Dennis1972

Thanks for the link. I ended up ordering some .10mm stainless wire the other day. Should be here real soon. I hope I picked the right diameter for stiffness.

Hi Meeno, no I don't use those hooks for wacky, these are actually inline hooks that I use to replace treble hooks on many different lures, as I am 100% catch and release fisherman, I just don't like anything about treble hooks, but that's a whole nother story...haha

does anyone know what kind of wire they use for making weedless hooks? I need to buy some and I don't even know what I am looking for, id like to know what its called and what gauge or diameter I should get? I just made one out of some 28ga kanthol wire I use to make coils for my vape but its a little to stiff and not springy enough and I m sure would rust quickly. below is a picture of what I am trying to do. Thanks

I absolutely love using spinnerbaits, I much prefer the Colorado blades over the willow blades, but they are harder to find. I have yet to find a color that wont work.

right, that's where I mainly catch the smallies is around downed trees and rock piles. I do use curly tail jigs and have had some luck with them, but I saw guys on youtube using tubes in different rivers doing very well, not sure if tubes will be better or not, but I have had fishing on the brain big time since deer season ended and I want to be ready when I get my boat in the water. I haven't fished the river a lot but I plan on hitting it harder this year.

im not sure its 4mph but it seems a bit faster than a brisk walk. im talking about the Indiana side of the Kankakee river. I usually just drift in my boat with a coffee can filled with cement anchor down and even then a lot of times im going much faster than I would like so I can get a good cast in all the good looking spots.

I have never been a tube jig guy but watching videos on youtube makes me want to try them. what length body and what weight and style of heads do you guys recommend? I will be fishing a river that is usually about 4 to 6 ft deep with current speed around 4 or 5 mph. hopefully you guys can recommend me some bodies and jig heads I could pick up at Walmart. Thanks

i pretty much dislike everything about treble hooks, have any of you guys switched over to single in-lines on your crankbaits and such lures? if so how is your hook up rate compared to trebles? reasons.... i like to release all of my fish unharmed.... i hate getting trebles out of the net...and i dont like fish thrashing around in my hands that are hooked with trebles.

well, its 12lb trilene big game line. big game is a little thicker than other lines. not that it matters, as the spool is still 3/4 full. and it casts like a dream 3/4 full. i could not belive the distance i was getting with a 1/4oz square bill till i lost it, then i switched to an even lighter one and was still bombing way out there. i think i decided on another 7 gear ratio, i will just take some line off again as the temps drop to slow it down.

i am not sure that it is exactly 20 yards off the spool. it looks like there is still at least 3/4 or 75% of the line still on the spool. i did not measure with a full spool, i am just going by the literature that says its 31" ipt when full {120 yards}. i am assuming the factory got it right.

well like i said earlier, i dont ever deep crank, the new reel will be used to fish squarebills, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits only. all of my other set ups are dedicated rods/reels and are perfect for their jobs. but yesterday i was throwing squarebills and buzzbaits and i mentioned to my friend i was getting worn out after about 3 hours.... i did get 2 nice smallies for my efforts. i was reeling pretty fast with my 7 speed that is short lined to be slower, but i still got wore out. i do have a pretty much brand new 5 speed reel {deep cranking} sitting in my fishing gear room, but i think thats too slow for buzzbaits and square bills.

but on the other hand i should get more casting distance due to the lighter spool that takes less inertia it get it spinning.....lots of flies in my ointment today

so is the final answer that it takes the same amount of effort to turn the 7 speed reel handle with less line as it takes to turn a 6 speed reel handle with a full spool? im ready to order and dont want to regret the purchase.

oh wow, i think im more confused about it now than when i posted the question..haha. i am not one bit concerned about a fish spooling me because i have 20 yards less line, that will never happen...i still have 100 yards of line on the reel, never in over 40 years of fishing have i even used 1/2 of that amount of line. in fact i wish reels came with only about 75 or so yard capacity to make the filled spool weight less...but thats a whole different subject. anyway i was thinking about ordering a new reel today and torn between 7 speed and 6 speed. i have bad wrists with arthritis in them....so im just looking for a little advantage. the reel will be used for square bill cranks, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. i do not do any deep cranking, as i pretty much only fish the on the river by my house {5ft deep} or small ponds around here.

i agree about braid being thicker than stated. it really matters on super shallow spool bfs reels. mine would only hold about 40 yards of 8lb mono, so i decided to fix it by getting some 15lb {supossedly 4lb diameter} braid for it. to my surprise it held less braid yardage than mono before the line on the spool would rub the frame.... oh well i never cared for braid anyway.... now even more so.

i have a 7 speed baitcaster, 31" ipt. i wanted to slow my retrieve a bit for crainkbaits so i took 20 or so yards of line of it, i measured the ipt and it changed to about 25" ipt from 31" ipt, about where i wanted it. do i still get the advantage of less fatigue when i just remove line to slow the retrieve? i cant think of any reason why not. seems the same as changing to slower brass gears in my mind. but if that was the case why wouldnt everyone buy the fastest reel available and just remove line till they get the ipt they desire?

its been a real good year for me so far in both quantity and quality, i was just saying this to a guy at the bar last weekend and he said the same. i moved to a new county and found a couple honey holes here that i never fished before this year, that may have something to do with it. ive found some real nice largemouth and smallmouth.

ok, thanks for the tips!

i bought a 4 slot silicone mold to recycle my senkos and my friend gave me an old microwave and my mom gave me a pyrex glass measuring cup, the mold has 4 slots to pour into per batch. how much salt do i need to add to make 4 senkos? i would like them to turn out a little softer than they were originally. Thanks!

It has been unusually cold here in Indiana, only really warmed up on monday (got in the 70's) i went out monday and got 3 bass and 1 crappie, then i went out today and caught 1 bass a couple crappie and 1 nice bluegill. its suppose to rain here this whole week and be warm, water temps will be rising. i picked up a couple of the bass on frogs in the lilly pads.

weightless texas rigged, any worm style that is heavy enuff to cast, its my #1 fish catcher. i have found color or brand does not matter a bit. i just reach in my bag and pull any color out and catch fish, i can go from white to black to pink on any given day... they all work fine.

got my new tatula in the mail today, it feels great, so.... i just ordered another one, but a type R in 6.3:1 for my spinnerbait rod.

i went out last night and fished one of my hot spots for about 1/2 hour before i gave on the spot, it was just no good last night, makes me wonder if someone was there before me and fished it out..... so i moved on.

its not just reels, i am a lefty and have been struggling with it my whole life with guns and bows. most companies charge at least $100 more for left handed guns. i feel like i am in heaven when buying reels though because right hand reels are perfect for lefties..haha...soooooo many choices!

i do love the lews reels, i have 4 of them and they are my favorite out of all i have tried, however i did not like the LFS series and much prefer the series before the LFS , it took my 2 LFS ones back to cabelas, they did not feel as solid to me as my SS1H reels. i have been a bit of a reel junky lately, i bought the tatula because i want to try ALL reels....lol