Dirtyeggroll

The Deps actually cleaned up really nicely with a minimal amount of work. I really felt like I hit the jackpot. I drive by that lake everyday and everyday since August when they started talking about draining it I’ve been thinking “I’m going to go get my Flat75 back as soon as it’s low enough.” Well it turns out that the landscape matting they had put down was like fly paper for crankbaits for more than just me! The stuff was just littered with them. There were at least a couple dozen spinnerbaits I left behind because I felt they wouldn’t be worth salvaging. I’ve only even covered a quarter of the bank, albeit the bank most fished. I think there are still more goodies to be found on what’s exposed and some of the most boat-fished areas with snags haven’t been exposed yet.

Already on it. Scanning it with a drone weekly.

I will try to post before and after pics of each of the baits.

I’ve been pretty depressed lately because I’ve been too busy with training/work to get out fishing much. On top of that, the lake near my house that just really started producing this year is closed and being drained due to zebra mussels. So now, when I do get a small window of time to fish I can’t. Additionally, its winter in Nebraska and the water about to get hard. Since the lake by my house is being drained, I thought I’d try to make the best of it. I have lost a dozen or so crankbaits in that lake due to some landscape mat-like material they put around the jetties. Today, since the lake was really drawn I went to go see if I could find any of them. Specifically, I was looking for a 6th Sense Flat 75 in the original Wild Lava Craw pattern that is no longer available. Long story short, I found it and about 100 other baits including a Deps 175, some megabass jerkbaits and some original wiggle warts! Now I need your help restoring them. I plan to replace the hooks on all of them and the split rings on most. However, I need help figuring out the best way to clean them up. So, I am asking for tips on how to restore these baits. Share your experience down below. Thanks!

The point of your statement is in the right direction but some important details are a little inaccurate. Warm blood to the extremities actually makes the extremities warmer. But, as you stated (and as I did), it also increases the rate of total body heat loss. The extremities feel warmer because they are warmer. That warmth, however, is being diverted away from the core, where the vital organs reside, and where heat is more easily preserved due to a variety of lessons. In other words, the physiologic response to cold is to shunt blood away from the extremities and toward the core to protect from hypothermia from visceral organs. When this system is overridden, the the core and peripheral body temperature drop at the same time and the thought is that when you extremities really start to feel cold so is your core body temperature, which is potentially dangerous. Many skiers and snowboarders end up suffering from hypothermia each year due to the effect alcohol to blunt the thermodegulatory centers in the brain so there is loss of peripheral vasoconstriction and loss of shivering (which generates heat). What tends to happen is they stay out too long and are too far away from a way to get back. By the time they start feeling cold is really too late and the other symptoms of hypothermia (essentially lethargy/tired/weakness) take over very fast. To fall in to cold water without in tact mechanism to shunt blood away from the extremities and to the core could be catastrophic. Also, the common bodybuilding supplement is actually L-arginine which is a cofactor necessary for the production of nitric oxide (vs. actually ingesting nitric oxide). The primary reason people don’t tolerate these types of vasodilators is headache and flushing. Sorry to take up space in the thread with a physiology lesson. Try at your own risk.

OP didn’t limit the discussion to mittens, gloves and hand warmers. He asked for unique and effective ways. I presented some of which have been scientifically proven to improve hand warmth and dexterity in the cold.

1). I have heard of climbers who brave the cold conditioning their hands in ice water every night to build a tolerance to the cold. You’d have to look into more details for how long because I do not know. 2) For people who have a condition called Raynaud's, it sometimes works to retrain the body’s response to cold weather. What they do is keep their hands in hot water and go outside in the cold with limited clothing. The though on this is that the central temperature receptors in the body control the peripheral vasculature. In a normal situation, activation of central cold receptors activate a system to decrease blood supply to the hands to decrease heat loss. If the hands are kept warm and the central body is cold the vasoconstriction mechanism in the hand becomes insensitive to the signal to decrease blood supply. After desensitizing the hands, when the core temperature sensors are activated, the hands have minimal response and blood flow continues to the hands maintaining hand warmth (also resulting a net larger loss in total body heat). Not sure how effective this is for people who don’t have a severe reaction to the cold. 3). Alcohol or possibily niacin tabs. Both of these can increase peripheral vasodilation = more blood to fingers = warmer fingers (probably face and other skin as well). Make sure your core is protected from the cold though because you run the risk of cooling your blood by shunting it out to the extremities where heat loss occurs more rapidly. Try at your own risk. Talk you your doctor first if you have any history of heart, stroke or other vascular disease. 4). You may also be able to get your doc to prescribe you a low-dose calcium channel blocker which could potentially help if you have severe circulation problems with your hands.

I think it’s brilliant on their part. Their core audience is upper middle class pre-teen/teenagers that get what they want. I was at DSG once when their was apparently a meet and greet with Andrew Flair and it was like a giant middle school prep boy Justin Bieber hair extravaganza. Whether I like what they are doing or not (and whether their gear and equipment is junk or gold), they have done at excellent job of generating interest in their market and are going to get rich off of it. The baits remind me of a mix between Yum and Rage Tail. They have the smoothness and body profile of Yum-type baits and the appendages of Rage Tail.

My suggestion is to avoid going into debt. I would suggest saving some money for a decent used boat you can buy with cash so you can get out on the water and quell your desire. Plenty of good boats out there in the sub $5-8k range (sounds like you should be able to come up with this much in a reasonable amount of time). If you think you’ll want to upgrade, I suggest to save for an upgrade while you can still get out on the water in the current one. All the more reason to get committed to a boat now before it’s too late!! Haha Just kidding.

Congrats! Can’t wait to see some more pics of it.

Hoping you’ll be taking reels for service again soon.

Fished about 6 different Tranx. 2 of my own (one 5.8 and one 7.6), and fished the others side-by-side with a Daiwa Lexa and an old Curado. Not saying there is anything wrong with the Tranx out of the box, just saying the factory bogginess, especially on retrieve, (that I experience with many reels) seems to be exaggerated in the Tranx compared to other reels. Just saying it becomes even better with a good cleaning.

I have a handful of 6th Sense squarebills with broken or cracked bills that say otherwise. These broke only after a handful of casts. I love their colors, action and the fact that they now come with EWG hooks, but they have a quality control issue. Moreover, when I tried to get them replaced I was told that due to the nature of how squarebills are fished some breakage should be expected and they wouldn’t replace them. I convinced several guys in my club to purchase them and they’ve all had the same problem. Don’t get me wrong, I like 6th Sense, but they’ve got to get this fixed before I purchase any other of their normal squarebills. This is coming from a guy that could possibly argue that the Flat75 is the best coldwater squarebill of all time (I’m such a believer in that specific bait that I’d almost be willing to buy a new one every 10 casts if necessary). IMO the strike king squarebills are hard to beat once you switch out the hooks. Cheap, come in lots of colors, deflect fantastically, and super durable.

Have you removed and replaced the lube from the manufacturer? Every Tranx I have ever touched have been grossly overpacked with lube out of the package making them quite boggy IMO. If you haven’t cleaned and re-lubed it and you like it now, you have a pleasant surprise waiting for you.

Those little silica packets that say “Do not eat” are excellent rust preventers.

From $18-$40 depending on which box you buy and for how long you subscribe.

Decided to try out the 6th Sense Super 6 box. I subscribed to the version where they claim they hand pick baits based on your fishing style and region according to a from you fill out. The first one came yesterday and I wasn’t disappointed. Crush 50x Squarebill Crush 100x Squarebill Curve 55 Swimbait heads Swimbaits Divine Hybrid jig Cloud 9 C20 Bobber stops Sticker Cool little bag 10% off discount code

Very nice! Been dreaming of a 10 lber since before I can remember. Way to go man!

You just wait til the water cools down. That Flat75 will flat catch them in the late fall and early spring when the water is so cold that they won't bite much else. .

You can do it. Yes it’s going to be difficult at first, as are most things for which you haven’t developed “muscle memory” or fundamentals. It will be worth it. Casting gear is not “necessary” but there plenty of times when it can be more efficient and can help you catch more fish. It will not, however, change your life or make fish jump in the boat. On the contrary, feeing good about mastering something new, may. My suggestion is two-fold. 1) Start with an at least 1/2 ounce moving bait that doesn’t require tricky casts and you can cover a lot of open water quickly. Crank the tension knob down until the bait doesn’t fall or just barely falls with the spook released. Crank the brakes down all the way. Start out making gentle casts and practice the same type of cast to start to train your thumb. 2) Keep practicing through the mistakes and the tiredness. This will really help to solidify the “muscle” memory. Don’t end your practice session on a backlash. Backlashes are annoying as hell. You can do it though.

Early in the season is the time of year that a lot of times a person can do both!

Lately, I have had new PB-it is. Been exclusively throwing big swimbaits. Went out yesterday and threw my big baits to get only one short strike and watch one fish just miss the hooks because I tried to set the hook to soon. On my way back to the ramp I made a couple casts on a brushpile on a jig and caught one 2-lber to keep the skunk away. My heart still races a little replaying watching the big one touch it’s nose to a Hinkle Shad.

I have the Sufix 832 camo on several of my reels. It all faded to white within 1-2 outings.

What’s ironic is that this is most people’s perception of what fishing entails.

My opinion is that the Xi3 is junk. My dad has an Xi3 with the wireless footpedal. He had his Edge sold before he really got to play with the Xi3 and has stated several times he regrets getting the Xi3. I have used it on his boat and honestly I hated it. I would rather have a cable drive without the pinpoint any day. The problem is that the wireless footpedal is not reliable AND it is more like a button than a pedal. In other words, it doesn’t seem to be pressure sensitive. Finally, the thing doesn’t respond well. Sometimes it will keep turning after you release the pedal. It is extremely difficult to navigate. The hand remote doesn’t seem to have any problems, but if I’m fishing I want big hands for my rod. If it were my boat that thing would be off in a heartbeat. I would pay money not to use the Xi3 with the wireless footpedal.