Bdnoble84

Ive had this issue on a couple rods with microguides. On those i have to get the fg darn near perfectly wrapped with no bulges. They still dont flow as well as if it were straight braid. But thats a given. Its negligible

I make baits. @Jp_midwest gor me thinking. Are there any high school teams in the northern illinois area you know of that would be interested in spinnerbaits, jigs, underspins, hairjigs? I’d love to make and donate some custom baits.

Definirely try the fox this summer if you get a chance. Others will be better at suggesting where to go, but im pretty sure your swimbaits will tag a big smallie if you put in the time.

Posted about this awhile ago but berkley sensation and trilene have both been crap for ne the last couple years. Like spool on a bc abd its unusable because its springing off the reel. Last straw was i put 4lb sensation on my sons little crappie pole. That was 2 wks ago. Ive already gone through most of the line because of how bad it wind knots constantly. Ive bought it from mult diff vendors. It really sucks because i used to love sensation. also goto is invisx, but i want mono for my topwater rod as well as rods my kid is using.

Every spool of berkley mono ive bought the past 3 years has been pretty much junk. What does everyone suggest for a different mono brand? Mainly leader but i do put it on as a mainline with some rods as well

Thanks. Very helpful. Butt end.

Managed to snap my sons crappie max rod below the last eye. Dont really feel like buying another at the moment (hes 5 and is bound to break it again). Are there sleeves available to reattach them together? I had thought about siding a brass tube over it and shrink wrapping it in place as well. Its a clean break. He was not happy when i told him last night needless to say.

Current breaks are extremely important. You want to usually work your bait with the current if possible. I usually shoot for a 45 angle upstream. Just remember eddies are in reverse. I start agressive 90% of the time. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, bigger jigs boottails (underspin is deadly). Then slow down as needed with smaller jigs, neko rig, wacky rig, hair jigs.

Im my garage until i moved out. One thing to keep in mind. Do not let moisture get in your lead. It will cause an explosion. Someone post a couple years ago about this and i beleived it ruined the siding on his garage?

Been getting down to the dam this week. No walleye or smallmouth but the northern are voracious as usual. Smaller one bit off another guy’s bladebait about 20 minutes before i cought him on the jerkbait with the bladebait still in it!

Just buy a replacement tip to install. Super, super simple fix. You can get generic fujis from any sporting good store or if you want to upgrade. U can look online. Depends how much braid you throw. Typically most guides have been a 5 or six size that ive replaced

Slow down on your wraps. You need to focus on getting each wrap behind the last and pull tightly. Keep as much tension as possible. Once you have enough wrapps focus on keeping tension and get 1 good over hand knot with your fluero. Lighter is key for cleaning up tag ends and really locks it in as well Its a profile thing for me. Its much more streamlined which helps with castabity.

For some reason i struggle with the alberto. I never get it sinched down correctly. I think its because i never tie so i always forget how to do it then it fails and i end up tying an fg. I do need to work on it though. I really think any knot requires practice to get good at. I really struggled with the fg at first because i wasnt making sure the wrapps were seated on the backside of the knot and didnt have good tension. So i would end up with a big ball at the front of the knot that defeats the effectiveness of the knot because it isnt slim. But its the only knot i could use on my jig pole with microguides so i kept doing it and now its easy.

I really like the fg knot. I suck at the alberto. Especially with heavier lines. And on rods with small guides. One of the biggest thing for me was to slow down and focus on getting each wrap correct on the first few wraps. Then you can spped up. I have a system for how i finish the knot that is similar to seth fider’s video. I do two half hitches with fluero to loch it. Then roughly five half hitches with the braid over the braid main and mono tag end.snip the mono tag. Do 3 more half hitches braid over braid. Snip braid tag really close. Take lighter and melt down tags. When ive done this I've never had one unravel. Takes less than 5 min and i ussually retie leaders before i go out. But even out on the water i can. one thing hands need to be clean and dry otherwise you will have a hell of a time wrapping the fluoro. So hot and sweaty is not a good mix.

This does not apply to people like that fish shallow rocky rivers like I do. I know guys in my area that have bought fiberglass and then never take them out because they are scared of damaging the hull on a rock, or if they do they severely limit where they fish because they dont want to take a chance of hitting that boulder 6” in below the surface you cant see. And these are the places that hold the bass and walleye on my river. You just can’t navigate skinny water effectively. Yes you still need to be careful and know where the channel is. If im unsure you wont see me on plane. I’ve seen guys do really stupid things like go full bore in a speedboat accross a riffle i know is only inches deep. But rivers are ever changing and even knowing a river and being cautious, you still risk hitting something. Thats why its a very good idea to carry extra sheer pins and a prop regardless of the boat hull material.

Thanks man, appreciate it

My goal is a 4+ 20” smallie this year. I lost 2 that were pushing last year. Plus nothern are plentiful in the rivers I fish. I get more and more away from finesse fishing each year. So im ok with the skunk. I have days where i just want to catch something but i can throw the smaller stuff those days. Ive been going enough that i can put the time in. My biggest issue is i am in love with throwing spinnerbaits so thats the one think its hard not to put on some days. But this whole swimbait/ glide bait thing has me intrigued. what do you use for a rod. I have a catfish rated rod that ive been playing with, seems ok as i get into it. But if im going to commit ill have to get a better setup without breaking the bank.

Just starting to get into it. I’ve made a couple hard glides, but also planning on picking up a couple off TW.

Came up with a temporary solution. I have a 7ft uglystick catfish rod rated 1-3oz it actually did decent throwing a 1.5oz glide-bait so if i want to dabble ill use that for now. Thank you for all the help!

anyone have luck on River smallies or walleye yet in northern part of state. I caught a couple dinks the other day, but got skunked fishing 3 hrs sunday.

Painting skills are slowly improving. Foiling needs some work.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Waiting on my bonus then I’ll have to pick u a couple. Imn the meantime, i made this guy. Seems like it has some decent S action.

Keep thinking about playing with it on jigs. Those ones posted would look awesome on an 1/8oz jig.

Cool. Brushes are pretty sweet

Is that spun bucktail all the way back to the hackle?