PhishLI

Careful now. You may end up picking up trail plastics in order to fund a burgeoning swim bait addiction.? My bud from the other night hit 2 spots last night. Lil Buddy wake. Tiny Klash Side Hustle Garage Bullycat wake. Yes, a catfish wake bait.

https://www.spraynine.com/product/spray-nine-cleanerdegreaser-8/ This stuff has resurrected several hard baits which had been submerged for who knows how long. All had what seemed to be an un-removable brown patina that scrubbing with scotch brite or soaking couldn't address. Took a chance with this and it worked like a charm without attacking the finish. Spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe off the yuck.

Eh, 'bout once a week...

Actually it was said in the spirit of helping you understand that bass rods aren't nearly as specific as perhaps you'd like them to be. Think of them more like Vice-Grips and not a #15 Torx tipped screwdriver. The former is a tool that has quite a wide range of uses, even as a hammer in places like Tennessee, but the latter has just one. Well, maybe you can chip ice with it. And there's nothing wrong with that, but personal opinions on specific uses for a specific rod can be all over the place, and justifiably so. Ask all the questions you like here. You'll get all the answers you can wish for whether you like them or not, but try not to be too sensitive in the meantime. There are plenty of hard boiled salty dogs here pretending to be civilized, but it isn't always easy to maintain appearances. After all, we terrorize unsuspecting wild animals for our jollies, so you can only expect so much. Stick around for a while and you'll learn to read the rhythms, and you'll not find yourself upset all that often once you've settled in.

@Masaccio, Here's what it boils down to: Most bass rods have a wide range of applications which is widened further by line choice and drag settings. Over time you by yourself will learn to feel what any given rod's range is. You are the final arbiter, not nebulous published data, or even anyone else's opinion.

Yeah, I'm thrifty?

Mist and fog meant I couldn't say no to fishing tonight, but after yesterday's honey-do list I didn't have the battery left to do a 90 mile 'round trip overnight yak mission with my bud. He went there, I stayed here, and we updated each other as the night wore on, and wore on it did. I didn't get a sniff from 11pm thru 1am, and he was skunking too. Both lakes were glass-flat with zero surface activity. What's a boy to do when nothing whatsoever is working in the middle of the night during the 3rd week of October? He throws a black/gold flake trail worm. A trail worm, you wonder? It's just one of half a billion torn up and discarded Senkos I've found laying on trails that I've scooped up and repaired with Mend-it. I had a black with blue flake also, but with the ambient glow of the fog the gold-flake one simply made more sense to me. It got bit immediately by a squirt as soon as I let it settle in some pads. I waded my way down the shore slowly picking apart pads until I got another shorty. I updated my bud to pass on the intel, then made my way down to a large line of pads. I picked that zone apart and was finally rewarded with a nice chunk of a bass. Sent the pic, called my buddy for an update, and I could sense the despair in his voice. Nothing for him yet. By then it was 3:30 am, my lower back was barking, I'd gotten a fish with some horsepower, so I skipped on out of there. On the way home I heard a ding-ding text update. He'd finally gotten one to eat a BullShad, so he beat the skunk too. I was already comfy on the couch when he buzzed me at 4:15. He had me on speaker just before he got up to the launch, and right then he hooked a good one on a Bull Herring. I could hear him winding it in with a thrill in his voice, but it shook off at the yak. Even with the miss, he sounded revitalized. It's funny how an unexpected bite can raise one's spirits after a tough go.

That'll be primetime. Work a Bucca BullWake or a G2 in one of your honey holes and you might just draw out the lady of the lake.

My therapist loves swim baits too. I'm doomed.

I should live so long...

It's been raining for the past two days, but there was a lull tonight, so I scooted up to take my chances. Walking up to the lake I was struck by the smell of sulfur, and when I shone my flashlight into the water it was a cloudy thick green where it was clear just this past Thursday. Turnover happened quickly, and that means it's going to be tough for a spell, and it was. For 45 minutes I couldn't find anything but a pickerel that hit a swimbait-hook rigged bandito bug on the fall. It shook off quickly, shredded my Tatsu, but I got my bait back. Rain blew in again out of nowhere, so I tied on a G2 Shellcracker for a Hail Mary pass, dialed down my brakes, and bombed that sucker way out over a weedline near a drop off. Cranked it down, crashed it into the weedline, and it got smashed. The fish dove down into the weeds and it felt like I was cranking in a wet, swimming, beach towel. With adrenaline pumping my heart with new PB fantasies I was also resigned to the idea that my rod would snap from the weight at some point, but she held up. Got her in, and the fish was completely engulfed in a huge mop of weeds and going nuts. With no way to lip it with my grippers, I had no choice but to lay the mop with a tail on the ground for an assist. I was not interested in getting impaled by a swim bait treble with an angry bass connected to it. Swirling wind driven rain made the whole process interesting, and I had to laugh at the absurdity of what drives me to do this in the dark. Absurd, but totally awesome. Everything was soaked by that point, so I split. Good times.

I'm going to try to offer you advice again in the spirit of saving you lots of grief and wasted money. I fish all the places you're likely to fish, including the places closest to your house. These are some of the better spots on the entire island, but if they haven't been hit with an algae bloom like Artist did they'll all top out with milfoill. Besides February into mid June, they're choked. Last time my brother and I were at West we needed to row it in the jon boat. Same with Great P. My buddy just yak'd both and they're still choked. Props or Hobie drives on yaks are a no-go in many of the places you'll want to be. If you insist on getting any type of yak with a drive you'll be forced to extract it on the water then end up paddling anyway, or you'll simply get stuck or be kept out of prime areas. It's not a big deal paddling 30-40 acres, which is the what the vast majority of our so-called lakes are. Even Blydenburgh at 100 acres is no big deal to paddle. BTW, it recovered from the bloom and is shore to shore weeds again. The Sun dolphin 8' and the Pond Prowler are fantastic fishing platforms. Super stable, but you do not want to row one by yourself if your trolling motor keeps getting jammed up, or if your battery dies from fighting through weeds. Same with a jon boat. Rowing by yourself through high weeds absolutely sucks. Also, besides the Victory Drive ramp at Ronkonkoma, there are no real ramps anywhere. Dealing with either platform by yourself from a truck bed at most of these locations will be terrible unless you're Andre the Giant. My son in law has the Sundolphin 8', so I know the drill well, but we only fish with it in the natural Hampton lakes that have eel grass and no high Milfoil. Get an extender if your truck has a hitch receiver, and get the 12' Yak you want, but invest in a cart and don't forget hull protection. You'll be dragging it on rocks a lot. Deep gouges happen quickly. Good Luck

Look into making a set of DIY outriggers. Slim chance of dumping.

Not even a little bit. Center the line guide and tie your braid directly to the spool using an arbor knot. Cut the tag off. Make/Cut two squares of electrical tape with each measuring about 3/8"x 3/8". Even at 1/2"x1/2", together they weigh virtually nothing. Place one piece centered over the line either in front of or behind the knot. Press it down nicely. Rotate the spool 180 degrees and eyeball place the second piece over the line and do the same. The "nothing" weight of the tape placed this way keeps the spool balanced. Spool it up and don't worry about it even a little bit. I've been doing this for years. It never, ever slips. If one day you decide to remove the line and wish to caress the spool or some such reel nerd goofiness, the residue from the tape can be completely removed with a little bit of alcohol on a Q-tip or terlit paper. Use whichever you have on hand. Not a trace will remain, so your OCD won't be triggered for more than 30 seconds. You're welcome?

Use Tactical Bassin's Tackle Warehouse code for 20% off. https://bit.ly/3yIhTdM Buy something small to get you over $100. Good til the 24th.

I'm confident in saying that I've caught plenty of fish including a 7lb bass on each rod plus several monster pickerel in quite choked out conditions, and neither has broken yet in over 5 years. The last thing I'm thinking about when I hook into something with some weight is proper rod etiquette, and I'm nearly always dragging them back in through something thick. No lost inserts. Nothing. I'm not worried about it. Here's what my waters look like.

I've had a $100 Tatula XT 7' MF for nearly 5 years and haven't been especially kind to it. Caught plenty of fish using it, and few legit tanks too. Zero problems. I have the 6'6" also. Same thing.

Your question had nothing whatsoever to do with ceasing to throw a bait that's catching fish, but instead it was about veering off of throwing a supposedly ideal bait for the conditions, so I'll try to answer what you asked. I've posted more than one story in the Fishing Reports section where in an act of desperation I reached for the last bait on my list of probable choices, then ended up lighting them up. Doing so has proven to me over time that there's a wide range of useful baits beyond the fundamental recommendations, including many that seem to be counterintuitive for specific conditions. So, yes, I do that. This has happened a lot. I'm not suggesting something goofy like throwing a frog in 33* water in a northern lake in February where the weeds have died off, but short of that there's no reason not to experiment, especially in a specific body of water. The accepted trope "a bass is a bass where ever they are in the country" has some merit, but it's not that simple. Most people who've fished similar bodies of water in close proximity know they often fish quite differently. I think of it this way: Each lake has it's own culture. Personally I want as many options possible, but only after I've come to understand the parameters of their effectiveness based on where I'm fishing them. There's only one way to truly know what they are, and that's to fish them often and find out for yourself, then you'll have a "when" baseline for each bait. Some people don't have the temperament or desire to play this game that way, and some do. Do what makes you happy..

Squeezed in a quick sesh after work and before dinner. Chilly SE wind was ripping, and I was not dressed for it. Not a whiff for the first 45 minutes before I took a run over to one of my favorite newly recharged flats. I found em stacked up nicely on the north edge of a big mat which was creating a current break. Had a nice one shake off in the pads which sent my Jackhammer flying into my rod like a bullet. Figured it might be toast, but after fighting a few more feisty fish through the pads I think it's hunky-dory. Had another one spit a Project Z weedless as I was trying to lip it while holding the rod in the middle of the blank, so under tension. Thank god for that weed guard or I'd have face jewelry right now. Right then my wife called to let me know she'd already ordered dinner, so I called it a win and boogied on outta there. Not bad.

Check Swimbait City for G2 stock.

Don't forget the Black Dog Baits Shellcracker G2. It's the dirty little not-so-secret bait of the big bait crowd. I throw it and the Jr often, but if I were forced to choose just one it would be the G2. There are times where a quiet entry is the deal. However, I've been out with several guys throwing big baits in close proximity where it sounded as if dinner plates were hitting the water, but it did nothing but ring the dinner bell, and this isn't a one-off thing.

This is the case here too. I'd say 95% of the bigs that I'm aware of caught here on big baits came at night.

Try to think of them as an option which is really more about the challenge of getting a big fish to eat one than anything else. Over time, and in general, you're far more likely to get your biggest bass on a compact bait by putting it where it needs to be. However, big baits will definitely spice up your fishing experience. There's always so much anticipation when throwing them, but its a patience game where you'll basically become a Muskie fisherman who's fishing for bass. Regardless of who may pop up here that has gone on a nice run, that's a fact most of the time. Understanding this ahead of time is good for keeping your mind right. If you're going to be using heavy fluoro you should definitely consider the fantastic Tatula 300. The T-wing shines over all others with heavy plastic line. I have both. I have a clear preference. Lots of guys around here are throwing them from kayaks using 8' rods. Totally doable from whatever, except for possibly a float tube. Not yet for me or my brother, but they have for several people I know around here. The biggest confirmed catch this year in these parts reported through our grapevine was a 10+ on a big bait. Second was an 8.2 Worth it is in the eye of the beholder. There's a particular fun about the big bait game that has value. Only you can decide if it adds up for you. It all depends on what's in your head going into it.

Sure you can. With a few Daiwa SVs, long underwear, and a stiff upper lip, anything's possible. Ripping winds and freezing. Almost 24". ?

You'll be fine. The SV G is neck and neck with the TP LFS, which is a fantastic distance caster. With all other factors being the same, like rod length/line/specific bait, the HD will give you several more feet on a max distance cast with heavier baits. Your path to longer casts with Mag Z on a HD reel is to start messing with stiffer inductor springs, but that will come at the expense of spool control, which is the entire point of choosing most Daiwa reels. However, don't think of the extra control you get as some distance crushing thing, because for the majority of realistic fishing situations with actual baits it isn't at all.