Fisher-O-men

Was dough bait fishing for trout with my sons and the guy next to us has one of his rods jerked in the lake. A while later my 10 year old gets a bite and reels in this guy's setup with the fish still on it. Without saying "thank you" the fella takes the fish and says "well, that's my limit" and walks to his car. Amazing!

I have said for years that a person buying a Shimano rod is paying dearly for that warrantee. Same for GLoomis. It would be nice if a lower price accompanied the new policy, but I'm sure that will not be the case.

And here I complain about getting ties!

Berkley Vanish Transition. Some love it some hate it. Above 12 lb it is pretty good.

X2, especially for tying on lures that are large or have lots of hooks. I hate trying to get trebles through that loop of a palomar. If you want two lines through the hook eye, you can do that with the uni.

I'm thinking that they have high aspirations for you and ones that, it sounds like, you can easily live up to. They see fishing as a distraction to your future studies, and they are right! College is tough, and not really the time in your life that you should be seriously fishing. Maybe you could find a cheap float tube, just to get you off the shore. Something you could easily sell before college. The next couple years will pass quickly, so don't dwell on this too much.

Sometimes small bass will grab the legs of the frog. Won't land those! You might try working a texposed fluke across the top of the mats, like a frog.

I hate to admit this but if my reel is sounding or feeling rough, I dunk it on purpose! Usually clears it up. Never had any ill effects.

For me 15# braid and 10# Vicious flouro. Lighter braid gave me fits with tangles and lighter leader would pop on the hookset. I use an Improved Albright knot for the leader. I also use this for the neko rig, which is my go-to rig for plastics. 3

This was my initial thought. I use a uni with 6 wraps. Very easy knot to tie.

I have fished the old Yum Dingers that smelled like anise (licorice) and the newer "Ferocity" F2 dingers. I got more bites on the old ones. I was finding the old ones on eBay for a while, but no more. Some companies need to let well enough alone.

Likely they are grabbing braid or heavy line on a worn out fish. I will lift a fish by the line rather that get a hand full of treble hooks, or risk fouling the hooks in the net. If it is a big fish, always use a net. I love the victory cry of "GET THE NET!!!"

Paddle tails will work also.

The advent of the Alabama rig did much to put tthe kibash on the line visibility issue, at least for reaction baits. Those wires would be hard for a fish to miss! However, slower presentations of plastics seems to be a different story. I have seen 6lb mono get more bites than 8lb mono. I would love to think that I could drop shot braid in gin-clear water and catch as many fish, but my experience tells me otherwise. BTW, no leader on frogs!

Put some filler line on first - cheap mono. Tie the braid to the mono using a uni/uni or Alberto knot. You will have enough line for two reels.

As soon as I saw that you are experiencing tangling with PP, I immediately thought, " he is using spinning gear". It has already been mentioned to close your bail by hand. That will help. But you also need to visually inspect your spool every cast or two to make sure you have not developed and loops standing out from your spool. If you are occassionally casting out ugly snarles, it probably started with a simple loop on your spool.

If you are going to braid on your spinning reel, there are a couple things to be aware of. First, don't fill you entire spool with braid. Fill half with cheap mono. Join the lines with uni/uni or Alberto. This will save you $$$. Second, always close your bail with your hand and watch for loops on your spool. If a loop forms pull line out until you get to the loop. If you do not do this you will soon cast out an ugly snarl of braid that is very hard to undo. I love braid (15# power pro) on my spining reels. I even drop shot with it, with a 10# fluoro leader. In weeds I ditch the leader.

Howdy folks! I have been hooked on fishing since I can remember. While raising the kids we did the "easy" fishing; boat load of family drifting the bay for whatever would bite a squid strip. Tons of fun! But when it was finally just me I took up LMB fishing, about 2008. Now I can't get enough. Get out about 3 times a month. It is hard to afford more that that here, everything costs dearly! I know everyone thinks that living and fishing in San Diego means that we go out and cull 10 pounders all day long. That is hardly the case! I have one fish just a tad off of 9 pounds. Most fish here are 2 pound clones. The big ones are caught sight-fishing in the early spring. I dont' go there! Not judging, just not my thing. Our lakes are all municipal water reservoirs - puddles compared to the rest of the country. They get pounded three days a week. There is no such thing as a secret spot and every fish is caught multiple times. If it were not for C&R there would be very few fish to catch. Looking forward to some new ideas here!