fin

Would fingernail polish work? I've personally never had this problem, and I'm a little bit skeptical that it even is a problem for anyone, other than in their mind. On the other hand, I know how it is when something starts to bug you and you want to fix it - you can't be happy until it's done. I just can't imagine how/why the line would end up in that gap, unless you're using something like the non-slip loop knot that allows the hook to move freely. I believe in the danger of circular split rings cutting line, and I know a lot of people don't believe that, so I try to be open-minded about the hook gap thing.

One thing you didn't cover in that video - the very first step (underwater) should always be to loosen the line (a lot) and count to 10. I've had lots of snags where I tugged so hard I thought the line was going to break, and then I try that trick and it comes lose. Also, the way you demonstrate that last method is dangerous. There's no reason to aim the rod like a rifle aimed right at your face. You can do the same thing from waist level, it's dangerous enough. It's good you mention the danger, but I think folks will remember the action more than the words. I like most of your videos a lot, sorry to be critical on this one. ?

I had a situation like you, where I gut-hooked a nice fish and I was way back in the woods, no way I could take her home. After that I went on a barbless kick for probably a year or more, but at some point I quit. I was losing more fish than I was gut-hooking, but that’s not to say that I was losing a lot of fish - it was just extremely rare I gut-hooked a fish. When I gut-hook a fish on a single hook, I cut my line, insert my hemostats through the gills and pull the hook straight on through instead of trying to back it out. The line tie (especially on a 1/0) causes way less damage than the barb. I don’t think I’ve ever gut-hooked a fish with a crank bait. (knock on wood) If I fished somewhere that I was catching a lot of fish, I would go back to barbless, but where I fish, it’s rare to catch more than a fish per hour. I also like to play my fish out, so they’re not spastic when I’m trying to remove the hook. I don’t mind a fish getting off the hook most of the time, but I like to at least get a look at the large ones. Getting them to bite is the most rewarding part, but I’ve lost some large fish and I still wonder just how large they were. I think anyone who fishes barbless is to be commended, but I also have to say from a conservationist point of view, it’s a grain of sand in the beach of abuse on fish resources.

If you're saying the point of the hook is still embedded in the plastic, I think what you're dealing with is the fish has clamped down on the line ahead of the tungsten with the entire soft bait inside its mouth. She's holding onto it and then spitting it out when she gets close to the boat. You've missed the first chance to set the hook, and now the only real chance to set the hook is when she opens her lips. Giving her a little more time is probably the best thing to do, but it's hard to know when they're just holding the bait like that. It's frustrating. I'm using braid, a sensitive MH 6' rod, thin wire, and I still have the same issue this time of year going into the fall.

They did 25% off the first week of March. I posted it in the "The latest sale thread". I think they did it again in June or July, I don't remember exactly when. I wouldn't expect it again until November, but it may happen. You can always go to that thread and search for "Academy" and chose to search only within that topic, and it will list comments by date. Sometimes there's a pattern there. They bombard me with spam. They do flash sales each Tuesday. Right now they're all about 'back to school' and hunting.

I like the Jitterbugs too, never tried anything else. The smaller ones don’t walk as well as the larger ones, but I think they are more likely to get hit. Some of the new ones have clear blades (if you call that a blade) instead of chrome blades. It seems like that would work better, but I never noticed any improvement. I had one that looked like a cicada. I recently had a real cicada fly into the water right in front of me. It landed on its back and started making a loud noise like a buzzer, and its wings were flapping like crazy making it swim around in circles. I’ve never seen anything create such a commotion. The perfect topwater bait.

I almost cast into a tree, but yanked back quick at the last second, and when I did, my line got tangled around the base of my spool. I untangled it and started to reel in the slack and realized I had a fish on, but somehow my drag was now backed all the way out to the point that the drag knob was almost ready to fall off. I think I might have turned the reel handle a few times before I realized the line was wrapped around the base of the spool, and that somehow backed out the drag, but I’m not sure. I’ve never had anything like that happen before and I can't wrap my head around the mechanics of how the drag would back out.

I got one in a heavy duty tube from them, so they don't ship ALL of them in flimsy boxes, but based on all the reports on this forum, most shipments are in flimsy boxes. Funny thing is, my rod was only like $18. It's a two-piece 7', shipped in a 5' heavy duty tube. The tube was so nice, I saved it.

You neglected to add the tag tag to your post, @Team9nine ? I think that's a danger with most knots. My eyes aren't that great anymore, so it's hard to see if there's a tiny loop left in there, especially with my spit all over the knot. Short tags are stiffer for sure, and that can cause several issues. This post might convince me to quit trimming my tags altogether. I never thought it was necessary anyway.

Do you have access to a tall bridge or balcony, tall building, etc.? Tie something to the end of your line like a ballpoint pen and let it hang. It will start spinning either clockwise or counter clockwise. Keep watching until it stops spinning. It will start spinning in opposite direction once it's untwisted. Another option is to remove the line from the reel and swap ends.

It probably varies by manufacturer, maybe even by model, but in my low-end rods, I prefer the one-piece. I’ve got a two-piece 7’ Cherrywood spinning that doesn’t seem to have the same power as my one-piece 7’ Cherrywood casting, or 6’ Cherrywood spinning, even though they are all rated the same. I’ve never had the chance to hold a one-piece 7’ Cherrywood spinning to feel the difference, but I feel pretty sure it would be a little more stout. I got it cheap, I think like 40% off at Dick’s and there was no one-piece option from them at the time. As far as gluing, I’ve never done it, but considered it because I find myself always looking to see if the guides are not aligned perfectly. If I did glue it, I would use something like the stuff in rod tip repair kits, so if I made a mistake or changed my mind later, I could take it back apart.

Big Bite Baits has their own site. https://bigbitebaits.com/ I was also surprised when I first saw how much stuff they made that I have never seen. I wish my local retailers carried more.

I think the success of the ned rig has proven this pretty clearly to most people. I'll always agree with that. It's one of the greatest things about fishing. Just when you think you know something for a fact... boom.

The only thing you proved is you didn't catch a fish. You sure didn't prove I can't catch a fish without a trailer on a silicone skirted jig, and I think you'd have a hard time proving any trailer is always better than nothing. I'd agree most trailers are better than nothing, but not always.

Seriously though, if they offered on their facebook page (or wherever) to replace the rods , I imagine most owners wouldn't even go through the trouble. For people who fish with multiple rods the extended warranty is enough, but if someone was using one of these as their only rod they'd probably want to exchange it. I doubt there are many people using one of these as their only rod, so there wouldn't be that much expense. Or at least the expense wouldn't be as much as the damage to their rep not doing it.

First decent lure I've found in a while. Check out the way it's rigged, and the way the braid is tied. There's like 3 knots there...?

The 2500 is the only one available with the higher gear ratio. http://www.daiwa.com/us/contents/reels/legalislt/index.html

One thing that’s never really made clear in Alberto instructions is how to tighten it up. Once you finish the wraps and run the tag back through the loop, pull on the tag to tighten a little, then pull on the braid to tighten a little, then put your thumbnail at the base of the wrap end and push the wraps back toward the loop end. Then tighten by pulling the braid again. The knot should end up about 1/8” long and be as tight and symmetrical as that picture of the FG knot, but not near as long. You can mess up by pushing the wrap too far before tightening.

Recalling/destroying the defective rods and extending the warranty: Good. Keeping it secret: Bad. They should know how important spin and rep is in this market. Big mistake to try and keep it secret. They should own up and make good.

5 pounds is a lot for a rod to lift. Depending on what kind of rod it is, yes, it could easily break. Using that much weight, I agree with the others suggesting to do it off the rod, but you could also just hold the tip of the rod (without pinching the line) when lifting the weight to take the weight off the rod. What is the smallest amount of weight you have used? Or do you always just use the 1/4-1/3 rule?

Yep. I've used a Sharpie to color a craw and then later put it in a bag with some other soft baits. Regret.

It becomes apparent to me that not many others here do it. Everyone in this thread talks like they think it's a really wacky idea. I see your comments recommending it pretty often, and I assumed some people were doing it. I think it makes sense. When I'm adding a leader, I hold the line and stretch out my arms to determine the length to cut it. That gives me about a 6' leader. Now that measuring is totally unnecessary, but I've read on here where many other people do the same thing. Measuring your drag is the same type thing, only more important than measuring the length of your leader. Maybe I've just done a really bad job of communicating. I don't think I made it clear. I was looking for an answer like, "I set my drag at 32 ounces".

I don't know why you would want the drag set that light, unless you are getting really hard hits or you are really yanking when you set the hook. After the initial bite, as the fish makes the first run, my drag is set to slip, but I hope it's not slipping when I set the hook. That's kind of what I was getting at in my initial post.

Maybe I come across like I'm trying to sell you on a better way of doing things. That's not it at all. You obviously know what you're doing. I was trying to explain why the idea appeals to me.

I'm not trying to replicate what happens on the water. I'm setting my drag just like you are - I'm tugging on the line, feeling the resistance as I tighten the drag. I'm not using the bag of bottles to determine how to set my drag. I'm using the bag of bottles as a point of reference so I can always return to the same setting with ease, without subjective judgement each time. It's not necessary, I agree, but a lot of what we do is not necessary. In big game fishing it would be much harder to accurately guess the amount of tug given the much higher weight amounts they are dealing with. They are also doing it because there is a lot at stake, and they are controlling as many variables as possible. It makes sense, it's easy to do, so why not? The hardest part is finding some known weights, and they are easy to find in your kitchen cabinet. I don't know how many rods you have rigged, I'm guessing a few. It might be interesting to see how much variation you have between them, like between your light rigs and heavy rigs. Are your light rigs around 1.5#s and heavy around 3#s? You can't really say for sure without some point of reference.