Scott F

So what if using straight braid is causing you to miss a few bites (Although I myself doubt it). I'd guess you are missing bites all the time, for a variety of reasons. I'm sure I miss bites because my cast was not accurate enough, or I was fishing too fast, or too slow, or using the wrong bait, or fishing in the wrong place. If you concentrate on getting most of your presentation right, you'll get enough fish that you'd never miss the few that didn't bite because you weren't using a leader.

I've been using nothing but light braid for many years in clear, rocky, lakes and rivers. I have never used any flouro or mono leaders. I've never seen a need. In all this time, I have never had a break off due to abrasion, I catch more than my share of bass, and I don't have the extra hassle of tying leaders and having that extra knot go through my guides. For many, leaders are a confidence thing. If in your mind, not using a leader is costing you fish, use it. You may find the extra trouble is worth it, or like me you'll find you don't need them.

Why are you stuck on buying new? A friend of mine just bought a really nice 14 foot boat with 25hp motor that is maybe 10 or 12 years old, looks and operates just like new, and was only $2,500. A new Lund with similar features would have cost $10,000.

4 inch senko type bait.

Have you looked at the Feelfree Lure 10 kayak? It has even a better seat than the Jackson.

I choose B. I can see why guys might choose a large fish because they are more rare, but I've caught large smallmouth out of cold water on the Great Lakes that had little fight in them. Much smaller smallies caught in rivers are a LOT more fun to catch. There is just no quit in them. You get a 14 inch smallmouth on and you'd swear it was at least 4 or 5 pounds and then you see it and are amazed. Big river smallies are even more fun. I don't fish tournaments so the size of the fish doesn't matter at all. It's all about the fight.

Doesn't the front foot of the reel fit underneath a piece that is tightened by the screw underneath? Are you missing that piece?

I use Mepps plain spinners. You should try fishing your Blue Fox spinners with no hair and see how effective they still are!

Boot foot waders offer no ankle support and the boots never fit your feet well. If they did, you couldn't get them on or off. Stocking foot waders will cost more because of having to buy boots, but the extra comfort is worth it.

Case Plastics have been making a sinking bait with a tapered end like that called the Jack's worm for several years.

Right now, Cabela's has the Quantum Smoke spinning reel, normally $159.99 for $99.99. Of course the one I ordered is backordered, but I won't need it for several months.

Thanks, I checked and there was an extra box checked in the filter section that was my problem. All better now!

I frequently visit these forums and always use the View New Content feature. As of this afternoon, if I click on it while signed in, I get the message, "Sorry, no new content. If I log out and hit the same button, all the new content shows up. The same thing happens on my Mac and my iPad. Anybody else having this problem?

After 20 plus years, no one in your house has figured out how to cook a turkey?

You might consider not making it a tournament club. The number of vets that want to fish tournaments might be to limited. By making it a fishing club that might do a couple of tournaments you would increase the number of vets who might like to join. Tournaments aren't for everyone.

Lakes in the spring, rivers summer through fall.

NO waders are going to last a lifetime. NONE of them are bullet proof. I own Simms myself. ($250 to $800) Eventually, the seams will start to leak, or you may catch a stick or thorn that will poke a hole in them. If you stick to a brand that has a good warranty, even if they do leak, you can get them replaced. Simms has good customer service. You can send leaking waders back to them and they'll fix them up. Cabela's has a lifetime warranty, normal wear is pro-rated. As I always say, there are only two kinds of waders. Those that leak, and those that are going to leak.

First off, my club is not a tournament club and a lot of the money we raise goes toward conservation projects. When our members spend money, they know it's going to improve smallmouth fishing in our state. Our big fundraiser for the year is our annual banquet. The $30 ticket covers our costs for guest speakers, dinner and the banquet hall. Our 2016 featured speaker will be Jeremy Smith from Lindner's Angling Edge TV show. We have silent auctions of guided fishing trips donated by members and professional guides. We also have a raffle. A $1 ticket (25 tickets for $20) gets you a chance at one of 100 prizes purchased by us or donated to the cause. We usually get between 175 to 200 attendees and by the end of the night we raise over $10,000.

When you hold the fish out in front of you while taking the picture there is no way to accurately estimate the size because there is nothing to compare it to. If it were up against your body, or something else of a known size, you could figure it out. The closest thing we could use is your hand. If the distance across your knuckles is 3.5 inches (about what mine is) I would estimate the fish to be around 18 inches long and weigh near to 3.5 or 4 pounds.

Looks like your wallet at least looses a lot of weight.

Check your $33 reel against the $133 reel after using them both hard for a year. If you still can't feel the difference, buy the $33 model.

Forgive me if I misunderstood your question but if smallmouth only moved downstream, wouldn't there be no fish in the river after they all moved downstream?

I'm just South of Plainfield in Northwestern Joliet

Its been a while since I flew with fishing rods out of the country but if you lock the case and customs wants to search it, won't they cut the lock off?

If I was bank fishing, I land them, unhook them and release them. I never weigh fish. If I want to get a length measurement, I'll hold them along side the rod, mark the length, let them go and measure the spot on the rod with a tape later. No selfie photos when I'm walking the bank or wading. If I'm in my personal pontoon, I'll hold them in the water in a net until I can get my camera ready for a selfie. I'll only take a picture if the fish is 18 inches or better.