The Maestro

I really like fishing jigs on my first gen 7'2" mh xf Cumara.

The medium heavy would probably be a bit lighter so in theory it might be a bit more sensitive but in real world terms I doubt you'd notice.

The best way I've found to deal with a really severe backlash that goes deep is to cut the bait off and use something like a toothpick to pull the line out from underneath the overlaps. This can take a long time and quite a bit of patience but it will fix any backlash no matter how bad with no damage to the line.

I know for me, it took me quite a few years of fishing before I really started to fully appreciate the benefits of getting very specific with my gear for a given technique/bait.

There's very few concrete absolute right or wrong ways to do things in fishing. Ultimately it's the end result that matters most. I don't have very strong personal opinions about this topic as I just don't have enough experience throwing crankbaits. I did come across this video awhile back and apparently David Fritts is widely regarded as one of the best anglers with a crankbait.

I vaguely remember the Calais DC being really hyped up for the DC part. Seemed like completely mind blowing tech at the time. Also I think they've tweaked it since it first came out though I'm pretty sure they keep the actual chip design a closely guarded secret.

At first DC was only on the highest model(s) and slowly it's trickled down. I think they're primarily aimed at people who are new to baitcasters. I don't own any and I backlash but a few times a year and it's almost always from being careless in some way. For that reason I'd never buy one.

I'm not really up to speed on the world of professional bass fishing but it seems like most of the high profile guys are running 'budget' or middle of the road equipment.

Depends on your definition of "good". There's high level pros fishing their sponsors' $100 rods and winning the biggest tournaments so you could say those rods and reels are "good enough" them even if they are getting paid to use the stuff.

If you have the rods and you have the space on your boat, then it just makes sense to utilize them even if you might not need them. They won't be of any use if you leave them at home. For me 10 rods is about the point where anymore than that starts to create more issues than it solves. Some boats can easily accommodate 20 or more without being cluttered.

I keep telling myself that I really need to start incorporating and understanding how to better use my electronics but every time I get out i just want to start fishing since I still catch tons of fish with just using the most basic functions like 2d sonar to know depth and water temperature.

Every walleye tournament I've watched on tv, the fish literally look dead at the weigh in. Not moving at all and have nearly turned grey in color. I think walleye handle being toted around in a live well even worse than bass.

I'm sure they can take a pretty bad beating from running at high speeds in rough water too. It all adds up to stress on the fish. The MLF format isn't really feasible either for tournaments with a lot of boats unless you go by length like in kayak tournaments. You couldn't do weight since it would be to easy to cheat without an official on every boat and that would be impossible for big events. I don't really see length catching on either since bass can vary so much in thickness.

Do you guys think this affects fish in waters that have year round open seasons? In Southern Ontario bass season is relatively short. Pretty much 5 months max. I suspect the fish don't remember much about which baits to avoid come the new season after having not seen a single lure for so long. I've heard of some really popular lakes declining here but I think the majority are really healthy and the fishing's as good or better than it's ever been.

What was the population 70 years ago?

Lots of factors already mentioned. I remember it being so hard to catch fish when I was just starting out as a kid. Now you can tie a senko on, hand it to someone who's literally never fished before and just tell them to throw it out and let it sink and they'll catch. Literally zero skill required, provided you chuck it around fish.

Been using BANG garlic past 2 seasons.

My pictures are my trophies for my man cave. It's gotta be a legit big one though for me to stop and take pictures of it, especially if I'm by myself. However if I'm going to take the time to take pictures I want it to be a really good picture which can take A LOT of attempts to get it just right. Truthfully I'm happy with even one really good picture per season. To me they represent the passage of time. It's also interesting to see how the quality of the photographs themselves have improved over the years as I've learned how to take better ones and am also more patient and persistent with trying to get them just right.

I grew up watching The Real Fishing Show with Bob Izumi in the 80's and he was sponsored by Shimano back then.

I bought a spool of 15lb to try out for this season. I use straight braid for just about everything and still catch a lot of fish. I've tried other FC lines and hated them. I'm giving it one more chance but unless it's noticeably better than braid I probably won't keep using it.

The frog window's pretty short here. It typically starts to drop off around mid July and some years even sooner, so that's only around 3-4 weeks into the season. It's not that you won't catch anything but the better quality fish have mostly moved out to deeper weeds by then. As for frogs I found the Booyah Pad Crashers to be the best in that style.

Also IPT depends on how much line is on the reel. Assuming a consistent retrieval, your bait will be speeding up as it gets closer and more line goes onto the spool, increasing it's circumference.

It seems like bass guys are the least "elitist" when it comes to our favorite species to target. As far as I'm concerned if you fish for anything, it's cool. In a lot of places it's guys who fly fish for trout that can be the most uppity.

I have one 8 and the rest 7's. Only reason I don't want 8's is I heard they get rough faster than slower reels. I dont know if it's true but I dont see a big difference between using them so I went with 7's.