PhishLI

For which uses?

Headed up to one of my favorite local spots for an afternoon sesh. Winds were ripping at 21mph, and 52* felt more like 32*. It felt good though. I haven't been there much over the past several months due to being aggravated by the night-crew bucketeer poachers, and the huge piles of stinking milfoil left on the shore by one lone casting net criminal, or so I thought. Casting nets are illegal here and so is taking bass, period. I confronted this guy twice. The second time I wasn't nice at all, and he split. As I was wading through a creek on my way to the lake, I passed by one of the regulars. He asked how I've been doing here and told him I haven't really been down for some time. He said fishing's been awful for months, almost impossible, then went on to share the worst news. It turns out a casting net crew had been pounding this place at night. Someone finally got the DEC officers to show up and they caught four of them. They denied having any fish, but the officers found their stash bags loaded with 90 fish. 90 fish in one night. How much damage have they done to this 25-acre place over the course of months? Apparently, a lot. For the most part, the regular I met in the creek typically fishes the zone they netted. They all got ticketed and the story made a local paper. This place has been a tough bite for years without these clowns pillaging it further. It makes me sick. The upside is that there are zones these jackholes can't do their work, so I went to those under the assumption that they'd wiped out the resident fish where they plied their trade. We had heavy rain Friday through Saturday, so I knew they'd be offshore. I tried working cover nearshore anyway, but no bueno. I got all my bites moon-shotting a Fat IKA rigged on a 1/4oz swimbait hook and slow dragged it up a drop-off. Tough to set a hook at 180ft out, but I nabbed two scrappy smalls and left with some bass perfume on my thumb. I'll take it, and the fallen leaves gave the place some nice color. I'm still fuming though.

I'd just get the Curado 150 if I were you. It's better built than the SLX and far more versatile across a range of baits than the Curado K.

Plenty of good fish get caught up here at night in cold water. Yup. In my experience not really. They're more apt to hit a wake bait you can crank down just below the surface. Weight a floating swimbait or glide to super slow sink and twitch it or slow swim it over receding weed beds. Right now, yes. But soon the night bite typically ramps up for a few weeks before it shuts down. They're still scattered now, but they'll wolfpack up much more over the next few weeks. The trick is location and catching a window.

When I stopped fishing in '80 I'd never even seen a low profile baitcaster in person. It was spinners up here in the northeast at my lakes except for one salt water guy we called old man Charlie who threw heavy lead weights and live killies on a corroded knucklebuster to catch bass. When I came back, I simply dusted off my old Daiwa spinners and set out. It was the same deal; Everyone I came across used spinning reels. Then one day I passed by a guy who had several baitcasting rigs tossed over his shoulder as he walked down the path. I had to know what these things were, so I stopped and asked for a closer look. Mechanically they made sense to me immediately. I couldn't wait to get one and I did. The only advice he gave me was to always bring a spinning rod with me until I figured it out. He said it took him 6 months without instruction. Being right-handed, I'd always casted righty and reeled lefty with spinners, so the last thing that would've entered my mind would be to switch hands and reel righty. Nobody did but had someone suggested doing so along the way I would've thought it absurd. Naturally, my first several baitcasters were all left-handed. I figured them out quickly. It wasn't until I came to these forums and found the debate over "proper" handedness pop up occasionally that I'd even considered the question. I'm pretty much ambidextrous to begin with, so I bought some righty reels and took the challenge. No problem in general, and it solved casting interference issues with two people on small boats or casting down shorelines with overhung trees when wading. Oddly, I came to prefer working jerkbaits holding the rod in my left hand, but for no other technique. Besides where it was optimal to cast lefty, I mostly used rigs casting righty with left-handed reels. However, last year I blew up my left shoulder, so the experiment was officially over, and I was stuck with selling a bunch of stupid right-handed reels.😁 I did keep my righty Chronarch for my treble'd jerkbait setup because there's no horsing there. Oh well. Do what ya like.

And a bowl of soup.

Lew's Laser SG1 Spinning Rods | Tackle Warehouse

Oh boy. That's why Zman made the Project Z weedless. It's the only type I'm able to throw from June through December due to weeds. Here a spinnerbait doesn't get 2ft before it's totally bogged down. My brother had the same mindset as you do, but he finally changed his tune in June when I made him buy a few. Imagine my satisfaction over his astonishment of how they come through everything, especially since he'd resisted for the past 5 years. Some people are so hardheaded. Fish them like a jig, a crankbait, or a spinnerbait and big fish will eat them if you're in the zone. I've never lost one to a snag. Stop being a kitty and try one for 8 bux. You won't burst into flames if you do. I promise.

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The SLX MGL 70 comes in a 6.3:1. So does the Tatula 80, and it has greater line cap.

This is simply about analyzing and identifying what went wrong then adjusting your total stroke, meaning backswing/load, and release point. Afterwards it should sink in eventually and should become second nature. Depends on your determination to figure it out. However, there's a chance that a reel's particular braking profile combined with a particular rod combined with your natural swing are simply a bad match, or at least troublesome enough to where it's not worth your while.

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BG responds well to L&L. I keep the big bottles, and soaking the spool with the nozzle set to "stream" does the trick even an hour before I head out. A bit wasteful, but whatever. It works, especially in colder weather.

Mine, circa 2017, was one of them. Shimano fixed the thumbar and a few other issues it had. I haven't heard much regarding problems after the first batch. I'm with @r83srock. The Tatula 150 is more versatile, IMO, and rock solid.

P.S. If you have the part # it'll go quickly.

Not really if the part's in stock. Backorders can be sketchy though. Just call them in Cali and ask. I've ordered plenty of parts from them. It usually goes well.

This one was shaped like a flint arrowhead. God help me. That's been me for the past 6 months after being a lifelong tea drinker. Who knows what actually got me though? I won't play with it again. Water or bust. What a long 4 days, man. Pain mixed with terrible anticipation, then holy mother of god pain as a crescendo.

Missed most of the past 5 weeks due to schedule, crazy rain blowing up our bi-monthly Jon boat trips, and finally, my first bout of kidney stones. The thought of being found on the side of the lake in the fetal position crying like a baby kept me away even after it was well over with. Better safe than sorry, and I have a reputation to protect.😁 I don't have a worst enemy, but I now know what I'd wish upon them if I git me one. I thought I was dying via flaming razor blades. Anyway, big rains were guaranteed to blow up Saturday's Jon boat trip yet again, so I shot up late Friday afternoon for some throws. It was great finding my favorite spot at full pool after so many months of being dreadfully low. Nothing special happened, but it felt good getting some tugs once again.

Starts at 54:40

So close. At least he's got that Redcrest loot to carry him through next year's Opens.

Yahtzee!

I'll try once again. Earlier in this thread, I recommended that you take a look at Varivas Max Power PE x8 16.7lb. Placed right next to Power Pro SS V2 15lb the Varivas looks and feels more like 1lb mono equivalent if you can imagine such a thing. It's ultra-thin, yet very strong. Where the 15 lb PP chokes off casts with standard 1/15 oz TRD NEDS on a 3000 sized reel, the Varivas in this lb rating simply lets them fly. All credit goes to @bulldog1935 for pointing me in the direction of this product. It made me not hate spinning gear any longer. There are other options out there in super thread line Japanese X braids like YGK. Search some of his postings here on BR for further info. He's had a lot to say about them. VARIVAS – Premier brand of high-performance fishing line and gear for serious anglers.