fissure_man

Fair enough, but if the skirts are tied on properly it’s going to be a hassle to swap them out… And you still need to carry collared weights in all the sizes you already have with “normal” weights. Either way works of course. But collared weights instead of hubs means you need to carry more 'stuff' to have the same options. It’s like buying pants with a belt a sewn in... Why not get a few belts you like and mix/match with all the pants you already have?

Hmm not really – if you make or buy a few different punch skirts (no weight) then you can just mix and match with the bullet weights you already have and save a lot of space + $$. For instance, I can pair a single 1 oz tungsten bullet ($$$) with any color punch skirt I have on hand. Or I can carry that same plain bullet, plus one with a black skirt, plus one with a brown skirt, plus one with a blue skirt.....($$$$$$$$$). Multiply that by all the different weights you may want to carry (which can use the same skirts I matched with my 1 oz'er)... I make punch hubs out of sturdy plastic stir sticks (small section, melted on both ends with a lighter) for nearly negligible cost. You can use small rubber grommets too. And keeping the skirt/weight separate gives you the additional options I mentioned in my previous post. Obviously the combo skirts/weights work fine, but using the hubs keeps my terminal box lighter and my wallet heavier.

With a separate skirt hub vs. a skirted weight you can actually get by with fewer components, in a way. Buy one skirted hub and you can pair it with any of the plain bullet weights you already have, rather than needing to carry duplicate plain and skirted weights in all sizes. And it compounds if you want to carry different skirt colors in each weight size. With a hub (vs. skirted weight) you have the option to peg the skirt and let the weight slide free. You can use the skirt weightless or with a very light weight (e.g. in front of a swimbait). You can throw the unweighted skirt on a Carolina rig for a different look…. I tend to use the skirt hubs more often when I’m not punching. Putting a skirt hub on a light T-Rig adds bulk and slows the fall, deadly for me in shallow, muddy water. For punching/flipping, skirt or no skirt for me is a matter of profile and ROF, and I tend toward bulkier profile/slower fall in murkier water as a starting point. Bait selection is endless; to penetrate matted weeds, anything that is compact without too many curly appendages is fine (plain craw = good, 8” lizard = bad). Beaver style baits including the pit boss fit the bill for me. Having something with enough meat to securely hold a beefy hook is a benefit. Weight size and bait choice will affect how easily the rig slips through mats more than skirt/no skirt. If you’re having issues maybe removing the skirt will help a bit, but more likely you’ll just have to bump up your weight.

@IndianaFinesse or @Bluebasser86 what has changed with the new RC's, just hooks and paint jobs? I like my stx's but haven't bought any new ones in at least 1.5-2 years, maybe I have only good ones (or maybe I just don't know any better ) . Megabass-level paint jobs are sweet but not necessary IMO and it was pretty much mandatory to change out the old STX hooks anyway. I'd be fine if they sent them with no hooks to save me a step. Even 110's should have the hooks swapped IMO; outbarbs are "cool" until you put one in your hand

Agree 100% with @Angry John that bickering with your friend over this stuff is BS. Tangling lines is no good for either of you; figure out a system that works. If they don’t know better, teach them. If they’re just being a ____, take someone else next time. A fishing partner is a special relationship (lol) – your buddy whining to a mutual friend and you whining to the internet is maybe a sign that this relationship isn’t meant to be Just be happy to have the company, and work together to catch fish. Some patterns are easier to share than others, and the OP example of pitching shoreline docks and laydowns is probably among the hardest. If "front seat envy" is an issue, maybe try moving offshore where the playing field will be more level. If buddy is capable of running the TM, let him have a go up front – it’s nice to take a break sometimes. If you’re worried about losing the front seat advantage, just go on your own. lol Guaranteed you can have all the fish and spots to yourself.

To be fair, Ike's article is about a slightly different rig where the weight is dangled on a wire a short distance below the hook. He didn't claim it as his own invention, and though he made his version with VMC components, it's not a rig that VMC (or Owner) specifically produces or markets in North America AFAIK. Article: "If you want to give this thing a try, you can get the parts for it from VMC or from any lure parts store — online or brick-and-mortar." @d-camarena a few other ideas: Hooks: Gamakatsu Ringed EWG hooks are an option for heavy duty Jika use, as I have a (probably irrational) distrust of braid knots tied to split rings. For a regular/lighter wire hook the VMC xl wide gap worm hook (6319) is good because it gives a bit of extra room above the bend to rig the nose of your bait without crowding the split ring. Good price too. Weights: Danielson quick-change walking sinkers don't need an extra split ring and are dirt cheap. Northland roach rig sinkers are similar and come in a few colors if you’re into that. Not a traditional Jika application, but I like these in deep water ‘dragging’ scenarios for smallmouth, paired with goby or craw imitators. I made pencil weights like J.Francho’s by screwing in open-eye crankbait hook hangers to these weights. Hang the open eye into the ring on a Gama. ringed hook, close it with pliers, good to go.

The decimal system is pretty much ubiquitous in modern human (not machine) numeracy regardless of measurement units. Familiarity aside, there’s no benefit to splitting measurements into combinations of archaic, fractional units (lb/oz, ft/in, etc). The decimal system with a single unit already enables whatever precision you need. “4 lb 8 oz” requires you to know the meaning of “lb” and “oz,” 4.5 lb requires only one unit. The same could be applied to metric units (e.g. 4.5 kg vs. 4 kg, 500 g) but no one would do this because it’s… dumb. If any kind of computation is required, sticking to decimals or fractions with a single unit makes things much simpler and less error-prone (“I caught 18 bass for a total weight of 34 lb, 4 oz, 15 drams – what was the average weight per bass?”). Somewhat off-topic, but the reason the metric system and SI units ARE BETTER than the imperial system is because they are complementary to our deeply entrenched decimal numeracy. Converting between units is as simple as shifting the decimal point, and units of mass/length/force/energy/power/pressure/etc are consistently scalable by the same set of prefixes. The imperial system is a hot mess in comparison, clung to by old fuddy-duddies unwilling to adjust their ways for the benefit of society.

Cover the edge of your nickel with a piece of electrical tape to prevent scratching the knob cover. It gives it a better grip, too. I have a BPS reel with similar knobs and one was seized up. The schematic showed them coming off, but they wouldn't budge for me. The foam on the knob detached from the shaft before the cap would release. I bought a new handle too.

http://www.tuftslab.ca/why-some-smallmouth-dark

You should be able to push it above the nominal max by using a higher-viscosity drag grease like JB Weld. No need for any fancy CF washers with this method.

I wouldn’t call it a Snagless Sally, at least not by any modern definition. It’s a strip-on spinner rig designed to be used with a minnow. The long wire accommodates different sizes of baitfish and it serves as a leader to prevent bite-offs (this was a popular pike rig). Look up Prescott Strip-On Spinner

1. Remove hook 2. Insert wire into the mouth of a large, dead minnow 3. Push the wire through the minnow, and out its butt 4. Re-attach the hook 5. Snug the minnow down onto the hook, with one point on either side of the tail 6. Snug the collar down onto/into the minnow's mouth

Are you using a snap?

I ran a google image search... (deleting my search history now) What's a flogger?

Good info @WRB. I’ve no qualms with your points. But if you’re referring to my example as an exception I’d disagree. Bass start spawning at different times of year in different locations – the critical difference (IMO) is temperature, but could “photoperiod” really be the main driver as other posts suggest? The example I gave (and also your example of Big Bear Lake) demonstrate that’s probably not the case – these are locations with the same “photoperiod” conditions, different temperatures, and predictably different spawn initiation timing. If day length (aka “photoperiod”) really is the driver, consider that the spring equinox is the time of year when day length is roughly the same all over the planet. In some locations the spawn will begin before the spring equinox, in others it will be long after (again, temperature). Another example from up here: large, deep lakes that are slow to warm (such as Lake Ontario) will have a later spawn than smaller, shallower lakes that warm up quickly in the spring. Same day length, angle to the sun, air temp, altitude, etc. I fish a (very) large sandy bay on Lake Erie – max depth 10 ft. This is prime smallmouth spawning habitat, and they’re in there thick in the spring (closed season). By late summer they move back out into the cooler water of the main lake, and the timing of their departure depends on temperature. My point of view is from the north, maybe this is different down south? When springtime water temperatures are suitable for egg/fry survival for much longer window (vs. northern lakes), maybe other factors (photoperiod) become increasingly important. In any case, the OP is in Michigan; IMO the posts suggesting he should ignore temperature are bad advice.

Perfect for those times when a Keitech 2.8 is just a hair too big! (0.05")

Nope – day length starts increasing right after the winter solstice in December. Timing of ‘ice out’ (where applicable) and the warming of the water in spring is obviously correlated to day length, but it varies from year to year based on weather. Victoria BC and Kenora ON have approximately the same latitude – no difference in day length. I imagine Kenora is still iced in, but lakes around Victoria rarely ever freeze (mildest winters in all of Canada). Based on identical “photoperiods,” would you expect the timing of seasonal patterns in these locations to be identical?

http://www.newsok.com/news/breaking/coastguard-rescues-angler-diving-for-phone/?p1

@Preytorien - by my interpretation the article is suggesting the opposite - loading to the rear increases casting distance but may also increase the likelihood of wind knots. The author's solution to prevent wind knots was to remove extra washers, and load the spool slightly toward the front (better line management at the expense of some casting distance). I've always thought 'flat' is best, but never really considered the pros/cons of tapered loading. In my experience with braid on spinning reels, minimizing line twist, keeping the line packed tightly, and not overfilling the spool pretty much prevent any problems. Seeing a loop of line over the spool lip is a disaster waiting to happen, and should be pulled out immediately.

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Thanks gents. It’s a bit ironic that the thread about not losing touch with history has been wiped from the history books…

@WRB started a good thread about the origins of the Texas Rig, which led to some interesting discussion of the history... Where did that thread go? Am I crazy? @Team9nine @Catt

Where is team Eposeidon? Isn’t this their bread and butter? KastKing Stealth – 6 oz – 7:1 Ratio – $57 – +10% BR discount if you order before Mar 31 That said, shaving 1 or 2 oz off your reel weight isn’t going to change much, all else equal. The torque you need to generate for sharp twitches is the killer – even if the reel weighed nothing it would be a strain to fish a jerkbait aggressively all day. Find a rod and reel that’s comfortable in hand, and modify your technique to minimize strain. Better yet, vary your technique so you’re not using the exact same motion all day. I fish jerkbaits for smallmouth, and often the faster and more erratic I can make the bait, the better. I use a spinning rod with a 35 size president (heavy) and LH retrieve. If I’m fishing jerkbaits all day, I also have one rigged on a RH retrieve baitcaster so I can take a break and switch arms. What line and rod are you using? If you are trying for an erratic action, using braid to a leader will let you get away with “gentler” jerks to achieve the same action, especially at the end of a long cast. Same goes for a faster action rod – you can significantly cut down the required range of motion.

Any amount of stretch affects your hooksets on some level, because it means you need to move more line to achieve the same force at the hook. Can this be compensated for with good technique? Of course. But perfect hooksetting technique with a no-stretch line will still deliver more force during the hook set and initial pull, which IMO is an advantage when you’re trying to keep a bass from burying down in the weeds. The ‘direct connection’ of braid helps bulldoze a bass through weeds all the way to the boat, and it helps snap your lure off weeds when you get hung. The longer the cast, the more significant these differences become – testing lengths of line greater than 10 ft will show more elongation for a given force. 50 lb braid handles and casts better than 20+ lb mono, IMO. Backlashes are easier to pick out with braid if you first clamp your thumb on the spool and turn the handle a couple times to straighten out the loops, and you don’t need to worry about kinking and damaging the braid in a backlash like you do with other lines. If you have to break off 50 lb braid it’s going to be darn near impossible, but trying to snap 20+ lb Big Game is not easy either. You can use mono for frogging, but is there any advantage? If there was ever a perfect application for braided line, frogging is it.