Todd2

No way....Log Cabin ?

If the braid ever gets too much for you to deal with in the winter, try some encapsulated Spectra. Several different ones out there. Same sensitivity, stretch, and its usually a little cheaper than braided Spectra. I've been using one for about a month that I like. That covering should keep ice off the guides, although since it's dropped to single digits here I've opted to sit by the fireplace more than fish....lol My favorite method is to crawl a Charlie Brewer Slider like a Charlie Brewer Slider...lol I wish the Ned worked for me like others but I fish too much brush and get hung when I try.

Sounds similar to a double crappie jig setup that crappie guys have using since I can remember seeing guys crappie fish..

Dave Stewart guides on the north end, or at least used to. We went out with him years ago and did decent despite a huge cold front that moved in the night before. I'd check with him but I go down there with a group on the last weekend in April every year and do pretty good most years.

Yup...buying in bulk is key. There are a lot of Big Game users here. Its easy to do find, comes in bulk and is very hard (if impossible) to beat price wise per foot. An alternative to braid is finding some bulk encapsulated Spectra. It can be a little cheaper than braid, especially in bulk. There are different products out there, I'm trying out some Diamond Illusion Spectra, haven't fished it yet but seems promising in the yard.

So worst case, a Bass holds it .08 seconds..what's best case? Most of us never know because we're swinging, but I know some guys shake off a fish when pre fishing. For the sake of the discussion let's say best case is 20 secs? So somewhere between .8 and 20 secs that bass is letting go. In any portion of that range, it's in their mouth....so why not swing fast? Now..the ones we don't feel, not sure what you can do about that...but I've caught many fish on setting the hook when in doubt of whether it was a bite. I've whiffed a bunch too.

@Catt Had to go back and read...no mention of average for the Bass, but the Human study did say average, so that varies quite a bit. I guess the point I took from the article is a Bass can (and often does) spit a lure fairly quick...even jigs and soft plastics here. Sure I'll get the occasionally walk off bite where the line kind of takes off to the side or sometimes right below your boat and you have no choice but to catch up with em and swing. But more often I seem to feel one small tap and that's it...those seem to be my bigger fish. I fished with a good buddy from Texas for years. He's moved back home now. But we had two totally different hooksets...he'd get bit and say "take it baby, take it" and wait till the rod was bent before setting the hook. Id always swing at first tap. I never say a word...just swing fast. When I missed, he'd say "You didn't wait long enough." He'd miss and I'd say "They don't have hands, set the hook". Over the years we fished pretty even so I don't know if we ever proved which way was better.

You can bet if they're crushing a certain crankbait....I ain't putting it down. But sometimes it is what it is.. I'm in the swing early and often camp.

Can I add my top 2 together? Otherwise, nope.

I was reading an article in a magazine over the weekend on a study they did with cameras that showed that a Bass can suck in and spit out a lure in 1/12 of a second. That's about .08 seconds. So I did a quick search and found a study that shows how fast a human responds to stimuli. On average, it was .25 secs for visual, .17 secs for audio, and .15 secs for touch. So on your best day, a Bass could take and spit the lure almost twice before you could even feel the bite to start to set the hook. Just food for thought on your next bite at the lake....lol

Hey the bite is slow for some of us, we've got to do something. Wait for my mid January post...."What Do Bass Think About?"....

Could be clogged...mine did that on the water this fall and I ran some thick mono up it because that's all I had and it actually worked.

Very true, I've only had one drag related break off that I can remember.....and yes it still hurts. I was fairly new to Bass fishing and had my drag locked down fishing a jig close to a dam. Fought it to the boat after what seemed like 2 mins, probably much less, but it made a run and that was it. I can still hear that snap..lol. I never saw the fish. Since that day, I've always remember to loosen it up some and adjust it by feel and I've been ok since. Years later I was fishing with my girlfriends dad, he took me to the same spot and said it was a good spot for big walleye, so looking back on it that's probably what it was.

I did some testing in the shop. I set the drag at 3lbs on a few reels and then went back and pulled straight off the spool just to get a feel and was really surprised how little effort it took to pull drag. I bet I've been fishing at least double or more than that with mono...going by just the "feel" test. Good stuff here, thanks...

I think I follow you..so two options..ease up on the hook set or as you suggest set the drag to 1/3 and keep the same hook set. No need to do both? So how often does your drag slip on the hook set with braid?

One of my problems is I just need to go all in on braid. Having mono on some and braid on others messes me up with different hook sets...especially when they hit on the fall after a long cast. With mono, I just adjust the drag by feel..but I usually set it fairly tight and leave it. Braid being less forgiving, seems harder to get right. I'd like to set it and leave it, but we're supposed to back off the drag washer while not fishing I've read. I'm gonna switch them all to braid, set them to 1/3 and try to get used to how that feels so I can set it on the fly, and back off on the swing...lol

I'm a lover of mono, but 5 million people can't be wrong so I'm gonna try braid again on my spinning reels. How do set your drag? If I'm using 15lb braid/6lb mono eq.? How many lbs is necessary to penetrate that roof of the mouth. I don't want to rip mouths which is one reason I switch back to mono every time I try braid. Thanks.

Made it out yesterday..water temps low 50's, squeaked out a few short fish but I think it's time to switch to Crappie. I got back to the ramp and saw loaded livewells around me. Crappie fishing till March/April for me.

When I get on the water, I get mental block sometimes. It's like I read articles about various lures and have too many different things I want to try. I'll fly through several rods trying different things and usually end up going back to the jig. Slowing down...dragging and hopping the jig along the bottom is my therapy AND as mentioned..jigs catch big fish.

Wow...anything special about that small area? Steep drop?

Started with spinning, drifted away to more casting, but in the last few years I've gone back more to spinning. But always have both out on deck.

I've caught Bass with water temps in the upper 30's. It's slow though, dragging a jig has been my best cold water producer. Sometimes, I'll fish deep on standing timber for Crappie...those will bite all year and it gets me outdoors.

Fluorocarbon is supposedly water proof so I don't understand how it soaks in to help but I'll admit I'm not a fluoro guy. Not sure why anyone would use it on braid. If you are using a stiff mono (CXX comes to mind) there might be some benefit. I just use better handling mono and there is no need. Just my opinion, I'm sure others will disagree.

My top 5 Bass. 1. Jig - Green Pumpkin 2. Spinnerbait - White 3. Jig - Black/Blue 4. Jig - Black/Blue 5. Jig - Black/Blue

EBay is a great place to pickup good deals. I buy all of my Shaky/Ned/Grub jig heads from there. Occasionally I'll get reels from there. Rods are another thing, I like to hold them before buying.