fin

I keep a fishing log and keep a record of what baits catch fish. It’s hard enough keeping up with a log, but when you have to research to find out what the stupid name of a color is to finish a log entry, it gets kind of aggravating. Product names can be just as bad. Not to pick on Big Bite Baits (because most of their color names make sense), but here are a few of their wacky names: 1099 Crime-Scene Confusion Magician Old Ugly Politician Some of my log entries might say, “Caught 5lb3oz on YoMama Old Ugly...”

I hadn't heard that about Tom. Sorry to hear that. Even with him gone, I'm still learning from him. What is that jig on top called? Did he ever discuss how he made it?

The "Original" trick worms will stand up better than the ones labeled "Super Salt Plus". It's not easy to find the "original" though, and nobody differentiates between the two online, not even Zoom.

Why do they want the braid to be the weakest point? Is that explained later? I only made it 4 minutes into the video. I can't watch the rest with that question in my mind. When fishing, I want just the opposite - I want the leader to break before the braid. They're using 20# braid with breaking strength of 40-something pounds, and 60# fluoro leader. It seems like that might affect the effectiveness of how well the knot is tied.

Exactly. In thick trees, you might actually be able to make some casts that you couldn't make at all with a longer rod. Lately I've just been fishing a 6' because I'm trying to find the fish. I don't stay in one spot very long. When you have to do a lot of walking, especially through woods, it's just so much easier all around to use a shorter rod. Most of the lures I throw go about the same distance with a 6' or a 7'. Stuff like curly-tail worms are about the only thing where I really notice a difference.

I keep one at my desk where I work on lures and reels and stuff. There’s thick carpet under the desk, and I’m dropping stuff all the time. The magnet is great for when I drop a tiny treble hook. Works much better than my bare foot. I snagged on a piece of rope in the lake one day and pulled it up. That’s how I got my magnet - it was on the end of that rope. I’ve used it trying to fish for lures I’ve lost, but never had any luck.

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Actually it's probably a floater. I can't imagine that beak went down too well.

Maybe a green heron? They prowl right along the bank in shallow water.

I can't say I'm real surprised it got it down, but I am surprised how lame that bass is. Why is it not fighting? Did the cormorant spear it or ram it or what? It looks like it's worn out. I'd like to think this is the exception, not the rule, to their diet. I've always assumed they feed mainly on schools of shad. I've seen them working in a group, herding shad. Gizzard shad get as big as that bass, and bigger.

So you replaced your underspins with spinnerbaits?

I like the style/design of the Gambler Duz It (not the name so much lol). I don’t understand why they only sell it in 6/0 and 7/0. That's way too big for me. I’ve got keel-weighted hooks that I like, I guess I just need to get some blades, swivels and tubing. @ol'crickety what did you end up using? You seem to have gotten the problem worked out this year, to say the least. Did you replace the long thin wire with the Owner Flashy Accent Trailer Blade?

I’ve always used an oil that I used back when I was primarily using baitcasters - Reel Butter. Now I use an Academy generic version that I think is about the same - a thin oil. I was thinking now that I’m primarily using spinning reels, maybe I could switch to a thicker oil, since spinning fast is no longer important and I might get smoother performance with a thicker oil. Or maybe the penetration performance of the thinner oil is still necessary? Maybe a thicker oil would feel like sludge in colder weather? To be clear, I want to use a thicker oil (like maybe even as extreme as a 30W) with my spinning reels to maybe get smoother performance. I’m asking if there’s a problem with that.

I’m on a roll lately. I haven’t found anything decent in months, and then in the past couple of days I found these in addition to the Yumbrella. OG Tiny 4, H20X popper, XPS Staredown suspending jerk and Googan Clickbait. Jury’s still out on the clickbait. It’s different, I’ll give it that. Two front hooks on the XPS are new to me. I guess that’s designed to keep from scratching the paint?

They do a training thing at my lake where they teach dogs to find bodies in the water. They also do a helicopter training thing where they scoop water up with the helicopter and then drop it on a target. It's hard to pay attention to fishing when they're doing that 😆

I don't have a boat myself, so that's not an option for me, I don't know about the OP. I've found the methods recommended for untwisting your line on land to be unsuccessful. In my opinion, they really only untwist the last 10-20 feet of line.

So did the ground give way and your foot went into the hole where the nest was? Or did you just slip on the grass and then get attacked? Either way, I think you used up your bad luck for a while. I've had several run-ins with underground yellow jacket nests while mowing the lawn. That's bad enough for me. I remember the first time, for a second I thought my old riding lawn mower had caught fire and that's what was burning my leg 😆 They will return to the same nest in following years if the holes aren't blocked.

I think you're probably losing casting distance with that small amount of line. That's pretty bad. I'd say I might see one every 30 hours or so, and I think that's high. If you'd share all your details, someone here might be able to figure out why you are getting so many. Obviously everybody here thinks they know the answer, but some of them actually do 😆 Details would be like: rod (length, power, action, guide size), reel, type of line, line weight, (same for leader) leader knot, weight of bait you typically have problems with, casting distance, how old is the line, do you ever untwist and how. If there's a specific situation where it seems to happen more often. Anything else you can add.

They should be called Twist Knots, because that's what they are - a big conglomeration of twists. They can happen with no wind at all. Wind Knot is a stupid name. I get them occasionally. Not enough to make me switch to baitcasting. It's a combination of three things for me - line too twisted, too long of a tag(s) on leader knot, or failing to make sure there's not a hanging loop before I close the bail and start reeling. I know how to deal with all of those issues, but sometimes I fail. I don't stress over it, I just deal with untangling it like solving a puzzle. I haven't had to cut one out in years. I do some things that encourage twist knots. I guess you could call that bad technique if avoiding twist knots was the goal of the game.

Found a Yumbrella wrapped around an overhanging branch at a popular fishing spot. They must have snagged the branch mid-cast. Ouch. Somebody did a pretty poor job of running the hooks (and closing the snaps) in this picture from Academy, but the one I found is similar. There’s not a lot of space between the hook and the bait, and the bait won’t slide back to reveal the hook, so I’m debating whether I even want to try using it in its current state. I can see missed bites and lost fish. I don’t even like a-rigs, but I feel like I have to at least try it since it was free.

I don't care for 2 piece rods either. That's why I was suggesting an alternative. I like the Aird-X, but I don't know about a two piece.

😏🙃🤪😂🥴😖🙉 Make something like this out of PVC parts.

I bought a lure in the 80’s that had eyes just like that - the way they are positioned is unusual, and they were more realistic that what was common at the time. My lure had a metal bill, and was jointed. The red gill on the one posted reminds me of Strike King squarebills.

Sounds good, but not true: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stocking-the-true-origin/

I'm certain of it. I have a bunch of those cheap combos. The number one affliction I see is the line is wrapped around the base of the spool. That's all it takes to make them quit fishing for life 😆