NYWayfarer

I do want to try Megastrike after reading the reviews here. I used to use some spray can garlic stuff like Bang on my soft plastics. The soft plastics I had back in the day that were not salt impregnated or come with some kind of attractant already. Those were the kind I sprayed, I never sprayed anything like a Senko. What I currently do is save my broken dreamshots, Ochos and Caffeine Swimming Shads in a ziplock baggie. To that baggie I add whatever brand other than Strike King baits I am going to use for the day. Now all my baits get that awesome coffee and salt scent that the Strike King baits have. Trust me you haven't Ned rigged till you Ned rig a Z-man finesse TRD with the Strike King coffee salt scent.

Top right or bottom left.

I drive over the upper Hudson River between exits 17 and 18 of the Northway everyday and its freeze, melt, refreeze, repeat as well. I was able to get out on the river the weekend we had 65 degree weather. I got skunked and little wonder as my sonar was saying the water temp was 34 degrees!

This is my favorite fishing theme song. Come on, Come on we're going Ike! Honorable mention to Roland Martin's Great American Fisherman as well.

I have a cork grip rod that got a hook hole in it that eventually developed into a crack. I did a homemade repair job with wood glue and cork shavings. I was considering getting one of these Winn rod grips to cover the entire cork as an extra measure of protecting the cracked portion. It would also serve as a cosmetic cover-up as the patched up part is noticeable.

sometimes, just sometimes I would rather fish for Bluegills than Bass.

6'6" medium/fast Fenwick Eagle rod for $60. Best all around rod I own. Fenwick and Pflueger go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Finally my Walmart had some decent stuff in clearance. I picked up this light action Abu Garcia Vigilante rod for $18

Its funny how when I was bank fishing I would cast out as far as I could and wish I had a boat to fish the deeper spots. Now that I have a boat I find myself casting towards shore to fish the shallows. The difference the boat makes is I can find shallow areas that had no bank access to fish. Later on when I got sonar I was able to see the drop offs to deeper waters that held some nice fish.

My son started with a superman spincast setup. When his interest in fishing lasted more than 15 minutes he saved up enough money to get a Quantum Snapshot combo. I like the looks of the Ike Dude combos from Abu Garcia. Looks like a decent rod and reel setup that won't fall apart on kids.

Sure hard to think about Spring this weekend considering the weather here. Friday we had whiteout snow squalls, sub 20 degrees with 40 mph gusts. Saturday was in the teens with 20 mph gusts Sunday hit a high of 30 degrees. If this keeps us Spring weather will hit sometime around the middle of May.

Johnson Min-O-Spin.

You can use any weight as a sinker for a drop shot. I have used split shot and casting sinkers in a pinch. The drop shot weights are nice because they clip on. They slip off if snagged so you don't loose your whole rig. They are have different shapes for different bottom types you might fish.

Don't go nutz. Get a Pflueger President reel (6930 or 6935) and a Fenwick Eagle rod (6'6" M/L, F or 6'6" M, F) This is a great all around set up that will blow away most pre-packaged combos you will find out there.

Nice promotion. They will even refund you the cost of buying the Stealth reel. I have no real hope of winning $1000 but I would jump at the chance at a free reel. The fine print is the killer for me on the refund: Qualified Entries – The KastKing® YouTube Tournament is open to anglers in the 50 US States with 400 or more subscribers on their YouTube fishing channel. USA Youtubers with less than 400 subscribers are welcome to participate for prize money, but are not eligible for product reimbursement. I have a grand total of 0 subs.

My general rule when looking at a combo is to check out the price of the reel when sold individually. If the combo only costs a few dollars more than the individual reel price then its a junk rod and the combo is not worth it. Something like a Lews Mach II combo is a different story. Both rod and reel are quality and would be a combo you can't go wrong with purchasing.

My Walmart had Pflueger Trion combos on sale for $35 in their clearance section. All of them were in a big Rubbermaid trash can, banging around together. No thanks. I like to put my own scratches on my reels thank you very much.

I agree. I am not a fan of those pre-tied rigs, especially for bank fishing. My tag end is much longer when bank fishing a drop shot. Since the line is going to be at an angle, as opposed to straight up and down when in a boat or off a dock, I want the bait to hover at the right distance from the bottom. A minimum of 12" from hook to sinker when I am bank fishing.

The only good thing about having a true down season is the clearance sales. I stock up on a lot of baits and tackle during that time at ridiculously low prices. As far as approaching the starting line I will be purchasing a battery for my new canoe's trolling motor as soon as I get her registered. I have all the other essentials, oars, anchor, rod holders, sonar, etc. So it is shaping up to be an epic season for my son and I. I was able to fish from shore on Saturday. My sonarphone gave me readings of low 40's to mid 30's water temp. Nothing was biting so my first skunk of the season.

I have the Cabelas 2500 PDF To avoid it inflating in precipitation situations I don't take it out when there is a chance of anything more than a light drizzle. That's most of the time anyway as I don't want to fish in torrential downpours. I have the foam kind I take instead.

I used Strike Kings for years before needing prescription lenses. I see no difference in the polarization between the two. The price difference is due to the materials used in the frames and lenses. If there's any difference in the tint, UV coating or polarization it is too little for the naked eye to tell.

I have had problems with the reel seat on one of my lightning rods. I tightened it and the cork cracked. It seems to be real thin at that location.

I am seriously going to snap! Lightning shocks are still $30 at my Walmart. Abu Black Max combos are $49.99! I would have bought a few at those prices. Consider yourselves very lucky! Same hooks at my store are $2.50 to $3.00 NY sucks for prices!

OMG I hate my Wally World. They don't even carry Lew's reels!?!???!!!!

I love those hooks as well. I must be a glut for punishment as I Palomar knot both sides! I recently bought a hook-Eze to speed things up. Love dreamshots except for the fragile tail. Bluegill tend to nip them right off. Try the Strike King half shell drop shot baits. They are much more durable.