Bluebasser86

Well your post reminded someone else they wanted it, both are sold now pending funds.

I'll add that if you do try fluorocarbon, put enough cheap mono backing on that you only need about 50 yards of fluoro to finish filling the spool. There's no reason to spool the entire reel with fluoro, you're not going to be making 50 yard cast, even the biggest bass aren't going to run out more than about 10 yards of line before you can get them stopped.

If you're mainly using spinning gear I'd stick with the braid and just tie a fluoro leader. I use to use flouro for a lot of things but now I'd down to just using it for bottom contact baits on casting gear. Everything else is straight braid, braid with a leader, mono, or copoly. I just didn't feel it was giving me any noticeable advantage over the much more cost efficient and less finicky line options.

Another guy that makes his own but use to buy Eakin's jigs. I like Missouri Craw, PB&J, and watermelon red.

Haven't fished them specifically but they're very similar to the Keitech Swing Impact, which are terrific smallmouth baits, so I'm guessing they would be effective as well.

Havoc Juice Worm in redbug or watermelon candy.

Yes I still have them. I posted the reel in the Flea market this morning and it may be sold though.

What a crazy, lucky play!

It's a folding net from Academy, designed for a kayak I believe but works great for saving space in my boat. It's regular mesh but somehow isn't terrible about tangling on hooks.

For those that don't want to watch the videos.

The big fish were eating this week for me! Wednesday was my biggest smallmouth of the year at 4lb 11oz on a Luck-E-Strike STX jerkbait. Thursday I only got 3.5 hours of fishing and I took too long to figure them out. Once I did though, I caught 2 4lb 10oz, a 4lb 12oz, and a 5lb largemouth. First one ate a homemade brush jig, the last 3 were on my homemade bladed jigs in black and blue.

Not as light or compact as a lot of newer reels but probably one of the best all around reels ever made IMO. I still own several and regret ever selling any of them.

Finally broke down and ordered a Savage Gear 3D Shine Glide in Threadfin this morning, the 7.25" version. Suppose to get here Thursday. Sure hope it does so I can get it wet on Friday

I enjoyed that book. It really gave me a much better understanding of big fish behavior and how to catch them.

Tried to go back to Lake Shawnee and find that smallmouth's momma, but it didn't happen. I'm not sure if I was bass fishing or walleye fishing by the end of the day? I think the fact that I caught a yellow perch right off the bat might have added to the confusion. With Jacob catching a carp, catfish, crappie, and green sunfish to go along with his largemouth and smallmouth, and me catching walleye, bluegill, drum, and a yellow perch, we literally almost caught everything that swims in that lake in 2 days.

Jig, bladed jig, trap.

I had planned on targeting trout on this day. I'm really glad I decided to try for some smallmouth first when this big girl showed up.

The hits just keep on coming

Started Wednesday at Lake Shawnee in Topeka in search of the newly stocked trout and maybe some smallmouth. Ended up being a smallmouth trip and maybe some trout. I caught about every fish in the lake (largemouth, smallmouth, crappie, walleye, white bass, drum), but the 4th or 5th smallmouth of the day made the whole trip worthwhile in the first hour. Thursday I was at Shawnee County State Lake, just north of Topeka, this time in search of the alleged big largemouth. I'd only fished the lake once before and the results were less than spectacular. This time, I extracted some revenge on the lake. I missed getting 2 of my big fish on film (both 4lb 10oz), but I did manage to get a 4lb 12oz fish, and a 5lb fish on camera. One of the 4lb 10oz fish was on a homemade 5/8oz sapphire blue jig, the rest of the big ones were on my bladed jigs in black and blue with a sapphire blue pit boss for a trailer.

I have a folding net from Academy that I keep in the boat that would probably work very well for you. I think it's designed to be a kayak net but I liked that it wouldn't take up much room in my boat. It folds down and is telescoping so you'd have extra reach from the bank. I think it was around $20.

I was thinking about this the other day. I never fish for them in deeper water like most guys seem to do. I always come across them by accident and always in water less than 15' deep, usually closer to 5'. Maybe those fish that are up shallow and active are just more apt to pulling a bit harder than the ones offshore in a more neutral mood. I've caught several this past week fishing for smallmouth and all of them hit and pulled very well.

She wasn't due for almost a month still, Lake just didn't want to be a Christmas baby.

Slim4life is a scam would probably sum it up.

Only decision I have to make when I'm flipping grass is which color pit boss I'm going to use

I have, a ton. Grew up in the middle of nowhere. Spend all my free time fishing and hunting or just exploring the woods. Never have I ever heard or seen anything I could even begin to pretend was a Bigfoot, skunk ape, yeti, whatever the "reality" TV shows are calling them now. Closest thing I've seen was my very large uncle trying to figure out how to get his tent unzipped after enjoying too many oat soda pops, which I imagine is how most BF stories get made up.