no39

Guess you've never seen 21 lbs of largemouth caught on dropshot before.

I'd say the reel. Rods are generally flimsy and fragile things. As far as I know there is no standardized unit of measurement for the "sensitivity" any given rod, so I take claims of increased sensitivity with a grain of salt. I've used expensive rods and it seems like I'm constantly underwhelmed.

I was there Sunday. Looked like the lake is going though an algae bloom. Donated tungsten to pike.

I know smith makes prescription lenses that are also photochromic. However, I think they only offer it in certain colors.

That makes sense. I seen a group of them in a corner of the harbor but that was in 3 feet of water. Do they also spawn in deep water too? Thanks. Usually when I hook smallmouth they always make a run for the surface. This guy wanted to stay planted on the bottom, but I was hoping that maybe 8lb smallies fight differently.

Anything short of electroshocking won't give you any definitive answers. I suppose it's possible that they died out. I'd imagine all it would take would be a few years of bad spawning or a few virus outbreaks to severely reduce their numbers. Maybe they're more partial to beef jerky instead?

This sounds really interesting. I've never seen anyone do this. Thanks. I'll try it sometime.

I personally do better skipping soft plastics unders docks than pitching or flipping. I've been slowly using larger and larger lines on my setup. You need to be able to steer them out quickly. Ladders, vertical posts, horizontal beams, mooring lines, and buoys aren't your friend. I use a 10lb flourocarbon leader on braid. I mainly use a weightless wacky senko as a bait, so when you do smack something it's relatively quiet. I also use a weedless hook that has a stiff wire weedguard, otherwise snagging is a constant issue. Reducing the fear of snagging has helped my dock fishing more than anything. Skip where other's won't. Just my two cents. Hope this helps.

Dropshot Wacky senko Dropshot

This thread is an eye opener for me. It seems like I am the only one without pristine reels. Anyone else with some world-weary reels?

They're legit. I was bit leery at first too, but they're run by backcountry. Great service, fast shipping. I buy clothing from them a couple times a year. I actually got a decent price on my smith optics sunglasses from them as well.

+1 I use a minn kota 3 bank precision and do the same. Most chargers these days have some sort of multiple phase charging. The batteries are close to six years old and load test the same year after year.

I've found costa del mars at around that price on steepandcheap. They were a phenomenal upgrade from gas station sunglasses for sure. They were light, comfy, and clear.

To give some context the girlfriend and I fish about 5 to 12 times a month. We tournament fish as co-anglers and generally have a few tournaments each week, so the reels are constantly being banged about in and out of boats and cars. The tournaments also mean we fish in less than ideal conditions, more often than not the reels are soaking wet. The reels we run are all shimanos. I generally NEED to service them at least twice a season. Some reels seem to need more attention than others. The list of the spinning reels are as follows: Sedona FB Sedona FD The sedona fb and fd reliable reels. They work when they're dry and they work when they're wet. The sedonas never "wowed" me with its aesthetics or feel. They simply continued to work and I continued to use them. Sahara FE I'd pass on this one. The sahara is just off to me. I'm not sure if it's the bail mechanism or the handle, but it just felt off. It also suffers from light binding when wet (read: soaked). Typically a light cleaning and oiling will cure the problem. The binding wasn't bad enough to stop fishing with while its doing it though. Also, by "binding" I mean that it requires a little more effort to start the reel. Which is terribly annoying with stop and go retrieves. Symetre FL This is a step in the right direction. Much better feel during the retrieve. This one suffers from the same binding the sahara does, but to a lesser degree. It only happened once while wet, and if you're not hard on gear I doubt this one will give you problems. Stradic CI4+ I know this is out of the range that you wanted to spend, but I found a new one on ebay for about 150. This is it. This is the one you want for the money. Internally, this is nearly identical to the sustain fg with a few changes that I suspect they used to lighten it up. The drag is smooth and tight and remains that way even when wet. It's light, almost two ounces lighter than the sustain. Bottom line: this is a sustain, just cheaper and lighter. Sustain FG Man, I like this thing. If I could describe it one word it would be "right". It never gives me problems. The handle is right. It almost feels effortless the reel in. The way the drag starts and stops is smooth, predictable, and waterproof. The bail mechanism is right. I find with most things there's typically two options. There's loose, clunky, and reliable, but there's also tight, smooth, and problematic. The sustain has some how transcended all that. It's loose yet smooth. It's tight yet reliable.

I've been meaning to try something different but I lack the confidence in deep cranking. I might give it a try next time I'm out, thanks.

I try to get out during the week as much as I can and I prefer not to drive far. If you're in the Buffalo area there are only a few choices that are within an hour's drive. The Upper Niagara, Lower Niagara, Wilson Harbor, Cassadaga Lakes, Bear Lake, and Silver Lake but most of those are around 55 minutes.

I've been using this app for years and just recently paid extra to use the sonar charts and it's a nice upgrade. I'd like to chart some of the smaller bodies of water I fish and this sounds like a cool feature. If any of you guys use this this app should check out the sonar chart option. This is the difference for me: normal charts sonar charts

Let me answer your question with a question. How much are you willing to pay for less hassle at the boat ramp? For me, it's about 70 bucks. I'd even pay 100 dollars if I never have to see one of these things again. I know it's not necessary but it makes launching easier. I don't have to look for the straps at the bottom of a hatch or mess with a questionable cam lock. It works, it's quick, and I can't lose it because its bolted to the trailer.

I'm constantly trying to refine most of my setups to meet my preferences and I'd like to see other's reasonings behind their choices. Well, here's mine: Veritas Winch 7' Curado 201 I 10# Seaguar Abrazx Jackall MC60SR Gamakatsu EWG SS ME Lure Wrap I like the veritas because it offers a light and sensitive rod that can often be found for less than 70 bucks. I feel because the rod is so limp I can use a stiffer line like abrazx to gain more sensitivity without pulling hooks from fish. The mc60 is just my personal preference, I think it has the right wobble and it constantly will dart off course making it more erratic than other cranks I've fished. The crankbait pictured is pretty beat and is being held together with superglue. I switch out the hooks to the short shanks to keep the hooks closer to the body of the bait to help with reduce snags. I use a smaller one on the belly to help reduce snaginess. And just get a wrap, trust me.

After looking for a while I just went to home depot and bought a few pieces of 1 x 2 and some dowels. It seems to work well and holds them fine.

Went out today on a friends boat and caught a few smallmouth. I also happen to hook the biggest rudd I've seen yet.

I agree. I currently have a 70lb maxxum on 14 aluminum deep v and I wouldn't look back. The extra power is always appreciated when you need it. That all being said I still wonder if I should have went with the 101 lb.

Did another quick trip straight from work. Boated around 30ish smallies with the biggest at around 4. I had eight fish on eight consecutive casts. I didn't get pics of all of them but this is what I got.

Very clean work. Excited to see how it ends.

This. I usually dropshot whatever discarded baits I find on the floor of the boat.