txchaser

100%... if they make it big enough to consider the dinks a food source, they can get really big on culling, yes definitely. and in small waters you can make a big difference pretty quickly. I think pondboss says 40lbs/ac/year to cull as an average.

I've been throwing 2oz (all-in) swimbaits and a-rigs on a tat150 and it has been just fine on line cap and sturdiness. But I got a slide swimmer 250, and I'm also starting to throw 8" soft swimbaits, and some heavy-wire heavy-weight a-rigs both of which are getting in the 'no this is actually big' zone. It means my rods aren't going to cut it either. Thanks everyone for all the feedback. While I'm here, I've been wondering - can the magnets really even slow down these big baits, or no so you might as well crank the magnets up to 15 or so to reduce the chance of a bad backlash? I would have bet $1 coming into this that the lexa would get much more mention than the 300.

Ok so I have some real time on the water with it now and there's a problem with the reel. Basically the problem is that I only have one of them.

I'm in the market for a proper swimbait reel, and it'll be a Daiwa since that's what I'm used to on everything else. It looks like the Lexa line has expanded a lot, and there's some new non-lexas out, and the Tatula 300 seems to not exactly be a Tatula. And I'm also fine buying JDM after my A+ experience with the Zillion HD. Any advice?

My recollection is that results from tagged fish studies suggest that some fish scatter at the sound of the sonar.

If I bring the rod to a dead stop vs following through I'm almost guaranteed a backlash on any thing from a fuego to a steez. You can cast easy or hard, but it has to be smooth.

I was throwing a frog on 4 (of 20), and I have a dumb thumb.

I'd love it if someone could fish through an area with a keitech and then the DSG and see if they get additional bites. Or even the other way around.

On soft plastics I've noticed more commonly it is flake vs no flake is more important than small color change. Dipped tail vs not dipped tail has mattered too. On crankbaits, 100% true - small color changes (or sometimes big) has been the difference between a meh day and 'get the net'. On a-rigs, 100% true too, at least in my experience.

Yeah IMO direction of the box matters a lot. At one point I went far enough to think through how I could make an insert for an open-format 3700 that didn't waste any space. Figured I could get two layers deep in it. But I need two, not 2000, so that project died As a backup (also dead) project, a bunch of individual holders that one could just toss in a bag or a box.

Well to be more precise, a line-through with a bottom treble hook won't work. A top hook should be just fine in most cases and I'll try this. I'm use the owner weighted beast hooks so I think I'll have to tie it on with braid.

50lb vicious no-fade (0.3048). I wasn't able to spool it, so I expect you'll be fine on line capacity.

One big upgrade for me (I have the same model) was an anti-glare screen cover. Dramatically improved my ability to see the screen without having the brightness on 10.

Well dangit I think like it more than the regular zillion, at least for heavier baits. Just so solid, and the handle is A+. One thing that was really different was I usually run the zillion on 8-10 mag dial, and the HD felt really choked off at that setting. I think I ended up at 4. Double-checked the 'zero adjuster' and it seemed ok, but I backed it off some anyway. Oh and I was able to reasonably throw a stanley buzz-it on my frog rod without blowing up the reel. Unexpected. If I was starting over I'd probably put the HD on all my Heavy rods.

I bought a mount for my electronics from fishfindermounts.com - I'll buy their livescope mount when it is time, as the regular electronics mount is really well thought out, and feels like it was machined in a local shop vs a bunch of plastic or cast parts. Maybe worth looking at as you are deciding.

Thanks for all of the help, much improved this weekend! As a followup, fished the 6" and 8" hard yesterday. Learned a few things: 1) I have to mod the swimbaits by opening the slit up closer to the head, otherwise the weight on the hook slams into it and won't let the hook get more than 1/2 above the bait. 2) After re-looking at just how thick the hooks are, I thought about how hard I'd set a jig that had a hook that diameter... basically WAY harder. 3) Tip in the water seemed to help. 4) While keeping them pinned, if I stop grinding on them when they start to run to the surface it seems to help. Generally not horsing them quite as hard. Still lost a couple of fish, including one that was too big to jump, and a few under the boat, but much better. On the learning list: 1) what exactly should I be doing when these fish break the surface? It's better, but I think I might be pulling too hard in an effort to maintain pressure between me and the fish. 2) any tips to when the fish runs under the boat seems like I have good line tension, but I've lost a few that were on, then during the under-boat surge they just disappear. 3) any tips on repairing these, particularly when the CPS tears out? Doesn't seem like mendit is working very well. Feels almost like re-learning to fish, there's a bunch of nuance to the individual bites and situations. Way fun, I'm really lucky I went on this when they were bitey so I can get some reps.

Plano edge works great stored flat or long side down. Edge flex for short side down. Used to use the cabelas waterproof. I prefer the waterproof (edge or otherwise) because the Keitechs are a bit pungent. Three years in I don't recall any warped tails, because they are never getting jammed to one end or the other.

Couple of bags showed up today. Some observations: 1) They do float, and on a zman ned ewg the back half is roughly neutrally buoyant. 2) The plastic is very different than a senko. Feels like old school plastics before they got really soft and salty. Best guess is the # of fish per bait is going to be "plenty". 3) I haven't fished them yet, so we'll see, but my hunch is they will do just fine. 4) I'm most excited about being able to use them when I help people build kits. They can't stop putting the TRD in with other plastics or in the box, no matter how many times I say to put it back in the blue bag.

I ask because you mentioned the diving swim jig - Were you swimming the 3/4 or fishing it on the bottom? Hook diameters roughly the same across the jigs?

A pre-tip - most of the videos show people holding one end of the line with their teeth. That's madness, can't see a dang thing. Use a belt loop or a button hole on your shirt to hold tension on the braid.

1/0 flashy swimmer with a 3.3 keitech Fat if it needs to be super finessy otherwise 3/0 flashy swimmer with a 3.8 keitech Fat You can swim it, drag it across mats, pitch into holes, fish it like a t-rig, etc. Do note that you can take the blade off in 5 seconds with a quick twist, in case the flash is too much.

I have the Deeper Pro. It does what it is supposed to do, and importantly the create your own map feature is A+. Even lets you view the maps online.

Stanley Buzz-it, good for my PB. It's more finessy than most buzzbaits in the standard size; there's also a bull size, but I haven't seen it in person.

About ten days ago I was fishing a 4m+ (13ish feet, prob 12 on my heavier line) crank in green/white, and they were getting the back hook. Switched to a natural chrome in the same bait, and the rest of the fish were choking it. And this was in water with about 3.5ft of visibility. So IMO the answer to your question is yes, at least in the 3-4x visibility range, they can see the difference between white and chrome.

Flonase works better for me than Nasocort. Used to get sick 2x per year but not anymore. Doc wanted me to use a neti pot too, but there was no way that was happening.