txchaser

Thanks. This is exactly the info I was looking for.

Bunch of 'never go on official sale' brands are 20% off.

Starting to think about just cutting the hook on bigger fish. I carry cutters with me in the boat, and I'd trade a hook for better survival. Some of my big heavy hooks also have big barbs. Might not make any difference after I'm fiddling around in the throat with a big pair of cutters though.

Been thinking about this and I think it might be like a frog hookset, at least the one that works for me, which is reel till I feel. Every other frog hookset ends in tears for me.

Anyone fished the Poison Adrena regular fast action? For small cranks or light/thin hooks a deeper mod is nice but for whatever reason I really like Daiwa's 'regular' action on mid-depth and smaller deep cranks, especially with bigger hooks. But there's not a higher end graphite that I can see from Daiwa with that action. What would you -not- fish on the PA? Broke my Daiwa with a dummy move so I'm in the market.

40lb Vicious no-fade or Fins sling braid (also doesn't fade). They are closer to 30lb diameter, really strong and a tight 8-carrier so not much fraying.

Bought the fred's magic stick on BR recommendation. Liked it enough that I bought my a-rig rod from them too. Anyway I'd expect their next level up is similar - great rod at that price point.

I have two composite rods, and if (well, when) I buy another cranking rod I'll find a graphite rod with the action I want. They work just fine, but I'm pretty sure I'm not noticing some swipes or nips.

Thanks for posting that study! One of my biggest questions about the first one was what about long-term mortality?

I have a shad lake I fish where gold eye heads on the a-rig outfishes red or holo by 2:1.

A few things come to mind 1) line seems really light to me; might be getting a good bit of stretch 2) check your rod tip position, might not really be able to swing on it enough 3) the comment earlier about reeling down/taking out the slack is great advice 4) related to all of the above, it is moving, high chance the fish is coming in your direction at least a little bit. Different than the t-rig where you are likely setting into a stationary fish.

Used to be almost entirely 3/8. Now it is almost entirely 1/2 (or heavier). But where I fish there's not much open shallower than 5' because of the grass.

I don't have access to the whole paper, but the abstract leaves me with lots of questions. The net of it is that they conclude it is better to cut the line that do the through-the-gills, which I have a hard time believing based how on easily the hook usually pops out. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165783622000996 Highlights •We evaluated the use of the “through-the-gill” method to remove hooks from the gullet of deeply hooked fish. •Hook removal via the gills increased the chances of sublethal outcomes, particularly for barbed hooks. •The highest mortality (24%) occurred for fish that had barbed hooks removed using the through-the-gill method. •When anglers use barbed hooks and encounter a deeply hooked fish, cutting the line poses the least risk to the fish. Abstract Sustainable catch-and-release fisheries are based on the assumption that most fish survive an angling event. The adoption of best practices has become important to help mitigate post-release injury, behavioral impairment and mortality. However, in any catch-and-release fishery, a proportion of fish will become inadvertently deeply hooked (e.g., in the gullet) and numerous studies have shown this to be a major driver of mortality. Although available science suggests that cutting the line tends to yield better outcomes than removing hooks in the gullet, there has been interest within the angling community with removing hooks using the “through-the-gill” method where the hook shaft is turned outwards into the gill region and then the hook is removed by pulling anteriorly by gripping the outside bend of the hook. Here, we tested the efficacy of removing barbed and barbless hooks though the gill opening from experimentally deep-hooked Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) relative to leaving the hooks in place. Using a control group and four experimental treatment groups (barbed and removed through the gills; barbless and removed through gills; barbed and left in; barbless and left in), we evaluated handling time, presence of bleeding, incidence of gill or esophageal injury, reflex impairment, incidence of hook shedding (for the left in treatment groups), and survival across a 24-hour monitoring period. Collectively, our results suggested that when hooks were barbed and removed through the gills, fish condition and survival were lower. In addition, barbed hooks were more likely to cause bleeding, gill damage, esophageal tearing, and impair reflexes. When hook removal was done through the gills, the chances of all sublethal outcomes across all categories were more likely to occur. While short-term mortality was not statistically linked with any treatment group, the greatest percentage of mortality (24%) occurred for fish that had barbed hooks removed using the through-the-gill method. These data suggest that when anglers use barbed hooks and encounter a deeply hooked fish, cutting the line poses the least risk to the fish.

I wish I could remember where, but I read a long article (with some autopsies) that once you are in the 10-ish class, even a vertical hold is high risk, and to use the top lip to weigh them.

+1 for the Ninja Grass Blade.

Bought a flambeau 3700, it came with a bunch of blue inserts that have some rust protection. I didn't like the box, but I saved the inserts and usually throw one (flat) into the plano boxes. More and more I'm moving to the edge boxes as they go off at decent prices on amazon pretty regularly. Only one I haven't liked so far is the spinnerbait box... A CD case is still a better way to carry them.

I'm in your area. Last time I fished a craw-style bait, they would not bite it at all with a hop. When I started dragging, it, the next five casts got four fish, and was casting right into the same spot. Point is, if you can throw a worm in the same place and start catching fish, then yeah it's the shape. But try some different presentations with the craw too, maybe that'll be the deal.

Thanks. On a swim jig, what's the circumstance where it would be better than a Fat Impact?

Rage Bug is a little thicker.

I'll add a 3.8" Keitech swimbait in Bluegill Flash (it looks like a lot of stuff, but not really anything in particular. Put it on a ballhead jig, a swimbait head, or an owner flashy swimmer 3/0 willow blade for shallower waters. If you know for sure the forage is small, use a 3.3 or 3.2". ☝️ballhead, works on the hula grub mentioned above too ?swimbait head ?Flashy Swimmer with willow blade ?Keitech in Bluegill Flash It's super easy to fish as a steady retrieve at different speeds often produces, just find out how deep you need to be. And you can drag it on bottom slow when it is cold. Hop it on the bottom like a jig, etc. You can go from 2.8" to 7.8" baits with the same few presentations and ideas. ---------- On color, someone here mentioned a while back that prey evolves to match the surroundings, and the predator evolves to be able to locate the prey. So look at the bottom of the lake, prey is trying to blend in to what that looks like. There are a bunch of exceptions, but in general in clear water I'd be trying to look as natural as possible.

Not letting this nugget go by without noticing, this is one of those offhand comments that pops up around here that might change your fishing meaningfully. This is a good bit further back than I would think to start.

I don't think the mesh rod covers offer much protection for rods that are being transported vs just in/out of a rod locker. So I use the neoprene ones. They are all mostly the same, but for the thickness; some brands use thin neoprene, some thick neoprene. After dealing with a couple of busted guides from not using any sort of sleeve, I'm a believer. It's more of a PITA to find matching guides and someone local to do the repair than it is to just put the covers on at least half the rods. If I recall correctly, the rod glove ones are pretty thick, and the 6th sense ones are thin. I have a few reel covers and never bother to put them on. Cosmetic damage isn't going to affect the utility of the reel, and I know it is going to get worn and nicked up in day to day use anyway. It seemed like a good idea at the time though.

Anyone using these? I bought a bunch when they first came out, because GYCB stuff is pretty good, and the zako in particular is great. But they just sit in the box because I can't figure out when I might use them instead of a Keitech. I have a story that maybe they are good on a chatterbait because the tail is built in a way it doesn't create lift so I don't need to rig upside down, but maybe that's just made up. Last time I needed a big loud trailer on a chatterbait I just put a rage craw on vertically.

If you haven't tried the Giant TRD, it's a 6" elaztech worm with the diameter of a 7" senko.