Crow Horse

I'm not a jerkbait expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I only fished jerkbaits this past season and had a killer year. I plan on doing the same next season. I have a small sit in yak and use a 7' MF spinning rod, and only sit (for obvious reasons). It was rare for me to drop anchor and I have used a drift chute on occasion but most times I get pushed around by the wind. In short, I pretty much do the opposite of what those with more experience have suggested. For whatever reason it works for me.

I do exactly the same when I repurpose a utility box. rough cut using the poison of your choice and then finish up with the flush cut pliers. It's time consuming but will yield good results. A Dremel works well but it's also much easier to make a mistake.

I'm not sure what line digging is (into the spool?). My experience is limited to 10# braid (832, 131) and I guess I've been fortunate (or lucky) not having any wind knots. It might be pure luck or something I'm doing that is actually right.😁

I understand having a "confidence" setup, but using a high quality braid (pick your poison) and a good well tied braid to leader knot (pick your poison) eliminates the issues you mentioned and provides some benefits. Why would you need to retie when the bite is hot? (just asking with all due respect) Part of my SOP before a trip is to change out my long mono leader with fresh mono and make the connection to braid via the FG knot. No failures there and haven't had to retie it while on the water.

This past season I went to braid with a long mono leader (20'-30') using the FG knot. I strongly believe that this was a game changer for me. I fish barbless and I've lost far fewer fish with the long mono leader. Thanks A-Jay !

I guess you could say both tackle, cameras, and yak gear. A 10' sit in doesn't afford a great deal of space and I shoehorn myself into the yak. I used to carry a back up rod but really never had to use it. If I've prepared effectively I should never have a reason to need it but you know how that goes. I carry one tackle bag that holds 4 3600's, one very small insulated lunch bag, sometimes an anchor or drift chute, 2 Nocqua batteries, a urinal bottle, and sometimes a 3rd GoPro on a selfie stick for underwater shots. Also on board is a hand paddle and trekking stick to assist in launching & beaching. The photos below demonstrate that real estate in my yak is at a premium.

I'm in the minority. I have a small yak that is crammed with gear but I only carry one rod. That rod must do everythiing even though it might not be the optimum setup for everything. To be fair, I usually limit myself to one or two types of baits, again it might not be perfect for every situation but I make it work and in doing so I've improved my skill set. I recognize that this is not the norm but it works for me.

Allow me to respectfully correct you. It's 100% perfect.....😁

It is a very pretty spot and 99.9% of the time I have it to myself only to share it with the furred & feathered.

Last day out for the season. 2 nice bass were the highlights of the day. It was a great way to finish a great season.

Like the title says, why are cloudy days better than days with clear skies?

If I'm understanding correctly, I do the same. I keep the fish in the net (rubberized) and in the water to unhook. Less thrashing around and less stress on the fish.

You really have to push in the cables to the point of it feeling like it's too much force. So far, that has helped if not resolved the problem. I know I just jinxed myself by saying that.

Mine was doing the exact same thing. I'm not positive but I believe the issue is the cable connections at the back of the unit. Admittedly, it's a crappy system (connections). I've found that you really have to send those connections home abnormally hard. They shouldn't require so much force to make a solid connection. I used some dielectric grease and it seems to help make the connections. I really like the unit. This issue is the only hiccup and a disappointment for a FF that brings so much to the table.

Trying to gauge hooksets is pretty subjective, but I would have to guess, maybe a 3. I'm using MegaBass 110's, 110 Jr.'s, and Flap Slaps which use a light gauge wire on the hooks. Trying to turn them inside out won't work. I crush the barbs on all hooks, so I have lost some fish but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Impact wise, it's far less than outboards but it is an example "a lot is bad, then a little isn't so bad so it's no big deal" mindset. Everything we do has an impact and we need to be conscious of that in our decision making. Whatever we can do to improve the environment that is within our sphere of influence makes a difference no matter how small..

Just spitballing, but what if they can detect both black & white but the decoding process goes haywire resulting in confused behavior. Could it be that the behavior response is the result of incomplete or inadequate neural network?

Exactly. The disconnect is when we do the human interpretation. It's a huge void that we can only speculate on. Even though there isn't any definitive knowledge about this, it is quite interesting.

There's mixed opinions about bass's ability to to see into the UV & IR spectrum. One can't easily dismiss the above mentioned example. I was curious about this and had 2 different Megabass perch patterns (GG & mat) tested on a spectrophotometer. Unfortunately the tests were inconclusive as I later discovered that the unit used to test them was not capable of reading in those spectrums. I don't know if it was a calibration, software or hardware issue. It wouldn't surprise me if they do or are capable of seeing colors that tickle the UV/IR ranges and the question is raised as how do they actually perceive and react to them.

You can't spin it like this. It's not hysteria. It's being aware of the impacts we have on the environment. The damage we've (humankind) done to the environment is staggering. Some of the damage done is on a grand scale and other damage is small and cumulative. Damage is damage no matter what the scale and it always comes back to bite us in the arse somewhere down the road. Having respect and dare I say, a reverence for the environment isn't hysteria. It's just common sense. A wiser man than myself once said "What We Do To Earth, We Do To Ourselves." Sadly, we don't learn from our past mistakes and keep repeating them over and over...... We must take better care of the Earth (and waters) because the last I heard, they're not making any of it anymore.....

I think we can all agree that drying out wet tackle is the first step followed by storing the dried tackle in an environment that prohibits or retards rust formation. How one accomplishes that is up to the individual.

I respectfully disagree. I can walk into any auto parts store and purchase a metric boatload of products that will be harmful if introduced into an aquatic environment. "WD-40 is no different then any other petroleum base product regarding the environment IMO." Exactly and I wouldn't want to introduce any petroleum based products into the environment.

Maybe so, but sharpen a hook and the plating is removed exposing unprotected base metal, vulnerable to rust formation. In my humble opinion, WD40 has no place near any body of water. There are other ways to prevent rust that won't have any potential environmental impact.

....Except that the rest of the organisms in the water ecosystem might not tolerate those chemicals. Disrupt the food chain and it all collapses.

Depending on the weather, I'll sometimes "blow dry" anything wet with a DeWalt 20v blower and finish drying in our greenhouse. So far so good.....