Mike L

Almost always a 3/16” unpegged. Keeping in mind the vast majority of my waters is less than 6’. Mike

My first micro guide rod was one of the original Quantum Smoke rods from long ago. It’s a HF that I used as a dedicated punch rod and has served me well. I always felt that if I was ever gonna have a custom build it would have micro’s. I picked up the new St Croix 7’4” H/F GXR and decided after the first outing I didn’t need to. I don’t know the sized number of the guides but perform and match up perfectly. Mike

Nothing No matter what you say you’re gonna lose (trust me on this one) Change the subject and move on Mike

Magnum UV Speed Worm… Not only the best in mid depths, but also one of the best on top Rage Bug… T rig anywhere Frog… Obvious reasons Mike

I agree with everything Jesse mentioned. I only use braid as a “specialty line” but get why you’re asking. As far as leader material is concerned it’s a well known fact on here that I do not and will not use leaders for any reason, but do rig it on the grandkids combos. I went through a few and settled on Seaguar’s new Pounce leader material. It did everything its advertised to do considering my inexperience. I’d pick up a spool of your choice in 12# or 15# if you’re gonna use 30# braid. But others will help you zero it in better Mike

Personally I only use 8’s for my dedicated bottom contact combo’s and my frog rig for obvious reasons. For all others I use high 6’s or mid 7’s which are interchangeable. Instead of being concerned with using a high IPT reel for moving baits, I want the slowest I got for top water lures that have to be worked….walking and prop baits Mike

So sorry to hear this. Rest in Peace Brother Mike

A shot gun start with that many boats is dangerous for all. You have the more aggressive boaters constantly vying for position with blinders on. Nothing less than open water in front of them and the first to a specific spot will do. The more safety conscience ones will fall back which has its problems. Calling numbers every 3-5 seconds is safer for everyone and it makes each boater more strategic in thier landing spot. Mike

I give every trailer (and other things) a shot of KVD Line and Lure be it rubber or silicone before an outing if I plan on throwing it. All others get a quick spritz before I put it away be it frogs, spinnerbaits, jigs or whatever. It keeps them separated and pliable. Mike

You are in our thoughts and prayers. Mike

Can’t remember the name but it’s nice here, more people moving in all the time. They seem to have more money, are more dialed in to make better decisions which helps them to be more consistency successful than where they came from. Mike

Great job Clayton, good for you! Mike

SDJ Snell Palomar Mike

Don’t have 10 Magnum UV Speed Worm Rage Cut R Rage Bug Scum Frog Skinny Dipper Bomber Long A Stick bait Mike

Hello and Welcome Mike

He is Mike

Not anymore It’s taken me years to fine tune my selections and pair them to the ideal rod, reel and line combinations. It’s taken even longer to feel comfortable to throw a change up considering changes in weather and conditions. I see no benefit to buy and use the new and improved as it took too long and too much money spent to experiment with anything and do it just for the sake of change. Mike

Staring down at a screen all day, holding a spinning rod with 6# line, wiggling a 3” piece of plastic waiting for a 1# fish to swim by. Mike

Thats where your thumb comes in. Mine doesn’t leave the spool throughout the entire motion It takes awhile to master but eventually it becomes easier Mike

Using a heavier lure will help somewhat but it’s not always the right answer especially if your spot isn’t 10 ft away. With a centrifugal brake system which all my reels are except for one, the first thing I do is to increase the spool tension a bit in small increments. If that doesn’t do enough then I’ll add a brake and fine tune with the knob. The trick and most important of all is to keep your lure low to the water using a roll cast with a side arm motion. Mike

Mrs Mike hates when I shop with her as I’ll just grab what I want/need put it in the cart or just hand it to her, leave and meet her at the car. After 55yrs together she doesn’t even question me anymore. Mike

I took my youngest grandson to a local golf course to continue to ween him into bait casters. It also gave me another opportunity to try and test Seaguar’s Smackdown braid as I’ve only used Power Pro and thier new Pounce leader material which I never use. I wanted to get him used to using finesse baits and presentations so I brought the most sensitive rod I own, a Loomis 843C with a Chronarch 100sf spooled with 30# Smackdown and added the 12# Pounce leader. Both were tied with a uni to uni knot. I rigged a Senko wacky, a VMC Ned weight and finally weightless. He got 3 dinks but didn’t care. He got hung up at least once on each but I was able to get free by using a dowel. The Pounce and Smackdown held up perfectly through all that without a nick or fray for 4 hours. Now he doesn’t want to use anything else. Mike

@gim You still remember that thread! Still, every time I enter a blind draw tournament one of the first questions I ask my boater is what kind of boat he has. When he says a Bullet I tell him about that day and everyone, to a man just looks at me and smiles. When they don’t strap on a goalie mask and slaps me on the shoulder to tell me to hold on, I breathe a little easier Mike

Yes, it IS all about performance, toughness, longevity and the overall build. Nostalgia has nothing to do with it. All the new and improved materials, fancy innards, precision this or that is great, but none of that is reason enough to sacrifice the tried and true. But that’s me Mike

Personally I don’t mess with rusted hooks, snaps etc. I try to take every precaution, but if I notice rust on any metal I just toss and replace Mike