MassYak85

I've heard the same thing, something about not being able to maintain the current trout so they were just gonna release them all to save cost.

I placed two orders from SO cause I had to do some research and I just got my tracking for the first rod. My card got hit for the second order too. I think we should all be good.

I go barbless ice fishing because a lot of the time the fish swallow it which makes for a much cleaner release and less time in the cold air. Open water though, I'm sticking with barbs sorry. Jigs and soft plastics honestly I'd probably be fine with but treble baits and swimbaits I know I'd lose more fish.

I sent the guy an email basically saying if he doesn't get back to me by next weekend I am going to dispute the Paypal charge. We'll see, I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Albright and Blood knot is all I use. Albright for thinner lines, blood knot for bigger lines. I even use the blood knot for big swimbaits using 65lb braid to 25lb leader. With the Albright my issue is sometimes the loop formed by the leader can be left open if the braid crosshatches cinch too early and don't slide all the way to the end of the loop. This can leave just enough space for the tag end of the braid to back itself out and cause the knot to unravel.

They're pretty much all I use anymore. Partially because of the lead laws here in the Northeast and there aren't many tungsten options, but I like them regardless. They're a good "all-terrain" swim jig. There are ones that are better in grass or better in super thick cover but they're a good middle of the road jig. The weedgaurd isn't super stout like a dirty jigs california swimjig but not so flexible that it gets snagged around any kind of wood cover. Plus the bluegill colors are awesome.

This Thread The Dobyns Deal My Tax Refund The perfect storm. Sigh.

Eco pro tungsten sick boy swim jigs are what I primarily use. I also like the lethal weapon swim jigs for grass buuuuuut I can't legally use them anymore with the lead ban. I don't have much variety for trailers tbh, usually a keitech fat impact or the eco pro swing shad, sometimes a grub.

I have the original version of the Tatula 7'4" rod. It's a frog rod plain and simple, and it's very good for that. I would not ever use it for the baits you described though. You want a much softer rod to help keep fish pinned on those larger treble hook baits. I fished the 130 whopper plopper for a summer on my jig rod because at the time it was the only rod I had that could handle the weight. I caught lots of fish...and LOST a lot of fish, often in heartbreaking fashion because the rod couldn't keep jumping fish pinned. And you said you're fishing from a kayak sometimes so it's gonna be even worse, the kayak will start moving towards the fish to aid in unloading your rod while fighting it. You're gonna want something like a 7'6" MH or even look at swimbait rods. I fish both those baits on a Dobyns Fury 795SB. Plus it would give you room to upsize to other baits if you wanted.

I could probably justify grabbing a cranking rod and a finesse spinning rod but I'll show some restraint.... Mostly cause now I need to fund a new reel for my new rod lol.

It seems this way as well especially with the virus now. Does anyone have his contact info (please PM me), I don't want to dispute the PayPal payment if he is just swamped I can wait a bit.

Uggggggggggggggh, why though.... Every. Time. this thread is at the top of this section of the forums I regret clicking on it. I've been waiting to grab an 867 for a while and I can't pass that up.

Lol, iconic pictures right there haha. Masks and all. VT just issued a stay at home order untik at least mid April so I won't be back in MA for a while. Supposed to be warm this Saturday though so I might get out on some lakes up here.

That's what I figure but it's a mindgame I play with myself of "you need to move to find the fish" and "you're near the fish you just gotta hit this area harder" and I drive myself crazy sometimes.

You and me both. I've been running into small males, especially the ones making an early push shallow on those warm days. But the second I try and pull deeper to those textbook "pre spawn" locations I'm striking out on finding big fish. The water is still a bit cold, but I just feel like I'm looking in the right places but not having any luck.

I think sometimes I focus too much on lure selection rather than location. Has anyone ever just had a couple styles of jigs on hand and gone fishing with nothing else and tried to find them? Or is that too narrow sighted?

With the season starting up (for us northeast guys at least) I figured I'd ask something of the more experienced guys on here. What do you feel was the biggest "leap" in your fishing that helped you be more successful? Did you have a season where you started approaching things differently and they started to click better? Sometimes (to be honest, a lot of times) I go out and I feel like I'm just missing something if that makes any sense. I might have a decent day still but rarely have those days where I feel "locked in" to what the fish are doing.

Whitehall continues to kick my a**. I usually do well enough that it tempts me to go back but I've had very few banner days there. My dad had some success with jerkbaits the last couple time but we haven't found any size this season yet. Gonna try somewhere else tommorow.

Ditto. A new spool is gonna be more expensive than a spool pin remover. I've really liked the hedgehog studio tool but I know some people prefer the pliers.

Omniflex is great... Cheapest backer I can find.

I've tracked the past few seasons in an Excel spreadsheet. I note the date, body of water, water and air temps, wind direction and speed, a brief description of weather, a screenshot of the barometric pressure graph for that month (to see overall trends that may have coincided with major weather patterns), any noteworthy environmental changes, a brief description of my strategy that day and what worked/didn't, my best lure that day, and the number of fish and rough weights. It doesn't take long but I will say it can be a chore to do it after a long day on the water....especially if I got skunked. Has it helped? Not sure, but it is nice to be able to go back and see an overview of every trip in a season. I can also see differences between seasons. We're about a full month ahead of schedule where I am compared to some seasons cause of how mild the winter was. Last year I was standing on solid water two weeks from now, meanwhile we're approaching 50 degrees in some of the smaller ponds right now.

Hopkinton originally. I live in VT now but come back to visit frequently.

I might have a free Saturday end of March I'll let you know! Got out for a quick shore session before dinner today. Managed a pair of 2lbers on a crankdown swimbait. I would have never thought to try it but hearing a tip from someone on another forum I decided to try and coax a reaction bite by burning it in short bursts. It worked! That definitely opened my eyes to what these bass are willing to do in water this cold. I had one charge the shore after it, threw the bait back out and it crushed it when I brought it back past him. Acting more like I'd expect from bass in much warmer waters. I think I'm gonna keep my mind more open this year to trying stuff against conventional wisdom. I had always thought truly cold water demanded slow presentations.

@DogBone_384 You seem to be doing pretty good! I still need to connect with my first bass.

Massachusetts has a similar catch and release trophy program. People call them "pin fish" cause you literally get a pin for submitting proof of your catch if it exceeds a certain length. Largemouth is 21" and Smallies are 20". You get a bronze pin for any qualifying catch and a gold pin for the largest fish of the year for that species. I believe they host a rewards ceremony for all gold pin winners and award an Angler of the Year award to whoever has the most qualifying species. I kind of like it, I wouldn't go waving the pins around but it's kind of nice to have a little physical reminder of your catch to go along with a picture.