FishTank

She called me at 5am. I had a list going but they didn't have all of what I wanted and my daughter does not fish so she was struggling. She only went to the one store and they have it categorized by types of baits. She knows what a hard bait is and what soft plastics are but wouldn't know a crankbait from a jerkbait. I also sent her pictures. Oddly, she had help from people working and shopping at the store. She did a really good job, all things considered. I just wish I was more awake and had some more funds to spare. If I had to do it again, I would see if I could set a video call of some kind.

I have tried Abrazx in 15lb and 12lb and didn't care for it. I used it for bottom contact stuff but not crankbaits. I found it stiff and it really didn't hold up as well I as I would have expected. At that time I went back to Invizx. I would not use it for crankbaits. US Sniper has changed so I can't really speak for it. It has something called Plasma Rise added to its formula. I have used Overtex with this and it not too bad. It makes it slicker. So far, it has been good line. Regular Shooter varies a little bit between pound strengths. I find it great for bottom contact but I would also not use it for square bills. That brings me to a group lines that were originally for the JDM market, Shooter FC Sniper. So there is clear, BMS and Invisible. These three sort of make me scratch my head. The clear seems soft and is different from the US Super FC Sniper, the Invisible is tough but slick, and the BMS seems stiffer and more sensitive but all three, based on reading their info, should be about the same. I have two lines I like for squarebills and crankbaits, Sunline Invisible and Seaguar R18 but I don't go higher than 12lb in each. I actually like 10lb the best. It gets the bait down to the correct depth and I have no issues with it holding up to big fish. I also like Tatsu but I might get a few extra feet in distance with the other two I mentioned.

That's what I initially thought as well and I bought a ton of the 3.5in. It only took one pack of the 4in and a day of fishing them to change my mind.

Free rig or a flipping set up. I have killed on the 4in on a Free Rig with a 3/0 EWG and a 3/16 or 1/4oz drop shot weight. The 3.5in not as much but it does work. I also like using it as a jig trailer. The 3in, I use it on a Ned rig. My favorite color is Gorimiso Black.

I have finally given up on my Daiwa Tatula BF70. I have spent last year and part of this year fighting it. I returned the first one. I then sent the new one back to Daiwa for repair. It worked for about two trips before it started feeling like a coffee grinder and braking was once again questionable. It has been back to Daiwa two more times since then. I got it back on Monday of this week and it was exactly the same. I picked up a KastKing Kestrel for $100. I have only used it twice this week but I have put about 5 hours on it and about 16 bass on it (small ones). It is, so far, twice the reel the Tatula is at more than half the price. Its smother, casts further, has a better drag and overall is more fun to fish. In my head, I want to hate it but I can't find anything wrong with it

I have used a few of the XPS hooks and had no issues with them. For the price they're not bad.

If you're just pond hopping, I wouldn't go too heavy on them and I say that even though I'm a huge fan of Megabass. I would look at the following baits..... Karashi - game changer for me 110 Jr - doesn't go to deep. Good for ponds Griffon - good small bait but takes some getting use to Pop-x or Pop Max - fantastic popper Dog-X Diamante - great topwater walk the dog SV 3 - if spinnerbaits work at your ponds this one is awesome Dark Sleeper - another awesome bait but it can get stuck in rocks S Crank - great square bill that gets the job done but I would throw the ATV Great Hunting Humpback 51 - it will catch anything but made for trout 3in Spark Shad - in a pond with bait fish this one will bring them in Magdraft 5in or 6in - great swimbait if your pond fish are after something big There's more but a few of these should get you started and yes they are worth it if you can find a good deal. Paying full price for one and then losing it can be painful.

My daughter just got back from Japan and she brought me home a few goodies from Johshuya. This and a few hooks, not pictured, was around $150. Not too bad. The Raid Peller above is an awesome bait. I blew through a pack at my local pond a few days ago. I caught over 20 on it and only 2 on my favorite bladed jig. The fish acted like they had lost their mind over it. Also the Tiemco Creepy Egg Rubber is supposed to be the next big deal from Japan. Its similar to the Raid 2-way.

You could try the three way rig. It works better with a shad rap style bait. Another option is the Megabass Deep Six with small a weight strip. You fish it like a jerkbait. Another is the Deep X 300.

I have a couple of packs but have not tried them yet. As far as I know, its the only bait like it. 6th Sense has another bait coming out, the Bodega Craw. It looks cool. I've only seen it on their website but I imagine it will be everywhere soon.

I started using the capsules as well. They're sometimes big and clunky but it beats getting the treble hooks stuck on stuff. So far, I really like them and they are way better than the wraps.

Not exactly lost but.....I was going through some old stuff and found this guy in a mislabeled box I hadn't opened in years. I thought I had snagged all of the ones I had. Its like finding treasure.

6lb Sunline Invisible. I brought in a 30lb+ , 40in+, orange carp on it this past weekend. No pictures though, sorry. I got it to the boat and it was too big for the net. After 10min I finally got it sort of in the net and it snapped the foldable section of the net in half. The lure got caught in the net and the fish just swam away but the line never broke.

I have two, both for cranking. I have a Shimano Antares 2012 and Shimano Calcutta TE 101GT. I wouldn't trade or sell these reels for the world. Both are powerhouses and will last longer than I will. They still amaze me and often times out perform some of the newer reels I have.

I have a dedicated drop shot combo. I always set it up before I head to the lake and I always have three or four pre-made rigs ready to go in case I break one off.

I haven't tried braid on the Daemos yet but it's a good idea and I have been considering going braid to leader as a go between. I think I am currently using 12lb Seaguar R18 LTD. The NRX+ 883C is a different rod. So the tip is kind of soft but just a little further down from the tip the rod has some power, followed by it softening up. This combo of soft to strong to soft again just seems to work for me and keeps the fish pinned. It makes for a great topwater and spinnerbait rod as well. I also love throwing the Bass Puzzle Grass Piece on it. The Daemos on the other hand is soft all the way through until you get past the middle. I caught a dink on it today and it felt more like a MH crankbait rod. It bent deep into the blank. This is the kind of stuff (at 1:56) I am talking about with the Daemos. I do like fishing it though. Also, check out the hook set at 2:40. The rod is massively bent.

I have the Daemos and it's one of those rods I haven't figured out yet. It's really soft and I have missed fish because of it. It loads well on a cast and the sensitivity is fine but on hook set it takes a little more pull to get into the meat of the rod. I have used it for jigs, medium sized swimbaits, swimjigs, chatterbaits, and some topwater. I haven't given it a fair chance with spinnerbaits yet. As far as a dedicated bladed jig rod, I still like the NRX+ 883C the best. It does all the Daemos does but hooks sets are better. It might not load a 1/2oz bait with a heavy trailer as well on the cast but it brings in the fish.

I use to take a bit of sand paper and rough them up a bit but now I just buy the JDM ones that come broke in, like the Teckel Maxsqueaker or the Raid Master Blaster. I can fish them right out of the box.

I have the same reel and I have also struggled with the same backlashing. It just does it randomly. I can get a few good casts and then I am back to picking out braid. I have tried multiple rods and too many different lines to count. I found, for me, that it likes stuff around 1/4oz to 1/2oz. Anything above or below that, and I'm in for a long day of not fishing. With that said, I have the new Steez SV TW and it has the SV Boost spool. I had some initial issues with it but once I figured it out, it's been fine. I will say that casting distance has not been what I had hoped for but it's not bad. In terms of retrieve and casting, it is a really smooth reel.

@MontanaBasser @padlin I think I have replaced a total of 6 handles on my reels, each have their own reasons. Short version, I change them to give me an advantage with a particular bait or technique. For instances, the handle I just bought will be for a Steez AII 7.x:1 that is on a MegabassP5 Mark56. The longer length handle will allow me to chop glide baits better and easier and it will help battle bigger fish. Another I replaced was on a Calcutta Conquest BFS. I throw a lot of small cranks on it and the small handle on this reel made it kind of a pain, especially when you're fighting, again, big fish. One more was a Daiwa Emeraldas Air. This reel was oddly unbalanced. The dual handle that Gomexus specifically makes to match and fix this problem was a life saver.

I just bought a new handle from Gomexus for $60. I know its not machined as well as others but it functions fine and the knobs are great for cranking baits in. Is the DRT handle worth its initial retail? Sure, to somebody. The auction price? Probably not but its an auction. Is a new in the box Daiwa TD Ito worth $500 (just guessing) ? No but to the right guy its like finding the holy grail and they will pay anything for it. Its just comes down to how bad you want it and how much you are willing to spend.

You might try a barrel swivel that has a split ring instead of tying directly to the bait.

Through buying a few of the Bentos from the Hook Up Tackle, I have acquired 12-15 packs of the OSP Dice. I fish them on a drop shot with a cps spring in the middle. I catch fish on them, mainly dinks and very few good ones but I have had the same bait tied on since October of last year. The way I fish it and the way I rig it, it looks new. They are definitely fun to fish though. The fish I catch tend to smash it. I drag it slow, stop it for a second and give it a quick side pop, pop and that seems to get the fish to bite it. The problem has been the wind as of late. It has been really bad. It doesn't matter where I am the wind is blowing me out of position quickly. Yesterday, for the fun of it, I turned on my maps to see how fast I was going. With the wind, I got up to 4.2mph. I think we had gusts around 30mph. Sad thing was, when I got to my lake it was fine but in less than 2 hours, it was over.

It depends on the rock and the depth. Getting good deflection is the key. Around 5'-7' and small rock - Evergreen PC-5 Around 5'-7' and big rock - Bill Lewis ATV or Deps Evoke 2.0 7'-10' - OSP Blitz DR 10'+ - OSP Blitz Max DR Also, I do like the Rock Crawler but it gets stuck more often than others.

That about sums it up. I love fishing jigs, senkos, and all sorts of bottom contact baits but with the wind it's almost impossible to get a good feel for it. I am hoping tomorrow won't be high winds and white caps.