tbone1993

From the week I finally busted the 5lb mark for smallmouth. Crazy how one day I was in shorts and a cut off and the next I was in my bibs. Sucks that we couldn't put em in the livewell, we had over 25lbs for the day. Mainly 2/3lbers but when you're catching em hand over fist I'll take that any day.

Dobyns Champion 765flip and a Quantum Smoke

Gonna keep the hacks coming. When tournament or even shore fishing things choosing the right baits out of can be an issue. Instead of searching for the 5 key baits of the day keep them on golf rings or shower curtain rings. I normally have a dedicated day box but if we're trying to key in on subtle differences I'll have a ring with 7 or so different plastic baits. When they're on a senko bite I'll have my different colored senkos on one ring etc etc. I also do the same thing with certain jigs that come on peg board style packaging. Rip on off and I'm ready to go rather than opening up the boxes and searching for the elusive color in the bottom.

Do you already have a good cold water setup for ice fishing? If not I would consider something that has the ability to add a liner. In northern WI last may we had what felt like 30 degree mornings that would warm up towards the end of the day. By noon I would shed the liner. I personally have two setups and they're both columbia. One is a Gale Warning/ Bibs and the other is their pack jacket/pants. The pack suit is perfect for late spring/mid summer. I have a columbia deal so it was an easy purchase for me.Never heard a bad thing about the BPS gortex though.

Line selection is more important than the knot you tie. That is a whole different topic with probably hundreds of threads already listed. As @road warrior posted use a site like http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php#ScrollPoint to learn new knots. To answer your question it depends on what I am doing. Spinnerbaits jam knot , jigs palomar. I have used the double jam knot for alabama rigs and it hasn't failed me yet. I like the palomar because its quick and easy. Great knot just not<hah the one I like tying when its cold out and my fingers aren't working.

Even though they're done they still can't sell out.

Jesus your unit must cost more than your boat lol

Salmon are getting closer and closer.

Nice fish but wetting your hands before handling a bass does nothing when you lay em in the grass. If you have a good set of pliers on hand you can easily and safely remove a hook without ever letting it hit the ground.

Yeah that helps a bunch. I always felt like running them weightless put them too high in the water column. So hard to put down a swim jig when they're crushing it. Its funny how I have confidence in a huddleston grass minnow but not a plain old keitech/lft/bass pro on a hook.

Just picked up a new quantum smoke and that thing is a rocket. I haven't used it enough to give it my 100% approval though. Depending on your location my shop has a tatula 100 type r left hand Also have a curado 200 for a fairly good price.

Got a pack to try them out but didn't use them as I was given a big ol' bag of lake fork magic shads. That being said does anyone have tips to give me more confidence with a paddle tail on a weighted hook. I fish them 90% of the time on a swim jig or chatterbait and never gained confidence throwing them bare.

Whatever rod has a dealer near you. My shop sends out rods for $15 usually which is cheaper than doing it yourself.

Always had good luck with the gizit tubes. You can buy bulk packs off of their website. That being said I've caught fish on almost any tube i've thrown. When I ran out dicks only had the big bites baits in stock and those worked well. It just depends on the type of bait the fish want. The small size of the big bites/ gizit worked wonders in the creeks for smallies but the bigger gizits worked better on northern lakes. The hooks are almost more important as the bait IMO.

Did alright out of a tracker this past year. Perfect rig to get out and go fish. 90% of the time I pre-fished in college I was fishing out of the boat I was going to fish the tournament in. The console steering is a plus because then you can enter pretty much any tournament.

I guess you missed the other thread.

My STX no longer tensions completely. I believe that the springs may have been bent out of shape. Is there something else that could cause this and where can i get a new assembly?

Zoom chunks, speed craws, and trick worms have caught me an ungodly amount of bass this past year.

No on the neoprene, though I may get a few for long term storage. I use the XL on my big poles 7f6 and above. I have one for my 7ft3.

Erie Darters on a drop shot work wonders.

Pretty much the same thing here. Had them on finesse shaky heads, flick shakes etc etc. Now im throwing a trick worm 90% of the time.

Tight contour lines right near shallow flats.Most likely going to find bass spawning near to where they can get deep quickly. Bass are going to use channels like highways to move into the backs of coves. Pre-spawn you can usually catch them along tight contour lines and the last channel swing in the backs of coves. If you're catching them shallow and not seeing them on beds chances are you're still in pre-spawn and the fish are going to move even shallower in that area. This will help show you what some of those features look like on a map. That being said I have no idea why small mouth or even some large mouth spawn deep. I've seen bass spawning in 20ft of water and it blows my mind. I'm used to the typical 6in-12in of water , bellies in the mud, type bedding bass.

The extremes have a new blank, guides, and cork. Essentially a new rod lol. I stand corrected ,Dobyns is phasing out their rods with Kigan guides. Essentially the champion XP is a champion with fuji guides. While the HP is a new rod all together.

I just wing it on each setup. I don't want to have a loose drag on my jig rod, I want to set the hook and bring that fish up. If it turns out to be a giant I'll quickly back the drag off. Another bait casting tip is to hit the thumb release and use your thumb as the drag kind of like back reeling. On a spinning reel I normally keep enough pressure to set the hook but not snap my line which is usually light.

It was actually a zebco 808 spooled up with 20lb Ande, I can't handle backlashes anymore. Going to all zebco omegas next season if I land this pro staff deal. That 3.4:1 gear ratio can really bring those baits back in lol