fin

I know some retailers used to do a loan thing, so you could try out a rod. Wasn't Tackle Warehouse one of them? Also, I wouldn't feel too guilty about returning anything. I was reading the other day that online returns were over $700 billion last year.

I love this one.

When it comes to catching fish, they aren’t really rules - they are more like guidelines. There are very few hard, fast rules. Thinking outside the box is part of the fun. When it comes to getting along with other fishermen, the Golden Rule is a good start, unless you were raised by wolves, which I think applies to a lot of people who fish around me.

Asking people around the country to recommend a color for the waters around your area is not going to give you the best choice. Those are both fine colors, you can’t go wrong with either of them and you’d do better with both tools in your toolbox.

Let me put it like this. You feel something, you go to set the hook and get nothing. You cast back to the same spot and you feel a little vibration in the line, same thing happens again - nothing but air. This happens like five times, and you’re getting really agitated. Then one time you hesitate a second after the first line vibration and wait to feel weight on the line before you set the hook. This time you land a fish. You cast back to the same area and you feel a little line vibration. What are you going to do, set the hook or wait to feel the weight?

I’ve been experimenting a bit since reading this thread, and one thing that I’ve found that seems helpful is when you’re wrapping in the first direction, wrap it tight, but wrap it long, so your wrap is like an inch long and wrapped tight around the leader. Then when you come back in the other direction, wrap it very loose, and with every revolution, move your thumb and finger up to hold the last loop in place. When you cinch it, it is smooth as silk. I’ve also been doing the double-hitch thing, and although I’m not certain it’s doing anything, it’s simple and it’s definitely not hurting anything.

It drives me crazy though! ? Seriously though, the toads I prefer are pearl on the bottom and dark green on top. I've tried the all-green color in the same brand and never got a bite on them. They're still sitting in a drawer. They like that pearl. So it makes a difference in that situation, but you're right, they don't care if it's upside-down, just like they don't care if flukes are upside-down.

In the middle of summer! ? That's pretty bad, I'm always just looking forward to "next month". You've got the right idea though, might as well dream big.

I find it interesting that a lot of people are saying there’s never a need for hesitation. I have personally seen situations where it pays off, and I have seen it many times, so I’m curious what the difference is in our experiences. I admit it is the exception to the rule, generally an instant hookset is best, but not always, in my experience. One situation I used to see it with was fishing craw trailers t-rigged with 1/16 oz bullet on 1/16 oz weighted hook. I usually fish extremely light t-rigs, maybe that is the difference. I also fish mostly shallow water, like less than 10 feet. I guess both of those things might play into it.

Found two Whopper Ploppers in the same day. That brings my collection up to 15 in working condition, and my third Loon-colored WP. Also found an Ozark Trail (Walmart) version, which looks pretty good, but I put it on and tried it and it swam more like a wake-bait. They even copied the logo in the eye, to a degree. That’s just insulting. And I found a Sexy Dawg the same week I replaced a lost Dawg Jr. It’s a Hard Knock, and that sucker is loud. You can hear it across the lake. I would be really surprised if something bit it. I think they would bite it out of anger more than anything. I would gladly trade all these lures for the Dawg Jr I lost.

Five seconds is a lifetime. You can’t really be waiting THAT long. You would be gut-hooking or they would be long gone. I set the hook at the slightest hint of a bite most of the time, although there are times when I feel something that’s not quite a bite, so I tighten up my line and drop the rod tip and I’m ready to yank it into orbit in a microsecond. Many times then the real bite will come. In high-pressure lakes and sometimes in the winter they are skittish and if you don’t give them that first sample nibble, you’ll be yanking it out of their mouth, but I only do that after I have missed one.

Yeah, I didn’t word that very well. I obviously don’t want to go through 5 hundred-dollar rods. ?

It’s almost like the manufacturers are saying, “It’s over your head. Just take our word for it, the really expensive rods are worth it.” Strain-rate is the big mystery. As long as you are buying a rod in person, you can judge the weight and sensitivity for yourself. You can’t tell strain-rate without breaking some rods. So to a degree, assurance of a high strain-rate is what you are really paying for with the high-end rods. Personally, I’d rather go through five $100 rods than buy one $500 rod.

I’ve never been a big fan of buzzbaits, so I don’t throw them, but I have a few old ones. I never considered using the blades to make something else, like combining it with a toad. Thanks for the inspiration, or dang you for sending me down a rabbit hole, I don’t know which. ?

I think if you consider the effect different factors have on whether you will catch a fish, barometric pressure is way down near the bottom of the list. I live in an area where we have hurricanes and tropical systems come through on rare occasions, and I have intentionally fished a lot around those times, taking note of the huge change of barometric pressure, and I could never see any effect.

I mostly fish from the bank and use 10#, and it’s extremely rare that I have to resort to dragging a fish across the ground. Out of respect for the fish, I try to avoid any contact other than the bottom lip, and I’ve gotten to where I always use fish grippers for that. I bring the fish to the edge of the water and get down on one knee and lip them. If I can’t get to the edge of the water, or there’s a high ledge around the bank, etc., I just consider that area off-limits and don’t fish there. I’ve lifted many three-pounders by grabbing the 10# mono line and lifting them a couple feet out of the water, but only when I have to, and only when I’m sure they are done fighting. If they shake while you’re doing that, they can break the line for sure, and if you yank them out of the water, you can break it too, but it shouldn’t break when you lift carefully. Your issue may be your knot.

Rust doesn’t spread like mold. It will spread by direct contact, but not by air. And when it does spread, the rust that forms is easy to remove. Most metals have a coating or treatment to their surface that makes them resistant to rust. When that surface gets damaged or scratched, the metal beneath rusts. The eyelet on a chatterbait gets scratched very quickly, so the blade is a common place to see rust. It’s the eyelet that is rusting, not the chrome blade, so it’s easy to remove the rust from the blade. I like to use Scotch-brite pads. They are abrasive, but won’t damage the surface like sandpaper will. I drill holes in my Plano boxes so moisture doesn’t get trapped inside. If you’re a kayaker or boater, you wouldn’t want to do that (in case your box goes overboard and sinks). I’m a bank fisherman.

I use a Maglite attached to a tiny binder clip with a zip tie. Only uses one AAA battery, which doesn't last long, but I use dollar store batteries and I only use the light for very short periods. Cheap, light-weight, simple. https://www.amazon.com/Maglite-Solitaire-Incandescent-Flashlight-Presentation/dp/B00066X5I2

Interesting. Look at the spots on the fins and even the jaw. Maybe you should send the pic to your DNR and tell them where you caught it. I just skimmed through an article that said bass tolerate brackish water better than most freshwater fish.

I fish one spot where schools of bass chase shad. It’s about 50 square feet on a few hundred acre lake. There are only certain times and under certain conditions that they chase shad, so if you’re not there at the right time, you’re not going to catch one. If you’re there at the right time, there are a lot of baits they will bite, but there are many baits they just will absolutely not bite. Same thing goes with presentation - they’ll bite at any depth, but if your bait isn’t swimming like the shad they are chasing, forget it. It’s not just location. It’s kind of like a cooking recipe. If you leave out just one ingredient, it’s probably ruined. Some ingredients might be more important than others, but focusing on only one is a bad idea. Are you in heaven? Cause that sure sounds like heaven to me. ?

The article is about Smallmouths being introduced into non-native areas, and the damage they can do to native species. Interesting article, but I hate a clickbait title.

Another side benefit of using a leader is that it helps you gauge how deep your lure is at the moment. When you see the knot come to the surface, you know your bait is leader-length deep. It’s been very helpful to me when jigging something like a weightless worm.

Maybe he's talking about Manley Super Pliers? That looks like saltwater stuff - Teflon coated and pricey. They look like they're built to last though. "Stubby" pliers have a much stronger grip than longer pliers, so they have that going for them. They're not built for getting way down in the throats of small fish.

That was the only size Academy had on clearance. I don't remember if I ever tried the VMC in 4/0 or 3/0. I don't fish toads much anymore - they're a lot of trouble. Other lures do the same thing much easier and cheaper. I do love fishing toads though. Owner CPS is a definite solution. It’s hard to find the perfect toad hook. I don’t know what it is. I like it so the length of the hook is equal to or shorter than the length of the body so that the chin sticks up out of the water, but hooks that short usually have a gap that is too narrow for the thickness of the body, like you are saying.

As I was rigging it up, I remembered I don't care for the design of the center pin spring. It's not symmetrical. Hard to explain why that can be a bit of a problem sometimes.