Master Bait'r

I could tell you... But then I'd have to kill you!

Digitaka. The highest of recommendations. They even send you a thank you card! The rod is a Destroyer Phase 3 Elseil F4-610X which I got from @Dypsis on here. Going to spool it up with 12# Tatsu and rule the world haha

My bday present for myself arrived today. Pffffff... Well that balanced nicely!

I like to have some old school reggae playing really softly.

I love Quabbin so much. Such an incredible body of water, we are very fortunate to have it nearby!

1/16th the vast majority of the time 1/10 when there's light current or it's deeper than normal. Now that they offer a weed guard I see no reason not to use that.

Sell it local if you can! Although you never know... Somebody out there had that exact box as a kid and may be scouring the internet for it.

Z Man also makes a really nice tiny craw too. Turbo craw was it?? Give them a try, they work great!

Megabass. Destroyer. Phase. 3. Elseil. Happy Birthday to me!

Wow. It just showed up and it is actually a custom made 145 slide swimmer conversion from a silent killer and not the 115 slide it was listed at.

I really like the way braid "snaps" for jerkbaits. When you tug at stretchy line, it acts like a spring- meaning the action of the bait is not getting the same thing you're doing on the reel end because that stretch and rebound force is acting across the length of the cast line, not "on/off switch" as with braid. Obviously it works but I just prefer the tight, immediate start and stall feel I get with braid. Braid seems to be more erratic too, and I love it for jerkbaits. I know it isn't ideal for treble hooks but I've never really run into a problem with it either. Smackdown or Gliss are my go-to non stretch lines. Gliss on my ML rod and Smackdown on the rest. Just so you don't think I'm 100% against stretchy lines, I do use Tatsu for small swimbaits, bigger cranks and basically any steady retrieve application with treble hooks.

Smith Optics don't get a ton of credit around these parts but they are some of the best quality lenses and frames I've used. I am a very big fan.

Boom!! Picked er up a really nice 14' center console today for $225. She ain't aluminum but she's also got a ton of stuff I couldn't have gotten in an aluminum body and she also doesn't need a floor either. Can't wait to make the removable front rod holder and put a new seat in 'er.

I had no idea you were so into women's shoes! That's kind of a strange admission given the thread topic haha

Y'know, it just occurred to me that it's my birthday next week. I'm going to go ahead and say I'll be posting in this thread again very soon.

I bet the company that certifies all our pressure gauges for the shop could do scales too. I wonder if they would notice if I slipped one in there...

Thats kind of like saying "why bother with antilock brakes, you probably just suck at driving" when there's a perfectly good reason it exists and it's called weather. Anybody who who uses a DC reel will still use their thumb, DC is just the best way to fight against wind knots and get the best casting distance you can. You simply cannot sample spool and lure speed a thousand times per second in exact mathematical terms the way a DC reel can.

It's finicky stuff. I used to swear by it until my spools got some age and started to fall apart. It's extremely communicative but it frays easily, is a bit stiff and crinkly and I find Gliss to be better in every way except slack line shock transmission. Gliss is more like braid but impossibly smooth, and Nanofil now feels like plastic cable to me. I doubt I will ever go back.

I very rarely use a popper. I just like the way I can choose to cover water or walk it in place, splash it or make it quitetly wiggle along all with the same bait... With a popper there isn't as much choice. I find there is very little I can't do with a regular style frog, whereas the performance of the popper frogs tend to be a bit more one dimensional. I only bring ring out poppers on the most active if topwater days. Every other time it's all about the regular style frogs and mice. Just my personal style, I'm sure others will disagree.

I don't care about the unpainted belly weight at all. I do, however, care that the bait came in the package with a d**n rolled point after I waited months for it. That actually made me pretty mad. I waited and waited. Even weeks after "buy it now" guys got theirs, they somehow managed to make sure my preorder was dissatisfactory in every possible way. Late AND defective. Yay. Now I'm actually ticked that I still want it. I want to throw it in the trash and say it's garbage almost as bad as I want to fish it.

Definitely stay spinning. I would just go and see what I could get a killer deal on. DSG is in their mega clearance phase and people are selling awesome stuff left and right.

T-rigged worm, minnow craw or jerk (depending on conditions) Slide swimmer or other glide bait 110 suspending jerkbait Hollow frog Arky or brush jig

Super lowballed a seller on an auction site expecting some back-and-forth and to my surprise he just accepted with no counteroffer. So I guess $20 slide swimmers really do exist.

If you don't do this every year you're dead inside. When I'm done dialing my gear, you'll know I'm gone.

Four packs of Megabass Hazedong Magnums and three more 5" MagDrafts.