Vilas15

I'd be confident saying 40. You could probably get 40.5 on a bump board pinching the tail but we'll never know.

^^ Everybody seems to like clown. Can't say I've had much success with bright colors at all but that's just me. I dont use them that much because I don't have confidence so it's a bit of a feedback loop.

This idea always made sense to me until you look at cylinder deactivation in trucks. My truck gets better gas mileage by dropping the v8 to 4 cylinders allowing them to work a bit harder at the same speed. It's more efficient running 4 cylinders harder than having 8 cruising along.

I fish from the back and still control the boat so my Dads up in the front. He ends up casting back towards the stern half the time anyways especially when musky fishing. I love the electric steer trolling motor because the foot pedal has a 20' cord, but I use the remote most of the time anyways. Up until a few weeks ago we only had one graph with GPS which was at the wheel. So i had to be in the back to see it to control the boat. I still catch more fish but could probably do better in the front.

I've heard this too. The 75 90 and 115 are the same. Check the weight difference between the 60 and 75. Might be a decent chunk for only 15 more hp. Test drive if youre really considering the 60 to make sure you're not disappointed when you pick it up.

Made an order at TW yesterday at 9 AM central and immediately got a confirmation email. Just got another email that my order will ship Dec 1st and I'll get a tracking number at that time.

Casting or spinning?

3" easy shiner on a regular old 1/4 oz ballhead jig

Big rapala husky jerks (4 or 5") in reflective colors

I use stockingfoot waders with these korkers. You can swap the sole from felt to rubber, but i use the rubber 100% of the time. If i trout fished more in the summer id get some neoprene socks with gravel guards and just wear these with light pants. You'll want the ankle support from a high boot like this. Theres cheap boots out there that are $100 or less. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/korkers-greenback-wading-boots-for-men-felt-kling-on-soles

Repeatedly casting freshwater is different than saltwater vertical jigging or surf fishing. Casting heavy baits sucks on a spinning reel when you hold the line with one finger.

I'll say in regard to felt soles, make sure they aren't illegal where you fish. They basically pick up any invasives in the stream and can transport them if you pack up and head to another stream. They'll give you great traction on rocks but aren't good for hiking. I have korkers boots which can swap out the soles but I only use the rubber since they're better for hiking. I'll second the comment about breathable stocking foots being more versatile. Better when it's warm and oyu can layer under them when its cold. I think boot foots are really only popular for cold water fishing great lakes tributaries in my area. I've started wading last season with Orvis Ultralights and so far so good.

After discovering this site i went heavily into various soft plastics and have only recently discovered that I prefer cranks and can have success with them. I like swimbaits but don't fish a senko, tried a few times and dont have the patience. I fish clearer water and have done damage with medium cranks in the 6 to 10 foot range. Starting to look at some options in 10 plus. I love lipless cranks as well and will always tie up a rippin rap. Great walleye/smallmouth bait.

If you're doing this in warm water you could skip the waders and go with wading boots with a neoprene wading sock and light quick dry pants. That's how most people wet wade in the summer and youd still have the boots for the hike. I wouldn't use waders with old boots, i think they'd be much more likely to wear a hole by rubbing than wading boots. And they wouldn't have drainage.

I like Sufix Seige, seems less stretchy and tougher than the elite which handles better. You could probably step down to 6 and 8 lb Siege on a spinning reel since the diameter is high for its rating and it feels like the breaking strength of the 10 lb I use on baitcasters is much higher than that. It's tough to break off a snag.

And I don't care what the fish or other people think.

Sad. 4 out of the 7 items on that page are Bass Pro Brand, and that's only because they don't make fish finders (yet). Front page has a Helix 7 SI GPS for $500 but they'll probably be out of stock immediately.

Anybody have one of these? Perhaps on a St Croix Mojo Bass? They could look really nice if the colors jive but I'm afraid it could be red vs purple and not match at all.

Welcome! Give bass a try sometime, it's in the same family as bluegill!

Not every variation on a jig and plastic needs a name. But then again how are the rod companies supposed to sell us a damiki specific rod?

Guys have been vertical jigging a minnow on a jig head for decades. Somebody uses a plastic and targets bass and all of a sudden it gets a new name? There's almost nothing new is the world of fishing lures, just slight variations to the old stuff that most people have forgotten about. Or it's adaptations from baits commonly used for other species. That's why most every bait that works somewhere works everywhere else. If you want to get ahead of the game and come out with the hot new bait/technique I'd look out for snapping jiggin raps for bass instead of walleye, and maybe downsized versions of a flaptail or hawg wobbler (both musky topwater baits). The whopper plopper is only a small version of the many prop baits that already existed for quite a while. I think the biggest variations come from color choice as mentioned before (perch vs. shad), natural lakes vs reservoirs, and the popularity of certain baits due to different seasons. You'll get a lot more use out of a blade bait in cold water in the north than down south where 60 degrees is considered cool. Where I fish we may touch 80 degree surface temps for a few days in the summer.

I fish 1/8 to 1/4 oz spinners in streams on a 5' UL St. Croix Premier. Mostly browns 8-14". If I start hunting for bigger fish 15"-20" I'll try a Light action or use my 7' ML/F on bigger streams where I've got the room to work.

The basic engineering equation is: stretch length = force*total length/(Cross-section area*modulus of elasticity). This is real basic and only for linear elastic materials so it may not apply well to fishing line, but the stretch is proportional to the length. Anyways, I think the stretch for a mainline can make a real difference, but for a short section of leader the variation has got to be small. You're tying a 5' section of leader that maybe stretches a third of that at it's breaking strength. So on a hook set you're at some percentage of that force (also proportional to stretch)? Then you want to look at a difference between two different lines? Total stretch for the leader is under 10", so I'm thinking the difference in stretch between brands/lines has got to be a few inches at most, on a hook set where you are likely swinging the end of a 7' rod. I guess I'm overanalyzing to argue that some people are overanalyzing. There's plenty of other reasons to use leaders in my opinion: abrasion resistance, easier to break off snags, line visibility, sinking fluoro vs floating mono but with a small length the stretch difference between different lines is probably negligible. We're not talking saltwater shock leaders here. But what is bass fishing if not trying squeeze every miniscule advantage out of the gear to catch a fish that would probably eat a hot dog on a hook. Another thought: the stretch is going to vary with the lb test line you choose. Try upsizing the fluoro/mono mainline for less stretch if it was too much like a rubber band, or downsizing your line and using longer your leaders if you want more stretch on a braid-to-leader setup. Maybe if you went to 10' leaders or more you could dial things in exactly where you want it.

But there's something about a nice fat smallie especially when they have a beautiful bronze coloring. The smaller mouth makes them perfectly football shaped.