Smokinal

Had a decent topwater bite going last Sunday. Only caught around 20 but 2 were decent ones. Smaller one was 5-3 and the larger one was 6-5. An interesting thing I noticed was those 2 bigger fish had the smallest, most subtle bite of them all.

I run braid/fluoro on all my setups too; I keep the leader rod length so that doesn't happen. Even in crystal clear water, a 6' leader is long enough. They're paying attention to the bait, not line that's 6' from the bait. If you must have 20', you could try the blood knot seen here: https://www.animatedknots.com/blood-knot

Spinnerbaits can be tough but they get bit

3/8 oz blk/blu bladed jig with your choice of matching color trailer (firecraw may be good too) 7' M Baitcaster, 20lb braid to 12-15lb fluoro leader I'm throwing this due to poor water clarity; good thump from those baits. Second choice is a lipless crank in various colors (red, citrus or chrome) But for 1 bait I still choose my first mentioned

If you've caught a 6, I'd bet you dinner for a week that there's an 8 in there somewhere. That said, Wis record is 11-3; not saying there's one of those in there though.

Shakey head C-rig

I don't even keep my seats in the boat. I Ike all over the place and like the open room on the deck.

I agree with most of the above; ---clogged carb port ---bad fuel pump ---bad primer bulb You mentioned it has sat for a while with not much use. I'd throw a fuel pump at it as it never hurts to have a fresh pump; most engines are cheap and easy. I'd do the primer bulb while you're at it. Then reassess

Thank you for confirming that for me guys

That's my answer^^^ Thank you brother

So after a little research, it looks like Mercury DFI oil is gold/brown. He was probably using this oil. I'm also reading this is much more expensive than the typical blue TCW oil. I don't mind using this DFI oil if it's better for my engine. Thoughts?

I just brought home a new-to-me 2012 Stratos 189VLO. 150hp 2 cycle Pro XS. I wanted to run it in my driveway so I'm looking it over, was going to fill the oil reservoir and noticed the oil in it from the last owner is brown in color. Looked clean, just brown. In my old Nitro, I always used Pennzoil and it's a blue color. Should I be concerned? Can different brands be different colors? Almost every brand of 2 cycle oil I have ever seen has been blue. And lastly, if this is normal, can I mix my Pennzoil with this brown oil?

I can't get Denny Brauer's voice out of my head

^^^Absolutely. Different eyes see different colors and shadows differently. What I like, you may not. Also, different sun/light conditions will show different color pallets better than others. Really have to get out on the water and play with it.

Flippin' is much more fun to say than pitching

Now you're thinkin' brother!!

I'd expect to find a bunch of snagged and broken-off baits on this newly exposed shallow cover!! ?

Done this as well. Other time I had a 110 stuck on an old mooring rope while in my yak. I could see the bait about 3 ft down on the rope. I was so fixated on getting that $25 bait back that, while I was leaning as far as I could and not swamping the yak, I did pull in some water and filled the compartment I had my $600 phone in. ? Myth busted===phones do not dry out and come back to life in rice Got that $25 bait back tho!!!

Timing has to be right to throw those but once you catch one on a glide, man you'll never put it down! Very addicting bite! C-rig was going to be my answer. But, similar to you, I've only thrown it 2-3 times. Just always think I have better options.

I don't know but Casey Ashley has to be the worst fish landing "Pro" out there. And like OP, I'm not bashing him; he's better than me but man does he have a hard time grabbing fish! ?

This stuff is incredible! https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/berkley-jordan-lee-x9-braid-fishing-line Does everything we want in a braid...soft, supple, quiet, strong, visible, sensitive

I'll echo the best 2 possibilities here: ---using a bait that's likely to twist the line on retrieve ---Start the habit of closing the bail by hand. I started doing this years ago and no more loops or twists. Not sure why this works...it just does

Good article and good reminder. About 4 years ago, I bought all the hardware and made up a bunch of these in different weights and hook size combinations; never thrown one yet. Maybe this year

Reminds me of my son's younger baseball years, any player who wore number 11 was referred to as "Sticks" I can still here the coaches and dads, "Here we go now sticks!"

10lb braid to 10lb FC leader