MassYak85

Around the 9 minute mark Matt talks about it Basically he says the braid does act like backing and that if you need to change the diameter or type of leader you are using, it's more cost effective to change out a 40 foot leader than to strip the whole spool of some expensive fluoro. As to why use braid vs cheap mono as the backing line. The only reason I've heard for people to do this is that the braid lasts longer. You'll get many seasons out of the backing since it will rarely see water and in that way isn't really costing you the higher cost of braid like it would if it were your mainline. High upfront cost vs mono but you can almost forget about it after that whereas mono backing will eventually turn into a slinky.

You won't regret it if you get them

The three most blatant forms of littering I see first hand are ice anglers leaving beer cans (one group last year must have left a full 12 pack scattered), shore fishermen leaving those worm containers, and then fishermen in general leaving soft plastic worms or discarded line. It always amazes me how many bloated plastic worms I see on the bottom in popular areas. When I shore fish it never fails that I see a thing of worms and some line tangled around a stick or bush. The line thing really bugs me so I make it my personal mission everytime to try and pick some up. It's probably the least noticeable but can have a big impact on wildlife.

If they did it right near me I'd probably give them a "come on man, that's not cool" but I'm not going to look to really get into a confrontation.

Bobber Stops, just slip them on your line and your bobber shouldn't slip past them. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Eagle_Claw_Bobber_Rubber_Stops/descpage-ECBOBRB.html?from=BASRES

Discovered this technique by accident late fall this year. Backlashed a wiggle wart and it was sitting there for like 20 seconds before I got the slack back and "twitched it". 5lber crushed it the instant it started to move.

Depends what I plan to use the reel for. If I want to make long casts then usually half and half, if it's for something like pitching jigs then 2/3 backing is probably fine.

I throw mine on a 7'2" MHF Tatula so that's what I would go with.

I have used my 7' MF for 3.8's and an open jig hook but IMO the 4.8's are probably a little much. I'm sure you could do it though, I just know if I threw a 4.8 on my MF it wouldn't feel right, yours might be different.

Yup, which is why I am picking them to beat KC.

Usually I wait until the 50 packs go on sale for like 10 bucks and buy a couple in the colors I use most.

As a Pats fan I was rooting hard for Green bay haha. They played great in the 2nd half. If they can keep that up I think it will be a Falcons - Packers NFCCG. Assuming Brady AND Garopolo don't die this week I don't see them having an issue with the Texans, but we'll see. Steelers and KC should be a good game, I'm picking the Steelers though.

I'd have to say shallow cover as well. If I have a visible piece of cover to target I'm a happy.

Weightless plastics. If it's the kind of "muck" I'm thinking of I abandon everything with an open hook or sharp corners. What's real fun is if it gets churned up and suspends in the water. Makes it impossible to fish anything at any depth with treble hooks without your lure's action being completely ruined after about 5 handle turns.

They are my stick bait of choice due to the low cost and the fact I've really never had a reason to switch.

I plan to devote some serious time to swimbaits this year. I also want to get back to worm fishing more this year. The last two seasons I was learning a lot of new techniques to broaden my arsenal. Next year I want to take what I now have built up and hone my strategy a little more.

130 whopper plopper or a frog

I was just joking since you said he spent less than 50 bucks, I actually have a couple and didn't change the hooks.

For all we know he bought a lifetime supply of replacement treble hooks for those twitch sticks

The video I'm thinking of didn't have Tim in it, but it wouldn't surprise me since they do disagree on certain things.

I know Matt Allen does it because he firmly believes in "the fish can see braid" theory. I remember he said his justification for 15ft leaders for cranking was that he didn't want the braid going by the fish as they are looking at the crankbait coming towards them. Seems a little nitpicky to me but he claims he's experimented and found there is a difference. More power to him. Personally I tie 8ft ones pretty much out of laziness so I can retie as much as I want throughout the day without pausing to tie a new leader.

The only time I have an issue with Pro's and sponsorships is if they trash old sponsors out of spite or act like their sponsor is "THE" brand to use, and then say the same thing about the next sponsor when they switch, and the next, and the next...

Check out the Aquabound Manta Ray Hybrid. It's what I have and I absolutely LOVE IT. It's got a 100% carbon shaft and a ferule that can be changed in 15 degree increments, so you can have the blades offset 0, 15, 30, 35, 60, 75 or 90 degrees. It's ferule locking mechanism is also really nice and has ZERO play like many button lock ones can have. https://www.aquabound.com/products/manta-ray-hybrid-2pc-posi-lok-kayak-paddle And more to your post, it costs about half (140 bucks retail, I paid 115 on sale) of the paddles you are looking at and weighs about the same (I'm talking maybe an ounce or two difference). As far as carbon, it has more to do with weight than material but I no longer feel fatigue from the paddle itself. It's light and day over the crappy aluminium paddle that came with my first kayak.

The larger reservoirs near me had open water, there have only been a handful of days this year with safe ice in my area and I haven't been able to get out yet, hopefully soon.

With those kind of weights added on I'd definitely go MH, ML I'd only do if it was weightless and a light wire hook.