Hooligan

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the hooks but have experienced them in several situations, including fishing them several times on a friends baits. That said, I wouldn't waste my money on them. I felt like I lost more fish, and missed more on the bite than with Mustads. I also didn't see any genuine gain from the hook. FWIW...

Man I wish they still made the Risto. Killer smallie lure.

I buy them. Still the best action in that style of bait, imo.

I remember reading once that fish don't like sweet taste at all, and they like garlic and table salt only marginally more than sweet. The article went on to explain that the salts they were after were those that were most similar to their natural prey. IE: fish proteins and the like. It also had some information regarding the fact that bass almost can't define oil based smells. The article was from Keith Jones, I think, and Robert Montgomery. Montgomery says something about it in his book, too.

/agree I have two Winches, both are at 17.5 cranked down. Both were 20 on the nose fresh out of the box.

Lavender Shad, Slick, Rootbeer, Chart/Blue, Red ear are my tops.

I'm like most others. If the hooks are quality and sharp, I don't change them. On everything from Strike King, for instance, I change out. I change hooks, too, to vary buoyancy, as well.

Yes.

I've got a reel loaded with 10lb on a Little Cranker for small cranks. The line isn't bad, really. It's priced reasonably, and retains the better features of what I'm after line in that class for: castability, it's manageable, and it lies evenly on the reel. Overall, I'm pleased with it. It's earned it's keep.

I can tell you with certainty that no vis and invizx is not the same line. I'm a big Seagur fan when it comes to Fluro. He's what my experience has been of the three lines in question. Huh, I was told in no uncertain terms that the lines are chemically identical; there's a difference in the winding process between the two and not much more.

Depends, really. I'll change line when I start getting memory, I'll change if I've been in really nasty cruddy water for a period of time. I might change because I've been fishing rocks or timber and it's abraded deeper into the spool. Overall, I might change anywhere from 4-6 times a season on fluorocarbon, twice annually on braid, usually just once, though. On any rod I have mono on (topwater and walleye rods) I'll change monthly. Most of the time, though, I'm replacing about 70 yards at the most, leaving backing on the reel from whenever I spooled it.

Isn't Kistler using North Fork Composites now for their blanks? I'd think that would eliminate, or as close to it as you can, the former problems.

I love the bait but I have a hellish bad time keeping fished pinned on it. I'm sure it's pilot error, but don't have the same issue with other similar baits.

I fish jerkbaits on a couple different rods 6-9 Medium, a 6-6 MXF, and a 6-6 MH. I don't like crankbait rods, really, for jerkbaits. I just don't feel that I get the same action. In terms of spinning or casting: up to you. I fish quite a few smaller jerkbaits on one of my spinning rods.

They're not that heavy, really. In terms of a graphite/glass composite blank they're actually reasonably light. I've fished the 7-4 M for ripping through grass and really liked it for that purpose.

Those things are sick.

Cabelas is Seguar. I was also told that it is almost the exact same formulation as Invizx, so much so that the packaging type is essentially the same: Seaquar INVIZX Fluorocarbon Fishing Line The softest, most supple fluorocarbon line ever produced! INVIZX can be used on casting or spinning reels in freshwater with good hooksetting power, exceptional abrasion resistance and knot strength, and it's nearly invisible to fish. Made from 100% exclusive Seaguar resins. Cabela's® No-Vis Xtra Fluorocarbon Our No-Vis Xtra is the softest, most supple fluorocarbon line ever produced! This line can be used on casting or spinning reels in freshwater with good hooksetting power, exceptional abrasion resistance and knot-strength, and it's nearly invisible to fish.

I believe they (seaguar) make Cabela's FC line and that the BPS line was Toray's? Someone can confirm or correct. As an invizx user I have tried the cabela's fc line and it is so similar to cabela's that it makes me inclined to think this. You're right. It's Toray that makes BPS and Seaguar makes Cabela's. I'll talk to the rep tomorrow and double check, but now that you say it, it spurs my memory.

What he said. Those are the same that I use. Keep in mind, too, a synthetic bag will not compress as far as a natural down bag. I don't understand the mechanics of it, and I'm not going to try, but it's the way it is.

I got much the same advice last year when I found that I was going to be spending time out of our Rusk office. I think it was Fish For Dollars that gave me some specific things to look for. He sent me into the bushes pitching jigs. We found that fishing a LC Flat Mini in place of a lipless bait in the grass was putting better quality fish in the boat. Did better around the Buck Bay and Caney area than anywhere else around Mid-March. The water temps were off, though, rarely hitting the 60 degree mark. (At least I was told it was off where it normally would be...)

Anyone have experience with one? I came across one dirt cheap and wouldn't mind having it for jerkbaits and minnow baits at all. Will it throw a MegaBass Popmax effectively, for instance? I don't want to buy another jerkbait rod, but I would like a shorter rod for some things like jerkbaits and topwater. Didn't seem too bad a choice if it would work, the price is definitely right.

I had one day a couple years ago on the Chippewa that I couldn't get bit on anything but a SK Bitsy Tube. Love the little ones early around here for pitching to brush and rock. We fish a ton of tubes on a couple lakes, sometimes it seems like you can't buy a bite on anything but. One of the better ways we've found to rig them, for brush and rock, is on a Chompers head. Other times straight Trig, sometimes I use Ike's Spike internally, and sometimes I just use a Venom 60 degree hook in as light a weight I can get away with.

I can get DTs locally, but man it seems like finding DT Fats is next to impossible. I luck into one here and there, but that's about it, and it's never the color I want. My only problem with the bait is I fish it in nasty cover and lose a few here and there. It seems like it's a snaggy bait at best; but they catch fish.

I got to play with Dobyns a bit last year and if I weren't so vested in my gear already, I'd pick a couple up. I'm actually considering a 702C, and a 734 for a couple applications.

It isn't bad line at all. I stiff fish it on a couple rods. If I'm fishing a lake where I know I'm going to be chewing through a lot of line, like fishing a lot of reed beds and cattails, I'll fish the Red Label. I've heard it is produced at the same facility as Seaguar to BPS spec, as well.