OkobojiEagle

There is better opportunity for the bass to hook itself. oe

Balance comes from equaling the weight on either side of a fulcrum. Your hand is the fulcrum... you'll have to determine the rest through trial. oe

Cut off the weed guard... oe

I like to use a little bucktail with a few strands of flash-a-bou over and neck hackle tips over that. I prefer my dressing to be much shorter than commonly seen. oe

...or the balsa jointed minnow oe

Unless you're perforating the dividers as well I don't think you're getting much air flow through the tackle box. Opening the lids over night (as suggested) is more efficient. Using a small room fan blowing over the open boxes for a couple hours will increase air circulation and hasten drying. oe

That was several years ago and remembering that is exactly what re-kindled the question in my mind... oe

Not in my experience... rust will weaken the hook, more rust = weaker hook not prevent bites. I'd suggest you have your tetanus shot up to date though... oe

Raul, you will not catch me standing beside you at a party without one hand covering my cocktail glass... oe

~15' clear water, boulders with sparse weed smallmouth fishing, 50+ degree water temp, above the Mason-Dixon line... Lunker City 4" Swimmin' Ribster (ayu); Pointer 78 (ghost sunfish/ghost bluegill); Gunfish 95 (ghost bluegill) oe

5.x-1 (<20" line retrieve per handle revolution) used to be pretty standard... and caught a fair number of fish. oe

Think of it as an "opportunity" to replenish your tackle... oe

ball bearing swivels on in-line spinners, but never metal snap attachments. Re-tying your knots often is a good thing! oe

I file all of the barbs off... oe

Most anglers have a few extra-effective lures in their tackle box. You can tell them because they're all chewed up... nope, I don't think the bass mind. oe

Sorry, selection is all I want from a retail store... and it better be an upgrade from Walmart's selection. oe

What impact would banning barbs have on your fishing??? Isn't the obvious purpose of a barb on a fish hook to pin the fish to the hook? I find I have to play LARGER bass more "gingerly" with barbless hooks than smaller bass and more attention has to be paid to keeping modest pressure on the line with the rod. Ultimately I lose a few larger bass each year fishing barbless. oe

My question didn't ask about mortality, I wanted to know if tournament anglers... the guys who fish for dollars and prizes... would fish differently if they had to fish barbless. If so, in what way would they fish differently? oe

What's your opinion... If bass tournaments were to become barbless, would the techniques used and/or the tournament results change? Would the same anglers that are winning today still come out on top? Any difference in outcomes when considering local club tournaments or BASS elite events? I'm talking barbless, not forcing anyone into finesse techniques. No hidden motives here, just looking for opinions from guys who actually fish bass tournaments. oe

They seem plausible to me oe

I acknowledge that "muscle memory" plays a significant part in my fishing concentration... turning the reel handle with a similar tempo in most retrieve situations. A longer handle would result in "slowing down" the bait speed. (I'm not venturing into the mechanical ratio change discussion!)

I'd like to add this to the discussion as well... What advantages does a "bent" handle provide over a "straight" handle to a bass fisherman? oe

Darren and others... can you put into words what it is about the longer handles that improves your fishing experience. I provide "leverage" with the rod, so I'm looking for other tangible and intangible qualities. How long is your Hawgtech handle... frankly, I'm not even sure what the stock handle length is on my Chronarch 51e. oe

I usually attend 5:00 mass... oe

ice out or mid-summer?... oe