txchaser

Congrats!

Or, in my case, work calls in between the left and right head-shake of a texas-sized big girl. It only got my attention for less than a second, and ... she was gone. Phone goes on DND in big fish land now. I can check it later.

Gary Yamamoto has an article floating around somewhere about his favorite colors. Said he started fishing the GP/watermelon laminate so he could stop worrying about which one to use. I think laminates look more like natural things anyway. And there's also a red flake version of the same.

Crosseyez chatterbaits are outstanding and I fish them at least as much as the Jackhammers now. They are better in weedy conditions like sparse stalks and way way better in wood. But z-man is confused about the snaps. They don't do impact very well at all, so I just change them out. If you just look at the snap wire objectively, someone sold them a bill of goods - there's no way that is a 60lb snap. The wire is too small. Some yahoo at Decoy measured a gentle lift of a weight I guess? And a big swimbait forum has a good bit of negative commentary about the same line of snaps relative to other designs and manufacturers. The good news is it takes no tools and less than two minutes to change out for the p-line or owner mentioned above, once you know how the tetris works. To be fair, I'm in Texas and fish chatterbaits on a H/mod-fast rod with heavy line (usually braid to 20lb leader) in nasty cover with a shot at really big fish, so it is less than ideal conditions for the factory snap. 70c and two minutes make me feel better anyway.

Recently bought one for small/light cranks like mann's baby -1, and winter-sized underspins. It's doing the job for that. Might use it for jerkbaits too, since it is likely to be spooled with lighter line than most of my rigs.

Anyone seen a comparison of the mega with the new software vs livescope+ (the new one)?

If you are trying to fish in actual weeds, the EWG have been disappointing to me, but 1/16 ball heads with two little mono guards have been outstanding. They are either Owner or Decoy. Just lays on the weeds, and even if it gets stuck it's pretty easy to finesse it out without a bunch of salad on it. A size 1 or 2 hook is important though. For wood, hard to beat the EWG though. Just find the smallest hook you can. I haven't noticed a difference in hookup, although it's been a while since I fished a ned more than 20 minutes. Important that you are skin-hooking at most though, I wouldn't want to try to push the hook through elaztech.

There's only one thing I'll buy from BPS/Cabelas, and it is the advanced angler II series. While I don't have the backpack, the 3700 and 3600 bags are really well thought out, and whoever is in charge of design actually fishes. There are a lot of little details like pocket dimensions in the 3600/3700 versions that are "just right", they all have a rain cover, etc. And they are well made too. $89 for the backpack. I did buy the EGO Kryptek backpack and it was pretty good. Really expensive though. And if you are looking to save some money, the generic MOLLE packs on amazon are pretty good and you can add pockets. Bunch of reviews on BR too. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/search/?q=Advanced Angler ii&quick=1

I'm trying to -stop- fishing like I have to pay rent, and I don't get paid for it now...I'm way too intense about the whole thing. So no, I think I'd just do some regional tourneys for kicks at most.

1oz, > 6"

When you get a bite, reel-reel-reel till you feel that fish, then set the hook.

I haven't fished them yet, it seems a little early for them... but maybe this week. From seeing the bait in person I think they will last a while, especially on an owner CPS hook. The soft plastic is pretty stout compared to a typical soft bait. That's all assuming I'm not dragging a fish with 10lbs of salad out of the back of a hole though.

100 pages of regulations trying to untie this knot.

Tatula SV is very forgiving, and casts just fine with just about every presentation. Great in the wind too. I have the regular 100, new and old SV's, and elites. Across that line the SV is the standout. Get the old one if you have bigger hands, and the new one if you like smaller reels.

Megastrike tastes like old butter, with a hint of sweet. At least in small (ugh I didn't wash my hands) doses.

I they heard this feedback enough that they changed the cork. Recently bought a HMH/F Helium and the cork is much smoother/has fewer imperfections/etc.

Starlink is legit, the farm was 3mbps when the wind blew right, and now holds around 120mbps. Definitely worth the extra $50/mo if you can swing it.

1) keep moving deeper, when I can, and getting better at what that changes. 2) start to get a better sense for not just how water changes day to day but how it changes during the same day. There's a lot more going on than just the two low-light periods, and really have no good instincts to start with there. Examples might be how a spot reloads, or how changing sun angle might require a different casting angle. 3) Figure out how to get my electronics to show me more color variation - when I'm in a spot that has 1' to 30' of what it is tough to quickly see whats up without tracing contour lines. Using the depth range helps a little if I know what I want to target, but deeper structure is all washed out with just shades of mostly the same color.

The advice on owner beast hooks is spot on. IMO 15 tatsu is too light for that hook, because of the stretch it'll have vs heavier line. That's a lot of hook to drive and you'll be happier with heavier line. Other brands 15 could be fine but Tatsu is pretty small at a given test relative to others. I think I have this rod - if this is the one that talks about big moving baits on the rod label, it'll be great. Good heavy (1/2-1.25oz) swimjig and chatterbait rod too.

Even if I'm burning something back, I stop reeling for just a bit right before the boat, hoping to trigger any followers. Being focused on that also seems to have helped with the boatside strikes when I'm 'not ready', because, well.. I'm ready!

The lower stretch is real, holds double through the eye uni knots great, and it is tough. Cheap too. Cheap enough to just try it, I think it is a love-it-or-hate-it product. KVD Line & Lure makes a difference on it for sure. Seems to sink a little, more like flouro on bottom contact than mono - enough that I won't use it on topwater... but that's an advantage everywhere else. I have two big spools of it, although in fairness I mostly use flouro or Armilo these days. But still use it in 20lb on my a-rig/swimbait setup. Like others have mentioned, it is sized like big game, ie oversized, and buying a size or two down is important. Warning - for whatever reason SDJ knots are absolutely horrible on this line. Baffling, but tested over and over and it just doesn't work at all.

Oh that's interesting. ------------------------ New for me: Jackall Bounty Fish... Topwater.

I have one Steez SV, and six (and growing quickly) Zillion G's, and a pile of both models of Tat SV's. Zillion is a meaningful upgrade to the TatSV. But I can't figure out a reason to buy more of the Steez's. I would, if they were better in a way that mattered to me, but I'm not finicky about the ounce or the extra bearing, and it seems almost unanimous that the spool in the Zillion is A+.

The modern stuff is so much cooler fully covered up than exposed. Just about everyone has some sort of cooling tech and the stuff really works. Huk's IconX shirts are head and shoulders above the rest; I've tried nearly every brand now and there's some little details like ventilation that matter a lot. I don't like the face buff, so I usually wear a big brim, spf100, and leave the buff around my neck. I can fish longer, and cooler, and a side benefit is I probably won't be getting stuff cut off my hands and face in later life.