blckshirt98

Nah, but I saw his setup and he uses big hooks, like 3/0, and only uses big baits. Even when wacky rigging senkos he goes 7" senkos. I could never do either, and stick with 6-8# test and prefer 3.5-5" plastics. Was just saying that to point out that you can catch fish on a dropshot without having to corner yourself into a "dropshot should only be done this way" kind of thing!

The one nearby where I live closed doors permanently last Thursday. I hit it up when it was 50% off, posted what I found in another thread on these forums. They did mark everything down by 75% for the last Wed/Thurs, but I'm willing to bet the shelves were all bare by then.

FC Sniper if you don't mind paying more, InvisX if you want to pay less.

Heck one of the best CA Delta guides said he uses 25lb fluoro on his dropshot rigs as a leader and has seen no difference in catch rates since FC is basically invisible in water. I still stick to 6-8# because that's where I feel the most confident (fish won't see it! fish won't see it!).

Nice, what rod did you settle on?

My breaks didn't occur at knots either, they were in random places in the line and they were clean breaks with no fraying, almost like the line was cut with a pair of scissors.

Fluoro is a bit stiff to run straight on a spinning reel. 15lb braid with 6-8 lb fluoro leader is all you need.

The Plano terminal tackle box is what I use. Anything else I have the same problems with tackle sliding under dividers and getting mixed up with other tackle.

Nanofil is horrible. It'll work fine for a season but then you might start seeing some weird things happen like the line breaking on casts and hooksets for no reason. This happened to me three times on the same outing, nothing wrong with any guides or rod, fishing the same spots I do with my other setups. I stripped off all of my nanofil and went back to normal braid.

Phenix M1 MXS78M - I've used it for all three of those techniques paired with a 2500 size Shimano reel and have caught more fish on that combo than all my others combined.

Molix Sator Worm in either Watermelon Gold Shad or Seducente, nose hooked, size 4 or size 2 hook. Trust me on this one.

I dropshot a ton and while I have some of those dropshot hooks like the VMC Spinshots, I've always found it to be too much work tying those extra knots (I'm lazy). Regular hook with the palomar knot and the extra pass through has always worked fine for me. I've never had a problem with line twist because I use braid with a fluoro leader and I *do* use a tiny Spro Power Swivel to join the braid to fluoro. I used to use a double-uni but had way too many break issues no matter how carefully I tied it. If you choose to pass up the swivel when joining mainline to leader, use a better knot than the double-uni. My usual setup is 8-15lb braided mainline (depending on which setup I take with me), 6-8lb FC Sniper for a leader, and Size 4 or Size 2 hooks, and I nose hook all my plastics.

Dang, nice collection of fishing books!

it's still winter and bone chilling cold here in NorCal...local guide has been fishing the Delta and has caught a couple of DD bass using jigs with a pork trailer. Just need to find the right color the bass want that day.

I used to use a double-uni but had lots of breakage issues. I now use a swivel and have almost zero breakage issues. Even on snags the hook will usually bend before the connection fails.

I use Seaguar InvisX and Sniper FC for bass. The InvisX is only because I got it super cheap, otherwise Sniper FC with zero interest in trying another fluoro. For braid I use both regular PowerPro and Sufix 832. I've tried Nanofil, Fireline, and Slick8, prefer the PowerPro and Sufix 832 over the three of those.

All I use are the Norman Speed Clips. Easy to use and they work.

The Plano 3455 with all dividers in place is the closest thing I've found that will store spinners without wasting too much space. I use it for smaller trout lures so I have some Panther Martins, Rooster Tails, Blue Fox, Super Dupers, and Kastmasters in there. It can fit at least 3 spinners in each slot with room to spare, even using Owner Hook Guards. I don't have any Mepps Aglia's so I don't know how long those run compared to the other spinner brands, but definitely check out the 3455. http://www.basspro.com/Plano-StowAway-Utility-Boxes/product/1556/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL

Had anyone read KVD's book? It's always full price on Amazon, never the usual discount 99% of books get, so wondering if it's worth it?

I've found rod deals from most of the reputable online sites at one point or another when they were on sale or on clearance. The important thing is to sign up for the various email newsletters/notifications because you never know when a rod will go on clearance and it's important to jump on them quickly as most will sell out. All the small "fishing/outdoor only" stores ship their rods in sturdy tubes so I buy from them with confidence. The only two sites where I've found good deals but have a 50/50 chance of receiving a damaged/split in half rod is Sierra Trading Post and Sport Chalet. Both ship their rods in flimsy four sided rectangular cardboard and both have had one piece rods arrive folded in half as two piece rods. But if you're willing to take the risk you can find some amazing deals. Sierra has regular discounts on top of their sale prices, and, Sport Chalet lets you stack coupon codes (so for example I got a Phenix M1 Inshore rod that was clearance priced at $169 (down from $239) where you could stack an extra 25% off coupon code, stacked with a $10 off any item priced $50 or higher, stacked with a free shipping promo they were running, so I got it for under $140 delivered).

I fish a bazillion brands but I do find myself reaching for Yamamoto, Jackall, and Molix the most. Used to fish a lot of Roboworm but now they're mostly collecting dust since I always get the feeling the fish have all seen Roboworms 100x over since they're so popular.

If you're looking for paddle tail movement look into the Lake Fork Boot Tail Shads. Also no matter what you decide on don't be afraid to trim the skirt so you get more water flow hitting the boot/paddle.

Also if you are indeed a "broke college kid" I'd avoid any of these new gimmicky baits! Lots of times these get bought by fisherman looking for something new and end up being used a couple of times or never, and end up collecting dust while they go back to using what's always worked!

I'm curious how Yamamoto's hard baits are doing, what their sales numbers are like. I buy a ton of baits and for some reason those don't appeal to me, I almost see it as a "Yamamoto is making them just to have a hard bait they can put their name on." I think their brand is too far entrenched into their soft baits, and I think Berkeley is in the same boat. When you think Berkeley you think PowerBait.

Ha, I was just about to post a link from Alan Tani. He's one of the reel maintenance gurus in the saltwater world and he uses some blue Yamaha grease. Here's a link to one of his posts where he describes what he uses and why - http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=50.0