walleyecrazy

I generally hook my line the opposite way that I believe most people do. I put my thumb over the line clip to help guide the line in. I then bring the line past the clip and pull it back towards the clip under my thumb and it generally slides right under the clip. I’m not sure if I am explaining that in a way that makes sense, but it is a really easy way to do it and it has worked well for me with both braid and fluoro. If you look at this picture you can see where my line has gone past the clip and is coming back the other way.

I don't see it making any appreciable difference in a fish detecting it for top water fishing. You have a very thin bright colored line with the bright sky behind it from the fishes point of view.

My favorite drop shot bait.

Going on a trip to the beach later this year. With that I’ll have a chance to do some inshore and light surf fishing, so naturally I used that as the reason that I “needed” some new gear.

I often fish them with a very light weight Texas rigged, and swim them through and around grass. Also if you haven’t yet I highly recommend getting the Ned version of these and swim one on a 1/10-1/8oz head if you’re having a day with a tough bite. They catch a ton of fish.

Get her one of these rod holders so she can just pop the rod in there rather than laying it in the rocks each time she needs to use both hands for something. I use one of these when fishing on the beach to keep myself from laying the rod in the sand, or accidentally dropping it while trying to hold it under my arm. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZJC58X3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If I’m around a lot of grass and want to use a ned rig I go with an ewg style head. I use the ones made by Lifted Jigs.

Early is on time. On time is late. And late is unacceptable. I do not do late, and definitely feel the same as most others here that being on time is a sign of respect. If I set a time with someone I am always there early, and never make someone wait.

Thank you! I'll give them a look! One thing I forgot to add is that the Omega's are true to their weight ratings unlike a lot of other rods, so if it says say 2-6oz, it will throw that whole range, and you wont feel like it is going to break while casting the top end of the range.

For the baits, the only ones that caught my interest are the Berkley Gilly, Spro Flappin Frog, and the Z-Man HerculeZ. Other than that I think it's cool to see Seaguar come out with a very entry level fluorocarbon in the new BasiX. A solid fluoro for 9.99 will let a lot more people use it I would think.

I like the True South finesse jigs.

For treble hook swimbaits my absolute favorite is the Omega by Leviathan rods. They are worth every penny. Just pick the power that fits your intended bait weight range.

It actually does make a good small swimbait rod, so long as you are talking soft jig hook style swimbaits. It is definitely too fast for what I would want for my treble hook swimbaits.

I've about had my fill of the heat for the year. We had a call the other day for the FD for a rollover accident on the interstate. On arrival we find the vehicle laying in the ditch on the side of the interstate. While wearing full turnout gear we start to evaluate things, and find there is no patient inside the vehicle. This lead to what was quite a long, and very hot search of the entire area trying to find a possible patient. It was at the end of that call where I officially decided I had enough of this heat for the year lol. I actually had an opportuniy to get out fishing the next day, and decided I'd rather stay in the AC and get some stuff done in the house.

Well, that certainly is a new twist on an old lure…

For the price that Sierra is selling them for they are an unbelievably good value. They are awesome rods, and they have the best cork handles I’ve seen on any rod.

Little restock on some of my favorite tubes, and some new neko/shaky head worms to try out and see how they compare to my favorites.

This is why I love the BizzBaits Dizzy Diamond. It always stands up off the bottom, and has nice subtle movement all on its own. It truly does make a difference if you choose the right worm for this presentation.

Neko rig is more of a bottom contact bait, and fishes somewhat similar to a shaky head with the worm standing up off of the bottom. With the weight at one end of the worm it keeps one end on the bottom while the rest of the worm stands up vertically as opposed to the horizontal orientation of a wacky rig. I fish mine with small hops and twitches always keeping it within an inch or two of the bottom. This makes it look very much like something feeding on the bottom as it moves along.

I too have been having a good deal of luck with a neko rig so far this late spring/early summer. My go to setup is a Bizz Baits Dizzy Diamond on a 1/0 Chris Zaldain neko hook with a 1/8 Dobyn's nail weight. The Dizzy Diamond is about the perfect Neko rig worm in my opinion, and they have some great colors in them. I've been using the bruised olive color the most so far this year.

You may have luck with the drop shot, but it's really going to depend on bottom contour and cover. First thing that comes to mind for me though when smallies are involved is a tube. I would go back with a tube rigged up and see if you can get them on that.

Tackle Trap has all the RH ratios in stock currently, and I believe the 6 speed in LH.

I think I already own what would be my choice, and that is the 21' Daiwa Zillion SV. It is without question the best all around reel I have ever used, and is worth every penny of its asking price in my opinion.

The Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'6" TAEL761MLMFS-AGS rod will handle all of that very well so long as you are fishing your tubes on an open hook. It is just a touch light for stupid/texas rig tubes, but will do it if needed. The rod will launch ned rigs, and is pretty d**n sensitive for a longer rod. Tackle Trap currently has them in stock according to their site right now.

My go to tubes are the Secret Lures stupid tube in the Bluegill color, with the Xzone X-tube in the Killer Perch color being a close second. I almost exclusively rig them on the Secret Lures stupid tube jig heads in the 1/8oz 4/0 and 1/4oz 4/0 size depending on the depth I'm fishing.