mcipinkie

Zoom Z - Craw !!

Hello Kicker. That's amazing. I'm a Pop-R lover. Throw lots of them. Customize them extensively in the old Zell Rowland manner, but that's the one top water, that I tie hard to the lure eye. Tight, no loop. My belief, and seems to be mine alone - I want a Pop-R to pop, not to walk. Typically on 15 lb Big Game in front of 30 lb braid. Another funny thing, I want a bone Pop-R 99% of the time. I sand all the finish off, put a little spar varnish on the lure and go. Fishermen are strange beasts.

I love all this, seeing different people's perspective. I expect everyone posting is telling the 100% truth about what works for them and what doesn't. Then factor in what all the pros say they do, and we still don't have any sort of agreement about what works, and what doesn't. Maybe the new lines are better than they were 20 - 30 years ago when I did my testing, but no way I could get a palomar to hold in 30 lb Lynch Line, or Spiderwire. That was what we had then. It slipped every time. Slipped, didn't break. Just came untied. I remember the frustration. Get a bite, set the hook and wind in the line. Mind you, I didn't do any gluing, or line melting or anything like that. If you have do that, you have a bad knot. I'm not flaming anyone. I expect what everyone says works, works for them, but the different viewpoints are amazing. Me, I'm staying with the round turn, and the 7 turn uni. PS: It ain't no fishing fool knot.

Yep! Generally, I throw a 5/16 oz. weight. 3/16 oz down, 1/8 oz up, or vice versa. Believe it or not, it really works well. If you want to go heavier, or lighter, same principal. I like that rig. Except for pitching big worms in heavy wood looking for suspended fish, almost completely replaced Texas rig.

Hey Kicker !! I do too. Cranks, lipless, topwaters, all get snaps. I've a ton of split rings I've accumulated over 60 years of fishing. Fishing is a head game. If it works, or even if you think it works for you, it probably does.

It all depends on what your goal is. If you are looking for something to do keep the winter blues, away, have at it. I fully understand. I used to custom build rods, some professionally, some for my own pleasure. Fun way to spend off time. If any of you have built rods, you will understand this. I used to wrap with A - thread. Got to be worse than 4 lb braid. If your goal is to catch more, bigger fish (mine is), then I would direct my efforts toward that goal. Neither is right, or wrong, unless you're in it for money. Then if you aren't in the check line, you did it wrong.

Regarding this issue, I like snaps, but split rings work just as well. I don't believe all the, from my perspective, BS about why snaps don't work, but if you like split rings and knots, go ahead. IMHO, it doesn't really matter to the fish.

You know, this is one of the most amazing questions in fishing. I'm a true braid believer. Use it on every rod, reel, lure combination. Have ever since it came out 30 or so years ago. I had a world of trouble with knots when it came out. Couldn't find one that would hold. I built a knot testing jig in my basement to try to find a knot that would work. Tried them all: Palomar, Cinch, Improved Cinch, Uni Knot, San Diego Jam, I tried them all. This was not a BS test. I had a set of high quality scales with a tell - tale that would tell me accurately when the line, or knot failed. Couldn't get anything to hold. Then I tried a round turn around the hook eye and a 7 turn uni-knot. Long before that Doofus Pennaz called it a fishing fool knot. Tied it with a round turn in the hook eye and 7 turns of a uni. Always broke the line rather than the knot. I see a lot of people, including some big name pro's, that tie a palomar. Now, I know they are not BS'ing when they say it works for them, but I have never made it work. Still can't. Round turn and uni-knot for me.

Dayumm !! Are you people serious? I doubt the fish will know any of this BS?

Slonezp, d**n man, that's tough. I've been lucky. My background is ironworking, but I've never gotten hurt bad. The usual crap that goes with the trade, but nothing serious. I had 2 heart attacks in 2013 that sort of slowed me down, but I ain't fought nothing like that. My extreme admiration. If you are anywhere near Kansas City, I'd be proud to take you fishing!

Hi Hawg, Not quite sure what you are saying, but one thing I did to allow me to continue fishing at a good level was to learn to cast with either hand. I assume you are talking in one sense about pitching as in pitch casting. I made my self, well after 60, learn to cast with either hand. It really has made a difference in my ability to stay on the water. Funny, I'm naturally right handed, but some techniques I'm better with my left hand, and some I'm better with my right, but I can go either way, and at the end of a long day, I'm in better shape. 10 - 12 hour days are no problem. At least not yet,

Slonezp, I could not imagine not fishing. I retired, sort of forced since the company closed the local office, 01/31/20. I'm not complaining. I'm 74. I had planned to work one more year, so in pretty good shape financially. Until the weather turned real bad here in Missouri, I have fished 2 - 7 days a week since February. God is indeed good. I would imagine that most fishermen would not sue their doctor, but unfortunately, we are still outnumbered. Law suits, or the potential for law suits, drive an alarming number of so called medical decisions. I understand opioid addiction. My wife is an invalid, and without some very strong medicine she would not survive. Believe me, it all looks different from this side. Sounds like you're doing pretty well. So far, so good for me. I still tournament fish by myself most of the time. Can still handle long, hard days on the water. Scary to get old. Where you ?

I would generally be inclined to agree with you guys except for the current tort situation in this country. Right or wrong, every doctor in this country is going to protect him/her self from law suits. If you are in good condition, and can heal in a month, you will be prescribed at least 3 months PT. Worse case, even longer. You have to make the best decision for you, that you can make, HONESTLY, evaluating your self, and your capabilities, using what the medical professionals tell you to help you. I'm 74 years old, and except for a couple heart attacks, in pretty darn good shape. I know my body. I know what I can do, and what I can't, and I know how important fishing is to me. At the moment, I'm not faced with any of the decisions that some of you are, but I'll utilize what the doctors tell me as ONE of the factors in any decision that I may be forced to make.

I'm not a line believer. You can find multiple posts (rants?) from me about fluorocarbon line and how I believe it's a marketing hype designed to get us to buy line that costs 2 - 4 times what good mono costs and brings us nothing. Don't bother replying. I spit out that Kool - Aid a long time ago. That said. I'm a braid chunker. Typically with Big Game leaders somewhere between 10 and 25 lb test. In heavy grass, straight 50 lb braid. Don't get caught up in numbers and Excel spreadsheets. It's much more important to throw in the right place than anything else. Where is North Adams? I lived in Natick about 20 years ago. Alright, 30 years ago. I was in Boston for the South Station Rehab. Almost 30 years ago. I'm old !!

Hello Hack . . . For a Massachusetts boy, you've got it pretty well figured out. You tool up largely for the cover you're fishing and your expected size of fish. In water with nothing to hang you up, you can get by with light wire hooks, lighter line, and probably get more bites. If you're at Lake Truman in Missouri where you're fishing submerged cedar trees in 5 - 25 ft. of water, you need other tools. Or Rayburn, or Fork, or Toledo Bend or a thousand other cover lakes. Big flipping stick, Hack Attack jigs with anchors for hooks and 25 lb. mono, or 50 lb braid. FC not needed.

Don't see why it wouldn't work. Most of the people that post on fishing sites seem to have a thing with BPS tackle. My only problem with their rods now, is that most of them are ugly. I always thought the old Extreme was the best $100 rod you could buy. Still have a half dozen or so in various sizes. Liked the old Crankin' Stick when it had the cork Power Hump handle. Great crank bait/jerk bait rod. Some how or another Ott Defoe and Edwin Evers have managed to win a couple Classics on this cheap, crumby tackle. It's just so UGLY !!

Regardless of what the manufacturers' and their sponsored pro's tell us, there ain't no magic lure. Staying with this post, sometimes the Missile Baits catch 'em. Sometimes the Zman baits catch 'em. Some time both, or neither do That's why we carry so many. That said, I personally like the Ned Bomb for Ned rigging, but will try almost anything I can get on a little jig. Really like the Missile Bait better than the Zman, but I'll throw what they will bite. Don't like the Ned Bomb for drop shot. Thow the Bomb Shot almost exclusively. Regardless of what the manufacturers' and their sponsored pro's tell us, there ain't no magic lure. Staying with this post, sometimes the Missile Baits catch 'em. Sometimes the Zman baits catch 'em. Some time both, or neither do That's why we carry so many. That said, I personally like the Ned Bomb for Ned rigging, but will try almost anything I can get on a little jig. Really like the Missile Bait better than the Zman, but I'll throw what they will bite. Don't like the Ned Bomb for drop shot. Thow the Bomb Shot almost exclusively.

YEP !!

Read the reviews on TW. They will tell you what is going on. Unless you have a bad one, it's normal.

Randy Blauket did a little video on these. The quality looks worse that the old Uncle Josh baits, which in this century, were largely garbage. I wouldn't mind the price if all of them were good baits, but the old UJ went out of business because they couldn't find good pork. Full disclosure, I haven't seen them myself, only looked at Randy's video. I've probably got enough No.11 and No. 1 to last me the rest of my life. I don't use them much in that size. I want some no. 101 spin frogs. I would probably pay far too much for them. I fish them on deer hair jigs. Got hung last week. Had to break one off. I can buy, or make, more deer hair jigs, but 101 Spin Frogs are hard to find and dear to buy.

If you look at Shimano's web page the 6 to one retrieves 26 IPT. 50' cast = 23.1 turns The 7 to one retrieves 30 IPT 50' cast = 20 turns. The 8 to one retrieves 34 IPT 50' cast = 17.6 turns. Three turns of the reel handle assuming reel is full capacity. Can you feel it? I can't going from 6 to 7. I can going from 6 to 8. Of course I'm an old man. I remember when 5 to 1 was a fast ree.

You rich Yankee boys don't understand having to scrounge to go fishing. A little judgement about where you go and the weather and it's a perfectly sound fishing machine. Still have the boat. Still pond fish with it. I'll get my $200 back when I can't. Having lived in both MIchigan and Minnesota, I'll promise you there are a lot of boats like mine being used every day, except when you're fishing in tar paper houses. MIght not be a good idea for a first time boater, but I built boats out of scrap wood when I was a kid just to go fishing in ponds. Never felt uncomfortable in the pond skimmer.

Not inclined to share 100% in the negativity. You aren't going to find anything nice and pretty for that much, but keep an eye on Craig's list especially during the winter. I bought a 8' plastic pond boat, with a trolling motor and a little battery and a little depth finder for $200 a couple years ago. Yes, it was beat up and had a lot silicone holding it together, but it floated, didn't leak, and caught a lot of fish. Met the seller at Wal-Mart. He backed his truck up to mine, we drug it from one bed to another, I handed him the money, and we were done. No bill of sale, no title, none of that legal garbage. Fished on farm ponds only so no registration needed. You may not be that lucky, especially in Ohio if you want to fish public waters. Would have been a problem in MO, but not an issue to me. I did sneak it in a couple little municipal reservoirs where registration was required, but didn't get caught.

I have no idea what we are looking at. What kind of Tracker is it. Where is the dent? How large? How deep? How much is the boat worth? You don't want to spend several hundred dollars fixing a boat that's only worth a few thousand and doesn't run very fast anyway. What ever it is, a good aluminum shop should be able to fix it, if spending the money is the right answer. I've fixed dents with Marine Tex (sp?) in my old aluminum boats. Filled a couple with Bondo and then pop riveted an aluminum plate over them. Looks like a riveted boat, so a couple more rivets probably won't mean anything. I'm inclined to agree with Way2slow, the damage may not be the cause of yourperformance issue.

Did the same thing on the bow of my new Skeeter. Covered the hole with Starboard. Can't recommend Starboard enough. Easy to work with. Rot proof. Works like wood except for glue. If you can build something nice with wood, you can with SB.