PhishLI

Ah. Who counts Canadians??

Oh, it is...

They're whacking 'em. Gagliardi got an 8.

Each time I've been able to make it out this year it was either quite chilly or downright cold, so it was nice to finally not see my breath hanging in the air. Cloud cover or no cloud cover, big moon nights are a reliable disaster for me, but clouds were up, and rain was in the forecast, so off I went. Right off the bat a nice southern wind was painting an ideal pattern of ripple across the lake, but that didn't last. Black clouds quickly crept in overhead, and in a moment the winds shifted and came in roaring from the northeast. Perfect ripple turned into rollers slapping against undercut banks, then five minutes later sideways rain made things almost intolerable. I stuck it out for a spell until I couldn't. Got 3 strikes on plastics over the next hour that I could not convert, so it was time for a treble bait. I tied on the trusty BBZ1 Shad, cranked up my brakes, then let 'er fly down the bank. Got yet another frustrating, subtle nip, but after a twitch-twitch-pause, it got smacked. Got a really nice fight with a wide arcing run at the end of a bomb cast and broke my big moon curse, so I called it a win and skipped on out of there.

Naturally.?

These 3/0 Trokars have plenty of gap for a 4.8 Fat. I imagine the 5/0 would be silly for them. The 7/0, way too much. Lazer Trokar Swim Blade 2pk - Tackle Warehouse

A Steez SV TW, of course. BTW, not saying they don't, but I've yet to see a pro who's competitive using an NRX in a tournament. A Favorite is far more likely. Almost 5 years and only the holy trinity knows how many casts later. No problems with the Winn grip, and it's a $79 DSG special which is often on sale for $59.

Yeah, I know. Just dragging you into the fun?

I hope you like Winn grips?

Ask @Cbump.

JFC! No! NO! NOOOO! More noogies!

No! You can cancel the UPS pickup now.?

Dude...If you were my brother, you'd currently be in a headlock getting noogies. Why not ask how it compares to 50 other brands? It'll get the job done. It's not a junk rod. It's good. It's easy to get quickly and has a good warranty. Stop reading the internet, or at the very least, stop hanging on every quibble you've see written. The gear has very little to do with your success as a fisherman. Just a tiny percentage. My idea of perfect is another guy's idea of junk. Both of those ideas are in fact overblown, so who are you going to believe? Just get some decent stuff and fish with it, then you'll find the baseline for what matters to you, not anyone else. Trying out a cross section of gear yourself is the only way you'll know for sure. Hopefully your wallet is as deep as your neurosis. Education comes with a price tag. Regardless, if you suck at fishing, nothing you buy will really matter. If you're good at it, same thing.

Yes

This reel has dual braking. The external dial controls the magnetic brake settings. The internal brake found on the spool is a centrifugal friction brake with user selectable spring-loaded pins. The pins on this brake are actuated by RPMs during a cast and mate to a brass drum found on the side plate. Both the faces of the pins and the drum need to be periodically wiped cleaned, then the drum needs to be very lightly oiled and wiped. If you haven't addressed this, it might be your issue. The other possibility, although less likely, is that your spool bearings need lubrication. One of those bearings is found on the spool shaft, and the other is found on the inside of the removeable side plate opposite the brake dial. Both are easily accessible without major disassembly, so you can try a quick-fix oiling of both without removing either. I'll add more info if you express interest in pursuing this. Loosening or tightening the drag has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue you're having. The drag is embedded in the gearing, and the gearing is completely disengaged from the spool once you've depressed the thumb bar before you make a cast.

No, it doesn't. For the love of Christmas, just go fishing before you die of old age overthinking all of these minutiae.

Well, if you have weed beds a foot under the surface, a typical slow sinking bait may be nearly useless unless it's burned. Floaters present a profile that may be what they want. If all you get is followers, at least you'll know that fish are in the zone. Keep adding strips and wrap the hooks on the Draw with lead wire until you can affect a super slow sink. Every bite I got on my first 2 trips this year came on a BBZ1 Shad Floater carefully weighted and fished in 2' of water in February. Nothing else got a sniff. Depth is easily regulated with rod tip position and very slight, incremental handle turns. It's a presentation that has just enough movement to look alive, and something that's easily ambushed which is ideal for fish in very cold NY water. Cold water isn't your problem, but cold fronts may put Florida bass in a mood where they won't chase, but this presentation dropped close by might be irresistible.

Same here. I use an eight-turn improved clinch with a short tag to avoid waste. Grab the tag with a smooth-jaw needlenose plier, then ride the coils down with my thumbnail as I pull. Zero issues ever.

Lucky Craft LV 500 in American Shad

I'm getting a tattoo of that quote.

I'm fishing 10-40 acre spots surrounded by trees with no boats allowed. Try fishing the few areas where access is cut to the water, and you'll fail spectacularly. The recreational fishing and poaching pressure in these zones is relentless. Wading is the answer. Some who choose to do it and happen to have a head for cracking a code can find them, but that takes time and real will. Fishbrain and Facebook posts over the past several years have pretty much killed my spots for numbers. I'm not giving up any juice to strangers. None. If I get to know a regular who's struggling but is a real grinder no matter what, I might, maybe, give them a teeny boost once I've thoroughly educated them about the pitfalls of spilling the beans. Everyone else can go scratch out an education on their own like I did, or just give up.

I'm hiding my chit from civilians, homie, not spooks.

Geo-tracking is always off. In addition, all pics are emailed to me, saved in docs or photos, then a copy is made with all possible info scrubbed.

Nice run of chunks you're on, man!