MassYak85

The main advantage of a buzzbait is you can fish it in thick cover. IMO the main advantages of a whopper plopper is that it can be paused, and in the wind the 130 and 190 sizes can stand up to some sizable waves before their actions start to get affected. More so than any buzzbait I've fished. But even if those things were equal the sound and profile differences alone are enough you should still own and fish both.

Let me ask you this....when you are sitting inside, wearing a white shirt, do you feel hot? Do you feel like you are "cooking yourself" as the article puts it? No. That article is really not using the physics correctly here. A black shirt is absorbing more of the sun's lightwaves than a white shirt, plain and simple. As a result, some of the light energy is then turned into thermal energy (heat) and the shirt gets hotter, just like white stripes on pavement are cooler than blacktop on a summer day. The hotter shirt will then convey that heat to your body through conduction. I'm sure anyone who likes to go barefoot in the summer and has a black trolling motor pedal can appreciate the strength of this "conduction" of heat to your skin. The only thing I think might be beneficial to wearing black is if you get it wet. It will probably dry faster and in doing so may feel cooler. But I for one do not like being covered head to toe for 12 hours in soaking wet clothes.

I use small plastic bags (like 2in x 2in) and put them in a Plano Pro Latch Utility Box 3750. It keeps everything very neat and dry and I can maximize space, without ever having stuff tangle. Is it a bit of a pain to take things in and out of the tiny bags, sure. But I feel the 5 seconds every time is worth the organization it gives me.

"Hey man, I don't mind letting you borrow stuff or try some of my lures occasionally but if you are going to do it every trip you should really get yourself some of your own lures so I can use mine". I'd just wait until next time he asks, let him borrow it that time but set a precedent going forward. Just say it somewhat casually it doesn't have to be something all that confrontational. And if he has an issue with you not letting him use your stuff then just don't take him anymore.

In that last clip it's definitely better than the original post. It still seems to me you are getting excited and start reeling fast before getting the hookset. I can't fault you for the excitement, it definitely takes some time to get the composure during topwater strikes. But when you get bit try not to overreact, just reel down until you start to feel the fish and then sweep the rod to the side while still reeling. It should be pretty fluid and should end with your rod loaded up to your side, then just keep enough pressure to keep the rod loaded and keep the fish out of cover. No need to horse them in if you don't need to. As for the rod, I fish braid with almost all my lures. IMO you want the rod to be doing the work, not the leader, not the drag. A leader is not really giving you enough stretch to absorb headshakes, a more moderate action rod will. A looser drag can help prevent a last second run from tearing out the hooks, but again, it will not help with headshakes. So all that being said I would stick with the 6'8 M rod. I used to use basically a jig rod (7'2 Heavy Fast) for whopper plopper 130's. After losing several PB smallies when they completely unloaded the rod with violent jumping headshakes I stopped using fast action rods to fish trebles. The connection to the lure itself shouldn't have an impact on keeping the fish hooked.

I sent them a message, I'll post an update when/if they respond and how it goes.

Has anyone had any luck contacting them in the past? I tried sending an email on their website, it's been about a week and no response. Are they more active on their social media platforms like Instagram?

If you are only throwing the 6" baits yea the shorter rod one power down is probably a good choice. I use my 795 for anything from 168s to 9" Slammers so the 795 works better all around for me.

x2 I use a dobyns 795 Fury and a Tatula 200HD for the exact baits you named (minus the bullshad, I don't own one).

SET.THE.HOOK. With baits like this you don't need to really crack them, usually just leaning into them does the trick but there needs to be some sort of sweeping motion to the side to firmly stick those hooks in the fish. Another thing is once you have the fish on, keep the rod angled to the side a bit, so that the rod will stay bent as you fight the fish, allowing it to bow and flex if the fish jumps or shakes it's head. The way you have it in the video you are pointed straight at the fish, so there is no bend in the rod and they can easily shake the hooks which are already not in the fish that well. I hope this helps, it should hopefully make a drastic difference next time you go ?.

I've broken off stuff like heavy T-rigs, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits in Bass's mouths and every time it happens they usually come up to the surface a minute or two later and start shaking to get it out. I have to imagine they have decent success doing so as long as they aren't hooked too deep. For stuff like worm hooks I think most are able to survive or pass them. And I'm sure occasionally a few may die from the difficulties that must come from digestion and eating but that's part of the sport like others said.

Yup, start with grey. If you find yourself fishing a lot of true overcast days maybe consider some amber lenses.

My ribcage can confirm this. Unfortunately for my ribcage I have yet to try this product lol.

You won't get me this time Bait Monkey! I already have 3 backups from the last time they ran this sale ?

I've been using Eye Surrender glasses (TW has them for 50 bucks) for a few seasons now and have been very happy with them.

Like others said unless you purposefully took a pair of pliers and bent the washers I doubt you weakened them during cleaning. Greasing your drag stack will lower your max drag slightly with the advantage of smoothness.

I believe Matt Allen did a video a long time ago about the first one, not sure what the video was titled but he was basically flipping with a huge pole.

I don't mess around....8" mini bolt cutters https://www.amazon.com/Capri-Tools-40209-Klinge-Cutter/dp/B01018D2CS/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1533865166&sr=8-18&keywords=bolt+cutters They'll cut through an Owner Beast Hook no problem. Overkill? Maybe. But if I'm 2 miles from the ramp in my kayak with a 10/0 hook in my hand I want overkill.

It's a pretty loaded question since like @Bluebasser86 said Strike King is probably one of the only companies that you could make a well-rounded tackle selection from. They've got terminal tackle, soft plastics, hard baits etc. They're not my favorite company for really any lure category though. Second choice might be Berkley.

My favorite straight tails have been the Upton's Customs. He's got sizes sizes from your standard 6" worms up to 20". Nice thing is they float unweighted and are nice and soft so you get nice action and the worm will stand straight up off the bottom.

Yea that's correct I phrased my other comment wrong. They are labeled as fast but compared to other brands Dobyns tends to run a bit slower I think. My two Dobyns Fury's I would describe more as a mod fast but that's also the swimbait blank and a medium spinning blank so it may have a slightly different action than the standard catsing blanks.

I use to be guilty of not wearing mine except when the water entered that "death from hypothermia" range in the Fall/early Spring. This season I decided it was time to do the safe thing and went out and bought one that fit well and was comfortable (Stolquist EBB) and have worn it every time out. TBH I can barely notice I am wearing it even on hot days. Much more comfortable than the old cheap ski vest I had been tucking behind my seat.

Sounds right to me! Here's an example I found on Google:

The issue is going to be fishing frogs on the same rod as a whopper plopper. Ideally no, you don't want a fast action rod for whopper ploppers....I found that out the hard way losing multiple PB smallmouths to headshakes that completely unloaded my Heavy Fast rod. But, if you want to fish frogs you are going to need a beefier and stiffer rod. I think the middle ground might be that 735 Fury, I haven't fished one but I've heard Dobyns rods tend to run a little slower than their ratings say.

IMO the best part of both reels is the magforce system so you can't go wrong with either. That being said I do like the T-wing and would (have) payed more for it. But that's coming from someone who always uses braid mainline and having the reduced angle of line coming off the spool is helpful since braid can dig. Using mono or fluoro I doubt I'd see much difference.