Scott F

Throughout the summer, I fish nothing but rocky rivers, but never from shore. 2 things, first, if you use lighter braid, you can break off the lure without losing almost any line at all. Second, if you are getting hung up that often, you need to change what you are doing. How many casts do you lose while you are trying to get unsnagged and then retieing? How much is it costing you in lures? There are plenty of ways to catch bass that don’t require you dragging the bottom where you are getting hung up. Plenty of baits that don’t get hung up too.

I agree except for the natural colors. One of my best smallmouth lures in clear water is a clown colored X-rap.

Either the battery is no good, or, one bank on the charger is bad. You need a volt meter to find out which one is bad.

Contrary to popular opinion, using braid does NOT require using a leader.

Hey Otter, we are in the same area. The DuPage River is just a few minutes from my home. I use 8-10lb braid on my spinning reels, with no leaders.

No idea how much this drum weighed. Caught on Pickwick Lake, AL

As long as the dog thinks he is the boss, you will never get him to behave the way he should.

Hand held, car or marine GPS?

I always buy my licenses online. I print 3 copies so I always have one with me.

As far as I’m concerned, I want to anoint sainthood to the guy who invented superlines. I know it isn’t perfect, no line is, but I use it on all my rods all the time, never with a leader. For me, it’s been a blessing.

I donate roughly 500 hours of my time every year to my non-tournament, fishing/conservation club and its 300 members.

You can train your dog not to bark at squirrels or other animals you know.

I don’t have a favorite reel. A good reel is invisible to me. If I’m thinking about my reel when fishing, it’s because it’s not working properly. It’s hard to say a reel is exceptional because it does what it’s supposed to do.

I can’t get comfortable on just a pad. As long as you aren’t doing primitive camping, I prefer an air mattress.

No they don’t. And with the millions of bass that live in the US, not one of them have ever made a post on this web site.

It’s a mistake to save a couple of dollars by not replacing both.

There is a handle chart with measurements on St. Croix’s web site. Identify which rod you have and it will show you the dimensions of the handle.

When the water is this cold, just look for eddies. A float and fly is a good choice. Any day with sun and warmer temps are good times. I grew up in northern Indiana and don’t remember any good smallmouth streams. I hope they’ve gotten better than they used to be.

I take several fishing trips a year ranging from a few days to a few weeks. I’m a big planner, using checklists and schedules. I pride myself in being prepared for most things that may come up. The only thing I don’t enjoy is organizing which fishing tackle I’m going to take. Im not one of those who takes everything I own on every trip. For example, I’ve got 4 boxes of top waters, but I’m only going to take a few, and I have to decide which are going, and which are not. Same thing with every other style of bait I own. I quickly get bored with having to make so many decisions. It’s the only part of the trip I don’t enjoy.

Both the casting and spinning rods use the same blanks. Same guides, (different sizes). Same warranties. What makes one good and the other garbage? Garbage, means the rods are unusable. Why are the spinning rods worthless?

Have you spent much time in a kayak? Do you know if your lower back issues will allow you to sit in a kayak for any length of time? I have back problems and can’t sit on a ‘yak for more than half an hour before I had to get off. Your tendonitis will clear up, your back issues, probably not. Everybody is different, I hope you can comfortably fish from a kayak for years to come. New kayaks are coming out all the time with different options for trolling motors that mount in the same space that pedals do now and have small, lightweight batteries. You just have to pay up for the added convenience.

I prefer braid. There is considerable amount of stretch in mono and fluoro lines. When I jerk the rod, I want all the action I impart to transfer to the bait and not be absorbed by the stretch of the line.

If you only have one view open, a big screen isn’t that critical. Very often, you will have multiple views open at the same time. Maps, down view, and side view for example. On a small screen, all three views are too small to see. On a bigger screen, all three can be easily read at the same time.

I never buy rain gear for warmth. I buy regular rain gear and if it gets cold, I wear layers underneath. That way, I only need one rain suit instead of two.

I haven't found the perfect jig for my Ned rigs. I've been using the Z-Man Shroomz weedless. But I'd prefer they came in a lighter weight. The wire weed guards are ok, but I use straight 10lb braid and find my line wraps around the wires quire a bit, requiring a lot of adjusting the wires and unwinding line from them. I've used jigs from BP that have the single, plastic weed guard but those jigs have the molded barb and Elaztech plastics don't stay on the heads so I haven't used them a lot.