the reel ess

I would think the rod action and power and your reel drag has as much or more to do with the hook breaking free. You simplyt can't horse a fish in on that light wire hook. My dad and his buddy used to make their own crappie jigs in a mold by bending the aberdeen "crappie minnow" hooks and using in the mold. I believe they made 1/16 and 1/8 oz.

The Aussies have had some really cool cars. They just should have maybe named the car something else. Like maybe the Pontiac Holden.

I like it. You definitely don't see many of those anymore.

Beautiful car! I want a driver. Handling is nice, but I can work toward that. I like the 4-speed, low-geared feel. I'm handy enough to do a lot of my own work. I'm not really into trailer queens, nut and bolt restorations or matching numbers. I even like the recent rat rod truck trend. I could afford about anything within reason, but I'm still a cheapskate. I can live with a less-sought-after model to save some bucks. I don't want a car that's so complete there's nothing left for me to do. It's funny to me how badly I wanted things when I couldn't afford them. Now that I can, I don't want nearly as many things. I'll probably think on this one long enough to talk myself out of it. LOL.

I've noticed recently that the base Corvettes with the 300 HP 350's are much cheaper than the LT1 or the big block cars. The later C3 Vettes come with weaker motors, but there's always performance potential with a small block under the hood. And they handle like they're on rails with the independent rear suspension.

I use straight 20# braid on both my spinning combos. I use 30# on my jig/T-rigs rod. I used to use a 15# mono leaders, but I started with straight braid in the heavy stuff and still caught big fish. So I'm trying to lose the belief that fish are really line shy. IDK, I may go back to a mono leader at some point. But I don't think you need 8' of it. A short one will do and it allows for easier retying. I've always used straight 50# on my frog rod. I still use mono for my trebles, topwaters and spinner/buzzbaits.

Hehe. I'm prepared for bad fuel economy. I drive a Jeep. 14 MPG around town. I'd really like a 4-speed geared toward lower torque.

Yeah, Cudas and Challengers are out of my budget. I could do it, but I'd rather go cheaper. I'm partial to 2nd gen Camaros. My first car was a '78, but it was a real dog. The 305 2bbl could hardly get out of its own way. I was routinely embarrassed by guys with 4 cyl pickups. That old Mustang 289 I had is a decent place to start a build and can still be had well under $15K.

I'm feeling that midlife itch for a muscle car or some kind of hot rod to wrench on. I'm a pretty competent shadetree mechanic. I used to have a '66 Mustang for a daily driver for a couple of years and I carried a toolbox and spare parts in the trunk. There's nothing like an old car to teach you how to diagnose simple problems. What you got? What advice would you offere, besides "Don't do it." ?

I harvest way more than that out of it. But I'm the only person who fishes it regularly. He's a hunter. And, while I can let myself in, I don't just go there without asking. I've caught 50 bass in a day there. It's hard to put a dent in the population. Even the bedding bass are small. He really needs a professional assessment. But he's not going to do that. I told him we need to make a device to shock them up and take a lot of the dinks out. The majority of the bluegill are too big for 3/4 lb. bass to eat and they're competing for the same minnows. It's out of balance from the bass's perspective. It's heaven if you're a bluegill.

I'm not going on Christmas, but I am on the 27-28th with this guy. My first FL fishing trip. I'm so hyped I can hardly sleep.

My buddy makes me put everything I catch from his pond in a floating basket that he empties out regularly. It's hopelessly overpopulated. I caught a 6.5 lb the first time I fished there 16 years ago. I haven't caught anything big in it since. A 1.5 lb bass is a big one there and the average is about 3/4 lb. Most fish I catch there have concaved bellies. The one in this pic is the biggest I've caught there in recent years and it had a bass down its throat. It's about 14". I did throw it back because I thought it had a chance to grow big if it can eat bass.

It could be an animal drug it up there. It could also be that it died due to being hooked in the throat and was tossed up there.

When your hobby is sticking animals in the mouth with sharp objects there will be some unavoidable carnage. Fish swallow hooks, lines break. Let's not assume this is a genocidal maniac. This being a golf course pond, maybe they weren't supposed to be fishing there anyway.

I don't think they're getting hook shy. There are a certain number of fish that will bite and a very large percentage that won't. It could be you went on a new or full moon on the best days to fish. Then you went back at a low point in terms of peak feeding times. If the fish that will bite see a different lure, they may bite it. But fish that you hooked and landed may not eat for days.

I'm going to FL to fish a day in the Glades and a day in the S FL canals. That's my gift to myself. The family is going and they'll play while I play. I'm really hoping to give myself a new PB and catch some nice peacocks. Those would be icing.

I believe all ponds, lakes, rivers and creeks have craws. I fished a lake for 30+ years and never saw a craw and even told people there were none there only to catch a bass trying to "pass" a claw.

Plain 1/4 oz. jighead with Yamamoto Hula Grub or just a twin tail grub. T rigged craw by itself Finesse Jig The last bite I got was on a Ned rigged Nikko hellgrammite and it swam off while I was paying no attention to the line, just letting it sit on bottom.But it doesn't get "St. Louis cold" here.

If they were printed with weights I'd need a magnifying glass to read them. But you're right. I have a bunch and don't know what they are.

I bought my daughter a lady's Ugly Stik combo about 6 years ago. The reel had no anti-reverse. I hadn't seen that on any reel before this one and assumed it was a cheap reel feature, or lack thereof. She never fishes and if she did, she wouldn't remember that she owns a combo anyway. So I took the reel off and put on one of my late dad's rods. I actually like it.

10 Go to Florida

I wouldn't unless I had no choice. What's the reason? Just because you have a fiberglass rod? I have a 7-3 Hvy-X Fast rod for that and I still lose some fish. The idea is to get them to the top and ski them to the boat. Give them a little play and they'll manage to leverage the hook out a good percentage of the time. If price is an issue, I'm sure you can find a $50 Hvy that works well enough. Sensitivity isn't crucial. If you buy a rod and dedicate it to the frog you'll be glad.

I have the Feelfree Lure 13.5. It's stable enough to stand in. I have and I understand a lot of people do. But I still don't feel confident enough in it to stand and set the hook and fight fish. For a kayak it's stable, but don't think that's the same kind of stability you get in even a jonboat.

Often, yes. There are a lot of variables there. But there are a couple of jobs I left on such good terms that it's possible I could return. And I've seen it happen. Business is business. They need names and these are two big names.

My sister just bought a place at the beach that has a boat launch on the Garden City beach (SC) inlet. I've never fished much saltwater. When I did, I just hosed them off with freshwater. My question is about whether my reels are ok with regular saltwater use. I have a few Lews LFS Tournament MB BC reels that I believe are sealed bearing and noncorrosive. But how about Pflueger Trion spinning reels? Also, what do most of you use for redfish and trout? Thanks.