MassYak85

The above posts would probably be good choices. I have the guide select and am pretty happy with it. Okuma exaggerates their lure ratings on that rod though. Know that the 7'11" Heavy 1-6oz is really more like a 3/4 - 4. You might also consider if you will want to stay with swimbaiting and go to even bigger lures than what you have. I ind of regret getting the guide select because if I want to start fishing 8" hudds or other heavy lures, I'm going to need a new rod. If I had to do it again I would have looked for a rod rated like 2-8 with an accurate rating.

I agree that a 68 special is probably a better choice, it will still catch small fish as well as big fish. Color isn't super critical. You could probably throw a bubblegum one out there and get bit, but I think a good all around color would be the trout or baby bass pattern. Can't really go wrong with those two. The bass aren't going to look at a trout bait and say "you know what, my records do not indicate that species residing in this body of water, I will let him carry on with his fishy business". They see a sizable meal and eat it.

I don't see why not. I have a pair of Eye Surrender Sunglasses that I like, but if I was going to pay that much for a pair I'd probably get a pair of Costa's.

I've had a couple hit before on a backlash. I always just reel in anyways and deal with the backlash after unless it's so bad I have large loops coming out of the reel but I rarely backlash that bad anymore.

Nope, right handed and have all right handed baitcasters and spinning reels. Don't feel a need to switch. And I made sure that when I learned to pitch I started off learning to do it with my left hand so I wouldn't have to switch hands when the lure hit the water.

I was a lot more patient. If I was fishing a presentation that I thought was optimal for the conditions I didn't tie on a new lure as quickly as I would have in the past. I tried being more methodical about what the fish were doing instead of looking for that "magic bullet" in the tackle box. I also feel I made a lot of progress in applying some of the stuff I've read and heard the past few years on here and other places. I was able to catch six fish over 4lbs this year, and two of them were over 5. Now up until this year I had only ever caught one fish over 4, which was my PB of 5.4 which I tied again this year. Out of those six fish I can attribute five of them to applying something new I learned. Two of them were pre-spawn fish that I caught while applying some of the knowledge of where fish locate during the pre-spawn I had learned. Two of them were on a Whopper Plopper on cloudy super windy days, conditions I had loathed until recently but remembered hearing that buzzbaits and similar lures could be successful during those conditions. One was on a Spro rat in a spot that just looked too good to not have a fish. I casted in twice with no luck, but my gut told me there had to be a fish there. So I slowed down, twitching a couple times and letting it sit for like 20 seconds in between. About a minute of doing that and the lure only moving maybe a couple feet....SLAM! I would have never gone that slow in the past but it payed off. And one was just stupid blind luck I backlashed a crankbait and it was sitting there for like 30 seconds before I got the backlash out and as soon as I got tension back on the crankbait and it began to dive I saw a fish grab...not the most rewarding way to catch a 5lber but I'll take it haha.

I still find it funny how they never released the PSI data from last year. But yea, they are supposed to be in control of the balls now. Maybe they should suspend Wilson® for 4 games for making footballs that leak too much

Any safe ice in Michigan yet? I would think so with the polar vortex swinging down around the great lakes right now.

This weeks temperatures are looking really great for ice, but it's supposed to rain this weekend too so hopefully it will survive that. I'll be home this weekend and will probably get gear ready and get bait and hopefully can find a spot next weekend.

I'm partial to using a pool cue myself In all seriousness I use a 7'2" MHF for mine and like it

NICE! I imagine by the time I get home this weekend after finals the lakes will pretty much all have at least some skim ice on them. If not I will probably try my luck with some football jigs and jerkbaits myself. Definitely try! There are guys in Western Mass who have already fished safe ice! (granted some of the more hardcore guys consider 2-3 inches perfectly fine, I like 4+ myself). Also nice to see those new maps. Some of the maps they have are dangerously inaccurate.

OP kind of sounds like me a little bit. I was pretty conservative with money growing up and saved a lot of it up from birthdays and Christmas and never really had a hobby I was spending much money on... Until about 4 years ago when I learned about all the different techniques there were for various conditions and all the new tackle "I needed to buy". I wish I had enough for a boat though haha. But make sure you focus on knowledge and how to fish effectively more than on gear itself. Certain things you do "need" to buy but don't feel like you need a technique specific rod for absolutely everything. Learn what you like and what you use most in your areas and then hone your gear from there.

Yea listen to the guys that posted already. The hudd 68 is light as far as swim baits go but you should never be fishing anything that doubles your rod's lure rating.

The 90 and 130 are like completely different lures in how they fish honestly. I have both and rarely use the 90 anymore, it's really temperamental like you describe. The 130 pretty much eliminates all the issues the 90 has. I'm usually not quick to give something so much praise but that lure was by far my biggest producer in both quantity and size this summer.

I've used those before, not bad. They are a little too thin for my liking and pickerel chew off the ends too much. And LOL, I got that clackin crayfish too haha. It looks awesome in the water until you try and move it. The action is garbage and you are right it rarely lands correctly.

Lol now you got me thinking about catching smallies on my ML with those 2.8's. Now THAT would be a fun fight.

If I am using casting gear it's a 7'2" MHF baitcaster. Once it get's too light I switch to spinning. I am also usually using the 4.3 or 3.8's a lot. Next season I might try the 2.8's on my MLXF spinning rod.

Generally I am fishing them on casting gear, either on the back of a swimjig or on a weighted swimbait hook. When I fish them weightless or on an open hook jighead like the dirty jigs matt allen swimbait heads I might use my MHF spinning rod.

I'm wondering if line diameter has something to do with it. I've used heavier fluoro leaders before and never had issues. But you might be right with the hooks because I've used 12lb line before with Gamy circle hooks and they didn't even break this easy.

I use this version (with the loop you are talking about I believe) I might try it the other way and see if it is any different. Edit*: So after trying both methods both are breaking by hand without a terrible amount of effort, enough to break on a hookset. I tied a palomar to compare and I couldn't break it by hand.

I normally don't buy their hooks because of the cost. The issues I had with hook points rolling were on spinnerbaits and jigs that used them. I think I had two spinnerbaits and one jig (IIRC) have their hook points roll. I've never tried their worm hooks or any other types. I'm not saying don't use them, especially if you've used their worm and flippin hooks with no issues, I just don't have a lot of confidence in them in my experiences.

Well I'm using these octopus hooks for ice fishing actually, so no weight, they're going to be just hanging there with a shiner on them. They are breaking while testing them. But It seems to me that one of the coils of the snell knot is getting caught in the space created by the unfinished hook eye, and the pinch point is causing it to break sooner than it should. Those are a little big for what I'm doing. I actually am not a huge fan of trokar hooks. I've had a lot of their hook point roll on me.

Maybe try a Biovex Joint Bait I haven't used them personally but they fit your description Check 'em out: http://biovexusa.com/product/joint-bait-110-sf-4/

Yea that's what I'm thinking is causing it because when it breaks it's right around that area. Does anyone know of a brand that makes Octopus hooks with sealed eyes?

Even more than that. Enjoy your free time! I know I wish I had appreciated it a little bit more when I was younger (I'm only in college but still, my days of no responsibilities and weekday afternoons to do whatever I wanted are pretty much behind me).