MassYak85

My dad always loved fishing them so it kind of wore off but no, they're still a huge part of my tackle arsenal. Shallow cover fishing they're one pf my favorite "search baits", you can burn them, bump stuff, and they're fairly weedless. You can get them on a reaction bite or just lazily bring it by cover or over weeds and get crushed.

I agree with what others said, find the hard cover leftover in that area. Caught one of my best fish a couple summers ago on and isolated stick in the middle of a section of the lake that had the weeds sprayed. No other immediate cover around at that point other than that stick.

Something else with the big baits is resale value. The initial sticker shock getting into it is insane I agree, you will unfortunately (for your wallet) get used to it. However once you get into the custom bait makers there's a true demand for these baits, many of these guys drop baits through instagram or through small batches on their website. It's no exaggeration to say that some of these baits sell out within seconds. But even baits that are easier to get, you can usually get most of your money back in the second hand market. Buy an MS Slammer or Bullshad 4x4 and decide, "hey this isn't for me"...you can probably turn around and find a guy willing to pay 75-90% or even retail for a bait that's fairly new. Especially with baits that are harder to get, guys will even flip baits cause some are worth far more on secondary market than they are retail. Not something I agree with, but it speaks to the value some of these baits have. But these baits aren't some magic bullet or ticket to fishing success, you still gotta grind, still gotta figure out patterns and understand the fish and the lake. But they're just fun to fish and seeing an 8" bait inside the mouth of your new PB and all of a sudden that bait looks small...it's a thrill.

You and me both. Oddly enough the bait monkey has a YouTube channel and disguises himself as Matt Allen.

Half of it is targeting bigger fish, but half of it is deifinitely that some people just like fishing them more and even collecting them. Like others said they're handmade works of art most of the time by garage bait makers. Sometimes I feel bad chucking them in the water but it's kind of a badge of honor for the bait to start showing some wear... It means it's working. As for the bullshad, the original resin ones are all I've ever fished. I agree, they look kinda ugly. But Mike Bucca has tuned them meticulously and has the action dialed. They get crushed.

My method is to have in the back of my mind things I'm looking to buy short or long term. If I see one of those things go on sale it's a no brainer to swoop in and buy, if I see something on sale I didn't really want in the first place it's easy to shrug it off. Only exception is true blowout sales of like 50 percent or more, in that case I'll stock up on stuff I might already have but know I'll use, or maybe I'll try something that would normally be out of my budget if it wasn't on sale. Again I think it's just having a mental list of things you actually want vs "sure it's on sale but I didn't want that anyways".

Call it lucky or unlucky but I've got 3 fish in an exact tie for my PB to the hundredth of a lb so... 1st - Wacky rigged watermelon sticko 2nd - Lethal Weapon Swimjig 3rd - 9" MS Slammer

I bring way too much, I'm rigged up I can bring almost all my gear (6 rods, 7 or 8 Plano 3700 boxes) if I want. I usually bring less but to be honest the main reason I don't downsize is if I'm going on someone's boat I can easily throw everything in a boat bag and switch back and forth. I just don't want to be picking and choosing individual lures to bring each trip.

Frogs for me, even with the right setup my timing is just off sometimes and if they wrap your line around cover you can end up setting the hook around something like a clump of lily pads and miss them through no fault of your own.

@Harold Scoggins My kayak definitely rocks back and forth a bit casting an 8" Hudd lol, not for the faint of heart when you're also fighting waves.

You'll want to consider what line you're using too. If you find you aren't getting the hook planted you could switch to braid to leader which IMO kind of acts as a step up in rod power in this case. Straight mono at the end of a long cast I think you're gonna lose fish. I fish 20lb copoly but that's strictly treble hook baits. If I was using mine for 68's I'd go braid to leader personally.

I've never heard of anyone being checked, heck I've only been asked for just my license twice in my life in MA. EPO's are spread thin. That said I try and stay legal, or at least what I interpret as legal. The law is vague so things like spinnerbaits, underspins, bladed jigs I do not consider under part of the law. Maybe they are but I feel that can easily be argued based on the wording. But regular jigs and sinkers I go with tungsten now.

I'll keep it in mind that would be fun, uggh I'm itching to get out!

Yea slammers around grass are a nightmare. However I have found if you twitch them through sparse to moderately dense lily pads they can do surprisingly well not getting snagged.

Starting out a weightless stick-o either wacky rigged or texas rigged was 90-95% of my fishing. Fished it on a 4'6" UL ugly stick (I lost a lot of fish looking back cause of that rod lol). A few summers ago I had a whopper plopper tied on all the time I probably fished it 75% of the time I just couldn't keep fish off it and had one of my best days ever fishing a pressured lake on a holiday in near-whitecaps. The lure seemed almost magical that year.

795 will work well for what you're trying to do, the true upper limit of the rod is about 4oz. I think the only thing you might struggle with is 68 weedless hudds. The rod is a true mod-fast action and will load up a fair amount, which is nice for treble hooks, not so much for jig hooks, but it's still a fairly beefy rod compared to what you're used to and can drive home exposed jig hooks fine. I fish a lot on mine, up to 8" Meatheads, 9" Slammers, Swaver 200's, but you can tell you're working the rod a bit. Like others said, there's a lot of hype around swimbait fishing because of the allure of bigger fish. It's not a magic bullet you have to know your waters and learn how to find fish just like conventional lures, but when you find the right combination of conditions those bigger baits will reward you. It can be a grind though at times, especially starting out. But starting small will give you confidence and let you know if you like it or not, it's not for everyone.

The storm probably just gave you guys rain but thanks to VT's nearly nonexistent road crews the 6 inches we got here was plenty for me to not want to drive down. I've got plans the next few weekends but I'm hoping the warm winter continues so I can come down and hit the ground running in March.

795 is amazing for that 1-3oz range, and can toss 4oz baits in a pinch. I've never fished the 806 but I hear it's a more versatile rod if you plan to upsize in the future to bigger baist, you just loose that lower end below 2oz. The rods have some overlap.

I still think the 68 and 8 inch trout are some of the best soft baits on the market but they have awful customer service. The hudd walker thing was sad to see watch, I didn't order one but the guys that did kept getting beat around the bush.

Not true at all. You'll hear "there's no such thing as safe ice" from a lot of guys and they're right. Doesn't matter how thick the ice is there are too many variables to just assume an entire lake is safe based on the hole you drilled at the ramp. I've stood on 12 inches of ice before and 200yds away was open water, why?.... Birds. Those birds decide to leave and it gets cold one night well now you have a football field sized area of unsafe ice where the rest of the lake would hold a truck. Safety measures are not excuses to go out on sketchy 2 inches of ice, they're important because you just never truly know.

Like others said going with someone is the safest option, but I'd be a hypocrite if I said to never go alone so you just have to be prepared. Realistically if it's not brutally cold, you have ice picks, and are in fair shape you should be able to self rescue. If you DO go alone, watch some videos on how to self rescue, don't go alone on 3" of ice when it's -15, don't walk 2 miles away from your car, go to a lake you are familiar with. The more familiar are with a lake the safer you'll be. Does it have springs, inlet streams, is one shoreline rocky (warm up quicker), is there a natural channel, is there an outflow at a dam, do birds winter there (I've seen swans keep a spot open that had a foot of ice everywhere else). Just be smart, spud your way out, even if it's a foot of ice at the ramp. Avoid any current or rivers. If you want another level of safety wear a float suit or a life jacket under your coat. Let people know where you're going. Avoid isolated ponds where you might be truly alone with no one around. Don't go out in harsh conditions. KNOW THE BODY OF WATER. Any of the ice picks sold should be fairly decent I think, Frabill makes good ones. I think I have Eagle Claw.

Depends, I fish out of a kayak when I'm by myself, and time of year plays a lot into it. Warmer months I usually stay home or go bank fishing if I see 15+mph forecasted. Colder months anything more than 10mph is a recipe for a short miserable day. When me and my dad go in his boat I don't think we've ever canceled a trip cause of wind unless it's really cold, if the windchill goes into the 20's that's usually the only factor there but in the warmer months stormy windy days are usually a recipe for a good bite so we try and get out despite the forecast.

Thanks guys, unfortunately the reel schematics do not really distinguish between the similar looking washers. First time since I've been servicing my reels I've had to do this but I think I will send it to DVT.

Just tore down my Daiawa BG for yearly maintenance and when I put it back together it's making a weird click ever rotation of the SPOOL (not handle). It seems like something related to the pinion gear but I took it back apart like 5 times and didn't see anything wrong related to the gear teeth or bearings. My best guess is I swapped some washers around by mistake and something is just a tad out of alignment but I really have no idea, anyone have any thoughts? It's completely cleaned and re-lubed so it's not like there's a piece of dirt or something.

LOL d**n you guys, I couldn't resist either. Couldn't justify 500 bucks for a goretex rain suit but I've been waiting for something on clearance. Now I just need a better rain jacket.