FryDog62

I rarely take my shirt off in public lol even at the pool. My wife got me at a weak moment at a dinner party recently and I instantly regretted it.. but the intermittent fasting and years of weight training haven’t hurt me...

Thanks for the info on the clarity difference between UHD and UHD2... I honestly didn't see a big difference between Livescope and Livescope+ in terms of clarity or separation. So it will be fun to get on the water and hopefully see some improvement with my new UHD2... whenever I get on the water that is.

FG is strong, and the body of the knot is thin. But when you add the hitch knots of the end, it becomes the same thickness as the Alberto which is easier to tie and also strong. That’s why is switched back..

I was told by a fisheries biologist in Minnesota that eye color changes red due to aggression, spawning, etc.

I did too, except now for jerkbaits with the Oneten Stick.

I prefer the 110 Stick over the 110 Special. Both were an upgrade over the long handled Expride, but I really like the 6’5” Stick better than the 6’10” Special. The tip never hits the water or gunnel and that rod keeps pinned so well. I always thought I’d have to give up casting distance with a shorter rod, but I paired the 110 Stick with a Tatula Elite reel and easily got 10-20% more casting distance than I ever did with my Expride/Curado combo. 110 Stick is best of both worlds for me - shorter for jerking, but the reel gives all the distance you’ll ever need.

Just throwing it out there - if you've fished with the 6'10" Medium Expride before? Its handle is approximately 2 inches longer than other jerkbait rods and it can be hard to adjust too if you've been using something else prior. I'll also echo the Loomis MBR lineup for versatility... both the 844 and 843 are hard to beat IMO.

I flipped from Northern bass fishing (a mixture of LMB/SMB) to southern fishing (LMB/Spots/Striper). Granted there is a learning curve whenever you switch from any region - but that being said - fishing up north is MUCH easier overall.

The body of the FG knot is the thinnest knot - UNTIL you tie the hitch knots at the end (which are necessary). The hitch knots become the thickest part of the knot going through the guides. Just as thick as any other knot. Once I realized that, I started tying the Alberto knot again. Just as slim and strong and much quicker/easier to tie. Don't make fishing any more difficult than you have to...

5 inch Caffeine Shad on a 4/0 Owner Twistlock LIGHT 3/32 oz. Don't use a standard EWG or most other hooks. Due to the salt weighted body, it will sag on standard hooks and lose its unique action. The Twistlock with centering spring pulls and keeps the plastic straight. This allows the lure to stay horizontal and with the air bubble in the tail, all you need to do is cast and twitch it very 4-5 seconds... it darts, semi-swims in its own, changes directions, spirals, like a dying bait fish. Cast along weed edges, skip under docks, etc.

H’bird Xplore

What product/model do you use? (Links if poss)

Yes, I am concerned about this...

I plan to fish a kayak tournament, but before the off-limits period will be on the lake in a boat to cover water faster. I want to mark specific waypoints while on the water in the boat and then transfer to the unit on my kayak before the tournament. What's the best way to do this?

12 lb Sunline Sniper for standard crankbaits 6 lb P-Line CXX Co-polymer for BFS crankbaits. 7 lb Sniper works too, but I occasionally throw BFS topwater with trebles on that rod, so I opt for a non-sinking line most of the time.

I went the mono route for awhile for invisibility and line manageability - on a spinning rod. But the advantages of fluorocarbon in finesse applications led me to a medium-light BFS rod and a main line of 6-7 lb Sniper. No line twist and no more tying leader knots that are a pain and can ultimately fail, especially with lighter line. I also prefer the density and uniform sink rate of fluorocarbon, and believe it to be slightly less visible than mono. BFS isn’t just a novelty, for me it became a preferred tool.

7.3 LMB on a red Sieberts Fogy bladed jig

The Tatula Elite is not “much different” than the Zillion in terms of casting distance - it’s far superior. And if you are casting from shore and not skipping lures, the Elite is the way to go. In fact, I would rather have a Tatula 100 (with similar long casting spool as the Elite) over the Zillion for that application.

I have Zillions as well as Tatula Elite. I far far prefer the Elite for everything except skipping lures. The SV spool in the Zillion really restricts normal casting distance whereas the Tatula Elite will go 30% farther. If I could also skip as well with the Elite I would not own any Zillions.

Still thinking about his passing.. I would easily guess that the 6 ALX and MajorCraft rods I have are a direct result of Tom’s recommendations to me.

What a sad shock, great guy with so much experience and knowledge. I learned a lot from him. Here’s to wishing WRB 3.0 a great run in the bass factory in heaven. He’ll catch the first 30 pounder I’m sure.

I had Curados for years too.. they are work-horses. But I ate some of the forbidden fruit of other brands and all of a sudden I found my Curados falling short. I think when they came out with their MGL spool and said they take "15% less start-up inertia" is when I noticed it. The reel actually had super slow start up inertia - even with the new MGL that was supposed to prevent it. That's when I started comparing it to the Tatula Elite - and even the Tatula 100. The Curado just felt so restricted in casting distance... and very slow start up inertia. Almost as choked off as a Tatula SV TW. Made me wonder how slow start up the original Curado was before MGL. So I took one of my older backup Curados out of storage and put it back on one of my crankbait rods... and it was so tough to cast compared to the newer reels, especially the Tat 100 and Elite. That's when I started trading off all my Curados, Chronarch MGL, etc. They all suddenly seemed obsolete..

I only have two tiers and they will out-cast anything on this entire thread: Tatula 100 Tatula Elite Sold off all my Shimano MGL and Steez SV reels to convert to these two...

Mostly yes, but not all. I was AOY in a 32 boat fishing club... and only one in a yak. I think I won because I didn't have another partner in the boat to alternate casts with. Half as many anglers per boat in a kayak and you can make twice as many high percentage casts lol...

This was a major aspect when I decided to go back to a bass boat or with a new and improved kayak. In the new one - I gave it considerable thought how to load up and break down quickly and efficiently. I leave the electronics and trolling motor on reinforced mounts and braces on the kayak. It is sturdy and strong much like transporting those items on my boat. I leave the blackjack Pro with all my tackle on board with heavy duty buckles to hold them down. The seat, pliers, net, etc also all stay inside the hull during transport. The only 2 things I have to do is take the rods down (I switched to a Yakima rod box which is quicker than the time-consuming rod tubes I had on the previous trailer). I throw a cover on the hull to keep anything from flying out going down the road. I've got it down now to about 10-12 minutes each way. My bass boat was probably 5-10 minutes if I usually put all the rods in sleeves, and added reel covers before putting in the rod locker. Not perfect, but much better ~