Master Bait'r

Yeah those are the ZPIs as mentioned above. Not really a fan tbh. I really like the clear cork RCS knobs and will end up with them regardless but I'm just going to have to experiment as flipping them around goes. I know, it's a small and weird idea that may end up being a pain but I want to do it and I'm a custom fabrication guy by trade so these kinds of first world problems happen to me a lot haha... At the very least it'll be a learning experience.

I figured as much... I couldn't find any reference to doing it at all in any of my searches. Would you happen to have, say, a half dozen of the Daiwa plastic knob bushings and a pair of bearings handy I could purchase from you to experiment with?

Yes, I'm talking about these: I just want to flip them around so the pointier side it facing out and the flared side is facing in towards the reel. The center post hole in them is dissimilar at either end, and I'm just looking for a kit to do it. I've looked all over and the closest I can find is just a bunch of the plastic spacers that come stock, and a bearing set for the outermost layer, and likely a longer screw would be needed. maybe I should just shoot DVT a message and see what he thinks would be the best way to go about it.

I could not possibly disagree more with this statement. I frog fish literally every time I go out and I've found the opposite to be true. Bass can spit a non-food item just about as fast as you can blink so when I see the frog disappear, I set the hook- hard. None of the reeling until I feel the weight jazz, no sir- crack that whip as hard and fast as you can and make sure the frog doesn't move until it's basically going to get all that force at once. My hookup percentage on actual hits(not missed swipes) is at least a good 80% or so. I miss very few these days and if I do it's usually in the fight through the pads when they twist out. When I was waiting on fish to take it and swim away it was MAYBE 50%. My take is that the less time you leave for a fish to reject that initial decision to take the frog down the better, and that window can be EXTREMELY small. We don't wait for it to swim away with it when it's any other kind of bait so why should we let them decide with a frog?? Doesn't make sense to me but to each his own I guess. I just kind I cringe when I see people saying to wait and let the fish basically catch itself which it will almost never do in my experience.

Not usually, but even the smaller lakes around here with boat launches are just chock full of people with exactly zero sense and all kinds of boat to throw around.

Can't stop giggling hahaha... Poof! It's gone!

Yeah I don't really like them to be completely honest. They look cool but I like a little meatier knob. I really like the look and feel of the RCS I-style knobs, I just want to turn them around so they're a little more smooth for the fingertips. I know it's a weird question and I probably should have just PM'd DVT but I figured SOMEBODY has wanted to do this at some point in the history of fishing.

I don't care about the size so much as the presence of emergent cover and a lack of traffic. I can't stand being on water where big boats are buzzing you without a care in the world, or rolling up on you and casting over your line while you hang on for dear life in your kayak while their massive approach wake hits you. People are too ignorant and selfish and I just want some d**n peace and quiet more than anything.

I know this is an odd question, but I want to flip my I shape-style knobs on my Ito Ai so the skinny side is out and the flared side is in towards the handle. I just like the way they feel that way, and especially for the light touch I employ for the finesse stuff I use that combo for. Obviously it's not just a "turn it around and screw it down" kind of thing (if it was this thread wouldn't exist), so I guess my question is "Is there a 'right way' to do this?". I could obviously order some spacers or bearings and make it so, but I'm wondering if there is a kit available for this or a known way or am I going to just have to frankenstein it if I want them that way? I've got the stock knobs on it now so I'm down to experiment before I get the clear cork RCS jobbers on it. Yes I am aware how to remove and change knobs also fwiw so fire away!

No pic is showing BB

Also, I'm looking for some 4kg Gliss in green/150yd but it seems to be sold out all over. Anybody know where I can score a spool?

Ugh, fake garlic smell just hurts my insides. I love to cook with real garlic so the Lego garlic smell just strikes me as next-level gross. It's not at all like real garlic.

Y'know, part of me longs for a local guy that carries such items but deep inside I know I'd be completely screwed if one did open up close enough for me to frequent.

"crash n' splash" does actually sound like a bait though!

I really want a pair of the guide style pants- not the full on chest waders though. I have no need to be in nips-deep but it would be awesome to get in up to my thighs just to get around without becoming completely waterlogged in a few area rivers.

1). Have a plan. It's a lot of water and you can spend a large part of your day just looking if you don't scout the maps prior to heading out. Lots of humps, bumps, deep water subponds, bars and points though so there is no shortage of options depending on what you're after, that's for sure. 2). Prepare to be wowed by the scenery and water clarity. Eagles are everywhere and the farther west you go on the water, the clearer it gets. Not a lot of places you can sight fish structure in 20-30fow, y'know? 3). GO EARLY, and especially if you're planning on renting a boat. I will show up 45mins early and nap in my car if I have to, but I've showed up early, been third in line and still not gotten a boat before as they are total jalopies and often are out of commission due to mechanical issues. On the weekends it can get insane too so I generally relegate my Q trips to weekdays now. Being first in line is key on any day though. I'm headed up there tomorrow myself, gate 43- although I'm headed to the pond side as I'm more of a cover fishing/LMB guy. I'm supposed to go with someone but I always like having a boat to myself if I can help it- lets me lay all my gear out the way I like to without accommodating another person's spatial requirements. I can't freakin' wait to get up there. I've been vibrating with anticipation for days.

They're really cool, but all my recommendations are probably going to be out of "experimentation phase" price range. Just get one you can afford, try it out and prepare for the bait monkey to absolutely wreck you sideways haha... It's a really fun way to fish for sure. That wide "S" pattern just seems to get hammered and it's fun to watch it come back to the boat as well.

That one word was all I had to hear. I know it's not so much "back problems" as much as it's a concern for the C-word and having been in a similar set of shoes, I'm really thinking about you SS. All my best your way, and keep us updated please! If there's anything we can do, just say the word, man.

Yeah I don't do much by way of treble baits for this, but everybody loves a sammy-type pencil bait.

... Are awesome producers. I've really come to appreciate the way that you can work them very slowly through a perceived strike zone, and that light action they impart with the slightest change in motion. Whether you're nose-hooking a fluke or minnow, or t-rigging a Slug-Go SS/other whippy worm, it's quickly taking over my finesse plastic game, ESPECIALLY through the dog days. There just seems to be something about that floppy, whippy walk-the-dog action that gets noticed and draws strikes when others can't seem to get the job done. Everybody knows how much fun it is to walk a frog or a sammy, but I really want to pass it along that you don't have to just keep that mentality on the surface- walking 'em below works just as good and maybe even better. My favorite baits for the subsurface walk are probably thus- Lunker City Slug-Go SS (absolute favorite for this) Lunk3rhunt Bento Baits minnows (make sure you get the big ones) Zoom Flukes I use extra fast rods and superfine braid for it as well, and that seems to be key in really dialing in that whippy walk bounce of the rod tip. I'm sure it's possible with clear stretchy lines but I don't prefer it. You can even walk tubes but I'm still working on perfecting that, personally. So are you walking the dog subsurface? If so, what are your favorite approaches and baits and how do you employ it specifically? I think this approach is under appreciated and not talked about anywhere near enough, as most people are already doing something very close, but not going all the way.

I've never tried one but I'm feeling more and more like I should. I love topwater and fish a lot of places I think one would be really good for. I always passed it off as gimmicky and more than a little "helicopter-y" but I think the design has a lot of merits now that I'm watching more videos of how it works.

I think the science of that likely emanates from profit margins haha... I have no reason to believe that natural fats and smoke salts wouldn't activate receptors in a fashion similar to what the salts in every bait nowadays does. I'm not trying to say Megastrike isn't a great product (I use it every time I fish), I'm just saying that fish never went to science class, and bacon grease is both salty, fatty and greasy... Not to mention freakin' delicious.

Dynamite sounds like a solid option. Really though, that's tough when they're locked in on cover like that. I can think of a few downed trees and brush piles I see that are the same way- if you can get it in there and they hit it, it's pretty much gone. The only way I've been able to capitalize on them is to throw the smallest floating frog-type bait (it's a floating leech, actually- or a cicada) I have and work it in place above them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but any success rate is better than none. I guess you could also work a slow-sinking t-rig on something nice and whippy like a slug-go SS along the face of it and see if you can coax something out enough to drag them off the tree. Good luck in any case! At least you've got them located though!

If it has trebles, I'm using clear line... Doesn't really matter much which line (Mono, FC or CoPoly) honestly- seems to be more of a personal preference thing. I save braid for single-hook applications or frog hooks etc. so to answer your question, I'd go with the Defier out of the given choices.

It blows my mind nobody has bacon scent. I'm borderline insulted haha