Tim Kelly

My hands sometimes cramp with spinning outfits with too small a grip. I put American tackle Aero seats on all my spinning rods. I like the build of that rod in your picture. Palm swell bit and the right sort of lure keeper in the right position. What rod is that?

Just tie the thing properly in the first place. No need for lighters or glue. No partners screaming at you for breaking off the fish you needed either. Just practise it, it's not difficult, but it's by far the most reliable knot once you learn to tie it. Takes 3 or 4 minute to tie on the water on the rare occasions you need to. Not worth getting excited about, just an upgrade like all the other evolutions we make to our game all the time.

If you watch any of those videos on you tube with guys casting for pike or musky with a waterwolf camera clipped on above the lure, to film the fish hitting the lure, you will notice the noise the braid makes going through the guides transmitted down the taught line like a tin can and string telephone! It doesn't matter most of the time I suppose, but I bet it matters sometimes. It's a really loud noise and I bet it matters when punching sometimes too. I remember fishing vertically, damiki style, with a friend a few years ago for zander (walleye). We were fishing in 90ft water and our baits were no more than 8ft apart. I had a fluoro leader and he had a fine wire leader on the end of his fluoro. I was getting 5x as many bites as him. He switched to exactly the same bait as me, made no difference. Finally he took the wire off and immediately got the same number of bites as me. It's not often you get a chance to prove something as clearly as that in fishing, but on that day it made a big difference. It has always made me very cautious of doing things that could put fish off since. Moving lures on 4 strand braid being one of them.

I've had this situation with some combinations of line and leader. Slicker braids and harder leader material of the wrong diameters can make it difficult. Usually making more turns in the weave does enough. If you do 20 wraps normally 26 or 30 will probably do it. If it still won't, try a different brand of leader material. They all have different properties. I'd also say, after you do the weaves do one half hitch then do the pull to set the knot. Once that's done make a couple more hitches, cut the leader, a couple more half hitches then a 3 turn renzetti finish and the knot will be secure for ever.

Try it and see.

Looks like you had a superb trip. Still using up some of those multi piece rods I see. A couple more trips should do it. How many sleeps and a wake up is it now?

Not really. The angle of your rod has a huge bearing on when the drag starts to give. If you point the rod directly at the fish, then yes it would theoretically give drag at 11lb, but you'd probably pull the hook out of the fish. Set the drag by feel. Tug a bit of line out and get a feel for it. If the drag slips when you set the hook with heavy line, you probably want to tighten it a bit, with light line, maybe not. There are no exact ways of doing this as it depends so much on the situation.

Spiderwire smooth 8 does everything I want for finesse spinning stuff, I've tried a huge number of braids over the years and it has a good combination of strength and handling. My two most used spinning outfits have got 0.10mm and 0.12mm on them that has been on for 4 seasons and it's still flawless. It's inexpensive too, so that's a bonus. I have Sufix 131 on another spinning rod, and it's very nice, but I don't see an advantage over smooth 8, especially at 3-4x the price. The trouble with recommending it is that it is sold in Europe with the diameters I've stated, though the lastest batches seem to have changed the diameters! The US labeling will be totally different. Goodness knows what line manufacturers are thinking. If you get 10-15lb US rated smooth 8 I expect you'll be using the same stuff I'm talking about though.

Very sorry to hear about your year and your father. I understand the stresses of looking out for aging parents and the guilt you inevitably feel. I hope things start to get better for you soon. I'm sure your father was very proud of you.

A proper pea souper there guvnor. ? We've been having more wind than anything else this year. I don't like wind. You can dress for rain or cold, but wind just makes everything difficult.

Fantastic pictures Kendrick, what a trip! Glad all went well Andy. Looking forward to hearing about it.

Outstanding! Glad you had a great trip. Look forward to the photos, though you can keep your ribs to yourself.

Tremendous!

Impressive. Our tomatoes and beans are all gone now, some lettuce still going and spinach, kale and a few other tough leafy things in to keep us going through the winter.

Sounds like amazing service to me.

Time to meet Dr Samuel Adams!

Bet you don't sleep worth a d**n tonight. ?? I can't sleep properly if I'm just going for a normal fishing trip the next day, going away for a special trip leaves me sleepless for a week beforehand! Have a great time.

If you can't use a longer rod for practical reasons the other way to increase casting distance is heavier or more aerodynamic baits and or using finer line. A PE 0.6 or 0.8 mainline might make a significant difference for you, especially if you're using some of the thicker "6lb" monos.

Have a fantastic time. Can't wait for the reports and footage.

Great answer, thank you. In Holland I see huge barges, 6 at a time, tied together and powered by the rear barge. A lot of responsibility for the barge captain there, everyone gets out of their way! The damage in rough water makes total sense.

Andy, I'm always intrigued that people tow on a long rope, where barges tie up side by side with the powered vessel slightly back, so it can steer properly. Any reason why towing on a long line is preferable to side by side?

80lb braid on a 200 spool is going to be a problem. Even a moderate cast will see the spool so empty that your retrieve rate will be pitiful for the first 2/3 of the retrieve.

Impressive. We only got as far as filling our Airfix model planes with white spirit, setting light to them and flying them out of the bedroom window. Mind we did turn a toy cap gun into a functioning gun....

I think this is the most likely scenario ^^ . A 1500 size reel is pretty small, 2500 to 4000 is a more usual size range for bass fishing.

Travelling can be a chore. Sam Adams helps.