Josh Smith

Two or three colors, yes. One, no, unless I also restricted the water bodies I fish to only one, as well. Josh

I'm following this to see the outcome. I've never heard of a breakage like this. Josh

Anyone know if they're in Indiana? I'm all about killing off nuisance species though eating them! Josh

I have it on an Ugly Stik Lite Pro I picked up on clearance last night and spooled with Trilene 12lb XL. I'm going to use this combo for square bill and lipless crankbaits. We'll see how it works. I love the feel but wish for a metal frame! Josh

I tend to catch smallies and walleye interchangeably, same habitat, slightly different lures (sometimes). Josh

Tell me about white perch, please. I've caught yellow perch, but don't recall ever running into these before. Are they anything like white bass? Thanks! Josh

I am planning on going Tuesday. Will see what happens..! Regards, Josh

Hello, I ran across an Ambassadeur-type called an EON on an auction site. The pics were good and the seller was from Eufaula, Alabama, so I picked it up. I'd been curious about 'em. The reel seems well-made apart from that danged plastic frame. It functions fine, so I took it apart and serviced it. It's a very logical setup inside. In reading, it appears that these were hit-or-miss in '01-'02, and the line was subsequently dropped due to poor implementation. However, I'm finding them in other countries (like the UK) and people are willing to export them. They're pricey, though, though these newer non-US models have metal frames. I figure I'll spool this up with mono, throw it on an Ugly Stik Lite Pro, and see how it does at handling lipless cranks and squarebills. Anyone else have these? The drag washers are like nothing I've seen before. Anyone know where I might get carbon fiber drags for it? Thank you, Josh

Welcome back! ☺ Josh

My boy was using a spinning reel when he was five. Josh

Cherrywood MH/F, Ambassadeur 5500c5, PowerPro 65lb braid, black/blue weedless jig.

Was thinking about going today, but I guess I could work today and go Monday or Tuesday when I'll have the river or lake to myself... Josh

Love me some smalles! The biggest I recall catching is 15", but it fought harder than any largemouth I've ever caught! Josh

Well now, I watched that feller some and it's pretty disturbing. Sporting braid? Must be all that salt water goin' to ya'll's head... Josh

I used to vape back when I was a kid. I'd get a cold and Mom would set up a vaporizor in my room. Just distilled water, though. Josh

@spanky Really? What's changed? Josh

If there were one, I'd definitely support it. Josh

@0119 , I'm not sure how true that is. Speaking for myself, I change braid fairly often. I spool it, use it, and watch for damage. I then reverse it, and change it when that end is worn out. I don't consider it "super" - anything, but rather a line with strengths I like and weaknesses I can live with. Regards, Josh

Hello, I started fishing in 1979 or so, when I was two or three. I know we hadn't moved from the country house yet, and we moved when I was three. From that point I used mono. In 1996 I graduated high school. I worked for two years to save for college, and during that time my friends and I would go fishing -- bass fishing, catfishing, etc. We heard about this new braided stuff, but it cost $50 and our mono worked well. 1998 I went to college. I left my fishing stuff with Dad. I probably should have brought it, but I was really quite busy. It was spooled with mono when I left. When I came back to my home town, life got busy and I only fished occasionally, and didn't keep up with the industry at all. I had an ultralight and a MH/F Daiwa rod with Dad's old Ambassadeur 5000 on it. It worked. In 2013 I got married. We moved to the country, close to Salamonie, and I got involved in bassin' again. (My wife was pregnant and hard to live with...) I used mono. When I ran out of properly-stored mono, I went to buy new stuff. Turns out the price had dropped lots on braid, so I bought some to try. I really liked it... not the first stuff, which was white, but I found some camouflage stuff which made sense to me given the vegetable soup in which I'd been fishing. I really, really liked the increased sensitivity! Is running mono on everything a bad idea? No. I did it for over 30 years. You have your different colors, you have your XL and XT stuff, and all you have to do to make the stuff untwist after a day of fishing is run the spool under hot water; this makes it take the memory of the spool. I do think it's harder to keep the line tight on mono, and I think the coils that it can produce hurts, especially when fishing light. I like the zero stretch of braid. Still, sometimes stretch is necessary, depending on technique and preference. When you boil it all down, though, are you hurting yourself? I doubt it. Josh

We have radically different environments, it looks like. Most of my heavy cover fishing consists of vegetation; weeds, downed trees, and the like. The rock I fish is mostly limestone, and I personally haven't seen a zebra mussel, though I understand they are here. I do often run leaders. For example, my jerkbait rod gets a 6' (or so) fluorocarbon leader. I also use a clinch knot (not improved or anything like that) doubled through the eye so that I do have to break it off, it breaks at the terminal knot and not at the Albright knot. I rarely have to break it off, though. Just check and retie. The rocks are generally smoothed by the river current, and so I don't get abraded much. I can run and have ran straight braid in that area without problems; my jig setup I use in heavy vegetation also nets me good sized fish from in the rocks. (Smallies love crawdads! :D) I do sometimes use a 17lb mono leader on the river with the jigs, but not overly often. Regards, Josh

Hello, North Central Indiana here! Lots of Hoosiers joining lately. Good to have you here! Josh

I use braid for everything except a dedicated cranking setup I have, but never use (looking for a different rod.) I do a lot of fishing around, on and through structure and cover, and so appreciate the strength and sensitivity it provides. Josh

Hello, I have been playing with Android a lot lately. Never did like typing on them. Google has a keyboard out that gives you the ability to write. I am composing this post, in fact, by writing on the screen with my stylus. I am impressed because my handwriting is terrible, but the app usually gets the word right! It'll read printing, too. Just an FYI. Josh

I went for a few hours on Saturday. I got tapped a couple times but couldn't make them commit to solid strikes. The water was up and the wind was really blowing. Maybe next weekend... Josh

Could be worse. You could get stuck replacing the whole floor/deck with not enough time to devote to the project. Are bananas banned, too? ? Josh