Jar11591

I use a clinch knot for mono and fluoro and a palomar knot for braid.

I try to add a new “confidence” bait or presentation each year, to continue to be more well-rounded bass fisherman. It’s rare that I lose confidence in a technique that I was once confident in.

Oh you must not have pickerel snot rockets where you are!

As a frequent listener of heavy metal and punk, she hates most bands I love 😂 It’s ok though, I find the music she listens to to be mostly insufferable as well.

I haven’t used an SLX so I can’t speak to it but Shimano makes quality casting reels and its rated highly. Between the Tatula and the SS, the Tatula is a noticeably better reel. Speed Spools are however perfectly serviceable, comfortable to fish with and durable, and for $60 hard to pass up. Generally it’s easier to learn on a higher quality reel as they can be more user friendly/forgiving but I think either reel is perfectly fine to learn on. These are just my opinions based on personal experience.

I agree with @Bigbox99 about the Lews. I would also advise against any Abu reel from the Max line. They are firmly in the “junk” category for me. Just my opinion. I started with a black max 15 years ago and it felt like junk, so I upgraded to a silver max and that was even worse but more expensive. Upgraded again to a Pro Max and it just equaled more expensive junk. So now I don’t even consider Abu reels. The only reel company that I’ve used that felt so junky and cheap, across 3 different reels. Now of course they were budget options, but there are so many budget reels from other manufacturers that are great reels that perform and function well above their price point. Abu Max reels aren’t them. No external brakes isn’t a big deal to me so I wouldn’t rule out the SLX because it has internal brakes. Besides taking the side plate off which should only take 2 seconds, it’s just as easy to set internal brakes as it is external ones. If it were me, I would go with the Tatula, the SLX, or the Speed Spool.

I pull the line the opposite way, towards me. I’ve found that if I try to strip it out, all it does is cinch it down more and makes it need to be cut out. If you pull the line towards you, it unravels the knot and then you can strip it out through the reel’s line guide.

@Swamp Girl rest up and get well soon! We will all miss the reports.

@JHoss awesome cobia. Those are on my bucket list for sure.

@Joedodge for T-rigging I will usually opt for a Rage Bug or Menace instead and for jig trailers I’m almost always using a NetBait Paca Chunk.

I’ve pretty much completely replaced Rage Craws in my rotation but they work as a jig trailer, T-rigged, or C-rigged.

Finally broke here. High of 70 today and even cooler tomorrow.

Truck still messed up, which means boat is still in the garage which means I’m still shore bound. The 90° day felt like a relief after 3 days of near triple digits, so I fished a bit at the camp pond. Dead calm, sunny, and 90°. Bass didn’t seem interested so I threw on a tiny popper to try to pick off some of the big pumpkinseeds. Caught this nicely colored one on the first cast, and a decent bass followed it in right to shore, attempting to steal the popper. I unhooked the ‘seed and tried to entice the bass with the popper again, but it would only nose it and not grab it. Quickly retied to a wacky rig, and flung it back where the bass was but it was now out of sight. After 2 seconds of sinking, the bass darted out of the pond weed that it had retreated to. A short fight ensued. Fun sight fishing catch!

High 90s and cracked 100° today. And zero wind. It’s felt brutal. Relief is coming Thursday though. Highs will drop to the 60s, which seems equally extreme for this time of year.

Yes, you can absolutely still catch fish. I’ve caught so many big fish during sunny, bright conditions, including the biggest bass I’ve ever caught. Caught it early afternoon without a cloud in the sky. I’ve also found the sunlight can turn on bites. That first sunshine hitting the water, or when clouds part and the sun comes out. Especially during the spring and fall. Certain conditions have me chasing sunshine. It can be the deal sometimes.

Did all my yard work between 5am-8am today. It was high 80s already by then. Tomorrow is calling for a high of 101° and a “feels like” of 112°.

My trusty DeWalt utility knife

Congrats on the new pup and good on ya for giving her a home.

I use 40lb and 50lb Power Pro or 832, 20lb and 25lb Yo-Zuri HD Carbon leader. I don’t remember the name of the knot I use but it’s the one with the wraps and the loops and ya cinch it.

I don’t really remember a time where Rapala’s quality was exceptional. I love rapala and use lots of their lures, but durability isn’t on of the reasons. I’ve been breaking lips off DTs for 15 years. I think Rapalas are what they are. They are priced at the mid to lower end, durability isn’t great, hardware sucks, excellent action and patterns, and they flat out catch fish.

We’re getting hit too. Gonna be brutal.

Taste of the high life this week. Lobster rolls on the beach. Now I’m sunburned and salt encrusted.

@TnRiver46 well it’s definitely a chug-worthy beer! I think I have Cap’n Quint beat in the sunburn department 😂 so I’m gonna need more beer

Or maybe take a trip to Lake MenderDunk!

Oh man! Thats a lot of dirt.