K_Mac

As cool as it is to see one jump and carry on, the odds of them spitting the bait go way up when they do. Sounds like you had a great day. 8-)

Interesting is the post, irregardless of the before mentioned reading difficulties!!! :

Add one more for the PQ. I have two. I'm only in my second year with them, but so far they have been flawless.

Trying some new baits and presentations is a good way to keep your head in the game. When you get that out of your system, go back to what you know works. I sometimes get so caught up in changing color, weight, style, etc. that I spend more time bouncing between presentations than fishing what I know catches fish. Relax and enjoy the ride. 8-) Good luck.

Then spend the rest on electronics. When you upgrade, you can re-install on the next boat. Good luck.

I believe I could practice the double uni from now on, and never be very good at it. The modified albright is much easier to tie (for me anyway), and works very well.

You're using a great jig. :)I haven't used pork in years. With all of the good plastic trailers there is no reason to IMHO. Since you already have a jar, skin up is the way I rigged them most of the time. You can loosen them up a little by cutting some of the fat off. This will cause the jig to fall faster. Sometimes that is a good thing... The first time you have one dry up on a jig you will see that pork is a pain... The Rage Tail trailers get a lot of love on this forum. I haven't tried them yet. Zoom makes a good trailer that is shaped much like pork, and works well. I use Netbait Paca chunks and craws most of the time. All of these have action you will not get with pork. There are still a few folks around that use pork. Some swear by it in cold water. I caught many fish using pork back in the day. 8-) Good luck.

1. Jig: a-skirted with big trailer (Paca craw) b-non-skirted with spider grub 2. Wacky rigged 6" Senko/Stick-o on 1/8 oz jig 3. Suspending jerkbait (100 Pointer or X-Rap)

Roger in addition to the combo, in two times falling off the boat I've lost two high priced pairs of prescription glasses, and trashed two cell phones. You would think a guy would learn after the the first time. : :-[ When I was young, being ten feet tall and bullet proof, it never occurred to me that I could fall off the boat. Even if it had, I would not have considered I might get in trouble. Times sure have changed... Kirby

I'm about 45 miles southeast.

My favorite lake has a 14"-18" slot limit. You can keep 5 under and 1 over. I do not keep anything over, but it is recommended that some smaller fish be kept to improve the fishery. A couple of times a year I will keep a few small fish. Selected harvest can work. In my home state (Illinois) we don't have anywhere near enough DNR agents to effectively enforce the fish and game laws either. A sign of the economic times I'm afraid.

As I was posting on another board about wearing some sort of floatation device, I realized I have lost three spinning outfits. The last one was lost when I fell off my boat. :-[

I wear a Stearns manual inflatable belt at all times on the water. My history of falling in requires I wear something. I realize this is a compromise, and that a regular PFD would be safer. I just can't stand the bulk of one. The regular auto inflatables seem to be subject to inflating in wet conditions which rules them out for me. The hydrostatic autos are great, but are cost prohibitive IMO. Fishfordollars I will not bash you. I fish alone often, and for years did not wear a PFD. I will tell you the 2 times I've fallen off the boat I was not wearing one. The last time I was fishing <50 yards from the ramp, and hadn't run the outboard other than backing off the trailer. I simply had forgoten to put my belt on. I'm not sure what happened but one minute everything is cool, the next I'm in the drink. There was just enough wind that it kept moving the boat away from me at exactly the speed I was swimming toward it. When I reached down for the deploy cord on my belt and found I didn't have it on , things got much more interesting. I had a spininng rod in my hand and my pants had slid down around my ankles :. I let go of the rod and swam for the boat with all I had. By the time I reached it I was in water shallow enough to stand. It frightened me enough that I will not make that mistake again.

I have a 7' M-XF rod that I use for light jigs and t-rigs. It works very well. I would try the lighter jig on your MH rod. With the weight of the trailer you may find it works fine. For flipping or pitching, I think it will do a good job. As mentioned, it will effect casting. I would give it a shot. It won't hurt anything. Good luck.

This is an interesting discussion. I think this, like most, tackle related issues is very subjective. I add weight to balance all of my rods, except those used for "moving" baits. I find the stress that a tip heavy rod puts on my hand and wrist bothers me more than a rig that balances perfectly in my hand, even if it weighs a couple of ounces more. That's what works for me. Your results may vary.

There is a cable/pedal adjustment screw under the foot control. It may have needed to be tightened a bit. My Fortrex stays right were you leave it.

The easiest and cheapest short cut is to make the swivel, leader, and hook assy. ahead of time. You can wrap a few, in various lengths if you want, around a small piece of Styrofoam. Then you have just one knot to tie when it's time to fish. Good luck.

No kids to sell.....But I have a wife I'd be willing to auction off! With that income I should be able to get a powerpole and the 1197! ;D Careful man. You may find yourself living in the boat with no pole to hold it in place...

I use BPS Extreme and Pro Qualifier baitcasting reels. Either one will do a good job for you. For a few dollars more the PQ is a much smoother reel. It has both centrifugal and magnetic braking, making casting a joy.

This is always my goal. 8-) I've been fishing 4 of the last 6 days. I've caught 7 fish total. My old cheap scale is no longer to be trusted, so in spite of J Franco's excellent advise to get a scale I can't say for sure what they weighed. All were between17 1/4" and 18 1/4". 3 were full of eggs and I would conservatively guess weighed 4 1/2-5lbs. My fishing partner Sat. caught one 18 1/2" that had a belly as big as mine (relatively speaking ). I would rather catch 7 fish in this range than several times that number of small fish. I love this time of year. 8-) FWIW 4 were caught on 6" wacky rigged Stick-os, fished on 1/8 oz jig heads. 3 were caught on 4" spider grubs, fished on 3/8 oz football jigs (non-skirted) The other was caught on the same jig and a BPS Tiny Beaver.

I may be naive, but I've never heard of such a thing. I will be curious to hear how they resolve this for you. Good luck.

I've had both. My experience with MK has been better. I bought the an 80# Fortrex last year because I found it on sale with the US2. I don't think you can go wrong with the Maxxim. The digital control is amazing. It is far more efficient than any thing I've had in the past. Good luck.

A buddy has a G.Loomis CBR783-C- a 6'6" crankbait rod. I had never used a high end crankbait rod before. It is an amazing rod, both light and sensitive. I don't own one though. I can't justify the money, but if the budget would allow...

There are many great reels at that price range (I'm told. All of mine are in the $60-100 range.). It really comes down to personal preference. Real speed in large part is also matter of preference. Something in the 26-28 IPT would be my preference for 1&2. If you are going to throw deep diving cranks with 3, a slower IPT would be my choice. I was reminded yesterday just how much work deep divers are.

I've always used the face up/down method. Last week I spooled 2 reels and neither up or down seemed to work. This has happened rarely in the past, but enough that I am going to give the pencil method a try. It cannot be any worse than this past weeks attempt.