FishDewd

I'm the opposite- I like crankbaits. I think they're neat and pretty crafty, action on them is pretty cool too. But I've never actually caught anything on them. Not yet anyway, I'm stubborn, I"ll still throw them until I do catch something one of these days!

I can't respond to poll because I've never ran a lipless.

Maybe that's why I haven't had luck with crankbaits... I'll experiment next time I go out. All I have are crankbait snaps, but they're kind of a pain to disconnect and reconnect without a pair of pliers.

For plastics: For everything else, I like these:

For me, crankbaits, spoons, jigs, chatterbaits. I have little experience with jigs. I recently bought a couple- one finesse jig in black/blue and one football head jig in green pumpkin that I added trailers to, which are my first ever actual jigs. I hope this week to be able to use them, whether I catch something or not will just depend. Same thing with chatterbaits. I have one that I have tried to use a few times but never had anything interested in it. I recently found a nice trailer to match it, so hopefully it improves my odds a little. Crankbaits and spoons on the other hand... I've tried them many times but I have never managed to hook up or catch anything on one.

You can ned rig with about any bait really... you can even use non-buoyant baits, like a LFT Ring Fry or Paca Chunk. As long as you know how the bait reacts on the bottom you can compensate for the lack of upwards stance like the Z man products have. Most baits will stand up to at least some extent before falling over. Therefore, if you find your medium can't load a finesse TRD, try a Big TRD that is heavier. Or step up from that and use a senko. Or use a ring fry, or one of the many craw imitations. I've seen them all work pretty well, it's personal preference. Back in the days this rig was used, they didn't have these super buoyant baits or shroomz ned heads, so this would be a more traditional approach to what is now commonly known as "the ned rig". Back then "the midwest finesse technique" I think it was called. Back on topic, I've caught a few fish this winter on ned rigs (bubble gum and coppertreuse TRD), and not just bass. I've gotten a few catfish and even nice perch to bite at it. It's one of those presentations that will work for a wide variety of predatory fish. I used a medium power rod when I did it, but I could see a medium-light being a bit better for sensitivity since it is a little harder to detect the bites on a medium rod. I've never been real good at watching the line motion, so I will typically feel the line with my fingers if I think something is interested in it. But a medium with a fast action seems to work just fine for me, granted I'm still getting used to the technique.

1rod is entertaining for sure lol. But he also seems like he would be a bit annoying to fish with irl. I like peace and quiet when I go fishing. The whole zen thing, you know...

All right, that makes sense. Of course, you can always use some sort of snap at the end of the leader so that you don't need to retie for changing lures, even Glenn recommended that in one of the crankbait videos from BR that I've watched. The little crankbait snaps work pretty well or this, as do small snap swivels. It's true you don't really need a swivel for bass, cause in the limited experience I have catching them, they don't roll so much as they jump. Swivel won't help to avoid losing them on the jump, only a tight line will do that lol. I might tie on a copolymer line like P-line, but I don't like long flouro leaders very much cause for me they cast really poorly. I will sometimes attach a short amount, like a foot or so, of 15 lb Seaguar Red Label, but I notice the distance I can cast drops significantly when I do this. Guess it is a situational thing.

There's always going to be those people that will nay-say and bah-humbug either way, so... best advice after having ran several forums in the past, is do whichever you think will benefit you and/or the community best. If you think an old topic may be good to bring back because maybe you can contribute something new, or would like to ask about something specifically on there because yes things do change, go for it. But if you think an old topic doesn't quite have what you need, then post a new topic. If you want to cut back on "oh, this old dinosaur topic again?" comments, then maybe try providing a link to those old topics saying, "I have been reading X, X, and X topics and..." then say what you need to. At least then they can't say you didn't read. In short... don't worry about it. It's a forum. It's what it's for, more or less.

Can someone help me out with something relating to connecting leaders to mainline? I am struggling to understand why one would need to reel the connecting knot through the eyelets, hence the FG knot. Unless you are fly fishing, why would one need to reel the knot up through the eyelets? When I tie on a leader, it hangs down, and the knot is below the first eyelet. If I need it to be longer, then I just let it hang down more before I cast. My leaders are usually not more than about 18" long, and that is kinda rare for me to be that long. So what is the deal with reeling it past eyelets? Is there some sort of ultra-long leader presentation that is used or what?

Sounds like a good reason to try something: a deal on it! Keep us informed... if you can test it against EZbraid, I'd appreciate that too.

I haven't used that particularly spiderwire, but my go-to braid has been spiderwiere EZbraid for some time now. I like the smoothest and diameter of it. It's very small and slides well through small eyelets. Yet, it's very strong for it's size. What does the ultracast offer for a difference? Hard to imagine it being much smoother or easier to cast.

With a background in catfishing, I generally use one in case the fish itself decides to roll the lure/bait which can throw them off the hook. Plus I don't really trust joining knots all that much, I've had too many of them break when using leader lines through debris, or tough conditions, etc. I normally just use a very small Spro power swivel, like a size 6, 80 lb test. I don't feel it adds enough weight to matter, and it's made of a vibration sensitive metal that doesn't hamper the feel in any way. I trust two palomar knots to attach the swivel a lot more than a single Alberto knot or similar to join a mainline with a leader. I can't do a good FG knot, but not sure I would trust that very much either. Sometimes I don't use an actual swivel though, such as when I am using a spinshot hook for dropshotting because it already is a swivel. Or, if I am trying to crank or use hard baits that attach with an eyelet; in these case I will use a snap swivel at the end of the mainline so I can easily cycle between baits.

Sigs are also very nice, I just haven't handled too many of them to have much opinion on functionality. But really... I like my little Taurus. I got it for $130 at a pawn shop and it hadn't even been fired. Fits me really well, and it's a gun I can beat up, knock around, and cheap enough that I ever break it (looking unlikely though tbh) I can just get another one lol.

Oh, the classic O/U! Very nice! Good hunting shotties those are. And with the CZ, you know it'll last a long, long time. I've never actually seen a CZ shotgun in person but I bet it's really nice. The pistols I like cause of the ergonomics- they feel so darn good in the hand. That matters a lot to me in a carry weapon. Main reason I don't have one is due to the price, kind of living on a budget atm.

I love CZs! That gun is the one I want one day.

If your Lew's rod is like mine, they seem to run a bit on the stiffer tip side. What you have is certainly workable for what are wanting to do, but it may not be the greatest for weightless rigs, unless the lures you are using are on the heavier side. You can always use a heavier gauge wire for the hooks to add a bit of weight without actually adding a weight to the lure or line, like a superline EWG or similar. A pole I liked for light weightless rigs was a Waterloo Phantom I saw at Cabela's not too long ago, but idk what your budget is here. It was about $109 iirc. But the tip on it was so nice I may end up getting one myself. Something like that in addition to have you have would be a fair arsenal to accomplish most things if you are wanting more sensitivity.

This sounds similar to a project I had to do for a college assignment about a year or so ago before I graduated. What kind of class are we talking here? Quality/statistics? Business management? Something else? Is this a group or individual project? And who posted these questions, your teacher? Or are these your (or your group's) own proposed questions? I ask because it might affect how I answer these questions.

I like to diversify somewhat... I've owned a lot of different reels, and can't say I really have an overall favorite. I do have favorites for certain applications though, for sure. I've never owned any of the newer, high end Shimanos and Daiwas, etc, but I did have an older Calcutta my uncle gave me that I fixed, used for a bit, but ended up giving to a friend who was in a bad spot financially. I really don't miss it much, but it was a good reel. The main thing that interests me with reels is the mechanics of it all. At some point I get bored and decide to take one a part to see how it works, which is always an interesting adventure since every manufacturer is different. First reels I ever took a part and fixed/upgraded was some old, inherited Penn 209/309s that had seen better days. Drag was busted, all corroded up from years of neglect sitting in a badly insulated barn, broken worms, broken side plates, bad gear sleeves... the 209 is actually the reel I learned to baitcast on after I fixed it all up. The 209/309 are essentially reserved now for saltwater activities. The only thing I need to do to the 209 at some point is add a stainless gear sleeve to handle the drag upgrade I gave it, otherwise it's perfect and basically like new. I also have Abus, from C3s to a newer C4, a Lew's spinner (which btw was the smoothest $80 reel I tried in the store, including Shimano, when I bought it), Shakespears, Zebcos... I mean, they all have their place at some point.

Oh god where to start? 618fishing, RideAlongFishing, DEBO'S Fishing, Rapala, Chris Bulaw, Alex Rudd Fishing, HawkeyeBassin... of course, BassResource. there's so many channels I follow lol. I'd have to do a long look through my history to find them all.

That's what I was going to say... that's the only one that comes to mind. They'll have a medium and medium/heavy tips that come with a medium power rod, etc.

I'm a warehousing manager at a vintage truck parts shop. One of the things I do is make sure that parts are kept at a certain minimal level (MIS). If we have 3 bedsides in stock for, let's say, an '80 C-10, and the computer is indicating that the par level is 5, then I go ahead and order more depending on how many sales we've had on that item that week/month.If we've been selling a lot of them, I may order as many as 6-8 more to cover the 3 that may get sold while waiting for the ones I order. If we've been selling less, then I may only order 3-4 more. Etc. True, certain things go through periods where they are selling a lot, then go through periods of not selling at all for several months, but all it takes is that customer at any time to come in and want 4 of them at once for 4 different projects. If we only have 3, we miss out on that 1 and they go through another company to get it. Unless you watch the minimum and keep up with it, you miss sales. Ultimately this will cost the business money. This is where large chains can mess up.

This is really intended to be a leader to tippet knot, but I have used it to join all sorts of lines together. It's very strong, but probably isn't the trimmest to tie. Still, it's easy once you learn it. Alternatively, I also like the Albright, improved Albright, and Alberto knots. I never have been able to do an FG knot, it never cinches down well for me, and the hitches never work properly. I've been practicing it on/off but I've never been happy with it. So far, that's about the only knot aside from the Trilene knot that I haven't been able to tie when it comes to fishing knots.

I thought that was normal with all stores? Least it is with me. Better yet, there will something that's been carried fr years and years... I decide to finally try it, I like it... then they stop carrying it. Lol. Happens to me all the time at grocery stores.

I typically only retie after I lose the lure... lol. Or if I damage the line on something, like a rock or stick snag. Otherwise I've been known to use the same rig for 2-3 outings. May not be proper per se, but I've never had a line just randomly break for no apparent reason.