Hartwood71

I prefer Canoe over Kayak for the option to have more space and stand up. They both draw very little water. The kayak is way easier to transport. However, dependent upon the kayak, they tend to feel quite cramped. If you have to drive back and forth to your fishing destinations, the kayak is much easier to transport. If the craft is staying next to the water, then the canoe would def be my first choice. Also, a canoe enables you the option to have someone join you - unless you get a two=person kayak, which becomes almost as large as a canoe.

Time to start looking up the cost of a replica mount

FYI...seeing other Cloudflare issues out there....another site.com has been down for two days. They said it was tied to Amazon web hosting, but frankly it doesn't seem like they really have a handle on the problem.

Me love me some shredded bass fingers - I especially know it was a big day when I get neuropathy in my thumbs for a couple weeks afterwards. That looks like an Alberto knot, true?

Thanks @casts_by_fly and @Peacedivision. Definitely helpful. I ordered the 21-lb. Could go either for light casting or spinning rig; undecided. Will be braid to leader, either for light swim baits or strolling. I intend to use Alberto but, but will be sure use extra wraps. Otherwise, will go FG. Will report back after some use.

Refreshing this....now that y'all have had some time with it, how do you feel about it - Strength, abrasion, wind knots, feel, etc? Anyone else, have an opinion?

Most recent additions to treble hook list... https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eLvGFbCxq42r1zZgodNog2-dfv1PqTYi/edit?pli=1&gid=1004069493#gid=1004069493 Treble Hooks…. BKK Spear 21 SS #8 Duo Realis Nano #5 Owner ST-26 #10 - a lighter wire than the ST-36 #10 Mustad inline short triple grip #4 Jerkbaits for high in the water column / shallow…. Cotton Cordell Rippin' Red Fin Megabass Vision 100 SR (shallow) Smithwick Floating Rattlin' Rogue Smithwick Suspending Rattlin' Rogue

I've learned that I have a lot to learn - And this is a great place to do it.

He can go a lot of directions. Hope it works out for him. And as some folks said above will give next gen a window to step up. Most importantly, I've learned that @TnRiver46 has some spinnerbait juice or anti-juice to spare.

He's def not the retiring type...where do you think he pops up next? Ah, I see @Pumpkin Lizard may have just answered my question

90% Jerkbaits and 10% Lipless cranks in southern NY. Water temps from 40 - 58 F. Pretty windy. Happy to report that it's been working so well that I haven't even tied anything else on.

Pitzen or San Diego Jam, but... ...I throw a lot of twitch and jerkbaits (and some glides) and those are always on a Loop knot, always.

I've had a number of these. I have found they are good for a quick solution, but all eventually have a problem - they move or slip on the rod, the elastic gives way and slips off, the keeper itself causes rod rash (albeit only a little bit).

I've been going the simple-and-cheap route for adding hook keepers. The rod wrapping community may want to look away in disgust here... Zip-ties and oval split rings. To prevent rod rash from hooks and the zip-tie I put a strip of black electrical tape on the rod. I know it sounds ghetto, but it works perfectly and it's easily removed/adjusted/etc and actually helps protect the rod. Even my fancy rods. It's rock solid. As for the camp that doesn't like the keeper on the split grip - I'm 100% with you - even with a bait wrap down there. I prefer the keeper in front of the reel and off to the side. If I ever want to resell the rod the protection provided by the tape is a God's send. I've always found that electrical tape comes off clean, even after years. I then add a bait wrap to equation and voilà, happiness! s

Excellent Living. Liv·ing / livING / -the pursuit of a lifestyle of the specified type. "the benefits of country living" Both you and the pup. Congrats for a great start to the season. Btw- that's a legit bag!

Welcome from New Jersey. Yes, we have fish here too. :-) Be sure to ask questions - you'll get a lot of real experience help here that you cant find on YouTube. And oh yeah, please promise to share what you learn with us.

Definitely fishy. All my hooks have come from dedicate fishing retailers we all know. I think your spider senses are correct. Amazon should make you whole - I have found they are good for that.

Agree there is something off. I just checked a bunch of owners here and all of them inline eye. st-36bc #4, #6, #8, STX-38zn #4, STY-35mf #4. I looked at 2, 1, 1/0 and they were also inline.

In Norther nJ and Southern NY, we can def relate to this phase your pond is in right now. The tactic I go to first and love doing right after breakup when the water is anywhere from 32-55 is using suspending jerkbaits. I wouldn't spend too much time throwing at normal summer structure like laydowns or stumps. Instead, I would look for any bottom topography changes (if you have any) and run cast/retrieves along those. A few reasons I prefer JBs in your situation: 1-IMO, JB fishing is more 'active/interesting' than dead sticking bottom plastics. I'm less likely to want to throw in the towel. 2-My confidence is very high with them. 3- They have good drawing power and serve as a good search bait. In 10' depth, I would prob just go with shallow to regular depth JBs - 110's, 110 Jr's, and smaller. Play around with retrieve cadence to dial in what's working that day. Good luck. You'll be fine. Trust your judgement. I'm willing to bet you didn't live this long doing a lot of stupid things.

Great stuff right there! Not sure it would've happened if you'd remembered the GoPro. Makes the pic even more special. Congrats.

I'll defer to Ajay, but this is what I've used since my daughter started making bracelets in pre-school (she's in college now). A thousand of them costs about $5. Generally are about 5/8" in diameter. Can get at a craft store.

Seeing your question made me happy. While I have always lived in NJ, I've been fishing for pond bass in Boynton Beach, Fla every year for almost 50 years. The ponds I fish are generally stained (not dirty) water, less than 6 feet deep and always less than 10 acres in size. @geo g and @Captain Phil are def gonna get you bit. When they're on, you can prob throw a Budweiser can at them, but when a little lockjaw sets in I've had success turning to the senkos. Second, I actually have as much or more luck with a texas rigged 10" ribbon tail worm (Black, Junebug or Blue fleck). Third, grab yourself a little buzz bait for some topwater fun. This girl came on a texas rig in Boynton Beach. Have fun. Best of luck. Send pics.

An age-old challenge for folks, but I haven't seen a thread with a slam dunk solution for tangled jerkbaits - so I thought I'd share what I do. Simple, inexpensive, packs a lot of baits, limits rattling around and I'm happy with it. The pictures at bottom are of two boxes totaling 90 JBs. I limit myself to two 3700 jerkbait boxes on any trip, leaving the rest at home (peg board or boxes). If necessary, I'll make some changes to the selection to suit the fishing conditions (water color, profile, depth, seasonality, etc); but I will not bring anymore than these two boxes. Box 1: For regular diving 110's -> Slottech* (a small start up company that currently makes a solution for specific box brands) This is the largest single category of JBs for me, so they get their own dedicted 3700 box. Slottech sells modular molds that slide into a 3700 box and fits 36 baits - way more enough to have plenty of fishing options. In the picture below I left one row empty so you could get a better sense of what the Slottech molds look like. Benefits: ∎ No snagging ∎ Keeps JBs seperate yet packed closely - hooks and paint jobs don't sustain extra wear ∎ Fits a lot (36) of JBs into a 3700 box Box 2: For Jerks ≤100, ≥115, +1, +2, etc -> Small craft Rubber Bands I've been pretty happy with this method for over 10 years. I combine various JBs in box #2- smaller finesse, deep diving and large. I use small rubber bands (the type a kid might use to make a bracelet) - allowing me to quickly tie down the trebles to each other, snugging them against the body . This method keeps things compact, enabling me to pack a huge quantity with little to no tangling. Whenever there is a little tangle between two of them it's super easy to separate. Fyi, I also use these for crankbaits. Benefits: ∎ Cutting down on 80%+ of the snagging. jostling around. ∎ More space: I can pack a ton into the box - means you have options on the water but it also helps to pack the baits into place ∎ Easy to use: self explanatory ∎ Inexpensive: i prefer more than the treble hook covers - less cost, more space. *As of Apr 2026, Slottech makes a mold for JBs in the 110/112 class and a midsized cranks and only for Flambeau and BallistiX 3700 boxes. They will be making molds for more box brands and various baits sizes - for example, they will be making mold for the Plano Edge Series and others 'very soon'. When those options come available, I may reevaluate the rubber bands, but we'll see. Regards, John

Most recent update.... Google sheet link- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eLvGFbCxq42r1zZgodNog2-dfv1PqTYi/edit?gid=1004069493#gid=1004069493 New inclusions are stock hook and split rings for.... -Bass Pro Shops XPS Staredown 110 -Bass Pro Shops XPS Staredown 110+1 -Rapala Mavrik Deep -Megabass Karashi -Megabass X-80 BFS -Megabass X-Nanahan +1 and +2 -Berkley Stunna 112+2

Thank you for your two cents (worth >$2)