MassYak85

Cool thanks. Not sure when I'll get one. Maybe late summer or fall. Went to Webster today with my dad. It was pretty slow but there was just enough action to stay from 8 - 5. Water temps all day were 56 or 57 so we started off in some coves hoping to find some on the weedlines before the shallow flats. Immediately I got a bump on a Rapala Shad Rap and a Savage Gear Soft Vibe. Neither fish took it and I didn't get a good look at either. Continued in the area but didn't get any more bites. Decided to pull out of the cove a bit and fish around some of the docks where it starts to get deep. Immediately had what I'd guess was a 2-3 lb bass come up and attempt to eat my fluke, he missed it completely somehow. Kept getting bites on the fluke in that area but none of the fish were committing. Then I realized it was trout going after it not bass. After about 10 bites one of them finally got it good enough for me to hook it. Got it to the boat and it was a beautiful brown trout. That's actually a first for me, anytime I ever accidentally catch trout it's usually a rainbow. I didn't weigh it but I'd guess around 3 lbs. It was pretty good sized and a slippery fella. Next time I catch one I'm leaving it in the net lol. Also got a dink bass in the same area on the fluke. My dad got a pickerel on a white chatterbait. That was the end of any excitement for the next few hours. Tried another larger cove with the same game plan but no bites. Little 5 minute rain storms kept coming on and off with sun in between bringing some serious wind along with them. Around 3 we went to the edge of a shallow flat that drops into deep water where we have had luck in the past, I was hoping the smallies were going to be more cooperative than the largemouth. Thankfully they were and I managed to get a decent 2lber pretty quickly on an underspin. Also managed to get about a 2lb largemouth on an S-Waver 168 in the same area. We drifted down the drop a little ways and got some more action. My dad hooked a 2-3lb smallie on a little rooster tail but he got off. I managed another 1lb smallie on a 2.8 keitech. All in all not a terrible day, definitely not what I was expecting, was hoping to get on a better pattern but Ill take it.

I mean it's not obvious my any means, but if the sun is high over head and the water is crystal clear, I can usually see the light glinting off to some degree if I stare at it.

Oh woops, my bad, meant to say more visible. And as far as refractive index the ideal line would match that of water, fluoropolymers used in fluorcarbon lines come very close but don't exactly match it, and like you said the polymers used in mono line are not that far off at all so the difference is minimal, and I'd guess in some cases, non-existent. Like your video above shows, no matter what line I'm using, on a nice sunny day I've never NOT been able to see my line if I look closely, even with lighter lb fluoro. The only visibility difference I really care about is that of braid vs mono/fluoro.

Yea CXX has a lot of memory, the plus side being ridiculous strength. I fished with it at ice out this year (air temps hovering around freezing) and it coils very bad. At higher temps and with some line conditioner it can become much more manageable though. If I ever try another line I'm thinking of giving Izorline XXX a shot.

For moving baits probably a spinnerbait or swimjig, for when the bite is really rough probably a wacky worm or shakeyead.

Interesting. I think mine is 3 or 4 years old now.

My LFS from a couple years ago had a Korea sticker on it, they could have changed recently so idk.

I would shy away from braid if you are just starting and on a budget, a casting mistake will cost you with braid. I use 20lb CXX and like it. I have also heard good things from people about Berkley Big game, Izorline XXX, and P-Line PF Original. They are all relatively cheap lines as well, I have not used those 3 though so I can't speak to them.

You are correct that because it is a cylinder the light still gets bent and distorted, but because the fluoropolymers used to make fluorocarbon line have a lower refractive index than the polymers used to make mono, it is "less visible", in the same way that an opaque cylinder would be "less visible" than a transparent one, just on a less dramatic scale.

If you heard it before doing anything to the reel I'd definitely give them a call and ask to replace it. They have great customer service so they shouldn't give you any trouble. I love mine and after a few years of use it's just as good if not better (after cleaning) than the day I got it.

I'm pretty confused what stage the fish are in. Because most places I've fished had the shallows get into the 60's already, which I would think most of the fish would have spawned then, and I definitely saw plenty of males shallow, but haven't seen many actually guarding eggs. But some of the larger lakes also never saw the main body get much above the mid 50's. And now with this cold week I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm almost thinking we've got two groups of fish right now, those that have spawned and are just doing their thing, either eating up and recovering, and those that didn't spawn and got knocked back into a pre-spawn stage almost. Maybe not just a theory, what have your guy's experience been so far? Do you think the fish are mostly post-spawn right now.

When you say lubed and oiled, did you take it apart? What is the noise you are hearing, is it a grinding or something else? Did you hear this noise before oiling and lubing the reel? Do you feel extra resistance when retrieving or is it just noise.

Flipping weights are specially trained to do a backflip before hitting the water JK. I don't see any reason you can't use them interchangeably.

LOL

Went to Chauncey in the downpour for a few hours. Decided to only bring my swimbait stuff to try for some big ones. I got a halfhearted blowup on a lunker punker but I couldn't tell if it was a dink with a big stomach or a big fish just nudging it. Also got a nibble on a real prey perch but no way to tell what it was. Skunked. I'll be out again tomorrow, hopefully with more luck. @swamp hawgs I'm going to have to get me one of those slammers eventually. Only wakebait I really have right now is a G2 shellcracker but the thing is so noisy I feel like I'd have better luck with it in the summer. Do most of your slammer fish come on a slow steady retrieve or are you able to walk and twitch in in place?

I've encountered the same issue. It's a combination of buying lures and not liking some, finding that some are junk/don't perform, finding that I prefer some over the other, etc. etc. What I wind up with is a pile of perfectly good lures I know I will never use again mixed in with the lures I do use. I've had the same thought you have, "I wish I could take what I know know and just build my lure arsenal from scratch". But instead of literally doing it like you seem to want to do (not that I blame you), I've sat down with all my gear, and picked through it. It takes some willpower to take a perfectly good lure or bag of plastics you paid good money for and toss it in a bin never to see the light of day again (until you sell it), but I've found that it really helps to open a box and see only lures that you've built confidence in instead of saying "I should try X because I need to get my money's worth out of something I've never caught a fish on".

I remember hearing once, and this might be incorrect, that there are less than 100 native loons in mass. I can't remember ever seeing one either. I've seen and heard plenty up in new hampshire though.

It will depend what type of baits you want to be throwing. If you are primarily tossing hudds and other similar soft plastic baits I'd say a faster will be better. But that same fast taper may not be as great for treble hook baits like glide baits or wakebaits. That being said people fish hudds on the popular dobyns champion series which from what I've heard is VERY parabolic. So some of it comes down to personal preference as well. You might just have to alter your hookset to match the rod and bait. As for baits, I'd probably say an S-waver (168 or 200....or both), an MS Slammer, and some hudds, and maybe some 3:16 weedless rising sons will get you started and allow you to cover the whole water column pretty well. There are a lot of great companies out there and some great custom makers, and not all of them charge super high prices.

I made the switch this year to tungsten too. The law specifically excludes spinnerbaits and buzzbaits from the ban by the way. Where it gets interesting is it excludes weighted flies...now you tell me what the difference between a weighted fly and a jig (a weighted hook) is. Especially larger flies that begin to mimic baitfish and are essentially no different than a micro swimjig. And also since it excludes spinnerbaits...the only thing that differentiates a spinnerbait from a jig is the wire arm. Can we then not include chatterbaits, which merely have a shorter arm and different blade type? And if those are excluded why then not underspins, which are basically spinnerbaits with a much shorter arm. And if underspins are fine...what about a 3/4 swimjig with a blade split ringed onto it? Is the loon not going to eat it simply because of a tiny willow leaf blade? All I'm saying is the law needs to be better written or clarified. There's way too much grey area. I get the sinker part, and I think that's where the root of the problem lies for the Loons. But I highly doubt a Loon is able to accidentally ingest a 3/4 oz bass jig.

I was there April 23rd. Water temps were in the low 50's. Couldn't tell you much about the fish activity cause I got skunked. New weed growth was minimal at that point.

For those type of baits I usually consider first the hooks if I'm fishing treble hook baits. A lot of those jerkbaits and some crankbaits come stock with small light wire hooks and even using 8lb line you could bend them if you lock your drag. Then from there if the hooks will be fine I consider the line breaking strength.

I've used them for a bunch of stuff, they're pretty versatile. Drop shot, shakeyhead, light t-rig, finesse carolina rig.

I think other than the urge to spawn nothing affects the fish more than a weather pattern. There's always going to be a way to catch some no matter the weather though, you might have to work your ass off to do it, or never figure it out at all, while some days you swear you could catch fish on a bare hook and rope. With the water getting colder I'd suggest finesse presentations and slowing way down and go from there.

I can't always get them to bite mine but it's definitely my favorite to get bit on

BPS Stick-O