OkobojiEagle

My fingers are getting clumsy with age as well... anyone using the Albright knot vs. Alberto knot anymore? oe

It wasn't lost upon me that he underfilled is bait casting reels... oe

nope. As mentioned above, I do remember where the big ones were hooked and the exhilaration of playing them to hand with 6lb line, back-reeling all the way. Several of them were 40" musky and +20" smallies. oe

On the water you fish most often, do you start your fishing day at locations that are tried and true for you or do you first try new or previously less productive spots trying to figure out something new? oe

I'd wait a couple weeks and see what the new St Croix Victory rods are about... oe

Amen

thanks for the heads up

this and this

several companies have begun laminating green pumpkin with watermelon... just sayin' oe

the spring bite is less about the current water temp and much more about the water temp multi-day trend. I want to be there on the 3rd day of a 3 day warm-up... at any temp. oe

Add my name to the MaxScent fanbase. oe

what is the forage fish size in your pond? oe

I prefer a drag grease on gears of both casting and spinning reels, as well as 90wt lower unit oil in spinning reel bearings and non-spool bearings in my casting reels. Casting spool bearings get TSI-321. oe

underfilling the spool will also help with "over-run" issues... aka back-lashing. oe

OP, Why would you ever fish any bait with a buried hook point if the cover didn't demand it?... oe

Try something a little different... use a nail weight (ala Neko rig) in the head and Texas rig the tail... oe

Which PE line and which fluorocarbon line does make a difference. I've been using original Fireline braid in 8lb - 10lb tests and can feel bites when the line is bowed due to breeze. I also can see this line jump on the waters surface better than other PE lines I've fished. I would guess that fluorocarbon lines are better than original Fireline for what you're asking but I prefer the line management qualities of PE lines to fluoro. I thought NanoFil had better slack line detection than original Fireline, but didn't wear as well and I stopped using it. For the record, I don't care for original Fireline on bait casting reels. oe

I think differently concerning 8lb and 10lb braid on spinning gear. I bought the deep diving version believing smallies holding 8' deep along the weed edges will be less skittish than smallies holding 5' deep. I'll find out once I can no longer walk on my water. oe

My waters are crystal clear... I like being able to put a bait 90' away. I'm sure I'll still be able to catch bass with it. oe

I wouldn't expect this to be true, with the caveat that darker water will warm faster. Brackish water will certainly be denser than fresh water at all temps. oe

How far are you guys getting on the cast? I'll most likely throw it with a 7' ML spinning... a rod that usually has a 3/16 oz hair jig attached to it. As mentioned above, I'm not expecting as pronounced side-to-side movement as larger Pointers... oe

I throw my 78s and larger with 6'10" Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth casting rod and Pixy 68L. I think 3/16oz may be trying to push that envelope a little. All of the other Pointer DDs I've fished have been much less "lively" than their shallower brethren. oe

A couple new tools delivered to me today, one was a Pointer 65DD. Wow is that guy little! Slightly more than 1/16 oz. Guess I'll be throwing it with my hair jig spinning rod, even then I'm not sure I'll get the casting distance I'm normally comfortable with. I wanted to see one, now I have... comment on your experience with this little bait if you want. It's really cold outside and I'm bored... oe

As I remember my high school science classes (???) the opposite should happen. Fresh water is most dense at 39 degrees and becomes less dense as it's temp rises. A bait that suspends in 40 degree water should sink as water warms... unless the density of the bait also changes? oe

Suspend strips work well, but so does adding additional split rings and they can easily be removed on the water if need be. oe