the reel ess

It looks good. But I need it to be a superline hook. That's all I use for pitching anymore. Can't tell from the website. You could easily do this with about any EWG hook.

Well, if they wanted it pronounced Sank-o in English they should have spelled it correctly. ? We say the same thing about crappie in the southeast. Someone from Minnesota made fun of my pronunciation. I told him to spell "crap" and spell "crop". I recently took up the old stick worm and it has been about the only consistent producer for me in the dog days. I caught an 8.0 lb. earlier this summer on it. I've been using it with an 1/8 oz. weight, pegged on straight 30# braid. Fish are just crazy about black and blue here. I was using SK Ochos because my bro-in-law gave me some in junebug. I burned through several bags of 10 that cost $6 or more. I found a bag of 100 Yum Dingers for $26 on Amazon. The real deal, not a knockoff. https://www.amazon.com/Classic-All-Purpose-Plastic-Fishing-Pumpkin/dp/B086TNY2BJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14RA71X8S6XYF&keywords=100%2Byum%2Bdinger&qid=1663159447&sprefix=100%2Byum%2Bdingers%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-1&th=1

Pop R, Whopper Plopper, Chug Bug. Pond bass are much more likely to attack a topwater than are bass in deeper waters. And they stay out of the mucky pond bottom. Add a spinnerbait and you have the whole water column covered. I would recommend a frog because I do so well in weedy ponds with it. But it works best with a heavier rod and braided line. This is usually a technique people pick up after they've experimented with the more conventional ones. The Trick Worm and its little bother, the 4" finesse worm, are also some great pond baits. I use the Trick Worm T-rigged, weightless. I use the 4" Finesse Worm with a 1/16 oz. weight. Hungry pond bass can't stay off this bait.

I've lost so many good bass on lipless cranks and other various treble baits. But it's a risk always worth taking.

I flipped a T rigged craw to a rock and the great beast devoured it before it touched the bottom. I set the hook well and it made a beeline for my buddy's boat and went under. I tried to force it back and it bent the Gamakatsu EWG hook out and escaped. Totally my fault. It probably would have been a PB at the time. I ordered some superline hooks later that same day. I've caught a bunch of bass 6-8+lb. in that lake since and I've possibly caught the same fish. I'm armed with a H-F pitching stick, braid and good hooks now. I still pitch to that rock every time I fish there. I've caught another 6 lb. off of it with a shaky head. I played it much lighter. It's easier to keep bass out from under a kayak than it is a 17' Tracker. You just use the rod to leverage it and the kayak turns. That's probably the most thrilling thing about kayak fishing.

Just tell him you were looking for all the fish he didn't catch and get video of the response. He's overreacting, if it happened exactly as you said. But a lot of people go fishing for solitude. Probably thought you weren't finished creeping up on his position. I fish a 35 acre lake and I'm disappointed when I see another boat. I'm just selfish like that.

Lew's LFS Tournament MB/7'3" Cabela's XT XH-XF Frog-specific rod, 50# braid. Lew's LFS/Falcon 6'10" Bucoo H-F pitching stick, 30# braid. Everything else is versatile. I'll also use the pitching stick for plain ol' T-rigs sometimes.

I've caught a good bit of fish on a Plopper in that temp range. If the big bass are shallow, a buzzing bait can draw their ire. Therein lies the entire rub. They must be shallow for you to catch them off the surface. I don't think bass are gonna charge up from 8' or more in cooler water to crush a topwater. But if you put it in their mouth, often they'll react.

We had baseboard heaters at my family's lake house. my dad left some rods leaning against the wall over one while we were gone. The thermostat was set as low as possible. The line was brittle next time he used it. I hypothesize that the constant changing of temps affected the line even though it didn't get very "hot" in the house.

@Glenn There were some of those Slug-o's in my dad's stuff when he died. I'm sure he never used them because he would have thought they were gimmicky. Most likely someone gave him a few. I keep saying I need to use them and keep forgetting to do so. You mean Pittsburd? That's what my old buddy calls them.

I haven't been able to buy a frog bite most of this year. I have one frog fish on my favorite watering hole in 2022. I've really had a better time with the toad and pitching Senkos in the slop. But I still kept a frog tied on. You're right about the misses. Sometimes, I doubt the bass even has its mouth open. I've hooked them in the side of the head before. I've had a big bass blow up on a frog up 3 times and still not get the hooks. But man, is it the most exciting thing when they're really choking it!

It could well be that a hook didn't cause that damage. But I do feel bad when I hurt an eye. I know it's not a death sentence. I remember I caught a 5 pounder with my dad about 20 years ago. 5 was a big bass on that lake. It had one bad eye and bleeding sores on it. I nonchalantly threw it back and he asked me why I didn't have it mounted. I told him I could never forget how bad it looked. I haven't kept a bass to eat in a couple years. Never had one mounted, just pics. I fish a lot of smaller places that could benefit from someone taking bass out.

But people around here hunt them like they're going out of style and we have coyotes and coyote-dog mixes and they're still plentiful. People plant food for them and throw out corn. I dare say there are more whitetail in the US than there were before white people got here. https://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/editorial/huntingtactics_naw_maturebuck_200808/263957

I always tell people that hunt and don't understand the draw of fishing that I can throw it back and let it live, maybe catch it again. And I can go right away and look for another. When they take that shot and kill that deer the fun is over and the work begins.

Yeah, MD is certainly an acquired taste. I've heard Mustaine described as the Bod Dylan of metal. Writes good songs, but can't sing them. But he's better that any guitarists in any of the other Big 4 bands, and the other guitarist currently in the band is better than him. IDK, they embody thrash to me. I still listen to all the old bands. I like some more modern bands like A7X, Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, etc. I'm still stuck on Deep Purple, Rainbow, UFO, etc. I even like a few hair metal bands, mostly the bluesy ones.I saw Metallica and Greta Van Fleet last October with my daughter and we have tickets to GVF again this October. What is any metal band whining about?

Have you listened to the new Megadeth album? It's good.

Rage Tail & Rage Bug are about the only craws I use anymore. I tried Zoom and Berkley also with good success. The Berkley were not durable, but fish held them a long time.

@Rora Nice bass! All these things will come to you. You'll learn to sidearm cast a lot. I find that I instinctively go around a small body of water clockwise because it's easier for me to cast that way. You'll learn to use a paddle with one hand to make adjustments with a rod in the other without thinking about it. I can do it while fighting fish now. You'll learn how to bring fish to your strong hand and land them. You won't usually need a net. I have a net that I only use when I'm landing a big bass on trebles, so not very often. I do lose some smaller fish that shake off at the boat, but no biggie. I wasn't going to eat them anyway.

T'is the season bro. It's gotten really slow here and usually does in the dog days. Sometimes it doesn't rebound for a while. Lately, I've been considering live bait.

I have one that's probably 20 years old. So old it was made in USA. I bought it used from a coworker for $50 about 15 years ago. The line guides are a tad flimsy, but I just bend them back out. They've stayed on with a lot of use. It hasn't had any issues with the finish though. It's my most sensitive rod by far. Therefore it's my favorite. I've used it for everything from frogs to crankbaits. I settled on T-rigs with it.

Their guesses are better educated. I've caught fish in front of less experienced anglers and they'll say "How did you do that?" or "How did you know that fish was there?" The answer is usually so complex I can't explain it adequately. They just get that glassed over look in the eyes when I try. I'll just say I knew from experience, seasonal patterns and luck that a fish might be there and might bite this lure.

Like with baitcast reels. I sent a Lew's reel to BPS to be fixed. It was making a terrible racket when cast, which I assumed was a bearing going bad. They called me and told me they had no contract with Lew's so they didn't have parts for it. But they wanted to offer me an exchange for the Carbonlite 2.0. I took it. It came back and looked cosmetically almost exactly like the Lew's reel, just shiny, flashy colors. It even has that little window on the underside to oil the gears. I find it hard to believe they didn't have a bearing that would fit the Lew's.

@NorthernBasser They can even vary greatly in the same body of water.

The fact of the matter is that a light color frog casts the same shadow as a dark color frog. And the back of the frog is not visible to bass. That pattern is only there for the angler.

How about Falcon Bucoo or Lowrider?