CrankFate

When I retire I’m getting a bass boat. There’s nowhere to use one anywhere near here.

Nice fish. I’ll give it a try next month.

Every lake is open water now. I might give it a try. Got a new lipless shiner bait that I’ve been dying to try. But I just don’t see catching this early.

3 to 4 feet ? I’ve done best with 4 - 18”

Yes. I don’t listen to anyone on this method. I fish my C-Rigs as light as I have to, as shallow as I have to and with as short a leader as I have to. This is by far my second most productive method besides cranks. Maybe more productive. A 10-12” C-Rig on a light weight with a boyant bait catches fish.

Is the purpose of this thread to say that if the ice is gone, I can catch bass? Because the ice is gone here already, but I don’t think I can catch anything.

Casting? I have used a leader with levelwind, but casting would be difficult. I already burned them threw them off a cliff and dumped them in the ocean.

I don’t see a leader knot safely passing through any low profile baitcast reel. I too use braid and a leader and have tried it. Your best bet is throw all of your stiff graphite rods out and get moderate rods. Then you only need between a 10 inch and 2 foot leader at most. The flex in the rod will make up for the loss of stretch in the leader.

Cabin fever. Thank god someone’s catchin! I can live through pictures like this.

One of the best methods where I am. At all times of year.

I wish I was in Florida. Here in NY it was a high of 40 degrees out with wind gusts close to 40MPH.

So when does everyone start fishing in SNY?

Yes. Keep slack out. Use the rod to move the fish. Let the flex in the rod absorb shock and keep the pressure on.

I don’t know the area you are fishing, but try 10lb Seaguar or, dare I say it, switch to pink Yo Zuri or Ande. I believe in beige or tan or sand colored surroundings pink line catches the most fish.

There’s always a bigger one out there that didn’t get caught.

Shhhhhhhh! ? I haven’t been fishing since November or December and am not catching another fish until May.

Knowing where the fish are feeding and when.

All I’m going to say is the fish pictured here was caught on a reel with a true 9lbs of drag, at about 2/3 so maybe 6lbs??? The mark on the gaff is 3’ Bent my hook a little. Yes. This is by far one of the biggest fish I ever caught.

Baitmonkey warning ⚠️

+1 IMO, when people get “technique specific” the line might be the only thing you need to change. Stretch, sink/float, abrasion resistance, visibility & memory all matter more than it seems sometimes.

Line capacity is overrated. With braided line and high tech graphite rods and super hardened hooks and 9 or more pounds drag, no fish will spool you. Get a shallower spool and use the force, it will guide you ?

I think I like EVA when it’s the right texture. The rougher, harder, larger cell type foam.

I would say up to 200 yards when I am looking for max distance, but I usually use thin line to up the capacity on small spools.

I go down to 6lb braid with baitcasters. There is no problem at all with using this weight. The real problem is when it is windy, it is very difficult to tie with thin wet 6lb braid.

I just wonder why super low weight split rear grips are all the rage these days when a full rear grip could eliminate some tip heaviness? IMO, shimano, in particular, seems to use big grips on their rods, probably for balance.