txchaser

Love my grass ninja, next TM will get one on it before it ever sees water. Ninja Grass Blade 2.0 - Tackle Warehouse

Bass Mafia Ice Box 3600 – Mafia Outdoors I use this box and love it. I can cram far too much stuff in it and it is still organized. I don't feel the need for a specialized insert for weights. I tried some closed cell foam with holes in it in one of the compartments to see if it mattered. Nope not really. But I use no-chip weights so maybe that helps. ---------------------------------------- I'm almost positive this is the same box, reintroduced. Plano Rustrictor Box Terminal - Tackle Warehouse

Hard to say without a lot of details, but a few questions and thoughts come to mind: 1) ask the club what the biologist has to say - the clubs should have someone that is watching the lake(s) 2) hopefully the policy is to cull all those small fish. 3) I'd guess that pressure pushed those bigger fish deeper or to more inaccessible spots. It is unlikely they all died; they just moved. Or went nocturnal. Maybe try some stuff that smaller fish are less likely to bite, and move out a little deeper and see if anything changes.

Kistler is closing out 2020 models, Heliums are $250, or 187 each if you buy four of any kind of rod - its one of those stacking discounts.

Thanks to the inspiration in this thread about fishing a jig more, I added it to my list. And today it caught half the fish, and big fish of the year so far.

Big breakfast like chili and eggs, maybe a bar or some trail mix on the water, big dinner when I get home. The exception is mid-summer, stopping ang getting some shade for 20 minutes, or if I need to force myself to slow down on a big worm, I'll post up in a good spot and eat between drags. Biggest fish this summer was a lunch bite, but that's another story altogether. Punch line is don't ever be barefoot (oh look at me all relaxed and comfy) on a boat with treble hooks floating about when you might need to run to the other end of the boat to control a fish.

MH Avid X Spinning. Had to buy it sight unseen for someone I fish with that couldn't use a baitcaster at the time. It's a broomstick compared to every other MH I've held. Is somewhere in a closet now.

Anyone tested this vs blue label at the same diameter? I know it's thinner per rating, but no idea if that actually means stronger, or just more closely rated to the actual breaking strength? Need to reload on leader in the next few weeks, blue label has worked great, but I'll always take an improvement if there's one there.

If they are small, I didn't notice. I fish 20lb braid to leader on it.

I had a 100 bill break recently from weeds (they die late in TX). Tried to pop it out of the weeds and it came, but the bill stayed. I got the same letter as posted above, so I mailed it back. We'll see - the bait was otherwise in pristine shape. I expect they'll send another one, as it seems like weeds shouldn't be dangerous.

So far my experience with the stealth blade is that it really is a finesse chatterbait. Much smaller presence in the water. little fish will bite it too, ned rig style. Biggest on it is a little over 5. I haven't fished it much in GP though, just some white-ish colors, or white/gp looking where I know shad is a big food source. Edit: good enough results that I have at least two in each of the weights and across four colors.

Not really answering the OP's question, but while we are on the topic: For me, always green, mostly because I don't have to look close as to whether it's flouro or not. I bought one spool of clear because the green was out and it makes me crazy. In my case it matters a lot because the Sufix Advance mono has much less stretch - there's a test thread somewhere here on BR - and if I do a non-stretchy hookset on (12lb) flouro, it ends poorly.

I use a little 100 as my frogging reel, because I had it around. 65lb braid, I'm not gentle at all with it, and not afraid of a full-body hookset. Running the same way it did as I took it out of the box, but for greasing the gears and adding a drop of oil to the bearings. Seems like most of the new reels from daiwa come a little dry. I tell you think because a 100 would likely fall apart before a 150. I use a 150 as a smaller swimbait reel, mostly around 2-3oz on a 8' rod with 22lb Defier Armilo. No issues at all. The T-wing isn't really a load-bearing portion of the reel, so I can't see how heavy load could affect it. Related - there are lots of great reviews about the coastal 150 on BR. Might look at that too, one would think an inshore reel would be even more 'tanky' but it might just be a different spool and sealed bearings.

I spent a lot of time trying different combos of line and rods to find what I wanted but no matter what you should pick the line you want to fish it on before you pick the rod. a parabolic bend laminate or glass with thin or stretchy line is going to be a bad outcome you’ll miss subtle bites “just grass”. or at least I think I was. I can get good feedback from the line on a slow presentation (thanks BR) but on a moving bait I’m relying on the rod more. I looked very hard at the chatterbait glass rods but couldn’t find many people raving and found lots complaining. I tried fishing it on higher end composite cranking rod that’s more expensive than the Daiwa chatterbait rod. I didn’t like it one bit. I ended up with the MH/R graphite Daiwa mentioned above, fished on braid with a flouro leader. The rod does well with 3/8 to 3/4 chatterbaits and swimjigs too. I would be happier if it was a MH+ as sometimes I can’t snap it hard enough to clear all the grass. If I were going to fish on flouro it would be 15 or 20lb and a soft-tip MH/F.

Some really good information in here and IMO should be pinned.

Will the outer layer snag hooks? No I don't think so. It isn't fuzzy, it feels more like canvas on the back of the glove.

I use clips (not snaps) on a few rods, including my crankbait rod. Split rings come off the baits, there's no value in extra metal hanging around. I think there are two issues with clips/snaps that if you are aware of then you can mitigate: 1) most clips/snaps use small diameter wire. Smaller than the total diameter of a split ring or a hook eye. Problem is as the wire gets smaller it approaches a knife-edge. Small P-line for larger clips and tactical angler for smaller ones (crankbait) since p-line doesn't make one that small. The difference on flouro is more noticeable than on mono, this may be hooey but I think the flouro doesn't like the compression on a hookset and 'shatters' because of the thin wire. 2) Lines get re-tied more often when there's no snap/clip, so damaged line or old knots get cleaned up.

pm your address and water clarity and I'll send you some trashmaster jigs. They are pretty hard to get hung up.

Any results?

Not necessarily most productive by numbers, but here are my big fish baits for the year: I'm really trying hard to get more results and more skill with different baits, but this list looks a lot like last years. I beat my head on the deck lots of days saying "I'm not throwing X even though I want to" then getting marginal results, only to put on one of the standbys and start hauling them in. 1) Only a few fish, but got my PB in prespawn - 6th Sense 75x flat-sided squarebill in red/orange. Much of what I fish makes squarebills impractical except for cleanup, but this particular lake isn't grassy. 2) Homemade teckel frog from a post on BR - made for some of the best topwater days I've ever had. White belly with a little red by the mouth (they call it shad) with a chartreuse tail. W/o the red mouth it was slightly less productive. Maybe in my head, but no matter, I just buy the one with the red mouth. Little fish eat it. Big fish eat it. Fishes well in weeds. Fishes well in open water. 3) Buzzbait - cavitron with clacker, red blade, chart/white body. In my head this bait screams "I dare you" as it whizzes by. Will pull fish that other topwaters don't get, especially if they are big 4) Jackhammer. Tried more of the zako instead of an upside down keitech this year. Not sure if I can tell the difference one way or the other. Brett's bluegill shallow or on weed edges, something white-ish if I know they are on shad. Tail is always dipped on the bluegill presentation. Experimented with more weights this year, and more structure presentation (mostly deep and near or on the bottom). 5) Keitech 3.8 on a colorado underspin. Usually bluegill flash, which frankly doesn't look like a bluegill at all but looks a little bit like a lot of things. I throw this where one would expect, and in nasty sloppy places you'd throw a frog or a toad. Does just fine drug across a weed top and dropped in a hole. 6) GP/watermelon laminate senko, dipped tail, texas rigged. Other notables: 1) Jig - given how many people keep talking about throwing a jig more, I decided to do just that, and most outings it's giving me at least one extra fish, and they are usually decent size. Every now and then one gets hookset all the way out of the water, little guy going for a ride. I need to learn how I want to fish this around grass - I feel pretty confident with it on hard cover, and have videogamed a few out where I drove over them and threw a jig back in their direction. 2) Stealth Jackhammer - downsize the trailer, get bit. A lot. If the chatterbait is 'too much' this has been a really effective presentation. Oddly it catches like the ned rig. Little fish, big fish, medium fish. Pretty much they just love to eat this. I bet this time next year this bait will be in the winners list for me.

Definitely a few members here would be on the list. And since it hasn't been mentioned yet, Hite. Helped make the lure that is just ridiculously good in my neck of the woods. I'd like to go much deeper on just that one lure as I think there's a bunch of details that could level me up. Next down the list would be any of the great jig fishermen. Finally for something way different, a local pro in japan, on their lakes. I think it'd be really different and I'd learn a bunch of stuff that would be new and interesting. Biwa is definitely on my bucket list.

Green spot are in stock at amazon. Other colors now showing Feb. First 5lb fish was a maxscent chunk on a bitsy jig in the winter. I've never fished a pork frog so I can't say how it is different, but it is definitely different than most plastics.

Something like 90% of what I've learned fishing has been applying knowledge I got here. Absolutely amazing members and content. And such a joyful bunch too - everyone's just trying to help. And the worm turns - the high point of my fishing week this week was that something I said on the forums helped a member catch some fish.

The advance mono has become a favorite of mine. Like ordered 2 1200 yard spools (diff sizes) on BF. I saw some testing that suggested 1/3 of the stretch of most lines. It is really noticeable. Really important - 1) it is oversized, choose accordingly 2) the uni knot with an extra turn through the eye is 2x break strength of a SDJ or Double SDJ. I can't explain it, but it is very repeatable. I still like tatsu on the bottom though, and I'm trying it out for cranking to see if I'm missing detail. On the trying new lines - just decided to try some Vicious no-fade braid as I was having a hard time getting Fins Sling Braid (also no-fade) in the color I wanted. I like it just a little bit better as in my size the vicious is a little bit stiffer. Sling braid is almost too soft. I'm looking forward to not having a giant box of different lines, and getting it down to just a few. I feel like I'm close.

IMO go look at the hump/ridge (sort of a draw, depending on where you are starting) that connects the two deeper water spots, and the cypress on the far right near deeper water. Last thing would be to just start in the deep spot and start moving in the direction of interesting things... like the flat on the way to the 4FOW. Or the shoreline that appears just above the 6 foot marker. My hunch is that there's another population that hangs out on what passes for structure in the lake, and may move up to feed... just don't know which direction. Think about the 10' to 5' not as just 5' but as 50% more shallow. Said another way if you tripled all the depths, are there things that pop out as interesting?