MassYak85

Unless it turns around and we get a brutal January/early February I wouldn't be surprised if you could find open water all winter. Good luck with the new boat Mike! I hope you find a good one!

For sure, I think there's definitely some holes in the soft bait market, especially with soft swimbaits, that could be filled. I've seen some guys online also use 3D printing to prototype new molds for designs before committing to production runs, now that the technology is becoming more accessible to the garage guys.

I've even had success using a split shot rig for big worms (10-12" straight tails mostly). As long as it's not so windy that you lose contact with the bait it gives it a very nice slow fall, and can keep it above the weeds and other cover that a bullet weight might get more snagged up in. If the worm floats you can also use a light wire hook and it can stay up off the bottom a bit as you slowly pull it along.

Lots of "new" lures have definitely borrow from past designs. It does become hard to distinguish or "innovate" when everyone is basically attempting to do the same thing....imitate nature. Paint-jobs and "wraps" have gotten to nearly photo-realistic detail in the recent years, but I think a lot of the actual innovation now-a-days is in small details of materials and manufacturing rather than the shape of the lure. Refining soft plastics to get better durability, better scent and color retention while still being flexible (see Elaztech becoming popular for example). While not the lure itself, hooks have come a long ways for sure (thinner yet stronger/sharper). Trying out the "latest and greatest" will always be a big part of the fun of this hobby I think for most of us but actual success will always come first and foremost from understanding the behavior of the fish.

I saw that video yesterday. It's awesome to see how closely knit the bass fishing community and industry is. There were a lot of companies that already had my respect because of their products but have definitely earned some more by helping these people out.

Is it backlashing badly or are you not getting the distance you need when casting? I used to use CXX and some line and lure conditioner helped tame it pretty well.

I think I can probably take the kayak racks off my car for good. I was planning to go Saturday but they're calling for 25mph winds...no thank you lol. I'm just about finished cleaning my reels too so I'll have to find something else to tinker with until we get some decent ice.

What line, rod and baits are you using the reel with? I've got one I use for 1-4 oz hard swimbaits with 20lb Pline PF and I wouldn't describe it as hard to dial in. Im not sure a new 80 dollar spool is going to fix your problems.

I've heard nothing but good things from people who interact with Dobyns beyond just buying their stuff. I have a couple Furys as well and they are great rods.

If it absolutely must be from BPS/Cabelas then I have also heard good things about the Daiwa DX rods. What baits specifically do you plan to throw?

I've heard of guys "bubba shotting" by using heavier gear to dropshot in thick cover, but if he's claiming he's using tiny #2 hooks and 4" worms and direct tying with 50lb braid I think he's pulling your leg. Even if he wanted to direct tie with braid there's no need to go anywhere close to 50lb braid for traditional dropshotting. You'll bend out most dropshot hooks even with 10lb braid.

I'm gonna dig out the gear again tomorrow and either try my luck from shore or bring a couple setups and try for a few hours in my kayak. We'll see if the wind calms down at all from today though. Looks like next weekend is supposed to be almost an exact repeat....warm rain Friday and sunny and warm on Saturday. Nature can't seem to make up her mind! As long as there's either safe ice or open water I won't complain though.

I think I got similar ones with the rubber seals. I've heard mixed things about the rubber seals sometimes contacting the balls but I figured I could run them without shields if need be. I also have a cheap ultrasonic I use to clean them as well. Do you oil or grease the handle bearings? I've always oiled mine but have heard some guys like the feel of grease.

Yea I ordered some cheap ones for the handles I'll see how well they hold up.

For me it's mostly to stay more disciplined, I've definitely gotten more patient and have found myself more willing to slow down and fish an area or try a slower retrieve which has definitely helped the past couple years, but I still find myself going to my "favorite" lures when the fishing is slow. As far as fish, I'd like to break 6lbs for northern strain. I got a 6.5 when I was down in Virginia but something about catching a hybrid strain in a private lake during the spawn felt wrong lol.

I'm going through my reels for annual cleaning and wanted to know what you guys liked for replacing the handle and line guide (worm gear) bearings (usually 7x4x2.5 for most reels I believe). On my Tatula CTs at least they have black plastic bushings in these areas which are upgrade-able but I've never bought aftermarket bearings. These obviously don't require the same precision as spool bearings, they just need to be smooth at low rotation speeds, is there anywhere decent ones can be bought in bulk? As a side note, has anyone ever changed out bearings in these areas for bushings? If so from where?

Sounds like the advice of someone who gets free rods...?

After tomorrow I think most lakes in Eastern MA will be fishable again (RIP ice). I will probably try and get out Sunday and Monday. Fingers crossed for Saturday it's supposed to be over 50 but they're saying 15-20mph which is a no for me in the kayak any time of year, but especially December lol.

I took the racks off my car but looking at Friday and Saturday's weather I might have to put them back on for one more outing. I was hoping to get on some ice this weekend....but I'll take a 50 degree open water day in December.

I fish out of one. It'a a 10' sit-in so definitely not your traditional fishing kayak but it gets the job done. IMO only bad thing about a kayak is the wind, it can control how you fish for the day, or stop you altogether. Other than that there aren't really any lakes in the state (that you can launch on) that are big enough you couldn't paddle the whole length, plus you get the ability to go ultra shallow. Stand-up you are looking at a sit-on-top, probably 12'+. There are great options out there in that category but many are $1000 or more. Ascend FS12 Sit-On-Top is the cheapest kayak I am aware of in that category at $650. Also consider the weight, most fishing kayaks are 75+lbs, just something to keep in mind for transportation. Also, you may want to strongly consider pedal drive of some sort. More expensive but it makes battling the wind or going long distances easier. If I ever upgrade I'm going pedal drive.

Day #7...50% off a Daiwa JDM Exist as part of the Daiwa sale. I'm certainly not about to fork over that much but that's the deal of a lifetime if anyone's been eyeing one.

I'd go Fuego for the braking system alone. I've owned the other two reels and they were good reels, no complaints, but I replaced them with Tatulas eventually.

If you are using it for swimbaits I would strongly suggest, at minimum, using 50# braid. For one the leader knot will be smoother going through the guides of your rod if the diameter of the two lines are as close as they can be (30# braid is probably less than half the diameter of 25lb fluoro), and I guarantee if you backlash mid-cast with a heavy swimbait (even 2-3oz) using 30# braid you will eventually snap your line (the braid) sooner rather than later. The leader will provide some amount of shock absorption but then you're back to the diameter difference and getting hung up on guides as it goes through your rod...which can lead to a backlash, which can snap your line...you get the point. The reel itself should work fine. I've never used one but I've heard of other people doing well with them, same with the diawa dx rods. Good luck with the new setup though!

The first four days of the TW sale have been really good. Nothing I can't live without yet but definitely tempted by those heavy discounts on Tatsu and Dobyn's Sierras.

As far as a business model hardly anyone would pay you to send you what most would consider "trash". More than likely you'd have to send people pre-paid mailing stickers so they could send you their stuff, then maybe sweeten then deal with a free pack of your recycled baits for every X lbs of used baits they send you. Then weigh the economics of doing this with how much you could sell the baits for. The main issue you face with bulk recycling like this is your product quality will fluctuate just by the nature of your material supply. And you'll only be able to make one color...a dark mud/black color, unless you go through extensive sorting before molding to separate by color. Even then the salt content, flake content, rigidity of the old plastics will all very with every batch and affect the feel and action of any baits produced by them. It would be very hard to control. You'd also have to consider what it would take to ensure things like hooks, split rings, snaps, nail weights, etc. don't end up getting into and damaging a mold. Like @slonezp said if you could get tackle shops and places like BPS to setup collection bins that would be ideal and maybe make it financially viable.