blckshirt98

For me it's a neverending routine of organizing and moving tackle around, and some basic upkeep. I replace some rusted out hooks, re-glue some new eyes to hardbaits that lost them, respool some line if needed, clean the guides on my rods, re-lube any reels, cleaning out my Plano of old/faded/torn up plastics, etc.

Remember 20 years ago all of these specialized rods didn't exist and fish were still being caught. No matter how many different "technique specific" rods are put out there by the manufacturers, it's still just a blank with guides. Tie on some various lures and see if the action works, I think you'll be surprised at the range of baits a single rod can handle and still catch fish.

Minus 5 billion on double-uni for me, I had breakage issues no matter how carefully I tied it. I use a tiny Spro Power Swivel now and have had zero issues since, and won't look back.

Palomar knots with braid have been indestructable for me. I've pulled on snagged lures where the braid is almost cutting through the skin on my fingers that I've wrapped in my shirt. I use 12-15# braid(PowerPro or Sufix 832) for most of my freshwater bass rigs and that stuff should absolutely not be breaking like that. Even braid that has frayed/fuzzed up at the end of a fishing session has held up well for me.

I use FC Sniper and Seaguar InvizX for freshwater and surf/jetty type of saltwater fishing. Both brands have performed fine for me. FC Sniper I tried because of all the recommendations I see on every fishing site message board, InvizX I tried because I stocked up on spools of it when Sports Authority was clearing it out at 50-75% off. I also use Berkley Vanish in 2# for my trout leaders and I've had no breakage issues with it, if anything I've been surprised at how well it's held up against the little trout teeth - back in December I landed a 6.5# trout after playing with it for 20+ minutes on 2# Trilene mono mainline/2# Vanish leader. I've also seen a lot of negative feedback on Vanish but almost all of that seems to be with the early formulas/batches of Vanish where it was brittle and there were lots of reports about breakage issues. Berkley seems to have fixed those early issues.

The worst smelling plastic I've ever smelled are the Skinny Bear Shad Eye Drop Shot lures. I opened the pack and took a whiff and thought I was going to pass out.

Check the skirts for rot, I've bought some old jigs in the past for dirt cheap but on closer inspection the band holding the skirt was rotting away. If it's rotting either find some thread and re-tie it, or, find the smaller size zip tie and use that to replace the skirt band.

Also check TW for "swinging jigheads" since Trokar stuff can be a little pricey. I think the Biffle Hardhead was one of the first ones for Tommy's weird "bottom bugging" technique.

I don't tie or glue, the chatterbaits I use have built in plastic keepers that hold my trailers in place well. Also I use mainly single/double tail grubs for trailers and the bodies are big enough were they won't slide with normal use. The one exception I found are the Original Z-Man chatterbaits with no plastic keeper whatsoever - trailers will slide down that thing like a pig on a greasy waterslide. Don't fish chatterbaits that don't have a plastic keeper!

I use 2lb Vanish for my trout leaders and it's held up well!

I've never been on a boat but if someone were to offer me a day on the boat I'd pay for 100% of the gas, both tow and boat, because I wouldn't have a boat to offer in return to take turns with nor a truck to help haul it. No different then borrowing someone's car and returning it with a full tank.

When the owner isn't looking you can find a dead log along the shoreline and create your own cover/structure by tossing that into the water.

I'm a shore guy and it's backpack all the say. A lot of the reservoirs I fish I would never even considering a tackle box because of how steep some of the grades are along the shoreline, that tackle box would roll down into the water like a rock. I bring a Plano 3570 with terminal tackle and to hold used plastics, a larger Plano 3650 for hardbaits (also the large compartment without dividers fits spinnerbaits/small topwaters/etc), and a gallon Ziploc Freezer bag with about a dozen bags of plastics. If I'm on a new lake/location I'll add in another Plano of stuff. The single best thing though for a shore guy is a retractable Boomerang Snip attached to a belt loop via a caribiner. I can't stress enough how easy this makes changing out rigs/lures.

I haven't tried using them yet but I've read a couple of articles that say spybaits are great for cold water because of the slow presentation.

You want just enough weight to cast it where you want it with the current wind conditions and not have the drop shot move with the current. 1/4 or 3/8 is the size I use 95% of the time. I've gone up to 1/2 or 3/4 when trying to huck a bait across to the other side of a cove. When it's really windy though I will usually put the drop shot away as I have a tough time detecting bites since many dropshot bites are so light.

I use a 15lb BogaGrip because I use it in saltwater too (halibut have some f'ing fangs on them), and also because that style seems to harm fish less. For the people that use hook-type scales - do you just punch that thing through the fish's jaw and leave a big hole or do you hook it on the side of the jaw by the gillplate?

DSG clearance going into February? I went last week thinking it was over in January and found a stash of 7 bags of KVD Dreamshots in Morning Dawn and Brown Purple for like $1.70/bag. I wiped them out because I use the Dreamshots, in those colors, regularly!

How are you fishing them? I've bought a few spinnerbaits on sale since I read so much about them but I haven't had much luck the few times I've tried throwing them. Seeing some of the spinnerbait counts on this thread (over 100!) now I'm thinking there's something there that could be productive.

If you can find them I like the older D&M Piranha Swim Jigs. Of the current ones out there the Strike King Rage Blades are nice, and if you're looking for a slow/bouncing presentation the Picasso Shock Blades are great. Shock blades are a bit finicky as I think they're the best choice when you want to fish slow, but if you fish them too fast they tend to roll/spin. Color is whatever works at your local lake based on forage/conditions. I've had the most success/confidence with sexy shad and bluegill patterns.

If you don't mind risking losing a lot of tackle on a snag, do both. Rig up a drop shot as usual but instead of using a drop shot weight at the bottom, use a shakey head rig. Don't go too heavy on the shakeyhead, like don't stick a 5" senko on a 1/4oz shakeyhead, but something a bit more graceful like a Damiki Air Pocket Worm on a 1/16 or 3/32 oz Owner Ultrahead. If the fish are preferring one over the other that day, stick to the single rig they want. I've done this a few times with success but very selectively, since a snag will cost you a ton of gear.

I once read a quote by a pro that if you're not losing at least 4-5 jigs in an outing when fishing them, you're not fishing them in the right spot.

12-15# braid. I have the same 15# PowerPro on a the very first reel I ever spooled with braid 3 years ago and the line is still fine. I've had to refill it once from having to remove bits as I tie lures/terminal tackle on, but that stuff will last forever. Mono will get weak over time as the sun's UV rays hit it, and straight fluoro on a spinning reel is hard to manage as it will "spring" off.

That Megabass rod might have the best resale value if you ever grow tired of it. The two Loomis rod models seem to go for much lower than retail in the secondary market.

I keep a spreadsheet of all of my rods, along with *most* reels I have paired up with them. All casting reels are accounted for, spinning reels not really because I have a ton of $30-$100 Shimano reels that I mix and match. I should spool everything up and pair them with a rod though and keep the sheet up to date. I don't label my reels but on my spinning reels I will take a piece of masking tape and write down the type of line and # test and put it on the reel mount that faces the rod reel seat so I know what kind of line I have on the reel. At one point I'll probably add my swimbaits to the spreadsheet, and consider getting all items on the list insured from theft/fire. I would NEVER etch or place some permanent identifying mark on my fishing equipment as I think it hurts value if I ever trade/sell. Custom rods is the only place I ever see personalized identifiers, and even then I think it could look a bit cheesy/tacky. If anyone is looking to "mark" their gear, I think the least intrusive would be maybe a colored sharpie dot sequence on the reel /reel seat so it's not visible unless the reel is removed.

I haven't had any "best" over the top days bass fishing but do remember my worst. It was a couple of years back just after spawn and I decided to go to the most productive local lake where I almost always catch something. I arrived, parked, hiked down to my spot, pumped up for some late afternoon fishing. First thing I noticed was the wind picked up and it started to blow pretty hard, and I hate fishing in wind. At the time I was almost exclusively drop shotting so I get there, cast out and before I get a bite I almost immediately get snagged and lose my setup. I re-rig and trying to re-tie, with wind blowing on me slowing down the process, cast out, bam, another snag. This is a stretch of shoreline I fish reguarly and know where the "snaggy" spots are and normally don't get snagged that often, but that day the snag monkey was working overtime. I proceed to lose like 7 dropshot rigs in about an hour without a single bite, and by the end of that hour I'm ready to snap my rod in half, throw it into the water, and find another hobby. Cooler heads prevailed and I just packed my stuff up and went home, talking myself down by saying that day it just wasn't meant to be, fish have to win sometimes. I still think about that day and get ticked lol.