blckshirt98

I use snaps for quick changing baits all the time. Norman Speed Clips and Decoy V-Snaps are what I'm using now.

I've got a bunch of tackle I need to get rid of and didn't want to just dump it off at the local Goodwill truck. I was going to donate some to a boy scout troop a few years back but got super lazy and never followed up on it. Anyone that knows a place that could use some tackle, let me know either here or via a PM. I'll probably stuff a few medium sized Priority Flat Rate box to the gills and send it off.

As people have said if you like and have confidence in Daiwa gear, get the Cabela's.

If you can find one at the right price my go-to all-around spinning rod is a Phenix M-1 7'2" M-XF rod. I'm a hoarder who has more rods than anyone should own, but I've caught probably 75% of my fish on that rod. It was my first nice rod, and I've used it for wacky senkos, Carolina Rig, Texas Rig, dropshot, small topwater, small crankbaits (up to a Strike King KVD 2.5, though that's kind of pushing it on the heavy side, but it's great for the 1.0 or 1.5 sizes). If I go to a familiar body of water where I only want to bring one rod, this is the rod I bring. If I could only have one rod to use for the rest of my life, it would be this rod. It pairs well with any Shimano 2500 size reel, I think I have a Sahara on it right now.

eBay has been good to me, just be sure to check the seller's feedback and you should be fine. I've only been burned twice and that was because they were both super rare (non-fishing) items that never come up for sale, and I took a flyer even though the seller had no feedback. eBay and Paypal's buyer protection is also solid.

I've got boxes and boxes of different crankbaits from different brands, and I always find myself fishing either the Strike King squarebills or Rat-L-Trap lipless crankbaits 95% of the time. I might tie on something else to mix it up, but it really comes down to finding a crankbait that feels right to you on the cast and retrieve on the gear you throw it on. They all catch fish.

4-5" grub of your choice of maker. Cheap, and easy to find a matching color.

I'm a fan of the Gamakatsu Value Packs and the Owner Mosquito Pro Packs. If I lose a hook I don't stress.

Trokar hooks are the sharpest hooks I've ever used. Better than the Owner, Gamakatsu, Mustad hooks, but, the hook point is shaped like the tip of a three-sided pyramid so they slice through plastics easier than other hooks. That being said I'll only use them if it's a situation where I know bites will be difficult to come by and don't want to miss a fish.

Anyone have the TW URL hack to find all 25 days of sales?

Cabela's is running daily deals for pre-Black Friday sales (http://www.cabelas.com/category/Black-Friday/468246780.uts). Today they have Lew's SuperDuty SpeedSpool reels for $99 ($80 off), and you get a free pair of pliers from Lew's http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1417844&type=product

Academy has Shimano Clarus rods on clearance at $50 a pop. The rods normally run $90-100. http://www.academy.com/shop/browse/SearchDisplay?searchTerm=clarus

I just want to say that after using hooks from pretty much every brand out there, the Lazer Trokar hooks are the best hooks I've used so far. I've had Gamakatsu and Trapper hooks break, Owner and Mustads bend. I put off on trying the Trokar hooks for the longest time because they're expensive and made by Eagle Claw, and I have a brand bias against Eagle Claw (Eagle Claw = "first rod" you get for the kids). I got a few packs of Trokars at the Dick's sale a few months back and they've performed flawlessly. Penetration on hooksets have been perfect, and recovered hooks that had gotten snagged/hung-up, where other hooks would have broken/bent, have come back to me with points intact and no noticeable bending in the hook. If I could trade my stock of Gammy/Owner/Mustad hooks for Trokars I would in a heartbeat, I've been that impressed with them.

Sorry for the late response, been MIA for a bit. Lexington has historically been a good place for me but with all the water that came in where Lexington topped 100% capacity the place really got thrown for a loop. I take the Bear Creek exit and park right there in the dirt lot and fish the southwest shoreline (highway side). All of the shore spots I fished were underwater and the water had risen up to where all the poison oak was so I avoided the place this year. The water is back down to 80% so shore access should be better but the southwest shoreline is fairly snaggy and could be annoying to fish. The more kid-friendly location would be the dam and the northwest shoreline (exit Bear Creek, loop around back onto the freeway and go north to the Alma Bridge exit). Can't speak of the bite quality though, haven't seen too many reports (just a couple earlier when water was at capacity, from a guy that took a kayak out and said it was tough).

Anderson Reservoir is generally regarded as the "best" place in the South Bay for numbers if you want to take kids fishing and give them the best chance at catching a bass, especially in the springtime. Try posting on sanjosebass.com for more info, it's not a very active site but there are a few regulars that will post/reply to threads. I've seen some ridiculous crappie catches at Calero and Anderson as well, but usually by people with boats.

There's access to Coyote Creek there but keep in mind of regulations where artificial lures and barbless hooks are required, and, there are a lot of ticks around there.

Also can't emphasize enough how little people take advantage of gift card re-sale sites. Giftcardgranny.com searches across many gift card sites so you can find the highest discount % as it can vary from site to site.

Second attempt! Cabela's has the Shimano Clarus 5'0" one-piece and 5'6" two-piece UL trout rods on sale for $59.99 ($30 off). Full disclosure - I haven't fished the new Clarus rods as I shifted away from Shimano after they removed their Lifetime Warranty on rods. Also Cabela's has all Curado I's on sale for $129.99. And if you do buy from Cabela's don't forget to first buy gift cards for an extra 12% ish off (check giftcardgranny which is a meta search site).

I got some spray with DEET but that stuff made my skin burn like crazy. Now I try to use buffs and arm sleeves to keep the bugs off, and, I recently got one of those mesh hooded bug jackets, though I haven't tried it out yet.

You need to re-apply sunblock every couple of hours! Also an added benefit of wearing clothing to keep the sun out is it also keeps the freaking mosquitos off of you. Nothing annoys me more than mosquitos while fishing, or waking up the next morning to itchy bites. Also found the link I was looking for I think it was posted on this site by someone a while back. Interesting all-in-one sun protection upper, that stays cool with the vented sleeves. https://gillz-gear.com/

For pants I have a pair of Columbia convertible pants though I never actually convert them from pants to shorts. The polyester quick-dry material most sun pants are made out of doesn't insulate very well so your legs should never really feel hot, even if you're wearing long pants in 100 degree heat. If anything by keeping the direct sun off your legs they'll keep them cooler. You might also want to check Sierra Trading Post (or sign up for their email flyers) for sun pants that won't cost an arm and a leg. I've gotten a couple of no-name brand sun pants from there and they function fine.

Not meaning to pile on but be careful in how you rest your reels. I see so many people taking pictures of their catch, with the fish on the ground, with their rod/reel on the ground right next to the fish. That's all it takes to get a few grains of dust into the reel and cause grinding.

I use 15-20 lb 832 or standard PowerPro and I haven't seen any of the same issues. What kind of rod/reel are you using, and, what kind of lures are you trying to throw? Also once you do have a knot in your line, you're better off cutting it off as it'll definitely impact your casting as it passes through your guides.

I'd go with KVD. All of the pros know more information that anyone could possibly absorb in one session, but as Gerald Swindle once said in an interview, KVD is the most positive guy he knows. Being around people with a positive attitude no matter what, makes things that much more enjoyable, even if it's a 0 fish, 20 breakoff day.

If you're fishing ponds I'm assuming you're fishing from shore. With crankbaits I get a lot of strikes within 10 feet of shore right when I'm about to finish my retrieve and pull up my lure for a re-cast.