Oklahoma Mike

Has anyone tried their new Finesse FC yet? Priced similarly to Tatsu. I'm debating picking some up for use on smaller plastics and wondering how it compares to and differs from Tatsu. http://www.seaguar.com/freshwater/fluorocarbon.html

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Yup, I have the AXC68MXF and throw senkos (both weighted and unweighted) on it and love it. As for line, I would recommend either a high quality FC (Tatsu) or a copoly like YZ or McCoy if sensitivity is your concern. The sensitivity of braid is all but negated when fishing semi-slack presentations, and then you have to deal with wind bow as well.

Pre-spawn: Spinnerbaits Spawn: Chatterbaits Post-spawn: Just about anything, but senkos are probably my top producer here.

Is this a private lake? There are several species of carp. For the a 10-12 acre lake you'd need 100+ to keep the weeds controlled. As I mentioned, it would take a while, so your best bet would be an initial treatment with the Aquathol and then let the carp do maintenance. Here's a relevant article: http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/grasscarp/

Braid: Seaguar Smackdown Mono: Big Game FC: Tatsu Copoly: McCoy Mean Green

Well, if we are talking about a large body of water with some patches of this here and there, then sure. However, in a smallish farm pond, this southern naiad can quickly occupy the entire body of water. I assume the OP is talking about a pond here, else he'd just move to another spot in the lake.

I would put 30-40lb Smackdown on the baitcaster, leader optional depending on your preference. I'd go with 10-12 lb Big Game on the spinning set up. I'd use this for topwater and plastics - and maybe some smaller jigs - and use the bc for pretty much everything else.

Haha! I cautiously clicked into this thread ready to hit the back button in a hurry!

That's what it looks like from the picture @fishblitzer posted. Naiad con grow to over 10' and only takes about a month to do so. You can try some Aquathol Super K or put some grass carp in the pond. It'll take the carp a few months to get it under control, so a combination of the Aquathol followed by a stocking of carp to keep it controlled thereafter is probably your best bet. How big is the pond and how much of it is covered by naiad?

This all day. Unless I find a smoking deal on some high end reel, I buy strictly Pfleuger for all my spinning reels. The Supreme XT is hard to beat for the money, as are pretty much all their reels.

Congrats! Raising boys is a lot of fun... always gives you an excuse to act like a kid again and still get away with it.

Absolutely. I think this goes for just about any hobby. Hobbies cost money, and you can put in a little or put in a lot. If you are able to put in more money and that enhances the joy you get while participating in your hobby, then why not? If you don't find the value in buying high end equipment and feel you are getting enough enjoyment out of your hobby by putting in less and using basic gear, knock yourself out. It really just comes down to individual preferences.

The spending money was never yours, my friend. It belonged to the Bait Monkey all along.

Senkos and square bills already covered above. Add some spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and lipless crankbaits, and you pretty much have the staples covered.

10lb flouro

Absolutely. I normally use a 4/0 EWG on senkos but will use a flipping hook if I'm fishing it in heavy cover.

Black Cavitron with gold blade. I will put a trailer on it (usually a swing impact or a craw) to give it a bigger profile if I'm trying to target larger bass.

Holy smokes! The Pompadour and the Cavitron would be my top two recommendations hands down. I catch so many fish on these two lures that I barely use any other topwaters anymore, aside from the PopMax and Whopper Plopper.

Yes, a snap will work well with those baits. For poppers and prop baits, tie direct.

Not really. I know that I once had a toolbox made by Kennedy, but I did not know they made tackle boxes. After seeing your post I did a little looking around, and apparently there is a little bit of a collector's market for these on eBay. Here's a post I found on another forum discussing it: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77604

Depends on the type of line or sometimes the bait/hook I'm tying, but the knots I use are: Palomar, improved clinch, SDJ, snell, rapala. For tying leaders I always use the Alberto.

I normally use a trailer (like a Zoom Super Chunk), but almost never do I use a trailer hook on spinnerbaits.

Welcome to BR! Sweet looking tackle box. That thing looks well constructed.

They are definitely more durable than GYCB senkos. I'm not so sure about their claim of not needing O-rings with them when fishing them wacky rigged though, as I've found I still need to use the O-rings.