fin

I think the eye is a pretty important part of a crankbait, but some lure makers don’t seem to give it much consideration, some even treat it like a joke. Obviously it’s not the most important thing, I mean you could leave the eyes off altogether and still get bit, but I think a realistic eye can help in creating an illusion that can make a difference in that split second decision a fish makes. Lure makers seem to be very concerned about getting that shad dot on almost every lure made, which is not quite as important as the eye. The high-end lure makers seem to take the eyes more serious, but not all of them do, and some of the low-end lure makers have very realistic eyes. It’s not like it’s very expensive to make realistic eyes. Anyway, rain delay here, just bored and killing time, but it’s something that bugs me.

Big Bite Baits has a few different ones, Cane Thumper is one that I've used and like. None of theirs are 6" though, they max out at 5".

I always thought Zebco created the Quantum brand name to market higher-end products (baitcasters, etc.). Zebco has been very successful, but I think they knew they would have an uphill battle going into that market with the Zebco name. I’m okay with bashing brands. I’m not okay with bashing people based on their preferred brands. If I have a bad experience with a brand, I’m not going to keep it a secret. I don't think keeping it a secret benefits anyone.

Brand isn’t the most important thing. Getting a good selfie is the most important thing. I mean like, why even go fishing in the first place if you’re not going to get a good picture of yourself to post on social media? It’s like you never even went fishing! I’m joking of course, but kids are a little different today. Brand has always been, and always will be important to people, but it’s more important to today’s kids than it ever has been. Catching a fish is not the highest thing on the priority list.

From the first time I saw them, I really wanted one, but I wasn’t going to pay $8 for a frog when there were so many other cheaper options that work. I waited years and finally got one for like $2-$3 when Academy was having all those clearance sales. I fished it for the first time last week. It filled with water after a few casts, but no big deal, just squeeze to force the water out. Then I caught my first fish - a 2# spot. She bit off one of the legs, so after about 15 minutes in the water, it was trash. You be the judge - $3 for one fish? It looks totally real in the water when you work it, so if you put it over a hungry fish, it’s going to get bit. It’s just probably not going to survive the bite. Some people replace the legs with skirt after they get bit off. I wish there was an alternative with wire-through legs, because it’s a great idea, in theory.

Don't try to cast as far as you can. You might be surprised that your bait goes almost as far without slinging your rod so hard.

As @Munkin already answered, the weights listed are just the amount of lead used. Some traditions might make sense at the beginning, but end up making no sense after many years. This may be one of those cases. In the case of spinnerbaits, it’s understandable - you could have the same spinnerbait design with different amounts of lead. In the case of crankbaits though, it doesn’t make sense to list anything other than the actual weight, and I don’t see how they ever got started down the road of listing the lead weight. Weight listings on lures are about as relevant as coffee sizes at Starbuck’s.

I suspect the quality control during the manufacture of Fluoroclear must be really bad, and the people that say they’ve never had a problem with it have just been lucky. I’ll never buy another spool of it. I went through several spools of it using it as leader material, never having obvious problems until one spool that was really bad. I couldn’t even tighten a knot without it breaking on most parts of the spool, other parts of the spool were fine. It made me wonder about all the sporadic breaks I’d had over the years.

I've never tried the FG knot. I use the Alberto, and once learned, the only time I've had the kind of problem you mentioned is when I've cut the tag ends too short. I leave about 1/16-1/8" now. You might want to give the Alberto a try - it's a smaller knot so I assume it would go through the guides easier. The FG is supposedly a stronger knot, but I've never had an Alberto break out of hundreds of knots. But whatever you do, you shouldn't accept breaking line when casting. You might want to start a new post about that.

True, I don't have much experience with that, thankfully. 99% of my experience is with braid on spinners. If not for braid, I'd probably favor baitcasters. Learning is the worst, that's true, but it can still happen to the best of us at anytime. You get in a hurry, you have the sun in your eyes, you get tired, you're not paying attention, etc.

One thing a baitcaster can do that a spinning reel can’t is backlash. With a bad enough backlash, you can be out of the game. It’s not that hard to do - catch your rod on a tree or whatever. You can get a wind knot with a spinning reel, but it’s more rare, and if you have to cut it out you won’t lose much line or time. I’ve had some backlashes where it takes a long time just to cut it out, forget about trying to untangle it. And after cutting ended up with a short spool that won’t cast as far. That's a pretty major disadvantage.

I started with spincasters, then baitcasters, then spinning reels. I had become used to using small, light lures with the spincasters and I could never get the results I wanted with those type baits with a baitcaster, even using 10# braid. Then I got into spinning reels and that has become my go-to. I still have several baitcasters and I still use them occasionally, but I'm primarily a walking-the-banks fisherman, so I don't often carry multiple rods - I'm forced to choose one or the other, and baitcasters are simply not good with light baits or coping with the wind, both very important factors to me. I love using baitcasters, but I honestly can't see what function I might be missing when I leave them at home. How am I limiting myself? What can I not do with my spinning reel that my baitcaster can do? No muskie here, so I don't know about that. I don't know why you find it almost impossible to pull a big crank or spinner with a spinning reel. A baitcaster is more comfortable in the hands, the balance is better, it's more stout, but it doesn't make anything more possible.

Wow. Are there really people that call them that in a non-joking way? Baitcasters are the automatic transmissions of reels. People ‘hate’ manual transmissions because most people are not accustomed to manual transmissions. It’s more awkward for them than using an automatic transmission. Changing gears manually is the technically superior method, yet automatic transmissions are more common. Spinning reels can do anything a baitcaster can do. The opposite is not true.

I tried the swivel and it works okay, but I started thinking, why not just run your line back through the hook after tying your first knot? I tried that and it works fine. I used the improved clinch knot and left a long tag, then ran that tag back through the hook gap, and then tied another improved clinch knot. I don't know how many other types of knots it would work with though.

USGS provides a wealth of information. You can check temperature of your creek or river without leaving home. Also provides water level and flow. You can also run custom reports for specific dates/perdiods. It's pretty awesome. https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis

I remove the tail hook on whopper plopper 90's to get them to sit level, but I think that most people that remove hooks remove the belly hook with the logic that that's the one that will snag the bottom more often. But like @TOXIC said while I was typing, it can really screw up the action.

A young bass will bite and run without knowing whether the thing in its mouth is even edible. So you get the ‘tap - tap - run’. Over time, a bass learns to sample something first, and it loses the need to run after eating (unless in a school), so you get a tiny little line twitch, then a little more line movement, maybe no run at all. Even when hooked a larger bass will often put up little resistance until it nears the surface. I’m counting on line movement more than the tap, especially in colder water. And although I love the feel of the tap, I love the sound of my drag even more.

You weren’t the only one thinking that. I think the guy could have a future in writing copy for lure companies. I don’t think Berkley would be behind astroturfing like this. If he was pushing something like the Pirana lure, I’d be more skeptical. Nice work, dude.

Maybe I don't understand your answer because I've never wire tied a skirt, or maybe you don't understand what I'm asking about. Or maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there. I've traced the part in red in this picture.

What is that at the base of the skirt @Bluebasser86? It looks like something that makes the skirt fluff out?

Do you know what brand of lure that is in your picture? I have a couple of those I found and I was curious what they are. Those Eagle Claw size 2 is okay, but beware of size 1 - I've had LMB pull those apart. I use the size 2 for bladed jigs. I bend the wire down tight at the joints so they can't be opened. That particular brand/design is not totally safe to use like you are using it. You might have a malfunction and lose a lure/fish. It’s rare, but possible. There are lots of other types available that are more secure. Here's a thread where a few different types are discussed:

I guess it kind of depends on what you feel is the purpose of the blade. If you feel it is only for creating vibration, then maybe you should paint it black. If you feel it is for vibration and creating a flash that resembles bait fish, then don’t paint it black. Only the fish can tell you which is the correct choice. They may want you to put a holographic sticker on the blade.

There's something to be said for the simplicity of the sack pack. It doesn't get any lighter than that and they can be had for as cheap as $5.

Zebco 2020 (c.1975) on 5’-6’ M Pistol Grip Ugly Stik