PhishLI

You might be the only one then. If not precisely that, then he's a drama queen who lives in a world where he needs to stir shyte up with the "Daiwa crowd" as if that's something that actually exists. Perhaps only in his own mind or in some minor corner of the internet. Everyone serious that I fish with has reels from multiple manufacturers, and practically none have even heard of this person. At this point in time nothing really "blows" anything else away if one is being realistic. Fish at night like I do where in that environment the actual margins in performance between reasonable quality reels is negligible, especially when one is simply focused on fishing.

V&M Wild Thang Worm - Tackle Warehouse

You'd be surprised. Getting a bite early on is like instant antifreeze coursing through my veins. I'll take a guess that it's partly physiological and partly pure distraction, but who knows. Also, the older I get the less the cold seems to bother me. Not sure if that's typical for a 60-year-old or if I'm just weird.

Last night just before I went out, I decided to rig this bait on a short 25lb Big Game leader to a swivel. Good thing as this Pickeral choked the bait. The top hook was deep in the roof of its mouth. The leader was shredded, but it held up.

First frosty night wade of the season. Been in the 20s the past two nights, so I wasn't expecting bass to be on be move. A bite is a bite.

Top or bottom line-thru. Built in rattle. Pickeral proof too. Neato.

That's true, and with nothing known for scale, you just can't tell. No one could really. You have no way of knowing I have thick wrists and wear an XL glove.

During a PM exchange with member here a while back one of the subjects we briefly touched upon was weight guestimates. I posted these pictures as an example: His response: "Ha! That’s a dink. Without a scale that’s a pound and a halfer." Weight is actually 4lbs 1.8 ounces-ish. That scale registers ounces in 10ths. I'll let him reveal himself if he remembers the convo.

Yup.

Here's a sneaky good option for a shallow runner. My best producer for the past 6 years, especially over nearly topped out grass. Control the depth with line or leader choice. Ima Bill Lowen Squarebill Crankbait - Tackle Warehouse

Yup. Almost 50* but with steady 20mph winds and 30 mph gusts. Just too much trouble in a flat-bottomed Jon boat. Pause to tie on a lure and get blown 300 feet. Not fun. Made it out last Sunday to a spot that was mostly open but with areas of ice still.

Try some of this:

Can't hurt.

There're places on the east end of Long Island that I won't go to anymore. Lyme has been a problem here forever and deer are everywhere out east. My uncle spent years having daily IVs trying to cope with it after working as a contactor out there. A real horror show. Even worse, we now have the Texas Lonestar Tic here, so Alpha Gal syndrome is a thing too. I know a few people who've gotten it. I'm currently dealing with a serious blood condition, so the idea of contracting Lyme or Alpha gal is a nightmare scenario. A few years ago, I watched a tic with a bright spot on its back crawl across the sand on a boat ramp then onto my sneaker. A Lonestar I found out. Amazing. I heard they're the only tic with eyes and they actively hunt. Since then, I wear hip waders sprayed with permethrin to get from the parking lot to the water to load the boat and constantly, obsessively, go in and out of the water to wash off any tics that may start their way up my legs. When I get back to the parking lot, I use a garden sprayer to wash off the waders before I hop back in the truck. I'm also vigilant about avoiding brushing into branches or long grass. All in all, a real PIA, but worth it, and so far, it's worked. I haven't found a tic on me in the past 9 years.

@casts_by_fly Try an eight turn SDJ with a nice dose of spit.

I can't catch spit on anything red in my parts, and God knows I've tried. In my hands it's like bass repellant. On the other hand, perch, bluegill, and shad patterns are guaranteed with perch having the clear advantage over the other two even in alewife lakes. Why, I don't know. I've seen brown/rust colored crayfish and molted blue exoskeletons up here, but never anything bright like Rayburn red.

Generally, like @Pat Brown mentioned, the Catt rule. Quiet, then loud. However, there are exceptions and that has to do with when. The "when" is mid to late pre-spawn and early post spawn where I'm likely to start very loud, like bigger swimbaits hitting the water like dinner plates. These two periods seem to have one thing in common and that's bass are often grouped up into cohorts to one degree or another. If they're loners, especially during post spawn, they seem to have the same idea. The splashes seem to signal to these competitive feeders that something is aggressively feeding nearby, and grouped or like-minded bass like to play take-away. If you've ever witnessed bass feeding on bedding bluegill in very shallow water very close to the shoreline, especially at night, the bass often slap their tails on the way back out during the process. I call this sound a kill-shot, and it sounds similar to a larger, hard bodied swimbait aggressively hitting the water. If you catch the right window at night, after the first kill-shot occurs, you're likely to hear many more. It's like the area lights up. Occasionally, it really lights up across an entire much larger area. This is then the time to throw an aggressive bait like a vibrating jig, hard thumping soft-bodied swim bait, or a loud hard-bodied swimbait. Throw in any less-subtle bait that you wish, like a 7" senko wacky rigged. Same idea. Hits the water hard and vibrates hard on the pull. These two periods I mentioned earlier are not a hard-fast rule. It's just that during these times bass seem to be far more reckless and less finicky compared to different times during the season, especially at night. Plenty of swim-baiters like @Swimbaitstud are likely to nab bass with a big bait when ice is still left on a lake in places.

On the board for '26. Some places are still iced in. Found a spot mostly open. Slowly dragging a fluke got the bites.

Some local DSG closing/going out of business 50% off stuff and a custom painted Shellcracker G2.

Stupid sales... got me again.

Currently I'm not particularly interested in anyone's DC reel. I just got a Revo STX, so it's not about liking or not liking ABU.

Good deal for someone. Yes, Infini/Magtrax. Serviceable. However, I'm done with Doyos without an extended pinion journal into a side plate bearing. They tend to get geary too fast, IME. You get a metal sideplate with the ABU and an extended pinion. Also, I'm a fan of Lew's ACB. The ABU IVCB-6 is quite similar in design. First pic is the BPS pinion. Second is the ABU pinion.

Nope. After you loosen the screw, the plate gets twisted downward. Reverse that to reinstall, then lightly tighten up the screw.

Just about any lipless at a 1/2oz or over is useless around here. Most places are very shallow, and weeds are too close to the surface most of the year so it's just super tedious fishing with them. That didn't stop me from buying a pile of them for the rare spots I can chuck them in. Very little payoff though.

Really good deal on the left handed model. Abu Garcia REVO5 STX LP Revo STX Low Profile Reel LH or