Shimano_1

Blew my mind back in the spring and early summer. Every bass I put in my livewell in tournaments puked up tons of crawfish parts and a couple times whole crawfish. Yet we fished jigs in every shape and size imaginable with every craw trailer with little success. Slayed em on jerkbaits tho. Best we could figure maybe they were chowing on them at night and went looking for shad or other baitfish during daylight. Ive had em do this before but never the amount and every lake we fish like this year. One things for sure, they were definitely eating the heck outta some craws.

Id put it in the water and take a flashlight and climb around the back bilge area and see if you can tell where water is coming in at or park it on a hill and put some water in it with a hose and see where it comes out at on the outside of the boat. May have some debris around the threads of the drain hole or something. Had this happen on my aluminum triton when I first bought it it was bone dry then had a cple outings where it took on a Gallon or so. Ended up being some aluminum shavings that were left in it from factory had gotten in the threads. If you can't figure it out id definitely be having the dealer do so. Good luck!

Leave slack in ur line. If you try to walk a frog on even semi tight line it won't work. Throw it out. Engage ur reel. Then twitch without reeling until u get slack in ur line and see if u can't walk it then. Also subtle small like 6 inch twitches not the kvd jerkbait style twitches. Im with ya on the swim jig thing I can't really make myself fish one that way either. Hang in there and you'll get it. Some frogs are a lot eaiser to walk as well. The pad crasher is the easiest of the ones I've tried and its the only frogs I use anymore.

I haven't had any problems necessarily catching fish but a couple of the lakes locally that used to be great have definitely fell off. Fishing pressure is definitely the problem. There aren't a lot of good bass fisheries around so the ones that are get hammered on. Ive had to change my approach over the years somewhat but I've just accepted that it is part of it. Bass fishing in general has blown up and likely will continue that course.

Jerkbait, 3/8 finesse jig and yum dinger rigged various ways

I lock mine basically down when frogging. If a muskie took it just use ur thumb button if needed or loosen the drag a little.

Its easy to say just fix it when you have the knowledge to do so. I totally agree that people should be more aware and do repairs as needed. I would definitely notice a change in my truck or boat and address it immediately. I honestly believe there are a lot of people that just don't have the knowledge and probably have no clue that everything requires maintenance. Work with a 27 year old guy thats truck went down a couple weeks ago. He had no clue oil was supposed to he changed every so many miles. Met another guy a few years ago that didn't know his car had bright headlights. Just because we were fortunate enough to grow up around someone that taught us things...everyone wasn't that lucky.

I ordered Monday evening and paid for the overnight. Think it was 17 bucks but with the free t shirt, 5 dollar hat and sale I was more than pleased. Had my package Wednesday afternoon. Says right on their sight what the shipping delays are and considering the circumstances its more than fair and they are telling you if you pay attention how long it'll be

I've had some good success with soft jerkbaits over the years but I've basically replaced then with the stick baits. I dont throw the 4 inch much but the 5 is a staple. I'm sure there are times when one will out fish the other. I would take the stick bait over the jerkbait in most situations

This! I think for the most part people that target largemouth do so because they have lakes around that are predominantly largemouth lakes. I only have one lake around that has a decent smallmouth population and most people target them on this lake. Location is more of a factor than preference

Id be relocating lol. I'm lucky to live in Kentucky in that regard. Once I got my ccdw permit its a breeze buying firearms. Any of the ones listed will likely serve you well. I like the taurus in that its a quality pistol and leaves me some $ for fishing lol. Taurus had a bad rap for a long time but between me and my buddies we probably have 20 and none have had any issues at all.

I've had to do this with some frogs I've had but I don't touch the hooks on the pad crasher.

Used to be a glock guy. Fine guns but ive just grown out of favor with them. Grip is not comfortable to me and too many options for a lot less money. Own a couple g2c, shield and a Springfield hellcat. You won't find a better pistol for the money than the g2c. Everyone i know owns one and no problems with any. The shield is probably overall my favorite but I find myself packing the hellcat for the capacity in such a small gun. I'm sure the 365 is a fine one too just don't have any experience with it.

I've always tried to be courteous to other anglers when tournament fishing or just fun fishing. However...in this situation I'd honestly ask myself if this was a place everyone knows about etc or is it a deal where he is winning and has made everyone hunt him down. If it were a place I'd found on my own and had caught fish at id get in there and fish it with him. If he says anything I guess we'd talk about it and go from there. It definitely rubs me wrong how some guys behave on the water and I guess each situation is a little different. This is a situation where one's moral compass should out weigh the desire to win money. If it got to the point that I felt like trying to fish it with him was wrong but I was just donating money id likely find another trail to fish.

I fish jerkbaits year round. Ill slow down a little in the heat of summer but still have days when they'll out perform most other lures. As stated its only gonna get better tho as it starts cooling down

Get a booyah pad crasher, trim the legs down about an inch. Throw it on braid. Make short twitches on slack line and learn how to walk it. Use a 2 soft jerks...pause...3 soft jerks....pause. Get ready and when a fish blows up on it give it a cple of seconds and feel the weight before you swing. Drop the hammer. Works for me around here anyways. Good luck

I like the slx series better than the curado 70. Like the k better than both but of those 2 id go with the slx. Ive had a cple of the 70's and both got geary way too soon and seemed a little more temperamental to get dialed in to me. Obviously opinions are gonna be different so if you can maybe handle both and see what you think. Likely you will be pleased with either

As stated its gonna depend on what you consider light. The shimano slx series or daiwa Fuego or tatula ct will handle things down to maybe 1/4 oz. Anything lighter and your probably gonna spend more money or modify something like a tatula. The new shimano slx mgl is advertised as for lighter baits but I have no experience to say yay or nay.

I've often been blown away at the prices people are willing to pay for hard to find items. When kvd won the classic on the chartreuse black 1.5 guys were paying crazy money for em on the bay. The flatworm is just the latest. Supply and demand at its finest. I'll admit I'm sometimes curious enough to try these baits but I'll wait until they're normal prices again. I own way too much tackle and still find myself catching the majority of my fish on the same things I've caught em on for years. The whole bass fishing scene is a wonder in and of itself lol

I fish those style baits on a med heavy rod with a 7 ratio reel and 20 lb fluoro. Not a big braid guy other than on spinning gear and my frog rod.

Thats the only kind of sore thumb I've had from fishing and I welcome it every time!

I honestly don't think it matters much either way. I personally like the looks of the xt better. I would buy another simply for that reason, other than that i don't think its 30 dollars better in performance. Just gonna boil down to personal preference. Either are fantastic reels at their price points

I agree with all that for sure but around here seems like people are causing more harm to waterways than any boat motor. Ive got a new 4 stroke and so far I'm loving everything about it and I'm sure its definitely better on the lakes and everything else. Just not confident it'll still be running in 25 years or longer. Time will tell

My dad and an older friend of ours both have 95 model boats. One with a Johnson fast strike and one with a 150 merc. Both have been down for a month needing repairs. We used to have an older gentleman that worked on them and he passed a few months ago. Now there seems to be no one locally that can or will work on these older motors. We were discussing the other day how its almost worth having a new one if you can afford it simply for this reason. The good mechanics seem to be a lost art and we don't know much about motors. Doesn't surprise me at all to read these stories. I'm sure most of the newer motors tell a computer whats wrong and its all just plug and play. Kinda sad considering how resilient the old boat motors are with proper care

I've started mine a time or 2 but definitely not good practice regardless of who says it is. Ive had some cold natured 2 strokes in the past but never felt the need to do this. Just drop it in the water and start it. If its hard to start theres likely an issue that needs addressed.