txchaser

Outdoor research open-palm. Got them for the cooling dots, it's hotter'n'hell in Texas in the summer.

Fluke has worked for me too. In my head, it's like an angry scrounger. I really like what you put together up there with the black blades. Looks very craw-like. I'm curious to hear the report on whether they hammer it like a baitfish or just slurp it like a craw.

I was reading an article the other day similar to this one, thinking about bass vision. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/another-brain-frying-optical-illusion-what-color-are-these-spheres Each of these balls is the same color. No telling what those flakes and stripes in our baits are doing to what the bass interpret.

I tried a bunch of stuff last summer and for what it's worth, I've had way better results in weeds with this: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-HAYABUSA.html?from=basres And even the version without the weedguard works fine if you just jiggle it through. Giant hooks and heavy heads don't end well. 1/16 and a #2 hook it won't bury down in the weeds or the muck very much (often light enough to just lay on top of the weeds), and there's not much sticking out to get snagged on. The lifted heads and the new EWG heads from zman are better if there's any wood though.

Anyone have one of these and also have a Steez SV (not the CT or the A). If so, how are you feeling about the difference between the two? I've seen some posts elsewhere that suggest the zillion is a legit competitor to it, and I'm nearing the upgrade moment on a couple of reels. It'll be the morethan PE, 2021 zillion or Steez SV. I'm in no big hurry so on the latter two I'll probably stalk them until I can get 20% off somewhere.

Ok I have a helix 7 SI and run it off a 10ah battery. Six hours sounds pretty good -IF- you are running the charting/map-making. With the charting off the battery seems to last much much longer. I can't imagine why it draws so much more power just writing to the memory, but perhaps it is doing some crunching on the data too.

I see flake or no flake make a difference for me more often than I expected.

On the off-chance you are using it, 8 carrier braid is pretty slick. 12-turn uni-knot, but go around the ring twice. One of the things you can do to see what's happening is to mark the line just above the knot - if it's slipping it should be obvious when you reel it back in. Put another mark a foot up too.

I have two of the fenwick HMGs - both spinning and casting. They come with two tips, so that's nice. For the price point (around 125) I'd definitely buy them again. Daiwa Ardito seemed like the best competition at that range.

x3 SDJ is a) easy to tie correctly b) stronger than any other knot I've tried on flouro - the issue seems to be that flouro hates fast impact shocks, and so the knot matters a lot.

If this isn't already a BR article, it should be. The only times it hasn't worked for me is on fish that are too small. Sometimes you need to push the hook away from the barb side like you would if you were pulling it out of your leg - mostly so the barb doesn't do damage on the way out.

Sweet!

Only thing that seems to be consistent for me is if I'm fishing a moving bait and it just stops moving and the rod loads up, either I'm stuck on a laydown again, or it's going to be big. Only thing I can figure is the big girls are too lazy to eat and move, they just sit there.

I use 25lb clips pretty often. When I need something heavier (20lb flouro, or braid) P-line makes some similar shaped but very stout versions. As an example, I use the tactical ones (they call them mini) on crankbaits and owner underspins, and the p-line on my chatterbait rod. If I'm in a known big fish zone I'll just put the bigger p-line which I think are 35lbs on the crankbait rod. I spent about $50 buying just about every kind of snap I could find. After the two above my next favorite was the fastach, but a) they are rougher in weeds and b) I'd lose a lure here and there if I hit something like a dock on a cast. Anyway they all sit in a box now. I really wish someone would make a snap that was very compact but also heavier gauge - based on some comments on BR I really do think that diameter matters a lot for shock loads on flouro - the smaller the snap the more like it is a knife. With all that said, I used to use them on nearly everything, and now it is in a consistent set of circumstances - mostly moving baits and topwaters. To someone that mentioned the jerkbait nose-down issue - the tactical minis are tiny. The regular ones would definitely do that though. Call it a bad choice (it was) but I used the p-line on my frog rod for a whole season. I only stopped because I didn't like the weight on the front of the frog, and it picked up some grass sometimes. Full days of full-body braid/frog hooksets, never a problem. So far, zero fish lost to a snap failure, and both of my 'really big' fish were on the p-line snap.

If you want a reason to buy more colors then baby bass (Yamamoto) or smoke (Yamamoto) or watermelon (zoom because their watermelon is transparent). And consider matte crank baits. Or just fish the GP and it’ll probably do just fine. Is the forage a different color because of the clear water (maybe? Probably not?) truth of it is I carry around all the colors mentioned above and end up just using GP/watermelon laminate in clear water. The only things that would get me to pull out the smoke or BB is if I thought I needed some flake or if it was shad as primary forage.

Deeper sonar is a perfect fit for what you are describing.

As Gerald Swindle put it: "they ain't got pockets or backpacks, it is in their mouth so set the hook"

This helped me a bit: Right after you get the hookset and get the fish moving your way, check your rod position. Often you'll need to reel fast enough to get the rod back in fighting position, in particular not above your head or way behind you. I see (and did) the hookset and keep reeling and never put the rod back in front of me with the tip in place where you can pull 4-5 feet of slack out of your line with your wrist. If that fish jumps and your rod is still way high or back from a hookset, there's nothing you can do. Point being, just watch what you do with your rod after your hooksets - you may find you aren't returning to a ready position.

I've used a cabelas waterproof box for the last year and a half or so. Works just fine, but like other posters mentioned you have to store it in a way the baits are on their side. I really don't like the rounded parts of most waterproof boxes as I lose a lot of space. I think the only tail kink I've ever had was when I overpacked a compartment. Next up is to put them in an Edge Flex box since I can orient them the exact way I'd like. Given the squid scent, some kind of seal is a winning idea though.

I'm curious to know what you think after you fish it, particularly with bottom contact stuff.

I have that rod and it is well suitedfor bottom contact presentations. Too stiff for a spinnerbait IMO, likely the same for a chatterbait.

Always. Owner hyper in 72lb or P-line similar design in 60-ish lb. I bought the p-line because the owners were out. I think I like it a little better because the owners are silver and that bugs me. Fish probably don't care, but I do.

Based on feedback here that's what I bought (last gen) and I really like it. I've also started using it for heavy-ish single hook presentations as there's enough tip for that too.

I have them both. For a first time reel the SV TW wins out over the elite. It is really forgiving. I can put it on 16 or so and hand it to someone who's never thrown a baitcaster. Smooth side arm and you really won't need to do much other than thumb it when it hits the water. No one talks about this much, but if you can, don't start with an XF tip. Or even a fast tip. The Daiwa regular, which seems like a mod fast, is a lot more forgiving. Specific brand doesn't matter, but I noticed a huge difference in bad/failed casts with a friend when I handed them a stiffish crankbait rod instead of the usual fast tip. Perhaps someone can chime in on a rod with a mod-fast, or a least something with a softer tip.

What's been helpful to me (and I learned it here) is that adult bass (over about 4lbs) behave differently than young bass. So if you are in a spot with little fish, you are probably in the wrong spot. Try going a little deeper, a little better structure, great cover, etc. As far as I can tell the 1lb fish won't try to get in on a great spot with a big girl there.