fin

Patience is one of the lessons of fishing.

I don’t check my knot/line like I should. I tie my knot and check to make sure it’s tight and firm, but I don’t really pull as hard as I should. Then I’ll have one easily break me off, and after that I’ll be checking everything much closer. For a while. Then I get out of the habit. Then another one breaks me off. (Repeat)

A couple years ago I was big into craws, and bought a lot. The year before that it may have been toads. I don’t fish either very much lately, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there’s a good chance I will again. I’m not going to get rid of the ones I bought at a loss and then pay even higher prices to replace them in the future. Fish with what makes you happy at the moment. Don’t fret over the stuff you bought before.

Some two-color soft baits can be risky. I now always buy those in the store, never online. I’m the guy that will go through the whole rack to find the best pack. I’ve had the same problem with some Zoom two-colors. I sent an email to them complaining about the one little pack of worms I bought, and they sent me like 5 packs with the color just like I like them. That was quite a few years ago though, I doubt they would do that today. There’s another two-color Zoom worm I used to have great luck with, but I could never find them on the shelf with the right amount of each color, so I just quit buying them. I know that sounds super picky, but the few I bought with color variation just wouldn’t get bit.

I’ve monkeyed around with bending them many times, I couldn’t say I ever figured out which is the best position, I just keep trying until I get it working the way I want. One problem I’ve always had with torpedoes is that when they are moving slow, the hook hangs down in the way of the propeller. I like to be able to slow it down and keep the prop turning, so I have been known to put a little hot-melt glue (or whatever) on the base of the hook so that the hook sticks straight out, parallel to the bait. The hook can still pivot a little, but not enough to hit the prop. Once you do that, the bend of the prop is not as critical.

That “spear” suggestion sounds like prank advice. He looks like he’s having a hard time keeping a straight face. And he does it in rip-rap! I’ve heard that “plucking-the-line” suggestion before too, and the first time you hear it, it sounds plausible, but after you try it once, you realize it’s kind of silly.

You catch crawdads, you dissect crayfish, you eat crawfish, you fish with craws.

You need to get out more. ?

I recently got a deal on Suffix 832 that made it a couple bucks cheaper than PowerPro. I can only think of one brand that is normally cheaper than PowerPro that I didn't have problems with, and that was KastKing. I don't know if it's still cheaper now. To answer your question though, yeah, it's worth it for the problems you won't have with it that you will have with some other brands. It's pretty reliable and consistent. I don't care for the "Slick" (coated) PowerPro though. I had problems with it wanting to stick together on the spool - it didn't release smoothly.

I meant in regard to manufacturing and engineering quality, quality control, etc., but I can't argue with what you're saying.

Japanese is about as American as you can get these days. lol.

It was supposed to rain all last week too, but it didn't happen like they said. You've just got to study the radar before you go. The forecast system doesn't work well with scattered rain/storms. Sometimes it feels good just to get out, even if it is a bad trip. Sometimes not ?

Record spot in Georgia is 8 lb 2 oz. Smallmouth is 7 lb 2 oz. I don't think I've ever caught a spot over 3 lbs. Most around here are 1.5 - 2 lbs., and I've caught lots of those. There are no smallmouth in my neck of the woods.

That Lake Norman chart from the PDF looks like pretty good evidence, but you can see the largemouth population declining before the introduction of spots. I’d like to see more charts from other lakes. This thread is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone challenging the notion that spots will reduce the largemouth population. Or maybe that’s not what’s being said. Maybe they are just saying spots get almost as big as largemouth, and fight better, so who cares?

May 9, 8:45 AM in a creek shortly after a lot of rain. Water was very muddy. I was trying a spot where a very small stream fed into the creek, and there was a blowdown right next to it. I threw a white spinnerbait right after the sun came out on what had been an overcast morning. She was only a couple feet from the bank and had apparently just come up to feed on stuff flowing out of the stream and was sitting under the blowdown waiting to ambush something. That spot is extremely high-pressured and I had never caught anything decent there before. I've cast in there hundreds of times since then. Nothing. But I'll keep on trying.

Coot: It's what's for breakfast. -Bald Eagle

I don't think that's exactly right, I think I remember seeing an ad once, but I do think you're right about the once a year part. I don't know what their policy is, but I would be interested to read it.

We would stand under street lights and flip pennies in the air when bats were circling. They will grab pennies and carry them for a second or two. I was throwing a Heddon torpedo yesterday morning and they seem to like that propeller noise.

What is that on the back of the truck? It looks like a bumper, but there's a vertical piece to it. Is that part of the trailer? Look at the right side of the truck where the bed is crushed above the back tires. The tires look wet, so that backs up the theory it probably flipped underwater.

This is an important point for newbies, regardless of what you get. These things will quit working without maintenance. How soon depends on how much you use it, but they can wear out faster than you might think. Download the schematics and watch some videos. Spend a few bucks on some good oil and grease made for reels. It's a good idea to take it apart while it's still under the 30 day warranty, in case you screw it up your first time.

A couple things to consider: People here are always going to choose the more expensive option. ? Probably nobody here has tried that Bass Pro combo, it’s just well known that Daiwa makes great stuff and Bass Pro stuff is iffy. That said, get the Daiwa.

What a coincidence. I caught a cormorant this morning. First thing besides a fish or turtle I've ever caught. The stupid thing would not leave me alone. I kept throwing rocks and sticks at it to try and drive it away, but it would just leave for a couple minutes and then surface right in front of me. It finally got tangled up in my line. I reeled it in and snapped the line and it flew away. I think it finally learned its lesson. I've never seen one that hard-headed. Must have been a youngster.

I semi-subconsciously used work as an excuse for a lot of things. Eating poorly and ignoring my health were a couple of those things. Those things catch up with you, and you can’t fix them later.

This may be true fishing in trees, but I don't buy the theory that they always run away from the line pressure. I fish standing on top of a culvert sometimes, and if you hook a good size largemouth from there, even if they are hooked way out from the shore, they will run for that culvert almost every single time, swimming directly at me. They don't know that the edge of the culvert will cut your line, but they may have learned that if they run in there they get free. I think the more likely explanation is that they are running for the cover of darkness, and I would expect them to follow the same pattern with trees, but I bow to your experience there.

It's part of a $50 Abu Garcia combo that sometimes sells as low as $25. I don't think it is sold separately and I don't think there is any paperwork or even parts diagrams available. Trying to learn with a baitcaster of this caliber is ...not wise.