Josh Smith

It holds the grub; keeps it from slipping down the hook. I use pieces of paperclip for the same thing, but toothpicks might just make more sense. Josh

Ever seen a proper-form Kung fu punch? You bend your knees as you throw it, as opposed to twisting at the waist as is usually done in karate. I sink at the knees, and have a definite start and stop, the stop being terminated by a tightening of the hand and arm. It's just like the punch I've been throwing for years. It's not a wide arc, but it's very fast and powerful. I've been hooking a lot of gar recently, and this technique has me penetrating their bony mouths. It does work well. Regards, Josh

Went after work today. The smallies were jumping. Naturally, I caught a gar. Josh

Pepsi, No biggie. Send me your address and I'll send stuff. I have a (non-fishing-related) business, so I'll throw a logo or something in there and we can call it a promotion, if that helps. Just take it, man! :) If I thought you were trying to get free stuff, I wouldn't offer. Just tell me what weights you fish. Josh

Wet rock (slab, not gravel!) or wet grass should be fine. Anything else, not so much. Josh

Dad did all of that with a 5'6" Lew's MH pistol grip and an Ambassadeur 5000 with 4.7:1 gears back in the day.

Pepsi, That's what I'd hoped. PM me your address and I will send you some soft plastics and maybe some other goodies. What kind of rod(s) and reel(s) do you have? I don't want to send anything that will overload your gear. Josh

I ski fish back all the time with 26ipt. Last time it was 22ipt...

I use 30lb braid with 8lb fluoro leader for jerkbaits, and mono for cranks. I like braid's sensitivity for jerks. Josh

What is your preferred type of lure? Josh

Need me a wiffle spool. Do you have a source? I've looked all over. Josh

Guess it's what you're used to. I grew up with a 4.7:1 Ambassadeur (after Dad got a new Quantum, that is; I got his Ambassadeur.) Before that, I was using an ultralight setup and a Bronson reel on an ancient Cherrywood rod, both left to me by my grandfather. The Bronson was 3.8:1 but the massive spool probably brought the IPT up a bit. For reference, I could bench 300 before I blew my shoulder, and last I could leg press was around 1,000lbs. That's been a number of years, but I'm sure some of it's stayed with me. Regards, Josh

I would use one of my Ambassadeurs. The Calcutta is one that's been on my "to try" list for a while now, but haven't been able to justify the expense when I already have the Ambassadeurs. Regards, Josh

For kicks I tried running squarebills on my jerkbait setup (31ipt). I wore out really fast, and I'm not a weak guy. That's why I figured you were doing something special with this. What kind of IPT rating do those 8:1 and 9:1 reels have? Regards, Josh

If I feel something I set the hook. If I get stuck or the lure comes back with twigs on it, then it wasn't a fish. Josh

The fast reel I use is a modified 4600c3 with all bearings and 31 ipt. What are you looking to achieve? Josh

65lb Power Pro.

Indiana has river slot limits, and I've pulled some really nice smallmouth from the Wabash. Lakes here suffer from a 14in keeper size. My experience is that 12"-14" should probably be kept. Those critters eat all the food. They're fun to catch but bigger and better can be had. Josh

I probably should have kept the smallie I caught Monday but didn't feel like cleaning it. It was 1lb and maybe outside the slot. Sub-12" tend to be pretty good. Bigger, not so much. Josh

Tag.

I have one reel I run locked down, 65lb braid, no leader. I just kinda' accept that I'll need to rebuild that one sooner than the others. I am hard on equipment and buy and build equipment that can take it. Josh

River2Sea Bully Wa II. It's the only one I buy any longer. It comes with most of the tweaks I usually do already done, and it doesn't waterlog. http://www.***.com/River2Sea_Bully_Wa_2_Frog/descpage-RBW2.html Josh Weird. Thought Tackle Warehouse is a forum sponser? Josh

If you turn annotations on, you'll see where he corrected himself. Regards, Josh

If I still have the receipt, I'll scan it and shoot it your way when I get home from the shop. Regards, Josh

Stopped by Walmart. Saw discontinued Zoom. Bought most for 50¢ per pack, 50-60 bags. I'm set for a while! :) Wabash, IN Walmart, guys. Left stuff I don't use. Plenty of lizards etc left. Josh