PhishLI

Only happened during my psychedelic phase

Not me, Him. I'll pass that along?

By the time we hit our spot last night the wind had disappeared and a gigantic, beaming moon had turned night into day. After 4 hours of not seeing a sign of life in any way I tied on a Dark Sleeper and threw a hail Mary pass, literally. Rigged on my combo that I'm able to cast it the farthest I boomed it out, then got one way out there at the end of the cast. Missed more than a few bites, but landed 3 more. My bud, who was fading fast, finally capitulated and tied one on and salvaged his night. No bigs, but we drop kicked the skunk again!

Once a BassWhole!, always a BassWhole! Sssssalty?

That's a full, long life for the breed, but however long we're granted with them it's never enough. Angels.

Mug shot

So you're bored?

The older Daiwa BGs and their nearly identical predecessor the GSXs were tough as nails. Geary, but just about unstoppable. Nearly any hypoid gear type spinner with a metal frame built these days can handle fresh water duty easily. Daiwa's current BGs are winches.

I try to fish whenever I can regardless of conditions, but there was a point when I was more enthused to go according to moon phases and other theoretically ideal circumstances. Those theoretically ideal times rarely ended up as ideal for me. The only real consistency I've found is that fishing is often best on the darkest nights. Best for size, numbers, and length of bite windows. Those are the nights I'll see and hear endless killshots on the water as predators blow up on baits suspended near the surface. All of those stats are reduced as as the night sky brightens incrementally. Clouds are nearly always a factor in changing those stats toward the positive entering or leaving the full moon phase. Interesting note: I was watching a podcast with DD bass hunter Butch Brown. Look him up if you haven't heard his name. He said that if he sees the full moon in the sky any time during daylight hours he doesn't bother as he can't get giants to bite then. I'm a hope-for-the-best type, so that wouldn't stop me for a second, but it was something I hadn't heard before.

Have you tried the Owner Twistlock Light hooks? The 5/0 and 6/0 have long shanks. My hookups have been great with them

Another vote for you got the better choice..

Scheduling conflicts and the insane weather here this winter prevented the Phish brothers from putting together a boat trip until last Sunday, but god had other plans. After suffering for hours over jig trailers and tying leaders it all blew up. I was literally walking out the door when the phone rang. My brother's co-worker had just called to let him know he'd woken with a migraine and no taste, so that was the end of that. A week later and my bruv is fine. Hit it late last night and found a decent window for my 1st bass this year, then finally broke my never ending pickerel curse with a few more. The second guy took off fine and B-lined it down the shore, but 10 minutes later I found him laid on his side in a few inches of water. Stuck my mitts in, apologized profusely, got some nice water through his gills until he was kicking good, then he took off like a rocket. I peeled off my gloves and quickly got another. I ended with another pickerel, but I wasn't mad at this one.? No bigs, but it was nice to finally get a little bass cologne on my thumb again.

A full moon typically spells disaster at night for me. We had a nice southern wind last night, so with cloud cover and ripple the bite was pretty good. The clouds parted and the wind died at around 2:00a.m. and nobody got a sniff afterward. I didn't even need my headlamp to get though the woods. My best and biggest at night have come mostly closest to the new moon.

yes

The waders have gravel guards that roll down over the boots.

Go back 4 posts to the links I gave you and read them. Those two items go together. The waders are waterproof.

This all depends on how a boot foot wader's boots are to begin with. Flat or lug soles. Do you understand that a stockingfoot wader is different than a boot foot wader?

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/simms-mens-tributary-breathable-chest-waders-19smsutrbtrystftmwad/19smsutrbtrystftmwad Then you buy boots separately https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/field-stream-mens-angler-lug-sole-wading-boots-19fnsufsnglrlgslwwad/19fnsufsnglrlgslwwad No. Integrated waders with boots are usually awful. Gotta spend another $25 on sports insoles or feel every pebble.

I give my wife a rod on my birthday.

Sure. Yes! That too. The funk has many layers.

One day my buddy's new Raptor went down yet again, so he needed a ride to the lake. Picked him up and he threw his gear in my back seat. After a few blocks I was struck by something that at first smelled sort of like just-used pencil erasers, but then suddenly mixed with parmesan cheeze. I asked him to roll up the window. After a few more blocks I started getting that familiar diving-by-the-dumps-smell during summertime. Maybe even a dirty diaper smell mixed in. I asked if there was in fact a garbage dump nearby, then he said "I think that's my waders". It was his waders. Nasty. He'd never cleaned them. We got to the lake and he slipped right into them without a second thought. Yuck.

Do you see yourself either fishing or working through water higher than your knees? If not then hip waders are all you'll need. Another option is guide pants like Frogg Toggs Hellbenders which will allow you to go a bit deeper. 90% of my fishing is done by wading in lakes. I have a few pairs of good, breathable stocking foot chest waders for going deep, but hip waders are very convenient, and will get the job done for most spots with far less hassle. Do you plan on wading deeper? If so then breathable stocking foot chest waders are the way to go. You'll really need to try on boots with your waders though, and with heavy socks on. I've had some Simms and Korkers boots that killed my feet, but some less expensive Field & Stream models that were super comfy for me. If you don't spend bigger bucks on Gore-Tex breathable stocking foot chest waders, anything less can't really be repaired. I'm always mindful with my under $200 Simms and Frogg Toggs, so I carry pruning shears with me to clear thorns or any other hazards on my path. It only takes one. Like @volzfan59 said, you'll need to hang them somewhere by their suspenders always. During transport to the lake I roll mine around a jumbo roll of paper towels to avoid creases. If you're stepping up or down a bank, pull the crotch area up to avoid stressing that zone and blowing a seam there. If that happens the waders with be shot, and fishing's not fun with a wet johnson. If you do go stocking foot breathables then set up a spot in the backyard where you can hang them by the suspenders. After a sesh rinse them off thoroughly with a gentle fan spray from the hose nozzle. Don't get water inside them. Every few trips I turn mine inside out, hang them as described above, then rinse them. It's NG to let them dry in the sun, so I hang them in my garage and dry them with a fan. Sweat is basically urine, and you will be sweating in them, so you can avoid "wader funk" by following this advice. Trust me, you don't want the funk. Think of the strange mixture of freshly grated parmesan cheese, pencil erasers, and warm garbage, all in one lovely bouquet. Remove the soles from the boots and flood them with water, then tilt and dump them to get the sand out. I then stick the hose back in and pinch the boots off in order to force organic material through the weeping vents. Rinse the laces thoroughly too or they'll stink eventually. Spray the soles and clear them of embedded sand. They sell boot dryers, but I just set them up in front of a small box fan in the garage with the soles out. They'll dry in a few hours All of this only takes maybe15 minutes at most once you have the routine down, but it's worth it. If you've been stuck on the bank, wading is a game changer.

On the water

They enlarged that section of the T-Wing for the 300 specifically to pass leader knots. The K 300 uses the old sytle VBS brake pins, so if you're accustomed you'll be fine. Choosing between it and the Lexa is a matter of which is more comfortable in your hand. One doesn't radically outperform the other when chucking heavy baits. The Tat 300 is a real cut above both though, especially if you're going to use heavier plastic mainline. Your chances of backlashing off a costly bait are reduced greatly going this route compared to straight braid, or braid to leader. I watched my hardheaded braid-to-leader pal backlash a Bullshad across the lake the other night. You wouldn't believe how many times he's done that. A few dozen at least. Seriously. I haven't once.

In order to have your question answered in a meaningful way you should include your rods specs. They're printed on there. Also include the bait(s) you're throwing, and their weight. For instance, if you're rod is listed as a Heavy Fast(HF) and you're trying to throw a 3" unweighted Senko with 14lb mono you'll have an issue. Using baits within the rod's listed lure range will result in proper loading which will help with achieving reasonable distance on your cast. Choosing a bait with a weight of about 3/4 of the rod's rating is a good place to start if you're new to baitcasters. Trying to learn with baits at the lowest end of the rod's lure rating will frustrate your efforts.