FishTank

Are we talking BFS or light to medium light rods? Casting or spinning? In stock..... BFS Casting... The Megabass P5 Siglet. Finesse Casting.... G. Loomis 892C Finesse Spinning.... Megabass P5 Whippet or G. Loomis 802S GLX

What braid are you using? I have found X-Plasma from Sunline to be quite excellent. I have been using 16lb on two spinning setups since last year.

A custom made Megabass Monoblock or Calcutta DC since I am checking one off the list today.... Picking up a Daiwa Steez CT SV TW

In the past, Amazon has not really had any good fishing related sales on Prime Day. I look every year with some hope but only to be disappointed.

Change baits. Another idea and may be an old wise tale but I tried when I was kid and it worked..... Popcorn. Throw some in crumbled up and bluegill will go crazy for it. Bass will ignore it. The idea is the oil and butter will attract bluegill but not bass. Then you are free for a little bit to pursue bass while the bluegill are busy .

I have a love hate relationship with this bait. It's a fish catching machine but it's also a snag magnet. I loose one evertime I fish it. It snags limbs easily and it also gets wedged into rocks. One other thing, the eyes suck. Each one I have used, the eyes fall off after a few casts. .

I have had no luck with their Senko style bait but their fineness worm and ribbon tail are killer. Killed it on the Fat Ika this weekend on two different lakes. I caught 6 keepers on one lake and 3 on another and few small ones. I went through all I had. The one soft plastic that has given me head ache is the Ned rig. It works in clearish water but stained, no luck and it is a snag magnet on most of the lakes I fish. I loose at least two each time I use this technique. It can catch fish but the constant snags are sometimes not worth it.

If you like that one at night, you should try bruised shin. Also, there is one senko style bait that I tried years ago (can't remember who makes it, BPS? Yum?) that was black and blue swirled together. This bait was killer in the early morning and at night.

At $8, not sure if I would call it a cheap bait. In past couple of years, I have seen a few on the shelf that have not had the hooks on or the hook holder was not attached to the bait. Luckily I still have a few from years ago. It was one the first baits that I purchased. Still catches fish. Bull frog, black and the bone color were my favorites.

I have tried these and caught fish on all of them...... Black blue laminate with a chartreuse tip, Bluegrass, Goby, Perch, Smoke Shad, Smoke Black Hologram, and Watermelon Laminate. My go to's...... black with blue flake and green pumpkin with black flake.

I would say it typical of every hotel, from cheap to expensive. People get carried away when they leave home. It's stupid and wrong but not uncommon. To tell a story..... I stayed in an old but nice place in Florida (that remains nameless) where they had a wall with pictures, polaroids and stories of people that had stayed there and partied too hard and the damage they had caused. With each picture was the cost charged to the customer or even them in handcuffs. It did deter people from acting up but didn't stop it. I always thought it was funny that such a wall existed.

What do you call an illegally parked frog? Toad

No white or bright colored rods for me. Reels, not a big deal as long as they work well.

If I'm catching fish, sure cheaper gear is fine. But when it becomes a hindrance or broken down, then it's just a waste. For me, I'd rather have 1 rod and reel that does everything right that I can depend on than 5 rigs that only do a few things right and are short lived, which generally means more costly gear. Also, I like to find the best bang for the buck and I reached a point in my life that it's also about fishing pleasure > Higher end gear does it for me, usually. Another thing, I am patient with my purchases. I don't need to rush out and buy the latest gear, unless I can get a good deal and not pay full retail.

The 4000 size reels are pretty big. It probably holds about 300+ yards of 12lb line. If you are going FC, I like Tatsu but not on that big of a reel. I would look at Invizx for FC. It's a much more affordable option and works well on spinning gear. Another option, Trilene XL 100% FC. For mono, Sunline Supernatural is good and inexpensive but it can be short lived. I like Sunline Defier. It's not as soft as Supernatural but holds up well.

I have tried both Cals and Shimano's drag grease and found I like both about equally. Cal's might be a little smother but I like Shimano's grease for the main gear. I would not use oil on drag washers especially felt. I would think it would soak in and cause them to deteriorate over time but have not experienced it first hand.

I have made a few orders from Asian Fishing Portal for JDM reels. They have been great so far. As far as which Conquest I have, I actually have the old US version, the Calcutta TE 101 GT but it looks like the 200 size would be the ticket for you. I found mine new in the box just this year. It is probably 15 years old, at least. It's smooth as butter and just a pleasure to fish. As far as the IPT goes, slow is what you want for the Magdraft. >> If you reel way too slow, no action. If you reel too fast, it lays on it's side. Get the correct speed and it's an awesome bait. Another option would be the Calcutta D. It would be a good compromise for the speed you want.

This guy.....

I have tried Frogg Toggs and I bake in them. I have a Gore Tex Paclite jacket from Outdoor Research that works great. Pants, I use REI Gore Tex rain pants. The jacket breaths well the pants, not as much but they keep me dry. I have been using both for a couple of years. I also have shell jacket from Arcteryx that is hot in the summer but is awesome in fall and early spring. It's bomb proof.

I have St Croix Mojo Yak that works great for chatterbaits. It's listed as a fast rod but it is very soft. It loads perfectly for chatterbaits and even crankbaits. Shorter handle though.

Strange but I guess it is totally possible. I have seen this before on some reels I worked on before were the guy took pretty good care of his reels but the spool bearings had heavy wear. He was casting T-rigged soft plastic with braid but when he would cast he would turn the reel on it's side, causing some odd wear to the spool, the brake racing, and the spool bearings. I would have to replace them just about every other year but his other 3 reels were fine (all various Curados).

Megabass P5 Tequila Baccarac and a Shimano Conquest.... I have the P5 Super Destroyer and a Conquest that I use for a paddle tail swimbaits and the smaller Magdrafts and love it so far. This rod is good for just about anything.

I have several Shimano reels that have seen heavy use, some with bearings that lasted 12+ years. So just how do you know that they are bad? Have you soaked them in cleaner and relubed? I would take them out and test them on the tip of a pencil (or something equivalent) to see if you feel anything going on with them. Typically, even under heavy load/use, most bearings last longer than 2 years.

Yes and no for me. Last week I got capsized on a resivor and lost a few things, luckily nothing major. The wind was bad but not horrible, maybe 15mph. The current and white caps on the other hand, were extremely bad. I might get one or two casts in at 200 feet from shore before I was into the bank. Fishing was good though. Two weeks ago, I got my PB in a kayak. I'm guessing 8-9lbs but it was 25 inches. So that was a lot of fun in kayak and definitely more challenging than fishing from a boat.

Baked Beans, Stuffed Peppers, and Cajun Corn......