CrankFate

Smaller shallow spools are the way to go. I’d say smaller, lighter reels are, too.

relatively flat, gradually sloping contour lines, which I think are referred to as shoals, are a good place to look for almost anything worth catching. Near a drop off, these are one of my favorite places to find fish. All kinds of fish. Especially with current, because they usually make a good current break.

Never. Wouldn’t be possible. My body could never move through the full casting stroke lefty. If I had to, I can cast backhand lefty. Sometimes it’s the only way when standing in small spaces covered in brush.

IMO, from my own observations at one particular place, I think the jumbo BG eat the bass spawn to death. The bass literally put millions of fry together with one male covering an area of 4-8 feet wide. The males work as a team, instead of each having their own cloud of fry. Before the higher numbers of small bass disappeared, this didn’t happen and there weren’t any giant BG. There could be other factors, like disease, from people releasing fish tank fish into the water. In the past, there were signs up saying releasing pet fish into the water is prohibited, because of the risk of disease. So disease is a possibility, but I’ve seen people removing bass from the water, years ago. After that, the bass numbers tanked. And the harder to catch bass that remained got much bigger, and the BG population exploded.

I get either color bleed or dirty grey Teflon wax off of nearly every braid I’ve ever spooked.

Not filling it up all the way either. That was enough to barely cover 2 crescent shaped ice maker ice cubes with Arberlour 12. Good stuff.

In 2 years or less on reels I fish a lot. Because from cutting an retying capacity goes down and casting gets shortened. I do not like any knots other than an arbor knot in my line. Maybe OCD, but, I can feel a knot in the spool when I cast.

^This To catch fish, Yes—even I can do it. In new places and with different techniques. Good ones, too. To perform at the highest level, consistently, everywhere you go, always? Way more difficult than it sounds. The bags the pros get are just not realistic. I know, just from how often things people say about what works for them are attacked by other fishermen. Just that fact, that we can now see, because of the internet, tells me, it’s a different world from one place to the next. Few people have the ability to excel under those circumstances. To be able to study, trial and error and then do it? Across the country? That’s a gift and a discipline. There’s a reason for anyone everyone has heard of. It’s not just because they quit their job and risked it all. People do that all the time. We still never heard of them. There is a reason. Survivorship bias makes it seem like it’s easier than it really is.

My wife throws anything that wasn’t used for about 2 years out. Or any things that she might find that she thinks might not have any use, like fishing reel parts and specialized tools. And things like the mahogany crib that I got when we had our first kid. Apparently, it will be outdated when we have grand kids. It doesn’t matter that it was completely disassembled in the attic, when no one ever goes into the attic. Every year, I have to go through all of my clothes to tell her what she can and cannot throw out. Thankfully, I am not a collector.

Please not yet. I’m ok with pumpkin spice in August. But not cleaning reels in September. I missed a lot of good days the last 2 months. I’m hoping for at least another 2 months before going on reel cleaning detail ??‍♂️

I use straight braid when going in the thick of it.

I heard that random mutation is more true to science than the theory of evolution. Either that or the real reason they don’t want people releasing their fantail goldfish into the water is invasive hybridization.

I heard that random mutation is more true to science than the theory of natural selection…….

I go with the not manys. In any professional sport, only a tiny number of people are capable of competing against the tiny number of the best in the sport. People take classes for pianos, violins and clarinets, but everyone knows that only a tiny number will ever be good enough to play in a major orchestra. Some people might do it for a living, but it’s not like a job or trade.

I’m guessing, then, that it’s there to get tighter tolerances? And have the two races independently seated?

You mean those sleeves are there to make the inner race spin?

No biologist or expert, but I’ve seen bluegill populations explode if too many bass are removed. Very large bluegill, that run up to over one pound, will drastically reduce bass populations over time. If you see bass schooling with bluegills they can’t eat, you’ll know there’s a problem. But there will also be big bass. How to maintain the balance is what you’ll need an expert for.

I never said actively feeding fish. Otherwise, yes to most of those most of the time at the place I fish the most. With literally millions of people out there to be fishing there, half a dozen at one time is a lot. There’s a reason for that. The fish will literally escape from most things most of the time. I’m not saying it’s because of pressure either. I’m saying it’s because of clear water, excellent eyesight and plentiful food to eat with little effort. I don’t believe much in pressure. Because when I fish other places with more pressure, it’s still easier to catch if the water isn’t clear and the fish have more competition and less food.

Im not, in lakes as described, the bass may actually run from all of those. Especially if they’re in the most popular colors. No idea what you need. But it’s obvious, try something else, including trying it at another time of day. Like maybe 9am to 1pm.

I have some like this from AliExpress. Not exactly the same. They sell similar ones unbranded - they come in a plain white cardboard card with plastic bubble. No label. No words.

I requested a price match on a TV at best buy a year or so ago and the guy in the store checked all the other places they price match and got me another $70 off, because it was even cheaper somewhere else. If you do ask, that guy told me to ask which other stores they price match to get the best deal.

I don’t know. I had lots of misdelivers: The post office, Amazon and UPS. I eventually got my packages, though. The mail and delivery systems are crap these days. I am thinking we are going to see more and more sellers refusing to take responsibility for misdelivers because you can’t even trust the United States Post Office anymore. There are mail carriers getting arrested and fired for dumping large batches of mail in dumpsters now a days.

. . . And here I was thinking “gin clear” is a state of mind.

Yeah, there are guys who are just going to get out or hang out.

I could see that. I literally could see the water flowing by whenever I closed my eyes for about 2 days afterwards.