The Bassman

One thing to keep in mind. ZinkerZ float after the salt works out. Makes fishing them weightless a bit of a problem.

I just soak them in mineral spirits (paint thinner) then give them a spin on an old spool I have. Air dry for a little while and oil. You don't have to mess with the shields. Works for me. FWIW this thread will probably get moved to the rod, reel, and line forum. Good luck.

Tom, wish I could add to what's been said. I've been on this site for nearly four years now and have been very careful to respect site rules. But it's very difficult not to make spiritual inference here. I'll just leave it to say I feel like I know you personally. Hope you stay here for a long time. I enjoy your input and some of the "lively" discussions it encourages.

Spools are exact same diameter. I swap them between reels.

I'd opt for the 3000 just because of the T-handle. Reel is the same as 2500 just deeper spool. BTW welcome.

Shorter rods are much easier on arthritic hands. The possible disadvantages of them are offset by their ease of use. This applies to straight grips. Pistol grips don't work for me anymore.

I had some of those. They were actually very handy. I'm not into saltwater but weren't they supposed to basically be the same as lever drags?

20# braid is different things to different manufacturers. For me I don't use anything over .20 mm on my 2500/3000 reels and less than .15 on my 1000's.

Sometimes I go through the motions of casting and retrieving in my mind when I'm working, waiting in a doctor's office, etc. This will probably be the winter we haven't had in a while with long cold stretches. You're fortunate to have power plant lakes.

Yea, but hello Ned, jerkbait, blade, etc,etc.

Little 1-2 inchers use to be killer for me. You never knew what you were going to catch. Edit; Just checked out Indy Bait and Tackle on Facebook. I didn't even know they existed. I don't go to bait shops anymore. They're in my old neighborhood on the west side. They look like a great addition to an area that has really struggled in the past 25 yrs.

Sounds to me like you weren't fishing where the fish were. Years ago when I live baited creeks I caught my own one at a time by turning over rocks. I'm in Indy and can't imagine driving to Dayton to buy bait. What shop did you go to? They're few and far between here now.

Welcome to the forums. Check the North East fishing reports. Your thread will likely get moved there.

I've extended my season to 12 months the past few years. Some of that can be attributed to a warmer pattern with shorter periods of ice cover (in central IN) but mostly to a different attitude on my part. The fishing can be quite good. At times the bite is more dependable than it is in the warmer months. Yes, it can get uncomfortable but I really enjoy the solitude. Also it's a lot of fun showing fish pics with snow cover around.

Really gonna miss coming home from work on hot afternoons. Loved to sit on the back patio getting soaked with pink water while I still had my paint clothes on. I'm not one to cut it in little cubes and eat out of a bowl. Guess you have no choice when you're eating at the jail.

I remember smallies going crazy just before a storm. Had to discipline myself to get out of the creek. I'm not convinced it had anything to do with barometric pressure. The time frame you mentioned was probably unrelated to your bite dropping off. Sometimes only the fish know.

That would be a good deal. Just wish they would update their reel seats. BTW, welcome to the forums.

You made my day seeing you still posting. God bless.

I was waiting for this to be mentioned. I've had it happen to me with spinning tackle. (My CI4's have a 34" IPT) Just had to make myself slow down a bit. We get conditioned to our retrieve rate.

I'm content to just keep spooking muskrats in Indiana.

Some no name ultralight spinning rod that I bought at our Boat, Sport, and Travel show in the early 80's. It had those glow in the dark looking shock rings in the guides. I think I spent 30.00 so it was doubtless a composite. True graphite rods were very expensive in today's dollars back then.

I liked when they were hauling in swordfish to ZZ Top.

This. ^^^^^^

A couple of ponds I fish have some really big koi, some orange, some white, and some a little bit of both. Don't know how true it is but I've heard they're worth a lot of money to some people.

I've caught countless shiners when I used to wade creeks. They're pretty aggressive. Small spinners guaranteed a shiner bite.