MassYak85

Woooooooow. I have enough stock to get me through this season but this is going to seriously force me to reconsider how I fish and what I use going into next year. What a shame. This was all completely avoidable too. A real shame for conservation too. I'd assume all of us on here are fairly serious about this hobby and try to follow the letter of the law as closely as we can, but the casual angler is 100% going straight back to lead with prices like these despite any local lead laws. A lot of the Loon populations by me have made a real comeback with the implementation of those laws.

Oof I know that feeling. Once on my HOME LAKE in October we were having a super slow day and then these two teenagers in a Bass Tracker rolled up on a spot we already tried and got two 5s. April is tough don't feel bad, but I get the feeling of burning out on something that's supposed to be relaxing and fun when things aren't lining up the way you want them to.

Anybody know how water levels are at The Nip? Considering making the trip this weekend but the lake is sketchy enough as it is at full pool nevermind when it's down 2 feet.

Scoping and associated baits, Karashi, poop baits, fuzzy dice baits, expansion of electronic braking systems in reels, tungsten about to be completely unaffordable. I've been dragging my feet on trying any of the new techniques, but I'll probably consider an electronic braking reel when the time comes to replace my next one.

The Fuego CTs are my workhorse reels, very easy to work on and service and have a lot of interchangeable components with the Tatula series. But like you said, 160 dollars is crazy. I use to buy them on sale all the time for like 70 bucks. They were a steal at that price because of the magforce brakes. But now at 160 I'm going to consider something else for my next reel. Possibly the new Revo VoltIQ. But hopefully I won't need to replace any reels for a while.

She THICC

I would ignore the "keep it in sight" advice. Some might argue if you're fishing it deeper than that there are more effective baits but for me, spinnerbaits shine around cover, and if you're avoiding that cover just for the sake of keeping the bait shallow then you're doing yourself a disservice. I usually fish it just fast enough to tick the top of whatever vegetation I'm near, and if I'm fishing around rock or wood I want it making contact with that stuff. The majority of my bites are after some sort of deflection, pause, etc. If there is minimal cover and I'm just fishing a flat/break/color line then I will add in starts and stops of the reel handle, or pump the bait with the rod every now and then and let it fall back for a half second on semi-slack line. If they're following it and that bait just flutters right down into their face a lot of times that's when they eat it. A spinnerbait is pretty much my go-to "search" bait the majority of the year, and in many ways I lean on it over crankbaits in my fisheries due to how weedless it is.

Seems like things are heating up!

Casting, a 744 Dobyns Champion. Although I used to throw a half ounce C-rig with a lighter wire EWG hook on a MH spinning rod.

Very helpful video thanks. Makes sense with it's intended purpose that it would sink so quickly with all the salt, although I like my wacky baits to fall a bit slower so I probably wouldn't use it that way.

My first thought as well, seems like it would be really good if it has any action on the fall.

Anyone else use the Beast Coast Tungsten Lil' Magnum Jigs? I love those things but the trade situation has made them straight up unaffordable (12 bucks each on TW??!!). Anyone here have good alternatives that comply with our lead laws? I love how compact and small profile they are and the head design was great for pitching to cover. Felt like the weed guard was in that sweet spot of no too stiff but not get hung up either. They also have the double wire keeper so trailers stayed in place.

I have a 5.8:1 Tranx 300 I use for bigger swimbaits and wakes. Although the IPT are probably more in line with a 7 speed 100 size reel so it's not apples to oranges.

Wow, I didn't realize how big of an impact this might have. So many of the tungsten weights on TW are out of stock. I went to order some Beast Coast Tungsten 'Lil Magnums cause they're my favorite jig....12 DOLLARS? They were literally 6.99 last month! Ordered some essentials from Siebert since their prices are still reasonable, but man this is going to hurt.

My setup is 40lb braid to a spro power swivel, to 16 or 25lb Sunline System Leader.

It would appear my time has come to secure my next decades worth of 10" power worms lol. 16 packs for 55 bucks isn't too shabby.

Currently I only have one "all-around" medium fast spinning combo, everything else is baitcaster. So if I want to dropshot I do kind of have to commit to it for a while, but usually if I'm going that route it's because fishing other techniques like shakey heads, wacky worms, or light t-rigs have already failed. The annoying part is the leader. If I'm fishing a t-rigged senko I'm probably doing it around cover and will use a 10-12lb leader. Dropshot I want more like a 6-8lb so I usually swap the leader which means scrapping good line. More of a mental pain than anything knowing once it's rigged I can't go back and forth to something else as easily. But realistically I can rig it up in a few minutes so it's not a huge deal. If you're in the same boat, I'd also recomend the VMC "spinshot" hooks. Makes swapping out a dropshot rig quite easy without destroying the palomar knot connecting both the weight and hook. Also nice if you're fishing around toothy beasts and are getting your line shredded between fish.

I still have stock from a B3G3 sale + Rebate on Power Worms they did like....10 years ago lol.

I'm a big spinnerbait guy and have been on the search for "The One" for years now. Currently I've settled on the Megabass SV3s, but on that search I grew pretty fond of the Jackal DoooN baits. Loved the colors (sooooo many spinnerbaits don't have a great bluegill color), light wire, had a smaller finesse profile, great action, came stock with a wire keeper...but it had a fatal flaw, the hook was way too flimsy. Basically turned the bait into an open water finesse bait requiring light line and playing the fish on lighter tackle, which is fine if you go into it that way but for me spinnerbaits shine as a bait fished around cover, so this became an issue. Now I see they have come out with a "Super DoooN" addressing this issue with a heavier hook. Has anyone tried these yet? I am having trouble finding somewhere to buy them, TW doesn't even carry the normal DoooN series anymore.

I have the OG tatula 7'4" HF. I believe they make the same model in the new Tatula XT series.

I use palomar or double Uni for braid, but all of my mono/fluoro is with a San Diego Jam. Very easy to tie and the least prone to "burning" that I have found.

If i didn't already have lifetime supply of BPS Stick-O's I'd be loading up on some Yum Dingers lol.

I call those "character building" days

Owner and Gamakatsu are my go-tos for sure. Pure sharpness is not always my determining factor. For sharpness, any of the "coated" thin wire hooks have been good, whether it's the Gamakatsu Nano Finesse trebles or the Ryugi Pierce, if I'm fishing finesse I want hook that will grab instantly with minimal effort. But for power fishing or heavy cover, I don't care as much, the hook integrity and features matter more to me. One example is the Trokar or Owner "cutting point" hooks. Sharp AF, but the tips roll, and they literally "cut" through the fish, leaving a bigger hole in their mouth they can more easily shake the bait with. I'd go with a traditional hook that's less sharp all day over those. And we can all agree that a thinner hook will be sharper and penetrate more easily but if that means I'm bending out hooks that does me no good. As far as the major brands go I have no issue with Mustad or VMC, I think each company has unique series of hooks good for different situations. I am quite fond of the VMC bladed trebles for certain baits. Mustad I like the grip pin series for punching.

Can't imagine the sub-freezing night has them in the best mood, but wind is also back to prevailing N/NW sooooo what do I know maybe it's a buffet lol. Seems like Thursday is the pick of the week right now.