txchaser

I got a 3" bluegill swimbait (top hook) as a gift so I felt obliged to catch at least one fish on it. I was upside suprised - I've caught enough hefty fish across different lakes that I bought more of them. For some reason the orange belly has been consistently better than the yellow, regardless of location. There's probably better options for nearly every other bait they make though.

I wonder if the lack of fat pad will change the buoyancy and thus the action. Bought some anyway. About 30 minutes after my backorder lands, because ...why not?

There's also an XF LMH. I'll be fishing the helium LMH/tat sv and the daiwa LMH/tat sv side by side tomorrow and will have some comparison to post. From looking at the daiwa I think is a slower tip; probably a little more forgiving on the low end. It is rated to 1/8, which I find hard to believe... I'll probably tie a Ned on it for grins and see how it does a 1/4 (the actual TRD + head weight). Line on the Ehrler will be slightly smaller (tatsu .285 vs sufix advance .305). Senko and Fat Ika weight baits cast really well on the helium LMH, for what it's worth.

Makes sense. My trolling motor is opposite that spot, so it balances well.

Anyone tried the savage gear hooks that use a braid attachment instead of a metal eye?

BG Chatterbait, Livetarget BG swimbait*, Keitech with a dipped tail, GP/watermelon senko with a dipped tail, BG spinnerbait. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/LIVETARGET_Sunfish_Swimbait/descpage-LTSSW.html I'm not a fan of most of their stuff but the 3" version of this gets bit, at least in clearer water. It's a subtle thump and it's snack-sized.

Right click on "New from $7.99" or whatever the price is and select "open in a new window." When you have that window open you will be able to select "Lowest offer for each" in the dropdown and see very quickly which ones across all colors are priced well.

https://www.fishfindermounts.com/ I bought one of these, with the 10Ah battery. It's so well made it is nearly over-engineered. Looks like a custom machine shop job. They get lots of little details right like two rubber mounts, one with an angle so you can fit it on your boat if it has a curved hull. Owner is responsive to questions too. 10/10, well thought out, durable, does exactly what it is supposed to do, which in my case is a self-contained portable bow-mounted side-scanning Helix 7.

Huh. Maybe I'm just trying to get too much tension on it vs just barely touching it.

Frogs for me too, but I had a bad habit of either not reeling the slack all the way out or dropping the tip just a little before the hookset. Both had the same effect, no fish.

How are you gluing your finger to the line without pushing the line up out of the guide channel?

In addition to what is above three other things have helped me with FG on slick braid: 1) each four pairs make sure you snug the knot up, tug on the leader just a little too. This ensures that if you missed a wrap being really tight it will be sorted out before it is too late. Three sets total, so 24 wraps. 2) sometimes wetting the braid gets the bite to start 3) sometimes little jerks on the leader gets the bite to start. Just pop pop pop. I can't explain why 2 and 3 help but they do. Once the bite start the knot will start to lock down.

For what it's worth, saltstrong tested the six turn surgeon knot as #2 behind the FG. It's really fast to tie unless your leader is more like a topshot, then it's probably not a good pick. Small too, at least on spinning-class braid and leader. It is on my list to test it on my own lines, but the times I've used it and had a break the terminal knot has failed first. It is subjective but I don't think the 6-turn surgeon can take the same beating that an FG can take.

I like the d-shad and the caffeine shad in regular and magnum. The z-man versions are interesting presented as a suspending or topwater presentation - just fiddle with the hook size. On the top I've fished the magnum like a spook but in soupy snaggy spots.

I'm having a tough time making good contact with my index finger under the line on reels with the tatula TWS - it lifts the line a little so it often comes out of the channel. Any tips?

Bit of an old thread, but I ran across it researching replacement trebles. Anyway the answer is yes. Past the barb. Not awesome! The good news is a 90 degree 'pull' on the hook instead of a 90 degree push seemed to do the same thing - create enough space to get the hook out without shredding parts.

FINS is great. I've mostly moved to the Sling Braid over the Windtamer.

I'm still waiting for VR glasses that make the water appear clear enough to see all the info projected into the right spot. Integrated 3d bottom and side scan projection, waypoints, etc. It won't be long till they move the electronics off the screen to a box, and people start putting 24" curved screens up front.

Costa 580P's in green mirror and whatever they call the dusk/dawn color. I get the P's instead of the glass because I like the eye protection.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-NRTHLTT.html?from=basres These do a really nice job of just resting on weeds/muck/etc, seem to be even better than a weighted swimbait hook in really weedy spots.

For me, if on mono/flouro, graphite and a fast-ish tip. Just one story, but fishing chatterbaits with a friend last year and he kept missing fish on flouro on a MH. I suggested he throw it on a H rod instead, and he immediately started hooking up. But I really prefer a mod that's almost floppy and fish it with braid/leader. I've almost totally moved away from braid/leader but I feel disconnected from the chatterbait on mono/flouro. Crankin' style rod gives me enough give to not lose fish, braid gives me enough oomph to not miss hooksets. For whatever reason I find I'm really accurate on roll casts with the give in the rod. But, it is pretty sensitive to weight - 3/8 chatterbait is perfect, 1/2 is a little overloaded. Net net it is a big single hook. Floppy rod and stretchy line doesn't seem like a fit. Anyway, I'd change one of them (the rod action or the line).

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_G-Box_Duo_Side_250/descpage-GGS2.html https://img.tacklewarehouse.com/watermark/rs.php?path=GGS2-1.jpg Best smallish hook box I've found so far. Backside holds lots more.

Mustad Fastach for a while. You'll need to replace them regularly but they are very fast on/off. If they get bent out at all you'll need to replace. Now, p-line tactical for midsize and tactical angler "micro" for small.

Mostly learning from this site or books recommended here. A couple of youtubers Bassresource, Tactical Bassin, and one of my favorites our very own @Paul Roberts Upgraded numbers and some size - Learning where to fish and why - cover, structure, bass behavior relating to those two. My learning edge here is definitely structure and being able to have some instinct around it. I can read a topo map pretty well, but this week I made a 3d map of a small lake I surveyed and I was able to have some big aha moments about what was going on...I could see the steep wall with access to both a feeding flat on a point and deep water, and none of it was obvious from above the water (odd spot for a ledge), and I'm not good enough yet to piece it together from a couple of fragments of a sonar scan. Upgraded size - Difference in behavior between larger fish and smaller ones. Dinks don't say much about what the big lazy bullies are doing. Lots and lots of reading and then fiddling on the water too see what I can makes sense of in the real world. -Recent example that worked - Isolated group of weeds, thought to myself 'huh, I bet something lives there' because it is out in a really good spot with no other structure or cover nearby. Produced three fish up to 5lbs. -One that didn't work out at all, with very high winds this weekend most of my casts were into the wind since there was no current to orient them another way, always supposed to do that right?...on the ride home I realized that zero of seven fish were into the wind. Five were casting with the wind and two crossways. I still have no idea why. Would have caught a bunch more if I hadn't been so slow to realize the pattern. -Last one, fish the windblown end of small water - I've found this to be more like 50/50, sometimes they are there and sometimes they are stacked up hiding from the wind, and I have no idea of the difference, but it is at least quick to figure out which spot.

That's a fair point. There's a doubled version of the SDJ that I used to always tie. Then @WRB suggested it is only stronger with a pretty big diameter hook/snap/etc... probably right so I have been trying it as a single unless it's a big hook or jig eye. Nothing of note one way or the other yet. If I recall correctly that's nearly the same as the grigsby knot, but DSDJ passes through one more loop. There's an engineering question in there about whether the load is distributed any differently on multiple passes through the eye vs a single line (normal) vs a doubled line, but don't have the skills or the tools to deliver that kind of answer. I agree! But if I break off a fish on a hookset I have to assume it is my fault. Or if I break off in open water, same deal... I failed at something. Oh man thanks for bringing this up. This is a really good point. I'm glad I got to re-learn this with your post instead of boatside!