webertime

Have you tried a regular ewg in the size you like with some lead golf tape? Cheaper overall and you can experiment with where the weight goes.

I trilene knot them

I'd go Major Craft based on reputation alone.

We have a few similar lakes in VT. Salmon love the cold water in the thermocline, step one is to find that. They eat fish so whatever smelt/bait need to be present. Next step... troll away baby. If you're fishing from shore you'll be out there late November til ice (if you have any). On Champlain we shore fish for them November through ice. They do have a small run up the Winooski river out of the lake right now (might be passed). If there are creeks flowing into/out of your lakes hit those now or very soon. I've had the best luck with spoons and flies with a flasher above the fly. Inline spinners work well too. Good luck man.

I hear you. Vermont state record Muskie was caught 150yds from my front door. Maybe I'll go after the 12 muskie we have! Now I know the owner of NPFL very well maybe I can plant a seed in his ear for opens.

No more MLF for me. Even after the whole Champlain cheating thing a couple years ago and the FBD stuff, it still offered a way to compete at a reasonably high level. You know we're all competitive and we need an outlet for that in some way. BASS only had like 9 opens and none close. I fished an MLF Toyota on Champlain this year as a co. I got drawn with a scoper day 2. He caught 50ish fish by noon. He knows what hes doing but its not hard... We were going back and forth from 20-46' from .1 to 4mph zigzaging all over. Impossible to drag a bait like that. Tried topwater only to have the boat turn and run my line over a dozen times. I sat down as it was just impossible to compete. He said he would give me a heads up to toss a senko for followers, cool, only to have him demand the net within 5 seconds of tossing the senko so i reel up. At noon he tells me that one fish is dying and he wants to go weigh in. His fish died... I was showered and watching Netflix by 140pm. Now I'm not bragging but I'm a d**n good partner to have, I snatched 3 of his keeper fish out of the air when they jumped boatside and threw the hook (30 years of lacrosse will build that skill). I pay well for gas, give baits, rigging, food etc. Heck I sold a rare rod, super cheap to a touring pro because it's his favorite rod ever and cant find them anymore. I've never not ended up friends with my boaters, becoming best friends with a few and even this guy wasn't a jerk. But as a co... if it's an FFS tournament, going forward I just won't do it anymore. I know it's part of the game, but at some point, the game becomes unwinnable. The sport (tournaments) is becoming elitist like skiing, and that's sad. The "buy a boat... put the time in..." comments are a big f off to thousands of people that work, have kids, illnesses, actually have boats and the such. I sound frustrated, and I guess I am. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years to pursue some competition and fun while working full time, raising kids, helping ill relatives, and being a great husband. For what now? To be told too bad so sad spend more. That sucks. So I don't really care about period one or three or whatever it's too convoluted to watch.

With MLF, BASS, and NPFL, the actual commodity is the angler. Get a good list of anglers and a good number of them, then sponsors can't help but go to the best groups of commodities. The ugly issues with MLF and the whining on BASS have left an opening in the "market" that we all want (good anglers, skills that we all can have, integrity and good payouts for the anglers). It's now run by a great guy who is local to me (scary smart businessman without the ick love of money). Look at the roster, there's a lot of sticks already there (including "young guys").

Poke around with a Fat Ika

Speedcraw Green Pumpkin Magic and Junebug

River2sea D Walker is exactly what you want.

They are the only 2 companies that actually make their stuff anymore (aside from some low end Daiwas being farmed out and Swedish Abus 17 people use). That's HUGE. I worked in a mountaineering shop back in the day and asked the difference between 2 different parts. The Old timer came back with "these guys design, manufacture, test and sell what they make. Those guys open a catalog and ask for it in purple. Who are you going to trust with your life?" Obviously a reel isn't life and death but that mindset hasn't failed me yet in any of my adventures/purchases.

Thin cork road bike handlebar tape? I've done it to a few rods. TIANXON Cork Handlebar Tape for Road Bike Anti-Slip Shock Absorption Bicycle Wrapping Bar Tape Made of Real Cork (Cork) https://a.co/d/imdE8gL

Rodprotech.com sews in a plastic wrap to their socks. Some even fully encase the reel too so no tangles or nicked lines.

Carolina Rig Fat Ika or weighted wacky senko Spook

Pike on Champlain have been getting destroyed for years by ice fisherman (just throwing them on the ice), pike shooting (with a gun) and bow fishing. DNR is aware of the pike being wiped out. Tench eat their nests too. It's bad up here for pike.

Instinct Anglers vs. Tech Anglers. I live on a Mecca for bass fishing (Champlain). The guys that used to smoke everyone still do well, but the 20lb bags they catch aren't as "rare" anymore with FFS. That's what we are seeing it's the dilution of the results. 20lbs a day didn't get a check in the recent Toyota up here. Steroids, data and fitness diluted Baseball stats, it is what it is. Now the whole belief that you are either or Have to be, one or the other is bs... Local stick Labelle (won BASS opens, Toyotas, etc) is in his mid 40s and figured out ffs in the last year or 2. I love this guy but hes not a technological person at all... Dude was/is 100000% an instinct fisherman and now he's figured the tech out. He believed in himself and kept an open mind. I hear a lot from over 30 (40) year Olds that they can't figure out the tech. The same way people did when cell phones, apps, etc came out. Part of that is belief in yourself and the ability to learn. It's easier to say something is (wrong,bad, stupid, I can't) when you have already had a defeatist mindset. Like all tech, the companies will streamline the interfaces and displays and people will get it better, leveling the playing field where most everyone will be a tech guy... That's where the instinct guys will rise to the top again. Ffs and fish populations I'm not glowing on that. ~10% of catch and release fish die (immediately or hours after). Now if more fish are caught especially the ones that were never pursued (palagic smallies) the total number of dead fish goes up. More dead breeders combined with other environmental issues (on Champlain it's pollution and the Tench) can really hurt reproduction rates and that's scary to me. It's exponentially worse for ice fishing. Industry? Pshhhhh not going anywhere someone will always buy a firetiger rapala.

Yes you can hand sand them down easily and they don't look much different once the dust is cleaned off. Had a foster puppy chew one of my builds butt grip and I sanded down the damage.

Profit margin on St Croix is not great compared to many others. Add in the goofy things they've done the last few years and it makes sense that companies are starting to drop them.

Finish it up with St Lawrence river to Champlian.

Warranty is for manufacturing defects causing a failure. Dobyns might offer a discounted replacement. I broke a Tatula today pulling a wacky senko out of weeds. Broke between the 2 feet on a double footed guide. I've never seen that happen.

What waters are you fishing? Super shallow or over weeds... LC Flash Minnow Aggressive movement... Rerange, pointer 100, Duo Realis Subtle... the shimano jerkbaits

You described the Phenix Recon 762 spinning rod. I've got one and it is exactly what you described that you were looking for. You described the Phenix Recon 762 spinning rod. I've got one and it is exactly what you described that you were looking for. If you ever make it to Champlain you're more than welcome to it for a day.

DRT in Japan isn't expensive, very much in line with other high end brands. It's the importer driving up us pricing.

Magdraft Freestyle

Weightless swimbait