MassYak85

Depends, shallow jig fishing I might use a 5-6ft leader, with the knot staying outside the reel. Cranks I'm using more like 8-10ft. Spinning for worms and finesse I like a bit longer too. I'm mostly a Daiwa guy so for the setups that I use longer leaders I usually run a Fuego CT so that the leader knot isn't getting caught up by a T-wing. Shorter Leaders it doesn't enter the reel so the T-wing isn't an issue.

I think it's lacking a lot in soft plastics. Certain hardbaits it's still around. Daredevil released a new pumpkinseed color recently, it looks awesome and I bought some for my father who loves spoons and he's done very well on them.

I've sold reels before but rarely for more than 50 percent back. I don't consider resale when buying something for fishing usually. The swimbait secondary market is probably the only one you can expect most or all your money back for used baits. But that's cause of low supply and high demand for certain baits.

@Dunks N Dinks That's a nice handful of outings! Still early for spawning up where I am. Do you guys think the Full moon this week will get it going down there or will the cold front they're forecasting outweigh it and delay things?

Shad are underrated, they fight like hell and are challenging to catch with their paper thin mouths. I've hooked up with some on ultralight gear in the CT River and it's a blast. Not as fun as the stripers chasing them but I'll still take em!

I use fast reels for presentations that require moving the bait with the rod and taking up slack with the reel. I like longer rods cause I myself am on the tall side, I can cast farther, and assuming the action is consistent with shorter rods you have more of the blank loading up to keep fish pinned. I like heavier braid because it manages better on a baitcaster and can hold up to more abrasion than thinner diameters. Everything has a purpose and a lot can come down to preference, it's up to the Angler to stay educated on the gear and make the decision based on their own fishing not what the pros are pushing.

I'm usually guilty of just stopping at Dunkin Donuts beforehand and then not eating until dinner, but sometimes I'll bring granola bars and stuff.

I sitll have one of these as a backup. I checked my mian one (rapal digital) as well as the luggage scale againt a food scale and both were dead nuts. I keep the luggage scale in a small waterproof container as a backup.

Yea I was hoping to come down around memorial day for the week, visit some family and get in on some spawning action but that doesn't look too likely at the moment. Fingers crossed but mentally preparing for this to drag on for a bit.

I've settled on a Daiwa Fuegos as my workhorse reels for now and don't splurge on rods (a few Tatulas, a couple Furys) so none of my setups are "high end". But I recently scooped up a few Dobyns Champions (that 40% off sale was a force lol) including an 867 and splurged on a Tranx 300. Together the setup retails for $570, but I took advantage of a couple sales so I was able to put it together for just under 400 bucks.

I have an older model Ascend FS-10. It's been good to me but I've heavily modified it. It's been a good yak for 500 bucks. I think it's going on close to 10 years now.

Back when they had a huge discount on power worms I ordered 16 packages. I think I got like 7 or 8 different packages

Check ebay often. It used to be you could get them for 75 bucks any day of the week but I think they've become a little more popular and the prices have been a little higher. I buy them cause I fish braid to leader a lot and don't want the T-wing for those setups. They're a solid workhorse reel and don't break the bank. Fairly easy to work on too I can chug through them in the off season.

That's hilarious. I saw a bunch of 'em in the shallows this morning and was wondering if the 4" zoom lizards would imitate them well. I guess if the Newts are willing to get freaky with them they're close enough lmao.

Dogbone, do you ever add weight to the flat sided cranks to get them to suspend? Fishing them almost like a jerkbait with short bursts and long pauses?

If you can stand the weather or it's a nice day definitely get out there, don't wait. May, it usually picks up, especially in the shallows, but classic prespawn areas you can still get fish in April. I got a nice smallie in NH this morning on a jerkbait right where it should have been, on a point outside a spawning cove dropping into deep water. The water is still mid-40's and a bit windier than I would have liked in my small kayak, the wind made it hard fishing the deeper water getting blown around. The key this time of year IMO is all confidence. DRESS WARMER THAN YOU THINK. If you're cold and not catching anything it's a lot easier to throw in the towel early rather than trying a new area that might be the ticket. And sometimes the bite might just open up for a short window even if you've been fishing the same area for a while.

I placed a couple orders recently. My 2-day got here within a week, and I just got a confirmation that my ground shipping is being shipped today. Not too bad I expected worse tbh. But last time I ordered I couldn't even choose expedited shipping, ground only.

I like a mod-fast action medium heavy for mine. Length will depend what your doing and preference. Long casts over flats you might go to a 7'6, shorter target casting to cover maybe down to 7 feet. I'm usually fishing around cover so I'm using a Tatula 7'2" MH Regular (mod fast).

I've bought about half my reels from ebay. Make sure the seller is legit but other than that it's pretty safe and you cab get some good deals.

It's honestly the most confusing part of bass fishing tackle to me. I usually spend hours researching a rod before buying it cause I like to hear a consensus opinion that it handles what I'm looking to do well. I don't really care what the actual rating/action/power is as long as it's up to the task.

Haha it's all good man.

Expert? Never claimed I was... But, I just went and grabbed a T-wing reel and put the line under the bar. You see that line angle? I don't even have this reel fully spooled, it would be worse if it was. Now the real issue... You see how the line is going through the groove? That is with the thumb bar pressed down (casting). The entire purpose of the T-wing is that when casting the line is allowed to flow freely through the larger wing portion of the line guide. With the line under the bar, like I mentioned earlier, it pins the line into the groove and basically turns the T-wing into a normal line guide, defeating it's entire purpose. With the line OVER the bar... See how the line has a straight, completely unhindered path from the spool through the T-wing to the first guide and allowed to pass through the wing portion of the T-wing? That's the intent of the design when casting. When the T-wing flips back down when you reengage the spool to reel again...the line is forced into the smaller groove so that it can lay the line more evenly back onto the spool....like so:

This is just sad...

I fish jerks, jigs, small swimbaits (and big ones), and blade baits. This time of year I've found that weather trends are more important than actual water temp. You'll have fish shallower than you'd think, sooner than you would think, if you get a few days in a row that are unseasonably warm and sunny. But look for classic pre-spawn areas. Shallow spawning coves or flats dropping off into deeper water that held fish in the winter months. Fish the transitions and check at what "stage" the fish seem to be at, could be they're not ready yet (likely the case this time of year) and still on the deeper structure or on the transitions near the flats.

I'm shocked how split this is from the responses. Like you said, you will cast much better with it over and it will be noticeable when you do it under that it's getting some resistance. Going under I would think would pin the line into the smaller groove of the T wing even when casting, which is not the intent of the design. The intent is it goes through the wider section when the thumb bar is pressed when casting, and through the thinner section when reeling in. I've got 3 T wing reels and I've gone over the bar for all of them. None of them rub, I use braid for all of them, and there is no grooving on my Twings.