FryDog62

You might be surprised at the width of the hitch knots and that is usually what you hear ticking through the guides with an FG knot. Either way, the size difference of the 2 knots (Alberto vs. FG) I think are overblown and the strength of both are excellent. In my book, the tie breaker goes to the Alberto because it is so much easier/quicker to tie.

I packaged up a bunch of lures, plastics, etc a few years ago and sold it as a one-price-for-everything to a high school fishing club. They got a good deal and it cleared out a storage area of my garage in one fell swoop.

This. The extra 2 half hitches at the end make it fool proof and as strong as an FG - just quicker/easier to tie. Of course the hitch knots at the end make it as thick as the FG too. Which is a great misconception - the body of the FG is thin but the hitch knots make it the width of the Alberto and many other knots. All things being equal, I have switched back to the double hitch Alberto from the FG.

HBD Tom !

This, if they are a little bit older rods and you package/ship them together it’s not bad as an Elite member. Trying to sell/ship 3-4 used rods separately on the open market is tougher.

Can try this app which predicts feeding windows amongst other things. There is the basic/free app as well as an upgrade version you pay more for additional features: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1056000899

Sometimes poppers get crushed - like post-spawn smallies on a Canadian Shield lake. Other than that I have better luck with poppers when the water is glassy and the bite is subtle. Your standard walking baits and Ploppers are almost too “in their face.” Times like this, I go with small poppers, even BFS poppers, which seem to out-fish larger offerings.

Thank you. Yes, and Brooks Anderson posts videos of some bigguns too..

God bless Tommy, be in peace..

Since moving from the Midwest to the Southeast, I want to branch out and see if I can find a place to fish for some quality shoal bass. Have heard about the Flint River, but also the Savannah River which is only a couple hours from me. Researching a place to launch my kayak, looks fun.

I only use baitcasting. I too started out with an Expride but actually found the handle too long to impart the action, especially tip-down. Was very annoying/fatiguing. Have since switched to a Medium-Light Fast action Cashion Icon BF rod. The handle length is perfect. Rod comes in 6-8, 6-10 or 7-2. Again, I prefer the tip-down approach since I’m looking down at my screen and go with the 6-8 mostly but I also have a 6-10 if I want two different lures on and ready to go.

Thank you, I'll have to keep looking... best I found was 1/32 at Bass Pro, but haven't checked the other big box stores. Any suggestions/links? TW didn't have anything smaller than 1/16 that I could find...

Anyone ever seen a worm weight lighter than 1/32?

Agreed...

This is one of the reasons I'm shaken a minnow less often - and going with small crank baits that get a pure reaction bite. Catch them off guard before they realize what's going on...

Yes, the last two PB’s for sure. I would think gives them and extra half to full pound?

Tightening the drag and depressing your thumb on the spool technique works great with braid. But do NOT do this with fluorocarbon. Yes, you will get the knot out, but will fracture/damage the line and lead to break offs later.

Nice to see some of the hats still in circulation. We are a hearty bunch!

I wear the Fish Monkey “Free Style” custom fit gloves. First, like a lot of SPF gloves they offer sun protection for my hands. But second, you can cut off fingers to half length or longer/shorter any way you prefer. Ingenious! I cut 9 fingers to the half way point so that I can tie knots, thumb the spool, work the phone, etc. But, I leave my left thumb full length since I use it to lip bass boat side. It protects that finger from getting chewed up. I had a nasty infection on that thumb a couple years ago now it’s fully protected at all times.

Interesting things they do in those highly pressured waters. But man, I have the attention span of gnat and would struggle doing that. Waiting 10 seconds on a jerkbait pause is about my upper limit!

Yep, strolling a jig n minner works, but there are times I just get tired of shaking it all day. Sometimes I think I might wake up the day after hours of strolling with permanent tremors… lol. What lures if any do you use to entice fish on your FFS screen beside a jig head and plastic? I have ventured out plenty the past couple years and probably fish alternatives now half the time with similar results. Here are my top “other FFS lures:” •1/2 oz Spinnerbait •Mepps #3 spinner •Shimano MacBeth/39 (3 ft depth) •Damiki Disco 38 (6ft diver) •OSP Timy Blitz DR (10 ft diver) The bottom 3 crankbaits are small BFS lures that can be thrown on either BFS casting or spinning. I seem to get far better results with the smaller cranks over the standard size crankbait… And smaller #3 Mepps over a regular size Spinnerbait most days. With all the above lures, I feel like I can get several casts off, sometimes different angles at schools of fish where I can only get maybe 1-2 retrieves with a slow shaking jig and minnow.

Biggest reason winter excels - less fishing pressure, and the big gals are starting to feed up until the spawn. My biggest caught in Florida was in January and South Carolina early March. Both Lee-spawn fatties. They shrink after that lol.

I have found when fish follow the Neko to the bottom and you have to soak it 5-10-15 seconds at a time, that it sure helps to have a worm with a floating tail. Other worms just lay flat after a few seconds and I see the fish become disinterested. If the worm has a floating tail that maintains a 45-90 degree angle it seems to really help the number of bites in my experience. That is the typical feeding angle of a worm/grub/creature on the bottom, plus at rest a floating worm undulates slightly in the current instead of laying flat/dead on the bottom. GrandeBass Airtail Rattler, Airtail Wiggler or Airtail Neko seem to work best IMO. Over the course of a day of fishing, I notice a fairly significant difference with fish interest in a floater.

Very true. The worst business move was the group that bought them and tried to resurrect again after the nose dive. Bad, bad investment…

What do you call an elephant that doesn’t matter? ”Irrelephant”