MassYak85

Like others said I really like the STX-38s for blade baits or lipless, but have also used the Ryugi Pierce Trebles or Gamakatsu Nano Finesse Trebles, size 5 I believe. Those are my go-to's in deeper cold water applications where I'm not as worried about getting fish out of cover. Smaller hooks I wouldn't wrench on but they're strong for their size.

That Simms deal is crazy. I have the challenger rain jacket and it's awesome. But in the winter I usually like having the flexibility to have a shell and insulated jacket as 2 different pieces so I can mix and match layers. I'll throw on a down coat under my rain jacket usually. Still...at that price it's tempting.

I don't always do it for visibility, more so for abrasion resistance and as a shock leader. I use the Alberto knot for almost everything, but do use a blood knot for larger lines (65lb braid to 25+lb leader). I've been doing it for years at this point and have no qualms with how it goes through most guides, but I also don't fish microguides. The only thing I'll say is if you fish Daiwa T-Wing reels, keep the knot out of the reel.

I love my Tatula CTs but this design choice always bugged me. I hate those little washers lol.

Interesting, almost like combining a midweight baselayer and a down vest with hood.

I'm not an old timer but I am an avid spinnerbait fisherman which I feel is just an old-timey technqiue. As far as specific baits, probably a Black Power Worm. Been using them since I was a little kid.

Sorry to hear. I always made sure to read Tom's posts and comments he was a wealth of information.

At those temperatures the biggest thing is going to be a shell (rain jacket) to shield you from the wind and then just layer whatever you have underneath that. The difference with fishing is you aren't really moving much to generate extra heat. I'll hike in 10 degree weather and be down to just a long sleeve shirt because I'm generating heat with my movement, but standing there twitching a jerkbait every 15 seconds I get cold in the 30s very quick. Usually I wear a longsleeve shirt, then a fleece-lined sweatshirt, if it's really cold a down coat, and then a shell jacket over that. Also the difference between 35, dead calm, and sunny, and 40 with clouds and 20mph winds can be striking. The first is enjoyable, the second can be torture if you aren't ready for it.

I have an old Daiwa tatula I keep in a backpack in my car along with a Daiwa Ardito travel rod for "emergencies" 😉

I've always loved the Damiki Vaults. I upgrade the hardware with a decoy egg snap, owner split rings, and slightly smaller but sharper hooks (usually the Gamakatsu nano finesse trebles).

I use the Plano Guide Series Blade Bag. Can usually get 3-4 spinnerbaits per section and it lets me organize them better.

Topwater explosions by moonlight are pretty exhilarating. So are beavers setting off nukes with their tails 10 feet away from you...every time it scares the crap out of me lol.

I've caught 5s that have a bigger belly than that fish lmao

There were definitely some good deals mixed in but a lot of the stuff that was on sale that I use, I already have surplus or backups of lol.

The guy who claims the 14.2 even discredits himself a bit in the story he tells the articles at the time. He claims he caught it in 80 degree water, mid-June, in the post-spawn. You're telling me a spawned out northern strain likely living it's last season of life weighed 14.2lbs, was 28" long and had a 30" girth? Not a chance. Most bass weight calculators would put those measurements north of 20lbs. The article: https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/north/2013/07/30/outdoors-gardner-fisherman-8217-s/44402471007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z114015d00----v114015d--45--b--45--&gca-ft=195&gca-ds=sophi

This, there's a couple reports of teeners, like the alleged 14.2 out of Wampanoag, but there's literally zero proof other than the guys word. I suspect anything over 11 to be a case of "brokenscaleitus".

Went through the 12 days of savings list on TW seeing if I could convince myself to get enough things to hit free shipping....could not. I declare temporary victory over the bait monkey. However, Missile Baits Crawfather in the Lava Craw color is on sale for 1$ per pack.

The record has always been suspicious to me. Nothing else has even come close, I don't think there's a single credible report of anything over 11 coming out of the state since. Anything in the 9-10lb range is like a once-a-season fluke for the entire state. The rumor for ages has been that the record fish got fat on the abundant herring runs that used to take place in the Agawam river and they just lied about where it was caught. The herrings runs still happen but to a much smaller extent due to overfishing commercially in the ocean and the secret of herring fed freshwater bass hasn't been a secret for a long time so those fisheries see a lot of pressure.

One of my bigger fish came on a wiggle wart that I backlashed after casting it into the wind. It probably sat on the surface for like a minute as I picked out the backlash. She hit it right as I was pulling the line in and it started it's dive.

They look awesome and the SV3 is my current favorite spinnerbait so nice to see something else in that realm.

True "dead sticking" I don't really do. I'll let a topwater bait soak for a minute or two after landing sometimes, or I'll stitch a worm/jig/huddleston, or add extra long pauses to a jerkbait retrieve, but I'm not sure I'd go as far as to call it "dead sticking".

I've worn a lifejacket under my coat too on days I was alone on the ice. The spikes are critical though, don't want to just be floating there without being able to get out. A whistle in your jacket pocket or around your neck as well.

Buy spikes to hang around your neck, and buy a spud bar to test the ice thickness on the way out. Safety first. Try and observe the places you want to fish and how they freeze. Just because ice is 8" in one spot doesn't mean the entire lake is. I will go out on thin ice like 3", but only on ponds I know well and know how they freeze. Streams, springs, wind, snow, rain, rocks, birds (yes, birds) can all have a big impact on how the ice locks up. As far as gear, you can get a hand drill for a reasonable price, and a jig rod, and that's really all you need to get started. Depending on the species, ice fishing bites can be LIGHT. I don't feel most of them, I see them. You need to be laser focused on your rod tip and just look for a slight dip and then set the hook. Yea sometimes they'll slam it but not always. Just like normal fishing except now they're much much slower. If you start getting tipups I recommend getting a sled to keep all your gear.

I'd definitely buy some sort of natural shad/shiner pattern and a bream pattern The chartreuse/white is an absolute classic I just don't find myself reaching for it much in my waters

This, super easy to work on them too and many parts are interchangeable with Daiwa's other lineups. Plus the magforce brakes at that price point are hard to beat.