FishDewd

I don't bed fish intentionally... the spawn here is on/off for quite a while, same with catfish and other species, so it's hard to really know if they are in one of the spawn stages or not. Water holds heat well, but also also takes time to cool off or heat up due to heat latency. On a lot of stable days it could go on for quite a while theoretically.

I need to get a pair at some point... but $100+ for glasses is a no-no for me. I had no idea they came in different colors.... oh boy. I have a lot of research to do when I'm ready to buy some lol.

She makes that barbie rod look darn good! The maker (zebco?) should endorse her, cause it almost makes me want to go buy one lol.

I never run just the crankbait though, I will switch to and from it quite a bit. I do sometimes die direct if I have a lot of leader though. On that day it seems like I was getting a bit short iirc. I agree! That one wasn't too bad though, got two hooks in him and they both came out by hand.

Whatever the case, it's been a weird freaking year and I don't think anyone can deny. I have my theories but not comfortable sharing lol. I just dread this hurricane season that's for sure... have a bad feeling it's going to make last year look like a stroll through the park. Hope I'm wrong. All of us here on the gulf coast are still somewhat traumatized.

I have one of these as well, they are pretty darned good rods imo. I can throw pretty much anything with it, but mine is a medium-fast so it's not much for jigs. About the heaviest I have though aside from maybe the GX2 uglystick, which is my salt rod, is my short drifiting Daiwa rod which throws up to 2 oz. It's 8' though, so not appropriate for most pond usage.

You broke it or it slipped? If you did it with your hands I'd say it was more of a slip. Try a san diego jam knot going twice through the eyelet. If you break that... idk what to say lol. But I am thinking that heavy rod is rated for more than 17-20 lbs. a few of my medium rods are rated that if not a bit higher.

I throw magnum lizards now and then... about the only reason I have 5//0 hooks in my bag. Other than that, I know some guys use them for big 12" worms and the like. But most of my rods don't have that kind of setting power so I don't even use the lizards much tbh. One of these days I'll pick up an MH or H rod that will do that.

Spring? What's that? We've already skipped spring and went into summer... been 90+ all week! What was decent fishing has turned back into not decent fishing lol. Not even a cloud so I can't run topwater. :(

- I've caught about 6 on tubes with swimjigs. - 3-4 on weightless senkos - 1 on a squarebill crank, the picture of which is on this forum - 2-3 on a finesse worm - 1 on a ned rig

If this is a new issue using the same rod and jig you always have, I also vote for bad line. Does happen. But you said you are using a heavy action rod with a jig on 17-20 lb line. Its not hard to exceed that rating with a hard hookset on a heavy rod, they have a lot of backbone. So could be that or a burr on the jig eyelet I suppose. But probably a bad line most likely.

Short answer: try out a few and see which ones you like best via: 1.) ease of tying 2.) reliability needs. Although sometimes you have to sacrifice ease of use for special reasons. Long answer... read on. Most of the knots out there are pretty good, if you aren't dealing with fluorocarbon then pretty much any well tied connection knot will work well for you. So long as you tie it correctly that is. I've been tying knots for a long time and there isn't too many I can't tie. The reason the palomar knot is so well respected is that it is unique among fishing knots. 1.) it's relatively easy to tie so long as you don't get it twisted. 2.) it's very strong. Whereas a lot of knots rely on wrapping around, the palomar uses a loop that works as a large clamp that slides down against the rest of the knot. 3.) it's reliable. Going back to #2. The reliability comes from the way it is cinched down. That loop that goes around both the main line and tag line and then clamps down onto the connection basically makes it impossible to slip a part the way that wrapping knots can do. The tag line can be clipped very close and it will never move. However there are other stellar options. For me it depends upon the situation. Initially I will likely use a palomar knot for connections, unless I have a reason to use a snell, knotless knot, eggloop knot, etc. But after I have been fishing for a while and my leader is getting a little short I may not want to use the palomar because of how much line it uses to tie. I will likely instead switch to a pitzen or san diego jam knot instead. It is almost as strong as the palomar done correctly. I've never actually broken one. It propels in integrity above the cinch knot or even the improved cinch knot because it tends to get tighter as it's yanked on, and has better points of friction. If it was developed originally for heavy tuna rigs then it's likely good enough for most of your bass applications. Plus it takes less line to tie. Figure on it being an inch or two longer than when you start initially after finishing it. This is why I like it as choice #2 for general connections after my leader has been used for a while, or if I just don't feel like modifying the palomar slightly for redoing leaders when the mainline is already connected to a swivel (you can pass the line through the loop rather than passing the loop over the swivel or hook, works exactly the same way). Nothing wrong with a uni either, you can even pass it twice through the eyelet twice to make a fish 'n fool knot which holds a little better. It also triples as a bobber stop knot tied onto a mainline if you use nylon or something. The only ones I avoid in that category are the nanofil, berkley braid, and trilene knots, cause they either don't cinch down properly or aren't reliable (for me). I don't trust them at all. In fact, I think the nanofil knot isn't possible to tie. It has to be a joke or something.... Leader to leader... there are three knots I use depending on application. When I want a lot of leader that will easily pass through the eyelets, and I have braid as a mainline, FG knot, no question. But it is tricky to tie so you'd better be willing to spend some time learning how to do it. My technique that I created is different than others I have seen yet, but it works for me. And that's what you'll have to figure out unfortunately. When I don't want to pass it through the eyelets... alberto knot. Plus it's fairly easy to tie. Just be sure you resemble as closely as you can to a double helix or DNA strand as you make the wraps and it should come out fine. Blood knot or uni-uni also works. for other connections like mono-mono, mono-copolymer or even mono or copolymer to fluoro, I use the J knot. But again, it will initially take a bit to get done. Is it complicated? Not at all, but the difficulty comes in passing two lines the proper way around a large overhand knot. Takes a few tries but is extremely reliable, I really like it. Can also use a left kreh knot, or as I call it "the figure 8 knot" to attach these sorts of lines. Easier to tie and nearly as strong. I like that knot to make a line stopper for dropshot weights. Loop knots. I assume you mean those used for moving baits like crankbaits. Really the only one I use is the non-slip kreh loop AKA the Rapala knot. Another noteworthy is the perfection loop, but I don't personally like it very much. The idea behind these sorts of knots is similar to that of using a crankbait snap- they provide more natural side-side movement to the lure. Lot of uses for those sorts of knots outside of fishing too. The problem with using the with braid is that they aren't exactly the best friction wise. Most braid is pretty slippery, so they can possibly slip on you. However, not all braid is the same. You may find some that will work with loop knots just fine, but if it is one of the fluoro coated ones, probably not. In summary: for connection knots, learn the palomar, the uni, and sand diego jam knot. Use whichever you can tie the best because any of those are unlikely to slip or break on you under normal circumstances. Use a palomar with heavier applications. Frankly, all three are great to know. You just have to experiment and see what you like best in various situations. I love tying knots, so I tried to learn as many as possible, but you may hate tying. So stick with what works for you and don't be afraid to experiment. Sorry this was long, but I am passionate about knots and it's something I am good at, so I wanted to cram in as much info as possible.

I use them on rocky rivers where there is a current, but never on any kind of still water like a pond or lake. I'm not including waves as current, that's just boats or wind. They just get snagged too easily for me. Fast presentations just don't work for bass here, especially in the summer.

This was a pretty pressured state park pond, I bet lots of the fish have been caught more than once. However, this was the first one I've caught there that looked like that. I didn't think much about it until I caught that one.

Well, he seemed pretty healthy overall. I had similar concerns about him. I didn't see anything down the throat or hanging out his pooper, or any kind of bruising around the stomach or anything like that. That scar on his mouth was pretty old looking, so guess we'll have to assume the best for him. Luckily my little trebles were pretty cleanly hooked in and came out fairly easily. I definitely didn't make any tears.

Ow! What a painful, horrible thread! I've never stuck myself beyond a minor poke or two, mostly when putting a lure on a line. I learned a long time ago to never lip a treble hooked fish... always kinda been common sense to me. I'm much more likely to hold the fish itself by the body. In the case of catfish, since they tend to clamp down, I will hold the mouth open with a pair of wide mouth pliers. I usually remove the trebles in any case with a pair of needlenose pliers. If you aren't carrying that equipment I don't see why you'd be using treble hooks. Things are dangerous.

A lot of people use the c-rig to search water... I don't. I don't really like the c-rig much cause for me it is very unproductive. Dopshot on the other hand... highly productive. Yes, it is slower but that is normally what I want. I use it slowly and methodically search an area. It tells me all the same things as a c-rig does about contour, just on a slower scale. It can be used for fish looking up or down depending on how it is rigged. A short dopshot is a "power shot" rig technically and can be used when the fish are low in the water column, just like the c-ig is, but slower. I love the dopshot when I am fishing for baitfish, especially along banks. Want to make those perch come out of their grass hideouts? Throw the dropshot and fish it very slowly. Ned rig slow. It'll also work for catfish, bass... you name it. There's a lot of ways to ig and run them, but the right answer depends upon the circumstance. I'm hardly an expert at them, but I've done well on dropshots. Lot better than I have on c-rigs.

I've fished the neko a few times... what I don't like about it is that the hook always slips up no matter how I rig it. O-ring or not, I always have to push it back in every cast. So I don't really use it much anymore. Rather throw a ned, that gets bites. I wouldn't fish either one in the grass though, they get snagged up pretty easily in my experience.

I caught a bass last week that had about the ugliest face I've ever seen on a fish. It must've been caught about 10 times before with all the tears and holes it had around its mouth. It even had an area of scar tissue on one side of it's mouth where there wasn't any of the original color left. Of course, that spot is where I happened to hook it at. So seems like they do heal at some point.

Mine sit tail down when idle, I don't seem to have this issue with my 90's. I made a custom deal. I attached a crankbait snap to a small spro power swivel. Allows me to make it zig zag and such which is a neat little trick to do sometimes. I like the swivel because if the rear section gets gunk stuck in the gap then the whole lure turns instead of just the rear end. Could cause line twisting.

Yeah, ditch the micro. Sounds too modern. Older Zebco 33's are quite a bit beyond the modern ones, imo. I've caught some nice fish on those old reels. Still have the same one I got when I was younger than him. Some other considerations might be an older 404 with the star drag wheel (have one, it's great) or a feather touch one classic. Yes, these are all Zebcos lol. I wouldn't really consider any other spincast reel as I've had others break long before these will. But yeah, if he takes a liking to it and gets good with it I would step him up to an open spinner. I don't think there is many wrong choices for those at this point considering they are such simple mechanisms. Some may be a little smoother than others, but still pretty much all the same thing.

Same exact issues I've been having! The wind makes it tough to learn how to read lines when you've never had to do that before in the past lol. So I feel you on that one... I missed two jig hits today because I wasn't sure if it was a fish or the wind moving my line. Kind of an odd deal though... I brought too light of a rod because when I was left it was cloudy and calm. Once I got there it was full sun and gusty. I had planned on running topwater... that got thrown out the window pretty quickly.

I've been tossing the 90 around on a 7' medium-fast rod on spinning gear spooled with 30 lbs braid and a lighter leader. It doesn't need to go real fast so I've done okay with non-baitcasting. Can't comment on the 110, I don't have any bass rods that'll throw that much weight.

I have 3 bizzbaits, 2 are cavitrons. One is black with a red blade, other is white with a silver blade. The other buzz I think is a strikeking but not positive. Its white/chartreuse with a silver blade. The strikeking has the best squeal to it, but the cavitrons can go a little slower. I feel like I need slower ones to be effective though. 2/3 bites ive had this year on a plopper have been on a pause. I can't pause a buzzbait cause it sinks. So next best thing would be something slower. So far the buzzers haven't done anything for me but I throw them nearly every session so maybe one day they will.

I see, thanks for the info. I wear a hat but so far thats the extent of my protection. That's pretty much what I do when locating. I learn a body of water and by trial/error figure out where the fish are. I do look for signs of activity though: ripples, splashing, jumping, etc. In the ponds I fish the bass are mostly in cover along the banks, sometimes venturing out a bit to hunt. Those are the ones I like to get. I don't intentionally bed fish though cause I feel like it messes with the population. Videos have proven that the bass don't always return to protect the nest.