txchaser

Seems that way. Part of what I noticed is that my H rod used to feel like a broomstick, and now it just feels like it loads nice and deep. Generally it sounds like the consensus is don't fiddle with the cast, just upsize the rods.

Some of my rods are starting to feel ... overloaded? They shouldn't by the rating, but on the backswing it feels like it's loading too deep into the blank, in particular it feels laggy or not crisp when I go forward. I notice it most with softer tips. Maybe I'm just casting much harder than I used to? If that's the case is it better to back off, or to just shift up a little in power?

Lake fork's wacky hook/weight. I don't use the hook, because I don't want the weight. It's a simple little wide metal ring with two holes. Senkos last a really long time. Probably works about like the surgical tubing, definitely works better than the o-rings. Needs no tools.

All my friends: "Dude why do you have so much tackle?" Me: Posts like this.

If they are fully eating the crankbait I'd be likely to leave that part alone. But now that I know where they are and at least one speed and depth they'll eat, I'll probably try to dial in what else works, sometimes it is a big upgrade. I don't know if this is BS or not, still experimenting, but for me bigger fish and healthier fish tell me more than little fish (inexperienced, eat anything) and skinny fish (can't hunt well, unless they are pretty long, in which case they've been around a long time and I listen up). Anyone have any clues on this?? Example from this weekend - white belly frog both fast and slow, no bites. Pretty sure there's going to be something here so I go to black belly. Got one halfway bite at it. Hmm. Black toad, immediately started getting swipes and bites, but mostly the former, and the bites were smaller fish. Ok so I know where they are (not in the weeds, in the open water, with more shallow side than deep. Went through a chatterbait (midcolumn, great in weedy areas), a t-rig with a space monkey, and a senko. Those all worked and picked up more fish. Bigger fish were biting slower presentations, t-rigged (weightless) senko was far and away the winner for the day, even after downsizing the t-rig weight to 1/8. There was a bunch of other stuff I tried in between all that though, like a topwater popper in black and a keitech that got me nothing at all. I didn't mess around with bottom presentation colors - the senko was pulling adult fish out in numbers, and I didn't think there was much to dial in after that. Every one of those casts was giving me information, since them showing themselves on the topwater told me where they were, I just needed to figure out what they wanted to eat and at what speed. Took me about 90 minutes. At that point it was just repeating... some days it takes most of the day to get there, and some days I just feel lucky to get one fish in the boat because I happened to throw it right in its face. ps: I wouldn't have expected a senko to work in heavy rain /shrug

A few come to mind: Not keeping track of all of the actual expenses and factoring them into your costs/price. Underpricing your time. I saw this a lot in the knife-maker world - guys were amazing craftsmen but were getting paid something like minimum wage because they would work to hard on something relative to the market price. Turning a hobby into a job - point being if it's a side gig you have to decide your balance between just doing things you enjoy vs doing them because it pays.

1) In the 'be observant' category, look in their throat and feel their stomach - every now and then you'll get a clue that's really useful, like what are they eating and what color it is. Narrowing down whether they are on shad, gills, or craws can cut down a lot of experimentation. As an example, today the reddish brown craws in their gullet gave me some clues on how to fish, and what to fish to go from catching a few to having a nasty case of bass thumb (yay!). 2) Buy some beetle spins - when you catch a bluegill you'll have a good read on what they look like in that lake or at least in that part of the lake. They all get called the same thing, but they can be anywhere from almost black (use GP) to very light (use sprayed grass). Do they have yellow or orange on them? And if you found bluegill the bass won't be very far away. 3) Bass haven't changed, the books that have been out for a while are still good. There are a couple of threads here with pointers to good books. The time you spend reading will make your time on the water more productive. 4) take everything you hear as a clue, take none of it as gospel. Sometimes the bass don't read the article, and sometimes that tip you got is just angler lore and has no basis in reality. Try stuff out and see what works. Do more of that. 5) Don't overcomplicate it - you really can get it done with GP, watermelon, B&B, and junebug, plus that one regional color like smoke or red. 6) Not everything that's expensive is better, but Yamamoto, Rage Tails, and Jackhammers are all definitely worth the money. 7) Your rod and your line are more important than your reel. 8 ) If you aren't losing lures and getting snagged, you are missing a bunch of fish.

I prefer a faster reel. I can always slow down, but taking up slack from ripping it or running it tough on a slower reel. If you forced me to pick 6.x or 8.x I'd take the 8.

Thanks for this. So obvious and yet never crossed my mind. And there's been a time or two that would have been a winning choice.

After having KK's, Smiths, and Costas, at least for me the Costas are much better. The smiths had some cool lens technology but it didn't add any value for me. I've never heard anyone say anything other than good things about Maui Jims. Big fan of the polycarb lenses - they are effectively safety glasses. After taking a frog in the forehead hard enough to break the skin, my choice was made for me on that front. I know I'll need to send them back in for lens replacements at some point, but the two injuries I never want to have are eyes and back. Agree re: green mirror being the best fishing color. And for morning/evening the amber-ish (forgot the name) are really good.

At this point I feel like I might as well pay for the two-day shipping at TW. Usually a few bucks and it goes to the front of the line. Otherwise it'll be here "someday" - I did the 'nah i don't need it anytime soon' one time and then spent the next three weeks wondering where it was.

I expect most people don't care much about the occassional one with gearyness, otherwise there would be a pile of returned ones back at HQ and someone would go fix whatever the root cause is. Problem for me is every fourth rod I pick up it goes from butter-smooth to "does this have an off button?" the vibration is nice to relax my hands but eventually starts grinding my gears

Keitech 3.8 has been a winner for me in the versatility or can't-get-on-fish department. Drag it across a mat like a toad, swim it, pitch it, burn it, fish it on the bottom, etc. Usually on an underspin, with bias towards the colorado. Bluegill flash with a dipped tail, unless I know for sure there's some preference for shad where I am. Almost always tied on, almost never start with it. In terms of what's going to get fished hard, year-round a chatterbait... only time it seems poor is in the dead of summer. Even in winter it's been good out deep, although what usually passes for winter here is water in the mid-40s. Jig is coming on strong... once I figure out the intersection of jigs and weeds it'll be even more so. I think the spot there is the transition out where the weeds get more sparse, but it's not yet a high confidence way to fish it.

I bought one for a family member about a year ago. It's made like a tank, and it's about that heavy too. Works flawlessly, and the IPT means they can fish some things like chatterbaits and buzzbaits that were nearly impossible to fish on a typical spincast. Stuck it on a MH/F casting rod. I wish they'd made a scaled down but otherwise identical version. It doesn't need to hold that much line and it doesn't need to be that big or heavy. Bottom line, it was worth it, given their circumstance. It seems like it's really the only game in town if you want something better than a $20 pile of plastic.

Unfortunately, yes. Pretty weedy 11 out of 12 months here, in 90% of the places I fish. Well, at least in sub 10 FOW. So to your point this summer I probably can if I'm out deeper.

This sounds like you saw the daiwa-specific videos and are not using the tension to do anything other than get the spool to the point where it moves just a little bit side to side. But it should move just a hair. If not, fix that first. Second, what is the actual setting you have the brakes on? My daiwas hate whippy (vs smooth) casts, but you can overcome it with too much brakes. You should be at 10 or lower. If not, it's a casting issue. The trick that worked for me was to think about it as a) smooth and b) follow-through - if I stop the rod's forward movement too early it accelerates the spool and will blow it up pretty reliably, even with the SV TW.

Thanks yall. Message recieved. As I'm thinking about that rod, the action really is a better treble hook setup. Dang. Bait monkey go on and get in here, I know you are watching. That's an interesting idea - I have some of it, and I love the line, esp the low stretch. As much as I'd like to fish the open hook, the dominant cover around here is weeds, so the 68 fits that really well. I'm curious to see if it catches more than a similar sized keitech... my guess would be in clearer water, yes, but otherwise no. Any insights there?

Lost at least three fish this weekend on a hudd 68 weedless, and so I'm looking for advice. I use this setup for big keitechs, glidebaits, etc and haven't had problems yet, so I figure it's something I'm doing. Some were just a bite, a set, then left with nothing, some were fish on, but then lost. 22lb defier armilo mono okuma swimbait rod (1-4oz) - feels like a mod or mod+ bend. tatula 150 reel I guess it's heavier than the keitechs, and so more leverage, and doesn't have trebles like a glide. I was in a spot with some likely big fish, so I wasn't thinking "try to ski the fish", was more in "stay in control, don't overrespond" mode. Advice?

So this weekend I was throwing a squarebill up shallow, and missed a hookset. Followed it with a chatterbait (which was the better pattern for the day anyway) and my rod doubled over as the fish made for deep water. No real shake, just running hard. OMG it's a huge bass! No. Dang catfish. Big one too.

https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Research-Active-Casting-Gloves/dp/B078Y36QBT/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=outdoor+research+fishing+gloves&qid=1620529239&sr=8-6

I have quite a few of the SV TWs. If I had to do it all over again, if it's geary just put in back in the box and exchange it for another. When they are smooth (most of them) it's really nice. Probably a 50% hit rate on greasing, cleaning bearings, etc actually making a difference. Sometimes a big difference.

High percentage fishing, also by Josh Alwine.

Mine's been rained on a zillion times with no issue. Probably can't hurt to silicone it though.

If you believe bass can grow accustomed to certain lures and associate a lure with a negative experience (or 'that's not food, or whatever it is that makes them not bite), it stands to reason that they could also associate with the line, assuming they have 1) the capacity to see it, and 2) the surrounding environment provides sufficient visibility. Or the "I don't know what that is so I'm leaving now" bass, which are probably the big ones we are trying to find anyway. I don't think I lose much by assuming they are more aware of solid colored braid vs clear mono/flouro, but I gain some confidence because of what's above. Somewhere there was a test someone did with different diameters of line in a controlled environment, and the fish swam right into lines under a certain diameter. I don't think they tested braid. I do think presentation probably matters some here - reaction bait in low vis or popping up over some weeds, line vis likely matters less. Slow in crystal clear water? Maybe.

If you get this box, right as soon as you get it, open the back up and put some locitite on the nuts that hold the cable to the connecting bolt that goes through the top. Bafflingly, it has no locktite on it so the nuts eventually rattle loose. The charge test will show charged, but you'll get no power. Don't ask me how I found out Other than that, it's been fine, and I'm about 100 trips in. It's a box with a circuit breaker and a testing light, not that complicated. If you crank the thumbscrews down too hard eventually it'll strip the plastic out a little. Don't do that.