Hartwood71

Same. Only social media for me - and my blood pressure has never been lower.

@casts_by_fly Yes it is. In NY. Gonna require a lot of work over the next decade.

I've spent a lifetime in 14' aluminum boats. Love 'em. Strongly feel its best to stay 55-lb+. Some things to remember.... -How big is the body of water you fish on? -How windy is it? -How deep is it? -What style of fishing do you do - move a lot or not? -Do you carry your battery back and forth to the car every time you go? -Do you fish alone or with other people (it's a weight question)? -Don't skimp on the battery. -Do not skimp on proper charger or charging discipline. In every case, the 55lb+ with a big battery will be a welcome decision. IMO Congrats. You're going to be psyched.

Dropped 30" of boards into the dam today. Going to gain a ton of spawning acreage and forage refuge. I'm now officially fired up and the ole' patience is under serious pressure. The struggle is real.

Sprints: I'm def not trying to break any records - or body parts. 2-4 min decent pace walk to warm up > 30 sec sprint > 90 sec pace walk > repeat that cycle 10 times > then walk for about 5 minutes to cool down. End up being about 2 miles of total work over about 22 minutes. I Gets the sweat going and definitely has a good strength/stretch combo. I sometimes do on a treadmill and other times on a outdoor track.

Yep, NY/NJ border snow is gone also. In fact, today I can finally put a couple boards into the dam to begin raising the lake level - the goal is 2-3 feet increase by late May. Hallelujah.

Here, Here Joe. IMO, positive attitude is actually one of the underlying characteristics of BR and why I keep coming back. Thanks to y'all.

Another sheep to the slaughter - I'm in. McKinney Ito Mosley Anaya Howell

I most often go with silence. Sometimes some music. But I do like the audio book call. Gonna give that a try.

I also get bored with steady state cardio and never did well sticking to it. Years ago I started intermittent sprinting and plyo. Very happy with it - super efficient way to get the sweat going and the real world benefits far exceed running. My main advice is just to start easy and pay attention to form - the bouncing around can quickly cause an injury, particularly if you're joints and fascia arn't ready for it. Additionally, a light and easy intro phase also helps build confidence and doesn't make it so hard that you quit after a couple days.

Makes sense. Stretching flouro materially compromises the line's integrity. Beyond some light stretching and use of line conditioners, just swap out the line while not wasting it by using a thoughtful amount of backing. All logical.

You're looking at beautiful gear. Super high end stuff that offers extraordinary sensitivity, dialed-in deflection and light weight. But none of that guarantees much better likelihood of catching fish. The path to that is... -> Find fish (most important) -> Show fish bait they're interested in (bait selection is an art, not a $ thing) -> Make that bait move in an appealing way (gear can start to matter a little here) -> Land fish (this is where your gear really matters, especially if the fish is large) For largemouth bass, unless you're targeting large fish (I.e. bigger than 6 lbs) equipment has a diminishing return on investment. Meaning landing small to medium sized fish isn't improved by using higher priced gear, IMO. That said, nice stuff is awesome, but it doesn't really correlate to more/better LMB (see Matt Robinson of the Bassmaster Elite series making taking 3rd place at Guntersville using an Ugly Stick). So to answer your question: Your rod selection is amazing and you'll have most bases fully covered - so if it works for your budget, then run with it. But the most important thing is to put time on the water and feel the process. That feel will then inform your subsequent solutions/purchases. Have fun with the process and welcome to the site.

It's a "reel" thing. Coiling stinks - but I hate to think that simply respooling fresh line is the only good solution. There is no doubt that stretching can be effective in short lengths (e.g. leaders). But... Assume the flouro is 10-20 lb test, been spooled for one to two years and kept indoors. Is stretching lengths over 100' effective? Does the stretching last any useful period of time? Does line conditioner help and how for long is actually effective? Budget aside, is it just easier/better to buy fresh line? Any other lessons to share on the topic are welcome.

Sorry to rebump this thread, but I wanted to provide a Google Drive link for this spreadsheet so you can view it more clearly or easily print it out. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eLvGFbCxq42r1zZgodNog2-dfv1PqTYi/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101682476362302263449&rtpof=true&sd=true

Thanks fellas. Helpful. @Glenn I totally hear you on the "rick-and-a-hard place". As @FloridaFishinFool and @MN Fisher also mentioned, I think the URL and attachment icon routes are the solution for any 'larger' images or spreadsheets.

You just profiled me perfectly. Lotta deliveries this winter. And after watching me weigh treble hooks and split rings this winter, my wife has given up any hope that she didn’t marry a nerd.

While not a glass rod, I also throw a nod to the Alpha Angler "Rebound" as chatter bait rod. It' taken over as my 1/4 - 1/2 CB option.

May be a dumb question, but does the restoration of the Oklawaha have to mean the end of the Rodman Reservoir? Or would it be some sort of dam utilization strategy that acts as a compromise?

Thanks - much appreciated. Makes sense. Unfortunately, I have the extra challenge in that my spreadsheet is just a little too large for this process. Oh well. He's the sheet I'm talking about.

I'm trying to share an attachment from an excel sheet to help provide a lot of stats on treble hook weights. Since I could not share the raw excel sheet, I went with a PNG file, but when I open that file in the actually final post, it's rather blurry. Does anyone have any advice for providing a better quality attachment? Thanks, John

FYI - funny timing. I just posted this a half hour ago. Not specific to Karashi, but may be useful reference for future. Treble hook and split ring weight chart (focused on Jerkbait balance) https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/269483-treble-hook-and-split-ring-weight-chart-focused-on-jerkbait-balance/

Not going to be a buyer because I already have the Shimano MetDC. I've had it for 5 years and like it very much, but that is as a stand alone reel - I'm not sure the DC capability actually proves it's worth. The edge case where it may be helping me more than I appreciate is casting jerkbaits into a strong head wind. Other than that, just dialing in the normal reels does gets it done - so I dont see any need/want for a second DC.

The process of upgrading or swapping out jerkbait hooks is a grind, so I built the attached sheet to confidently make changes without having to breakout a scale every time. It helps me upgrade hooks, replace hooks and dial in jerkbait action according to water temperature changes. There are a number of fragmented threads touching on the topic, so I just consolidated my list with @00Bullitt's post from 2022 (Jerkbait Hook Replacements to Maintain that Delicate Balance https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/247714-jerkbait-hook-replacements-to-maintain-that-delicate-balance/) This includes weights for trebles and split rings, as well as stock hooks and rings for a number of jerkbait models (in grams and grains). I used two different scales for confirmation. To any of the administrators, if you feel this post is better merged into a new or different forum, please do so. I wasn’t sure what to do about that. Despite not covering all the options in the market and not exactly at semiconductor-level accuracy, this should still be [as my grandpappy used to say] ‘good enough for gov’t work.’ To help with ordering or specific identification I tried to include model and serial #’s - however, not all companies speak the same language. More importantly, our community can grow it from here - I.e. more options, cranks, swimbaits? Here is a little example form the sheet... Gama G Finesse Shrt Shnk 339208 Size 4 Gram 0.44 Grain 6.8 Owner Hyper wire 5196-011 Size 1 Gram 0.05 Grain 0.8 Dia 4.8 Megabass Vision 110 Suspending Hook: Size 6 Gram 0.36 Grain 5.6 Split Ring: Size 2 Gram 0.9 ........ -John