MassYak85

This lol. Can't even tell you how many spinnerbaits I own at this point. I might fish like 5 or 6 of them.

I used to fish toads a lot when I was young and had tons of bites. Let me tell you, a 6' Medium spinning rod and 15lb braid is NOT an ideal setup for this technqiue lol.

Looking back I have definitely been on incredible bite windows that I did well but didn't fully capitalize on. Either using the wrong gear or being stubborn and not making that final switch to the "right" bait for the conditions and being content with an okay day with the lure I was using. A couple examples: Early in my bass fishing I was on an incredible summer bite in my kayak. Shallow pond usually choked with weeds just wasn't that year, only cover was isolated lily pad clumps and logs. You could basically call your shot fishing that stuff. Now I still caught 25 bass that day, but using a 4'6" ultralight ugly stick and a wacky rig on 15lb braid. You can imagine my abysmal hookup and land ratio. I think going back to that day I could easily double my output with a better rod and a jig, and land the bigger ones I broke off. The year the whopper plopper became a sensation I had a good day on a bigger lake. They were crushing the whopper plopper, but it was insanely windy and difficult to fish it in the waves. Got two 4lbers and a handful of other ones. I fished that thing all day. A spinnerbait mixed in was probably the better choice to cover water. I was also not using the right rod for he plopper (130 size). Many fish came unloaded.

Unfortunately this. For lighter gear I will default to lighter wire hooks but for heavier gear I still sometimes lean on that side, for example T-rig worms. I'll fish long straight tails on casting gear and could probably get away with a 2/0 straight shank thin wire hook because of the thickness of the worm, but the way I set the hook and the rod I'm using...I've since stepped that up to 4/0 and a heavier wire.

I don't own a boat but many of my fishing trips are with my dad who does. I think the difference like you said is WHERE you end up going with a boat. You can explore bigger lakes, go in worse conditions, bring more gear, but at the expense of fishing bigger waters that might take more time to break down, and alongside other anglers that also have boats. When I'm in my kayak or on the bank I'm pretty selective about where I go. It's just different not necessarily better. Small ponds can hold monsters and there's something special about fishing those hidden spots. I've had some of my best days from my yak, but I don't miss battling the wind lol.

I usually change spots first. If I'm in an area and feel I've cover the whole water column then I usually move. If I've seen evidence of fish in the area then I'll try and switch lures. Maybe they swiped at a topwater and I switch to a spinnerbait, or I was fishing a spinnerbait and they swiped at that next to some cover but didn't want to commit to leaving that cover, I'll switch to a worm or jig I can go in after them.

They look pretty cool, I'll add them to my wishlist for sure.

I'm only 28 and I still think back to a stretch in high school I did two back to back 15 hour days in my kayak one summer sunrise to sunset on a local pond. I don't think I have those in me anymore haha. I wish I could re-fish those days. It was on A1 and a weird summer where the vegetation didn't really grow but the lilypads did. So you had the entire pond looking almost crystal clear with no major weed beds for them to hide but when the sun came up they flocked under the small clusters of pads and you could almost call your shot. Of course, young inexperienced me was fishing nothing but a wacky rig on a 4'6" Ultralight spinning rod and 15lb braid. You can imagine my hookup and land ratio was not spectacular. I think I still got 25 bass each day though. Would kill to go back and fish those days with a jig and proper gear lol. I definitely broke off a couple big ones.

This has been the least fishing I've done in probably 10 years. I spent a lot more time this year on other hobbies (hiking). It felt good to take a bit of a break. The "chase" is fun but can also be a grind sometimes especially going out trying to break PBs. The times I did go I was just out to have fun and catch fish not caring too much about size. Still had some great days and easing off the gas definitely meant less big fish, but I plan to do more next year.

For anything there's always diminishing returns. I stick to fairly budget rods and reels, but I will spend the money on baits I feel are worth it. I don't shy away from Vision 110s or some of the higher end Japanese baits or swimbaits if I feel they fit a niche well. One that comes to mind is the Monka Crawler.

Hmm I'll have to try that. Not a lot of lakes near me have clean bottom to fish a traditional tube so I usually shy away from it.

Honestly same, I went pretty overboard when I first started just wanting to try every technique and having the options of different sizes and colors for every situation. Realistically I use like 10% of what's in my tackle boxes in a given year lol. I've found what I've liked and what seems to work in my lakes. Sometimes I get the hunch to try something different and it pays off but for most techniques I've settled on 1-3 baits that get the job done. I do kind of wish I could reset and start from scratch sometimes, but whenever I cull my tackle I always run into that "well, this cooouuulld be good in this specific situation you encounter sometimes" and I can't justify getting rid of it.

It's definitely more than normal. A lot of Japanese baits have gone up a lot due to recent events.

My favorite rod I've been using for probably a decade is the original Daiwa Tatula 7'2" MHR (Medium Heavy Regular). It's basically a moderate fast and has always just felt perfect for spinnerbaits. Something about the tip just lets me sling them into wind with minimal effort or helicoptering. Now interestingly enough I don't love it for chatterbaits. For those I like my Dobyns 744 Champion. It's a jig rod but loads very nicely and just feels right when setting the hook or casting a bladed jig.

I'll clean reels and organize/purge gear but the "offseason" is usually spent either ice fishing or hiking for me.

Yea new line and new hooks seem like difficult things to break into if you aren't an established name in those categories. People are picky and once trust is established or broken it's hard to get people to change.

Beast Coast Lil' Magnum Jigs. Great colors, tungsten, good around cover, double wire trailer keeper, solid hook, and a nice compact profile. I can use a smaller grub or a finesse trailer and trim the skirt, or use a normal size trailer and it's just a nice overall jig.

The horse and deerflies suck. I run into them in the spring when I'm hiking mostly but they just buzz around your head for HOURS and yea the bites are painful.

I've had decent luck with the lemon eucalyptus sprays. Apparently mint oil is supposed to work too. Smells better than DEET anyways.

Yea I hear you. There's only a couple lakes I fish where there's landlocked alewives that I'd be curious in using it on. They school up so much in the Fall and it seems like if you aren't on them you aren't catching. You can find them using side scan but if they move around it can be hard to follow with traditional sonar.

My favorite rod of all time is the OG tatula 7'2" MHR (not for flipping just in general). Super versatile and falls in that sweet spot of juuuust a little bit slower than a fast action to load up nicely.

I think @Pat Brown kind of nailed it. Paying attention to the conditions leading up to a change can be the most important part.

Have you played around with your new boat/sonar much? I don't have access to any FFS but have been meaning to try some of the new "strolling" baits in key areas. Seems like it could be a good fall technique once the bait starts schooling heavily. I probably won't have much time this season to experiment with it, been busy with hiking I kind of put fishing to the side a bit this year, but next year I plan to get back to it some more.

Usually a 7'6" HF Tatula. It's my all around heavy cover rod. I've used my Dobyns 807 Champion in a pinch. No lack of hook setting power with that thing lol.

25lb P-Line PF Original for large (3+ ounce) swimbaits.