FryDog62

Admittedly, I tend to be an impatient person and have a low tolerance for stuff that doesn’t work. I like things new and under warranty. Less chance it got used and abused by the person that owned it before me. New stuff can still hiccup, but you minimize the chances, and many times have a decent warranty to get a replacement if needed. That goes for vehicles, boat motors and fishing equipment, etc. Worst thing for me is to finally get quality time off to go do what I like and - the truck doesn’t start, the outboard won’t run, or my reel yaks up a hair ball.

So, what I’m wondering with ALF - is it that they are just so short-staffed, or they don’t have the leverage of Tacklewarehouse? Or is it both? For instance, I’ve had a very common/popular Daiwa reel on backorder with them for weeks/months.. and during this time TW has it continually in stock. Now that backordered reel just went on sale at ALF while still on backorder! Is it they are trying to build demand and prove to Daiwa they are a major player and need to be a higher priority and receive more stock regularly to keep their customers happy? Or is it just a sad reality that the bigger retailer (TW) is simply higher volume and Daiwa treats them as priority over the smaller ALF’s and Omnia’s of the world? This has happened to me with other product/backorders at ALF too not just this reel. Lots of back orders, but that’s not the case nearly as often at the evil empire also known as Tacklewarehouse. Yes, ALF’s follow through and detail orientation seems to have slid backwards since the Covid era started. Lots of tackle companies have had the same experience, but they just seem to always be behind and details suffer. I had a new rod sent to me a couple weeks ago that was on backorder for 6 months. I had cancelled the order and purchased something else from them 5 1/2 months ago and the rod still showed up. Had to send it back even though it was marked paid (It didn’t feel right to keep a free $550 GLX rod!). Would have liked at least a future discount or points added to my account for returning it. Other credits/refunds are getting to be like pulling teeth at times… I think they need more people that aren’t spread so thin to be honest. Otherwise a good company I’ve enjoyed doing business with, really like their trade-in program… but yeah it’s starting to wear a little thin..

The best lures I have found to tick bass off in cold water are a jerk bait and a blade bait. If you are waiting for bass to get hungry and slurp slow moving lures, wait til spring...

That old state record needed to get reclassified as I’m pretty certain it’s fiction. I can see how that one came about - It’s 1948, and a couple of guys are fishing somewhere in Northern Minnesota and one of them catches a nice one… no scale or tape measure but let’s say it’s a solid 6 pounder which is a nice fish anywhere. Later that night around the campfire after a dozen Hamm’s the fish grew to at least 7 pounds… By the time they drive home and are greeted by neighbors and friends, “Oh my gosh you shoulda seen the 8 pounder that Oly caught !!” Of course - no scale, and it was right “even” at 8 pounds and unknown ounces, no tape measure, no photo, probably no idea the difference between a largemouth and a smallmouth, and just a bunch of crushed Hamm’s cans as evidence…

Here’s the part I don’t get - he self reports the violation and he not only gets DQ’d - but did I hear right that he also got fined? I can’t see how they could fine him unless there is more to the story…

Actually I got the NRX+ version with my store credit… didn’t want to take a step back lol

I see the old post has been revived. I too have the Fishing Specialties mount and it works “ok.” Then I added a second transducer mount - this time for 360 Imaging. I used the Dugout Kayak “Pivot 2.0” and really prefer it over the Fishing Specialties - although it’s nearly twice as expensive. The Pivot 2.0 works for either Livescope or 360. I like it better because it’s a solid mount (unlike the break away collar of the Fishing Specialties mount, which seems to wiggle loosely at times) and the Pivot 2.0 stows nicely along the gunnel of my kayak when not in use. I have thought about swapping out the Fishing Specialties mount for a second Pivot 2.0. Pictures in the link: https://www.dugoutfishing.com/product-page/pivot-livescope-mount-2-0

Get better Catt !!

I ordered a Loomis GLX 843 MBR rod online last September with a store credit I had… However, shortly after ordering the rod it went into backorder status so I bought something else with the credit. Lo and behold, the GLX showed up on my doorstep today. I contacted the store and they said that backorder just was sent out (nearly 6 months later). It was marked as “paid.” Almost tempting to keep a new rod like that for free, but I just sent it back this afternoon. A good store and good folks, sometimes people just make mistakes. If I’d have kept it, I think you sign yourself up for some bad ju-ju… lost fish, lost rods, capsized kayak, who knows?

Jerkbaits can be a tougher lure to cast and get distance at times, especially in wind. I try to avoid any SV spool for that reason with jerkbaits, although I’ve never used the Silver Wolf. I like to be able to get maximum distance, especially in clear water, and the Tatula Elite works great paired with 10-12 lb Tatsu or Invizx. An 8.1 gear ratio is great for picking up line between jerks..

Dollar pads on that water + Z-man ToadZ = fish !!

I need to trade my boat in for a dock that catches 14 pound bass..

You mean "GOA" lol...

I use a 3 inch Spunk Shad… I don’t think you want anything that kicks very hard, the micro sized bladed jig blade isn’t very big and a wild kicking trailer could throw its vibration/action off.

I think there’s some truth to the glass analogy. Fluorocarbon can deform and fracture internally similar to glass and weaken. It’s more abrasion resistant than braid and most monos, but fragile in other ways. To wit - There has been a “nifty” way of getting nasty backlashes out of a baitcasting reel floating around on the interwebs for years. You basically crank the drag all the way down, compress your thumb against the line, crank it a few times, back up and repeat as many times as needed until the backlash is gone. While that can work great with braid, I would never do it with fluorocarbon as you get micro-fractures throughout the line. Sure the knot is out and you can cast again, but I have seen a few guys do this and get heartbreaking break-offs later on. Fluorocarbon is both durable and fragile…

Friends of ours moved to FFG a couple years ago and we’ve visited. He doesn’t fish but I drove around and looked at all the lakes and ponds and wondered how good the fishing is there. Welcome to BR!

Here's a bone colored 4 incher... I prefer the Owner Phantom Hook instead of a stupid tube in either 1/8 or 3/16 oz. https://www.elitemarinetexas.com/store-1/p/i0qrr11xjqifw0g8k3c3vi0k0y8jdc https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Phantom_Weighted_Tube_Hooks_4pk/descpage-OWTH.html?_gl=1*1i51wi3*_up*MQ..&gclid=CJDT3-2SjNECFZCMaQodOJECzA

Yes, your recall is correct… Fluoro stretches a little less initially, especially on the hook set. That’s its advantage in terms of a stretch test. Mono stretches about the same or a little less - until it gets wet, then it absorbs water and stretches more. I soaked the mono samples overnight and they stretched a lot more… an advantage to have some additional shock absorption when fighting fish near the boat. Overall, YZH and XT stretched the least. My guess is they don’t absorb water because Yo-Zuri is half-blended with fluorocarbon, and I believe XT’s exterior coating. FWIW, I use a fair amount of fluorocarbon today (much more than in the old days when I was biased against it) because of uniform sink rate, less stretch on the initial hook set, and no leader knots to fail or slow you down tying. However, when I do use braid to leader, I use a lot of YZH and Trilene XT as leader material. They are tough, abrasion-proof lines.

I have the following BFS set ups and use them not as a gimmick but because I can’t use spinning due to wrist injuries, and these serve a functional purpose. I would have a hard time going back to spinning now even if my wrist didn’t bark. They work - - 6’8” Cashion ICON BF ML/ Daiwa Air TW - for Strolling/FFS minnows 6’10” Cashion ICON BF ML/Curado BFS for Ned rigs 7’0” Cashion ICON BF L/Aldebaran BFS for micro crankbaits (my favorite set up!) 7’1” Phenix Classic BFS/Aldebaran BFS for 1/16-1/18 oz hair jigs.

Time to break out the red hot and lava red hot sauce colored Fogy Chatterbaits from Sieberts !

I haven’t fished SC in 2 months… been in FL and those swamp lakes fish very different than the reservoirs here. This is the one time of year I haven’t fished locally and it’s going to be a learning process.

Nice job, unfortunately a little more rain coming now. What depth/lures are you finding work best?

Except... those guides... I think I have broken 5 guides in 50 years of fishing and 4 of them have been the AGS guides on my one Ehrler rod. It's in the shop as we speak getting fixed yet again. I would order another Ehrler rod if they came with different guides.

That’s my choice as well 👍