MassYak85

I use a Tatula 200 size reel for smaller swimbaits, Tranx 300 for larger 8-10" baits.

My home lake I grew up near in MA is about 250 acres and I learn something new every season. Plus, weedlines and vegetation are constantly shifting so you can never truly know everything.

Love the profile of that spinnerbait! Any more colors on the horizon?

Good Dealers in New England are tough to come by unfortunately. I know many people make the trek down to Thayers in CT from all over.

Helped my dad put his boat away over the weekend. Still have a couple rods in the car in case but definitely did not fish as much this year, probably the least in my last 10. This spring I plan to do more again.

Some very solid deals mixed in there. I will resist haha. One time I bought a bunch of different JDM spinnerbaits from them to try them out and fell in love with a couple like the Apache and now can never get them lol. Sometimes it's better to stay ignorant.

10 percent as well. Most of the things I've bought I have either found I prefer something else or it's for a niche situation I don't run into much.

I think a lot of us like to think we know, buy all the "right" lures, watch the weather, log our trips...go out with a plan, and then get slapped in the face. It happens. Rarely do I go out and crush it in the way I had planned.

The Massachusetts state record was 15 1/2lbs and nothing since has even gotten close. I don't think there's even a single credible report of anything within 3lbs of that fish. So by those standards us MA anglers are a bit SOL I think lol. There's the occasional report of a 9 or 10 but those are unicorns and I'd consider anything over 8 to be a "once in a lifetime" type fish for most anglers. The guys grinding swimbaits or golden shiners through the ice might run into a handful of those fish chasing their own 9 or 10 but very few ever get them.

I can't imagine being a business trying to navigate this mess.

I've been holding back on trying these because the last thing I need is another expensive "Go-to" Japanese bait I have to stock up on lol. Do they really make that much of a difference over a jack hammer or similar bladed jig?

This, or fleece gloves. Buy a few pairs of cheap ones you can rotate in as they get wet. I have a few of these from Bass Pro: https://www.basspro.com/p/white-river-fly-shop-fingerless-fleece-gloves The biggest thing other than that is make sure your arms and core are warm. A good base layer, insulating layer, and a wind-proof shell.

Yea springtime that first warm stretch to kick the water out of the 40s and bring some heavy winds is usually lights out for me. I feel like the answer there is more the typical "spawn" pattern of being near flats that connect to deeper water access and being there at the right time. It feels like the fish are more "real estate" driven if that makes sense. In the Fall it feels like the fish are locked in on the bait or clinging to key areas as the vegetation dies. Sometimes these might feel the same as those spring locations but they might be there for different reasons.

A while back I got curious and asked our state if they kept some of the yearly record data for biggest fish and they actually sent it to me. I was looking for repeat water bodies or common themes between them. In reality it was mostly what you'd expect, larger bodies of water or waterways (major river systems), usually ones with limited access. One theory I had was some of the bodies of water in the southern part of our state have a longer warm weather period and sometimes don't freeze in the weather, that combined with some of them having direct connections to the ocean via small streams meant herring could run into them in the spring, a unique food source for those lakes. And while those lakes have definitely spit out big fish it wasn't exactly the magic bullet I'd hoped it was of going there and imitating that forage and striking gold.

Been using Daiwa Samurai 8 carrier braid to a 8-12lb leader with pretty good results. That stuff is smoooooooth. I like the instantaneous "snap" you get with a zero-stretch line plus the lack of memory means no coils that can pull your bait through the water when you pause it. All this talk about bending hooks with braid....loosen your drag.

Vision 110s for sure, I usually wait for jack hammers to go on sale and then stock up. I have a niche one though, Monka Crawler. A lot of the "production" crawlers you can get just don't compare.

Knock on wood I've never lost a hard swimbait. Still, casting of a Hudd or Citizen doesn't feel great lol. I think my worst day was casting off a Vision 110 and a Rerange on back to back casts.

I've had a couple pairs but yea they do wear out eventually. I'm gonna toss some of those Cuda scissors you guys are talking about in my Amazon cart. Two pairs for 7 bucks is a steal and beats 20 bucks for the Boomerang ones every year or two even if I have to replace them every year.

These are what I use for screwdrivers and really like them: Wiha 26197 7 Piece Precision Slotted and Phillips Screwdriver Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L46TEN2?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1 I use those, a dental pick, a 10mm wench (handle nut), and a bearing removal tool (I like Hedgehog Studios) to do almost all of my assembly/disassembly. For cleaning supplies, a toothbrush and a cheap cheap ultrasonic cleaner will do most of the work. I also have a few microfiber rags on hand, and the foam q tips. Most of my cleaning is done with diluted simple green, and I clean bearings in small glass jars in acetone (do not get acetone on plastic). For re-assembly and re-lubing I use Cals drag grease, a heavier oil for frame bearings and the levelwind (I still have an old thing of Quantum Hot Sauce), and a lighter oil for spool bearings (TSI is popular, I think I'm currently using Boca lightning lube). Over the years I've gone from complete tear downs of every reel to the frame every season to now just do maintenance as necessary. Not every parts needs to go in the ultrasonic bath or get a true scrub down, rinse, and dry. It's just tedious. I wipe down what I can easily, pull all of the bearing, and deep clean whatever truly needs it.

I may be out on Saturday still TBD. But yea I'm eying the weather not really sure what to expect since I haven't been out since summer. This cold rain we're getting today I imagine will change things quite a bit. I don't think we're quite at turnover stage yet but cool 50 degree rain and overnights in the 40s might get us there quick. After today the weather looks pretty stable for like 5 days heading through the weekend. Like you said I tend to have my better days in the Fall in some light rain or heavy winds. It's nice to be out when it's high 50s and sunny but the fish don't always think so. Sometimes I get a good wood bite this time of year when the rain brings in more nutrients in the streams and banks and the shallow vegetation is dying they can sometimes stick like glue to the pieces of cover they do still have. Doesn't always work out that way though.

I think the circuit board just reduces weight and drag as it wobbles side to side. Basically allowing whatever action the body is trying to achieve to be less "muted" by a heavier thicker bill. A flat side will still have that tighter wobble but might be able to achieve a faster rate back and forth, a deep diver might be able to get slightly deeper without the added bouyancy of a thicker bill, a squarebill might "hunt" better without a thicker bill muting it's action when it deflects.

I broke off a handfull of biiig (24"+) pickerel over the summer. They're annoying most of the time but when they're that big I prefer to land them (and not lose my lure lol).

Bent out hooks are the woooooorst feeling

I saw a tournament post recently from Bomoseen with some pretty unreal numbers. Someone caught an 8 and their winning bag that day was like 29lbs. Someone else caught a 7 and a handful of 6s thrown in there as well. I gotta get up there at some point haha.

I think there can be overlap. I fish both on a Dobyns Champion 744. It's got a solid backbone on hooksets but the tip section is more forgiving, which can absorb cover deflection from the bladed jig and also load nice for accurate casts. Some of the dedicated bladed jig guys will probably argue you need a setup that can really load up and slingshot the bait out of cover to trigger bites. I think there's something to that but you can also simulate that by just letting the rod load and then giving it a good quick half handle turn to rip it out. As long as it's not too stiff to let you do that, I think your jig rod can do both.