BoatSquirrel

I am not one of the legions of Gerald Swindle man-crushers out there but this knot has proven darn near unbreakable. Basically just a double clinch knot...

I love nose hooking with a drop shot but every place I fish is full of wood and I was breaking off a lot. Texas rigging with Roboworm Rebarb hooks has worked for me. Every major hook company has a similar design too.

I have found myself a time or two temporarily unable to remove a split ring. I have just left it on and used the snap with no issues. Just snap to the line tie, not the ring.

You definitely are not alone! Lots of tackle for me equals preparedness for lots of different situations, different lakes, times of year, and the inevitable, (not really) shortages or discontinuations.

This is quite a statement, and not the first time you have mentioned it. Your favorite setup with it, times of year to use it? Please educate us--Thanks!

Your heart is in the right place P4B. Learn from this. Arm yourself with the proper tools to remove deep hooks. Long nose pliars, side cutters, and youtube. As others have stated, not a thing wrong with eating bass. They are delicious! Hey GreenPig- those fillets look great!

As a kid I dreamed of how to make a floating buzzbait and how it would own the topwater world. And indeed it does. Nowdays half of my plastics get torn in half or appendages pulled off so they can work as ned baits.

For this conversation, big will mean north of 1.5 oz. BIG!

Fall is one of my favorite times of year to catch numbers as the bass are pigging out to pack on their winter lard, as am I. I have not really ever fished my big baits in the fall as the conventional thought is the fish are keying on the smaller bait. I get it that they cant eat it in your tackle box, but what about it, big bait guys- do yall like lobbing the heavy stuff in the fall? Thanks.

As soon as the bait hits the water, watch the line. As soon as the bait stops falling, lift and feel. Anyone there? Dropshotting is a process of lifting, dropping, and checking if there is a fish on the other end. Sounds like you are waiting too long to check if a fish is on and giving them the time to swallow it. Most of the fish I catch on a DS eat it on the initial fall and are on as soon as I pick it up. Hope that helps man.

Only 7 lbs...whats a great year look like?

Transmissions have been a problem with Nissan vehicles in recent years. Last I saw Consumer Reports had them rated #18. I owned several of Nissan's smaller trucks and they were not of the same quality as my Toyotas. Good luck man.

My first go at the ned rig produced similar results, also with a ML rod. My catch ratio picked up when I went to a stiffer, medium action rod. Same heads. Best of luck man!

I had the ridiculous idea of just "testing" the big swimbait deal. Very Bad Idea. The enormous array of standard size tackle it took me years to amass is now all too small. For those thinking about putting a toe into the giant bait category, beware. The tackle monkey becomes the tackle gorilla.

I usually have 3 rods in the kayak with me for river smallie fishing. You already have numbers 1 and 2. My #3 is a slower option. Take your pick- a ned, flik-shake, shaky head, for shallower faster streams, or a dropshot if the creek is slower with more pools. Good luck with it man!

When I feel "the jump" coming on, thats when I really crank down on her and try to get her head coming my way. The closer I can get the fish to the boat, the better chance I have of seeing her in the bottom of the net. That said, I fish bigger baits and heavier line. Thanks for a good topic.

Good work. I hate poachers and would have done the same.

I have half a dozen 13 rods at various price points and they have all outfished their price tag. Love me some Rapala also!

To add to the wisdom above, watching the tour pros has helped me. Also, BassTalkLive podcast.

Then there is also the possibility that folks with bass boats want to cover a lot of water, fish big water-safely, fish big tournaments, and go fast.

So much better than completely blanked...and thems fine taco fish!

Have you thrown it?

Russ E said it perfectly. I will add, I am more likely to experiment solo.

Oh yeah. I just love throwing spooks. The ol moderate action is key for me on keeping fish pinned with treble hook baits on braid. I just broke one of my old Daiwa Lexa spook rods aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! so I am interested to hear what everyone else suggests.

You a braid or mono man for topwaters?