Finessegenics

I like it, but couldn’t tell you about keeping it clean, the boat crowd will help you with that. Have to imagine that regular, normal cleaning will keep it looking great regardless of color. Lund’s are beautiful and I’m dreaming of owning one someday. I say go for it!

I get their explanation. I’d hope those with the means to do so would bring in their fish alive, and I think they would but I’m not from your neck of the woods. Creel limits are there for a reason, if the fishery could not handle it, they’d change them. It sucks in our view, but it is what it is.

That was the model I was gonna recommend before even clicking onto this thread. I began using the 7’4 H/F from st Croix this past season. They really are do it all. They’re marketed as frog rods, but you can punch with them and I think they make a good jig rod too. I have a Mojo and older version of the Bass X. The taper is really nice, not too stiff, it’s not a broomstick by any means.

Good idea. I’m wondering if I can glue on some sort of keeper that I’d like. I’ll give it a shot but I’m not very nimble with my hands ?

It's not too crazy, but the weirdest thing I've reeled in someone else's broken off rig with a catfish still on it.

Good point about the keeper…your post sums up why I don’t exclusively use ballheads. I have yet to find a ball head that has the right weight, keeper and hook which I want. Right now it’s just the keeper holding me back. Sometimes, I find some but the hooks are just too big. The little wire keepers that are used on the shroomz are ideal for Elaztech baits, which is what I like to use for Neds. The ballheads I use for Neds just have a bare collar, no keeper. I don’t know the proper terminology. Without super glue they are a pain to use for basically any soft plastics, but ESPECIALLY elaztech. If I can have some ballheads custom made, I would. So if anyone knows where I can get 1/16 oz ballheads with a quality #2 hook and wire keepers shipped to Canada without having to pay insane shipping/custom taxes, please let me know

I had one of the casting models, 6’8 MH/XF. I was not a huge fan of that rod but I wouldn’t say it was because it was bad quality. I just didn’t like the taper and it was far stiffer than I expected. The cork was nice and I thought it was really light. I don’t think you’d go wrong in choosing it. At that price point there may be better but I don’t have much experience with rods around that price.

I haven’t seen the video, but if that was indeed the case he was making then it is a pretty reasonable thing to say

Depends how often you use it and where you use it. I fish some gnarly rocky rivers a few times a week with a lot of my spinning gear and the line gets frayed pretty quickly every season, so I’m constantly cutting it down/using up a lot of it. I ‘flip’ it once a season and then at the start of every year, I put on some fresh line. My punching and frogging setups will be starting their 3rd season with the same line. No problems there, cause it doesn’t get frayed and I’m not constantly retying. I changed it last night actually, but my catfish/carp setup had braid on it that is at least 6 years old if I remember correctly. Braid can really last forever depending on where and how often it is used. Easily a few years. I would not change your braid if I were you.

Not a mono, but Yo-Zuri hybrid has been good to me. Use it by diameter not by breakage strength, as it’s a thick line compared to others. 12# YZH is the same diameter as a lot of other lines’ 15# or 17#

All I know about it is it’s basically odorless to us and it was developed at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. I’m interested in buying some so if I see it at the tackle store, I’ll buy a bottle or two. It’s pretty cheap compared to other attractants out there.

I like Invizx as a fluoro but I don't use it as a leader material. I also really like mono/co-polymer leader so you can choose that too. Yo-Zuri Hybrid, Trilene XT and Big Game all get some use for me. To connect my braid to the leader, I like an Alberto knot. Much simpler and easier to tie than an FG knot. It's never failed me. Knots to my lures, I use a Palomar or Trilene knot. They work well for me so I never bothered to try anything else.

Thanks! I’ve been fishing for carp and catfish lately, but I only went out twice. Caught a catfish on the first trip but nothing on the second. I should be trying again next week I never liked trout fishing

I'm surprised to hear that, considering you're tying an FG knot and using two lines which are relatively thin. 50# braid is not necessary for that setup imo, you can drop down to 30# but I don't know if it will eliminate the problem. Also, how long is your leader? The way I see it for a walking bait, the leader is just there so the supple braid doesn't get tangled in the front treble of the bait. A leader as short as 24 or 36 in can get the job done, and the connection knot passes through less guides when casting, so maybe less of a chance of getting caught? If not, straight mono wouldn't hurt you.

A buzzbait ?

A 3.5" Z-Man Grubz on a 1/16 oz mushroom head. The color was bloodworm but I had them in a bag with motor oil Grubz. So the motor oil bled onto the bait and created this motor oil with green, blue, and red flake.

Great explanation. A lot of the information out there is not geared towards natural lakes. Working backwards from spawning areas is a great way to find fish no matter the time of year.

Blasphemy ? !! How are you fishing it? Go light, 1/16 oz head and swim the bait back slowly. If you're already doing that then you can't be saved

That's cool! I remember his name but I don't remember what they spoke about specifically. Might have to listen to it again. Judging from your 'favorite lake', I do remember someone getting on there and talking about Candlewood Lake. Was it him? Also, if you wanted to hear about my neck of the woods, listen to the episode with Jason Gramada. It was a pretty decent one

I like Bass Talk Live since they keep up with professional tournament world and because of Day 4 with Frank Scalish. I also regularly listen to the SmallmouthCrush podcast but for this 'season' he hasn't been solely oriented on smallmouth. Some other good ones which I tune into occasionally are Stray Casts, Mercer, Tackle Talk, Smallie Talk Podcast, and Inside Bassmaster.

This is my setup. A little hodge podgey but it gets the job done. The battery is inside the toolbox, though it's a little heavy so I don't grab it by the handle. Suction cup has not let me down yet. It might be tougher for you since your fishfinder is bigger but it should be doable with a larger box.

Jigs, a big soft swimbait, punch rigs, heavier texas rigs.. a H/F is pretty versatile as well. I think it's a really good excuse to start getting comfortable with jigs since the rod does not get much use.

Thanks! I've realized that weight capacity won't be an issue. My biggest issue right now is that I can't even find a catch 120. When I first started my search there were a few for sale in my area, that was mid-February. Over the past month, they've been sold. A catch 120 might come up every week on or so on facebook marketplace but they sell within 24 hours. It usually comes with a paddle too. It's insane and it's not like these are amazing deals. They're being sold second hand at 10-20% off MSRP. I had plans to visit a kayak shop but they've recently sold all their stock. I guess I'm just not quick enough but I don't wanna feel rushed to get one because they're a hot commodity. I can ask the shop to order on but there's no telling when they'll get it. Forgot to mention, they do have the 100 in stock however. But it's a 350lb capacity vs 400. Negligible? I'm considering other options but my two main concerns are keeping it affordable and that it should be (relatively) easy to mount onto a roof rack. If I have to get a trailer it completely defeats the purpose for me. I'm putting on it a Honda Fit 2013. Great little car for the city, so it's surely easier than putting it onto an SUV?

I share your sentiment. The #1 half heads are not that bad…I don’t think the slightly larger hook overpowers the bait. Lately I’ve just been using the Zmans (yup, expensive) or ballheads that I found which have a #4 hook. If you are just swimming and gliding them, I don’t think a mushroom head is that necessary.

Even when bank fishing, I usually have at least 2 rods with me. So if the backlash can’t be solved within 5-10 minutes I’ll just give up and put that rod down for the day and use my other setup. I’ll try to fix it when I get home. If I had one rod, I’d probably just not bother and go home if I already completed most of my planned outing or I’d cut out the line and make due with whatever line is left on the spool.