N.Y. Yankee

I have 3 rods from decades past with pistol grip handles that are in good condition. I still think they are fun to fish with and comfortable to my hand. I put the handle but against my abdomen when cranking. Do you still use the pistol grip handle?

With the amount of good to excellent super lines (braid) on the market now and the advantages they give you, I'm wondering why not just put some sort of braid on every reel? There are many good knots to connect a leader if desired, long leader, short leader, or just use strait braid, there are so many different options it seems like a win-win. Is braid on everything a popular option or do most anglers still have certain rods for mono and flouro only?

Bathtub idea is interesting, gotta look into that.

Just wondering how many guys using braid unspool all the line then respool from the other end to avoid trashing good line? What's your technique? do you use a line winder, drill and spool, etc?

For those who use braid with a leader, do you use only fluoro leader, only nylon mono, or both? Why? Just curious

What exactly is a Speckled Trout? I know it's salt water fishing but I dont know much about the fish or fishing for it.

7.5, 8 and 9 foot are most common. Many people scoff at 9 foot rods for small streams but there are times and places where a 9 foot rod will let you reach out and drop a line in the water without having to cast and also will help you roll-cast if you have overhead clearance. I really haven't found much advantage in a 7.5 but I have them and use them. Also remember if you are casting to bass, that bass will go after darn near anything sometimes. You can catch bigger fish on smaller flies but not always all fish on big flies so that 5 wt isnt such a bad idea as an all-around line. Checkout Mad River Outfitters on Youtube.

Thanks for the suggestion but I really wasnt looking for advice or suggestions on what knot to use or to tell you what to use, simply trying to identify something I had seen and wanted to learn about it. Team9nine figured it out for me. I'm done now, Cheers!

People will laugh me out for this but I have a 7' Ugly Stick UL. The second gen with the cork grips. It's a fantastic rod. I think they still make that model. I got mine at Wally world for 49 bucks.

I use both. It just depends on how you fish and what for. I fish a lot of trout and panfish, light/ultra light stuff so spinning is king. Bigger fish, baitcaster.

That's the one! Thanks a bunch!

An animated knot popped up on my Facebook the other day. I only got a glimpse of it and haven't seen it again. Knots are a hobby of mine and so I wanted to learn it but I don't know the name to look it up. Pass a doubled line through the eye and bring the hook through the loop then snug up the loop on top of the hook eye. With the tag end, do several half-hitches up the line. Then there was a finishing hitch above that but I could not really see it, then the add quit. Do you know this knot?

Great ideas!

So, what about pieces of line, torn up soft plastics, bent hooks, that type of thing, not just food wrappers?

What do you do with your trash that gets created from fishing such as pieces of line, broken hardware, snack wrappers and just general small trash items?

I think it's something we all need to be mindful of, especially with others close by. I mean do we really need to set the hook so hard we dang near fall over backward? Most I have ever needed is a snap upward but I dont have the experiences y'all do. I think if your hooks are sharp (you sharpen them don't you?) It shouldn't be that dramatic unless you have a bungee cord on the end of your line. I do fear a 4/0 shooting at me, but if any of you have been fly fishing and had a #4 bass bug hook you with 40 feet of #8WF line in front of it, you know THAT is NO FUN either!

Interesting! Never heard of a warmouth.

What do you like to always have with you when fishing that you probably did not buy at a tackle store? My list? Good needle-nosed pliers, good pair of side cutters, an old dish towel, sun hat, sun glasses, hemostat, Mora Companion stainless steel knife, small scissors for cutting line, Bic lighter, small stick of hot-melt glue, Stanley 3-foot keychain-type tape measure, and of course, I always have a Leatherman tool and folding knife on me. I find all of these tools helpful at some point during a fishing trip.

OK, so I picked the wrong noun.

1. Look for good underwater structure or something that shadows the water. 2. Get a Senko, worm, or jig with a trailer. 3. Tie good strong knots and sharpen your hooks. 4. Cast into and around structure. 5. Vary your retrieve. Try to make the bait look like a nice easy meal or an injured prey item. 6. When you feel a tap, set the hook. Think of playing with a tabby cat with a toy mouse. If you don't get a hit after 5-10 minutes, there are no fish there. Move to a different location but not very far away. The rest, you will pick up as time goes on. Dont overthink it.

Where I grew up, I was mostly fishing for trout in creeks and ponds because I only had short range transportation (a bicycle) and that is what was within reach. Once I could drive and go with buddies, we fished for pretty much everything in our local waters. Bass never was a real big target. Although we did catch them, we didnt have a lot of knowledge about it. Worms and Mepp's Comet Minnows were the main lures for us for everything. Once the scenery and finances changed, bass became more readily fished and now I have several types of bass fishing experience when you add in smallies in rivers with a fly rod. So I've pretty much been bass fishing since I was early 20's which has been 30+ years.

Just me, I'm not going to eat them. I'd much rather release them and go and get fish from a premium meat market. No funny tastes, no cleaning fish and no mess to clean up. I do eat a fresh trout from time to time though. Just trout. Anything else is coming from the market. To answer the question though, It's my understanding that the very best way is to bleed them by cutting the gills then putting them on ice. Hitting them on the head releases hormones or something in the fish's body and can affect the meat.

I like a good braid with a leader unless I'm going to be fishing in heavy cover, then straight braid. Having a leader lets you use braid as your main line all the time and get the advantages of that, plus, you can change the leader any time you want and have either nylon or fluoro in any test you want for the lure you are fishing. Everything from inline spinners to heavy jigs, spinnerbaits and topwater plugs too. I have braid to leader on ALL my rods because it's so versatile and I can change whenever I want. I carry a ziploc bag with some fly fishing leader spools I load with different mono lines (fluorocarbon is a monofilament too) in my tackle box.

SO, either snip off the leader if you want to fish topwater or have a different rod set up with straight braid or braid to nylon mono for topwater. Honestly, fluorocarbon does not drag a lure down.

THIS^^^! And this^^^!