on that rod, as well as smaller tubes and some bigger shakey heads in deep water. Overall, the Xfast actions in the series are relatively stout, they're not mushy or flimsy at all. With the MH I can hop a 3/4 oz jig without feeling like the tip is overloaded. It will also crawl and drag jigs really well. I like the fast rods as plastics rods, that's where they excel for me.

I like them, as do others. I don't like them with the jighead type of rig, however, that rig just doesn't work for our water/cover and structure. I prefer weighted swimbait hook, usually moaner now that you and Big O have beat that into my head.

Super brownfish! There's just nothing that comes close to that.

I think the 852 is one of the best rods in the series. It's a superb plastics rod, as well as 3/16 and 1/4 oz jigs. I don't yet own that one, but have been fishing one of my partner's lately. I'm really impressed with that rod. I am sure that I'll end up adding it, I wish I would have added that rod instead of the 873.

Wouldn't be caught dead without them. Spending a couple hundred bucks on a rod then letting it get beat up is just dumb. Protect your investment. I like Rod Slicks, personally.

They're soft to the point that I wouldn't be surprised to be going through a full pack in a day. That's not unusual for them. Find me something that matches the shimmy, the rate of fall, the way it falls, and the same colors and I'll still fish the original. When it comes tourney time and money is down, I have more faith in them than anything else.

Alpster has it dead on. I wouldn't use anything like Armor all or any sort of wax or polish on fly lines. Anything that deposits on the line surface attracts dirt and grime.

There have been numerous theories that state a cutting edge hook opens a bigger hole. There have been those that say the opposite. I guess, the way I look at it, is that a cut is much less likely to tear than is a penetration which is a tear in the first place. I guess, if you think it's enough a problem it's as easy as changing hooks.

The Deep Throat has a longer point section, longer by far. They say it leads to deeper hook sets, deeper in the mouth. I'm unsure of the accuracy of that statement. I do like the hook, however.

It helps in heavy growth, thick stemmed weeds like Curly leaf pondweed and cabbage. Milfoil and hydrilla, it's basically worthless.

No, no, no, and no. Anything that creates any deposit of anything on a fly line is a bad deal. I love the KVD but it won't get anywhere near my fly lines.

The BPS Crankin Stick is the best bang for your buck crank stick out there. I'd buy that rod again and again over many other rods up to and including the $150 range.

I own more Citica D reels than any other reel, and have abused them more than any other reel. They keep going strong for me. I just have a ton of faith in them.

I've had 12 inch bass eat 7" Ospreys. I've had dinks around 8 inches eat 4" and 5" hollows. The misconception is purely in your head. It's an effective tactic in certain situations; bass are bass, north, south, east, or west they're all the same. If they can get their face around it, they'll try it at some point. Sometimes when they can't get their face around it they'll try anyhow.