Logan S

I replace mine frequently as well, sometimes day to day if I'm using a particular rod a whole lot. Line is a consumable product to me, I don't hesitate to change it out. I usually replace line after 1 or 2 full days of heavy use (meaning actual usage time, not just time spooled or time on the deck). I know that I change it more than most but that's just how I roll, it works for me . To the OP...Flouro reviews/recommendations are tricky to navigate. If it is your first time using flouro remember that it IS different from other lines you will have used. Go easy on your first few casts and prepare yourself for the learning curve. Give the line you bought a try, figure out what you like and don't like and then go from there. If you don't like it at all, you'll at least know what it is that you don't like so that you can research for your next purchase. (FWIW, my choice for flouro gets it's fair share of poor reviews but I find it to be an excellent line...Reviews don't always tell the whole story)

I just drive it on with the trolling motor, hold the TM out of the water with the rope and pull it out at the last minute. You'll have to put the trailer in a little deeper but it's not too hard. You can always just watch a few guys load their boats first to see the process. No shortage of bass boats on Black Hills...and for good reason . Electric-only lakes will put your batteries and motor to the test. There are fish all over that lake so don't get too hung up on 'running' around at first. ETA: Our club is holding a free USCG Boat Safety Check at Black Hills at the end of March and many of us plan to fish after. It's open to the public, PM me if you want details...You can get a crash course in loading and unloading there for sure.

It's always been 3 days. In the 2008 Classic on Hartwell the winning weight was just under 50 lbs and Alton finished about 5 pounds ahead of Cliff Pace. Most of the top 10 was in the low 40's. I imagine it will pretty similar to those numbers . 15 lbs a day will probably put an angler on the stage for the final show down.

White/Gold spinnerbait, fished fast over the top of grass. Like BlueBasser, I was also 16 at the time . It was April 2002 on the Potomac River, fished Arkindale Flats all day. I had a 5-fish limit for 13 lbs 15 oz.

There is a massive difference between effecting a single fish (or bed) and effecting an entire fishery. What you are talking about falls into the categories of statistical insignificance and acceptable losses. As for the part about money, you are seriously overestimating the impact of bass fisherman. Summertime boat and vacation traffic dwarf the spring fishing traffic by an order of magnitude. There's a reason it's significantly cheaper to book rentals on lakes before Memorial Day and after Labor day... There might be a few lakes throughout the country that see a slight bump in the local economy from fishermen, but hardly enough to sway DNR biologists. How would they even get a cut of that anyway? As the Tournament Director for one of the largest bass clubs in our area I have dealt with our DNR more than your average person...I can tell you that every single person I've dealt with takes their job very seriously and they are laser-focused on the health of the fisheries. I have complete faith that they are managing the resources properly.

Nobody is disputing that a bass behaves differently during the spawn. The question is over the sportsmanship/ethics of targeting these fish. If someone thinks that it is less sporting to target bass because of those behavioral traits, fine...They don't have to fish for them. Some of us feel differently and view it as simply another viable method for success (IE, a pattern) regardless of the reasons behind the behavior My post you were originally responding to was a tongue-in-cheek way of asking where you draw the line about what is sporting and what isn't, not an analytical assessment of bass biology.

No one is forcing you to do it, so don't. Lot of people looking down their nose on other fisherman for practicing a method that is 100% legal. Having an opinion is fine, but trying to force it on others isn't a polite thing to do . I put a lot more faith in DNR biologists doing their job then I do on some fisherman's feelings....In other words, I trust that if it were truly a threat to the fishery the DNR would impose limitations. BTW, some states actually do this for certain waters. We have certain areas on the Potomac that are completely off-limits to fishing (even C&R is prohibited) during spawning season. In my opinion/experience, those who say it's too easy typically don't have much real experience actually doing it. SOME fish can be easy to catch, but far more prove to be very difficult to catch...Especially the bigger ones. I have won and placed in tournaments by exclusively sight fishing and can tell you it's not an easy feat by any stretch.... If you say it's not sporting to sight fish...Do you also not cast to cruising fish should you see them? Do you not cast to breaking fish? If you see a fish break/boil while fishing something else do you not make a cast in the general direction? I mean, you can see them so it's not sporting right?

They work . I like them as a deeper diving jerkbait more than a Pointer DD. I don't fish them as a crankbait but they do deflect off cover pretty well with the unique shaped bill. It's a great bait, I know the Pointer is sort of the flagship for LC but I'm still surprised it's not more popular.

There's no perfect line, so you are always compromising on something. In deeper water and on longer casts, the only time the line is truly 'tight' is when you are actually moving the bait. The rest of the time it's either slack or semi-slack. While flouro is slightly less sensitive than braid, I have contact or feel on the bait for a much higher percentage of the time. To me, line-watching is not a substitute for feel...I have done a considerable amount of sight fishing and have seen fish eat a bait with zero movement in the line at the surface. These are the reasons that I use flouro over braid for most techniques. Doesn't mean that's all I use...I will use all 3 types, each when it is most advantageous to me. But I also have enough equipment to be able dedicate one rod solely to one thing, so I don't need to worry about a 'universally' good line. I can also carry all of them with me in my rod locker and pull them out as needed. My decisions would likely be different if I couldn't do this. Since everyone has different criteria for deciding on line, it's important to try them out for yourself and make a decision based on what YOU perceive is the best fit.

Before you decide on green or blue, do yourself a favor and check out the silver mirror lenses. I have a pair of silver mirror 580g's and can tell you that they are fantastic....Copper base and silver mirror finish. Excellent in both low-light and bright conditions. The green and blue are way more popular, but IMO the silver mirror 580g is best you can get for bass fishing. (I have used all 3 too, FWIW)

Nice fish! I'll play along too since we're dodging snowstorms (flurries for you midwest guys) here in MD. Not the biggest all year, but a great day on my favorite lake. From day 1 of our club classic on Gaston of which I placed 2nd. Largemouth and a nice sized Spot that rounded out a decent limit that day.

It always seems like the most vocal opponents are those with least amount of actual experience fishing it. To be completely honest, I didn't like the idea of it at first....But I decided that I wanted to at least learn how to use it so I didn't get beat by it. Since then I've become indifferent, if it'll work I use it just like anything else. Also realize that the major tours banned it for public image purposes...Not because it's some magical or brainless fish catcher.

It's not magic and it's not unfair if the whole field has equal ability to use it. As for tournaments banning it...Their organizations, their rules. I have no issue with it. I have been using it more and more on the waters in the area that support it. It's very fun when you can get on a good A-Rig bite...I have caught multiples and have also caught fish on the outside arms, even a double with both on the outside arms (shameless bragging ). More to the original point...I don't see why anyone would be up in arms about a tournament trail banning it unless they actually fished that particular trail. Further, If you are against the A-Rig for a specific reason then simply don't fish it...But if you are against it because you think it's too easy or takes no skill, I'd suggest you try it for yourself first. You would quickly find that it takes just as much skill/experience to be successful with as any other technique. In short, it's another another tool in the toolbox.

Having a budget sucks in general, not just for fishing...Wait til you get older . Like the above poster said...Work! When I was in high school (which was not that long ago) I fed my fishing habit by working as much as I could... I actually bought my first bass boat (17' BassTracker) when I was 16, plus all the tackle to go in it. It was hard work, but I really loved fishing and wanted a boat so I made it happen...I sort of took it to the extreme though, working every night after school so I could rack up hours and kept the weekends mostly free for fishing. If you've got free time, especially in the winter...You can turn that directly into tackle .

Majority of my jig fishing is open water casting, not footballs either. All of my heaviest tournament bags have come from the end of casting jig . That rod is on my deck pretty much all year long, but especially June through September. I wouldn't say it's a lost art, but it's certainly doesn't get talked about as much as flipping/swimming/football style jig fishing...

I am not and don't claim to be a professional meteorologist...But I do have a degree in Meteorology as it was what I originally wanted to do in life and I still keep up with it on an amateur level. Something one of my professors said seems to be getting truer ever year... The news agencies will take creative liberties with your forecast if they think it will draw more viewers/ratings. This particular storm very well could be a huge one....But it's not some unusual event, Nor-Easters are common and every few years one will have the right conditions to dump a couple feet of snow. 6 feet of snow would make this historic, 2 or 3 feet makes it another bad Nor-Easter with an insane amount of media hype.

Personally, I haven't found the skipping heads to be noticeably different from a bullet/swim style head (which is what I use for pretty much all my jig fishing). The best thing you can do to help a bait skip is to increase the surface area. Using a wide-body style trailer like a Beaver or something similar is the easiest way to do that on a jig. I normally use a pork trailer, but when skipping I'll put on a Beaver...That is a change you can notice . If you want to try a skipping jig for yourself, I'd recommend the AT Skipping jig. It didn't skip any better or worse for me...But it's a quality jig that can be used normally so it wouldn't be a waste. One other thing, skipping with a baitcaster does take a fair amount of practice/skill...Early on, I was trying all different types of heads looking for something that worked better. The reality was that I just wasn't that good at it yet....I don't do it regularly so I'm still not a pro at it, but I'm good enough now to know that it wasn't the head style that was holding me back before .

Since you're in a kayak, try launching from Occoquan Regional Park. It's all no-wake until you get down into Belmont so getting around shouldn't be too bad. It's a popular winter spot too. Head downstream to the bridges and marinas. Drop shot, grub, and silver buddy would be good choices Good perch and crappie fishing in there as well. This time of the winter can be hit or miss, once we get into February it usually picks up a little.

What bass boat is $100K? They are expensive brand new for sure, but $100K is not even close to the normal price for a brand new rig. A 2015 BassCat Puma with a 250 ProXS is right around $50K. Just like with any other sport or hobby, if you want the latest and greatest you're going to pay for it. There are plenty of budget options in all categories as well, plus the used market. I wouldn't worry about the market adjusting due to a $25 MegaBass jerkbait...Because they are outsold probably 100 to 1 or more by $6 to $10 jerkbaits. Edit: RE: The post below. I had not, cool. I still think what I wrote here is applicable, though.

Don't overlook the fact that different jerkbaits have different actions. Some wander left and right, some stay very straight, wide actions, tight actions, etc....It's not just the shiny colors and price tags that set them apart . For example...The MB Vision has a wide action and will wander left/right while the XRap has a tighter action and will stay in a straighter line. Each has it's time and place. My favorite jerkbait is the Vision, but that doesn't mean I throw it all the time. The XRap is a very productive bait for me as well and gets almost as much use. As for deep divers....The standard/shallow models will draw strikes over deep water. Many times the fish will come up from a pretty long way to hit a jerkbait, they use the deeper water to ambush bait from below so they are 'looking up'. BUT, if you are in an area you believe to hold fish and are not getting bit, that's when you should break out the deeper models. Sometimes they don't want to move vertically, so you need to get your bait closer to them to draw strikes. For colors...I try to stay natural-ish when targeting largemouth. For smallmouth I will often use brighter or flashy colors, smallies really seem to like the bright/flashy stuff.

Despite the thread title, the OP wasn't really asking whether size was relevant or irrelevant, he was concerned that the specific one he got would be too big for his waters. The answer to that question is no, the full size bait will generally catch all sizes of fish. Whether or not that full size one will be the most productive on any given day is a different question . I agree that size can be important.

Add red-clay banks to your list. When we get into early spring, an effective pattern is to target these later in the day after the sun warms them up. Fish will usually be active.

I don't think it matters too much...There are places locally where I will downsize to some really small ones, but for the most part the full size ones work on all sizes of fish. It's not the same as 5" swimbait...The profile is very thin. For example, a 5" senko is not considered 'big'..same idea with the jerkbait.

I think the BASS/FLW TV programs are more enjoyable if you are tournament guy. I like to see the decision making and time management stuff they go through...The fish catching part is sort of secondary to me. I always follow the trails so I already know who won, I still like to see it happen. I love watching them, wish they were longer! Seeing a guys hard work pay off with a narrow victory or watching the heartbreak of losing a fish is a cool thing...Zona is always good for a laugh on the BASS shows too . Sure there are commercials and sponsors everywhere...But it's nothing like the half-hour infomercial that most regular fishing shows have become.

If you fish at all during spawn season you will certainly catch bed-fish whether you want to or not. Everyone has to draw their own line on the conservation issue. For me, that line falls between allowing myself to bed-fish and not allowing myself to keep bass for dinner. Not saying one is right and one is wrong, that's just where I draw the line for myself. Someone else's line might be allowing themselves to fish during the spawn and not allowing themselves to actively target fish on beds.