michael1

What types of lures would benefit most from a Hydro-Flo box? That is what this comes down to. This winter I had grand ideas of finally organizing all my tackle. Well other things (and laziness, frankly) came into play but now that I have the time I need to get at it. I bought a ton of Plano 3700 boxes but I also bought two different ones. I bought the Plano Edge jig box for jigs and chatter baits but I also bought one of the Hydro-Flo boxes but for the LIFE of me I cannot remember my thought process at the time. I remember thinking I needed one because there was one type of bait that I really thought would benefit from the air flow. I THINK it was frogs because the water can get trapped inside and all that but for the life of me I cannot remember the specific purpose I bought this for. What type of lure do you think would benefit from a Hydro-Flo box, though?

Then you probably have not had access to a lot of items and have spent considerably more than you needed to

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/owner-twistlock-light-hooks-with-centering-pin-spring I bought some Owner 3/0 Twist Lock hooks this winter to try with T-rigged stick baits like a 6.5" Trick worm or 5" Senko. Probably a Zoom Super Fluke too. I really like the idea of how well it would hold the soft plastic bait and lengthen the life of it. This weekend I had a chance to rig a 5" Senko and throw it in open water for a bit. My concern is how weedless it would be and would it get hung up on grass more than a normal style worm hook due to the style of the nose when the bait is on it. Anyone have any real experience with these? Been thinking about grabbing some 5/0 for some Zoom Ol' Monsters too if they pass the test.

Is the snell thought of as a knot you only really use on a straight shank hook with flippin/pitchin? Would you use it with a straight shank hook with a worm or creature? Never used one before but I understand some people swear by them, saying they rotate the hook point into the fishes moth better or something? I'm just trying to figure out if I should learn it and start using this knot with some presentations or not?

I wanted to pick up a Super Spook or two to try out but I am confused at all the different types being sold. The Jr size difference is easy enough to understand but I see Super Spooks, Zara Super Spooks, and some that are a salt water version. Assuming I just want "the normal standard model" which model to I want to make sure I get? I thought this would be fairly obvious LOL

I was given one of these automatic life jackets for Christmas and now that it is warming up around here I want to start using it. However, I have no idea how to get it started or whatever. There is a little canister or something that it looks like I need to plug in or something. Any tips here?

Had to tie a knot with mono for my 5 year old tonight and I realized I haven't used mono for anything for so long I kind of had to think for a moment for what knot to use. For FC I use the Shaw Grigsby knot and the palomar for braid but what do you use for plain ol' mono? I think I reverted back to a clinch knot but when I was done it looked so incredibly weak but the more I thought about it I figured there was probably a better knot for mono. What do you use?

I never heard, saw or felt line being taken from the spool, though, so IDK what to think.

Trying a lot of new stuff this year, one of them is fishing soft plastics. Always been a power fisherman that just used chuck and wind baits. Yesterday I tried a weightless 5" Senko on a 3/0 Owner screw lock hook on 16# Sniper FC. I later thought I probably should have thrown a 3/16 or something weight on it but I know they can be fished weightless so I gave it a go. I've watched tons of videos on YouTube about moving the bait with the rod and pick up slack with the reel so I tried to emulate what I learned and saw. Man, I just have NO idea where the wait was or what it was doing. If I did not know better I would have guessed there was nothing on the other end and I was just reeling back a cut line. Every now and then it would get stuck for a second on something but that is the only feeling of weight or contact I had. Any advice because I had no idea what was going on with the bait, never felt the bottom and was completely lost!?

Trying a lot of new stuff this year, one of them is trying fluorocarbon line. I put 12# Sunline Sniper on my KVD Tour crank bait rod that I put a new Curado K 6.3 reel on. I am used to using strictly braid on all my reels and how that feels when fighting a fish. Anyway, this weekend I had a SK RES on and caught 2 over 3 pounds and it just felt so weird fighting the fish. I know that FC has a bit more "stretch" to it but it was just such a different experience. When reeling the fish in I felt like I could not really tell where the fish was or what it was doing. Drag was set correctly and I just never felt like I was "hauling" the fish in. I kept looking at reel and could tell it was bringing in line on my spool or I would have thought it was taking line on me. I have no reason to think there is anything wrong with the line or the reel and I got both fish in without a problem, though. It reminded me of earlier in the week when I got snagged on a limb. I couldn't tell if I had a fish or was hung up so I started pulling and reeling hard. With braid and reeling hard I quickly got to a point where you could tell you were not going to be able to reel anymore. But in this situation with FC it felt kind of "springy" an that the line had a lot more give and that it sort of dug into the line on the spool some. IDK, I guess I am just asking if this is how it is supposed to feel and I should stay with it or if I should change settings with the drag or something?

Does this affect the "weedless" aspect of this design much? If so that would be a major downside?

I am new to frog fishing and I've bought 5-6 Booyah Pad Crashers to give a try. I have read how difficult it can be for newbies to learn to properly "walk" a frog and that shortening the legs can make it easier. As you may know the Pad Crashers are pretty long, how short should I cut them? I have heard that it might be a good idea to pull the legs back towards the body and cut them at the end of the body, like the photo attached. What say you?

If there were a "problem" with a 3/8 oz jig with trailer and the 7'2" Heavy rod what would be the problem? Casting/pitching issues?

With this rod if I want to "pitch" soft plastics like a Rage Bug or Craw or something with anything from 1/4 to 1/2oz tungsten on it would that change your recommendation as to the MH or H? Being new to pitching jigs and such generally would it be easier (and more accurate) to use a MH or H rod? I would assume the MH because it has a softer tip?

I have been a long time of Sufix 832 braid but am thinking I might like to try something new. Any suggestions? It probably would be the 40 or 50 pound variety. FYI I am not a fan of Power Pro or Spiderwire.

Assuming I am going to use cheap mono as backing when it comes to picking what size mono backing to put on do you want the backing to have a smaller, same or larger outside line diameter than the main line? I would assume you would want it to be the same but if you say it should be smaller or larger please explain your thought process. Thanks!

Is this Matt Allen? LOL

What would you say to a 3/8oz jig (with trailer weight) on the 7’2" Heavy? If that rod were "too much" for a 3/8oz jig how would the problem manifest? Can't cast it very well? Setting the hook? Issue when fighting the fish? I guess I'm asking if it were a bad "pairing" what would be the signs of that or what problems would arise?

Assuming what you are saying is true why is it pretty much all the posts all over this site and other forums I have checked have said the MH is the best route for the 3/8 to 1/2oz jig? I have never owned the same exact rod with one being an MH and the other being a H, is there not much difference and do they sort of overlap what you could do with them? I was kind do hoping someone who owns the 7'2" H Expride could weigh in here on how it would do with 3/8 oz jigs.

It sounds like the H would suite my needs on the frog side of things. I also think the H would handle a 1/2oz jig. So I guess the question comes down to if the H would work well with a 3/8oz jig or not. 7/16oz is the lowest lure weight recommended for the H rod but the 3/8oz jig would have a trailer on it which would beef it up some. Something you said made me wonder something. When you look at a rod's lure weight recommendation is that purely for casting considerations? So I guess the main question is would I be OK fishing a 3/8oz jig on the Heavy rod?

So it sounds like in your opinion the 1/2 oz jig would be better on the H rod. I guess the question is would the would the 3/8oz jig work on the H rod or not? My problem is I do not frog fish enough to justify buying a dedicated frog rod, especially at these prices.

I had a question for those of you have a few of the Expride rods. I’m going to buy 2 casting rods and I have already decided I am going to buy the 7'2" MH as an all-around, do most anything rod. I’ll probably use it for a lot of single hook baits. Shockingly I have never fished a jig and this is the year I’ve told myself! I bought a bunch of 3/8 and 1/2 oz jigs from Mike Siebert and am ready to rock! The thing is I wanted this second rod to also double as my frog rod. But I also would say of all the use this rod would get only 1/4 of the time using it would be for frogs so the jig side of things is much more important to me. The problem is I have been reading a lot on here that most guys suggest the MH for jig fishing and say it is a great option for it. So I decided to look at the recommended lure weights for both rods to see what I can tell. I am sure I would have a trailer on at all times but out of the box I have 3/8 and 1/2 oz jigs. Here are their recommendations: MH 3/8-1oz H 7/16-1 1/2oz For frogging I read a lot of people really saying how great the 7'3" Extra Heavy is for that. The thing is I'd imagine that is not a great option for the jig side of things. When I frog it is probably more in open water or sparse cover, I do not think I would frog in just absolute slop much so would the H get it done? I was hoping that the 7'2" H would handle the task of the second rod but I guess I am now worried that it might be too much do be ideal for the jig side of things and not enough for the frog part of the equation. I do not have the funds to buy 3 and I do not frog enough to justify a specific rod for it. So more or less what it comes down to is would the 7’2” H rod handle the jig weight (considering adding a craw or whatever trailer) appropriately or is the MH a better choice? Also while I agree the EH would be ideal for frogging being that I will never be in absolute slop and don’t need a pool cue wouldn’t the H be fine for this task? My biggest fear is I get the H and I end up with a rod that is not ideal for my jig fishing nor throwing a frog and I spent a pretty penny for the pleasure of a rod that does neither particularly well LOL

I assume the ones that offer a higher weight capability are larger in size comparatively, correct?

What size clip would you recommend for the lures I mentioned?

Just looking for options on how to switch out moving baits quicker. Mostly for use with 1.5/2.5 squarebills, .5 oz lipless, jerkbaits, etc. Man, I have read a TON on here about all the different brands and styles and most importantly it is just IMPOSSIBLE to tell what size to order online for these baits! I have sort of narrowed it down to these offerings from Owner, Decoy, Spro and VMC: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_All_Purpose_Snap_12_pk/descpage-SPA.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Hyper_Crosslock_Snaps/descpage-OHCS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Hyper_Welded_Quick_Snaps_6pk/descpage-OHQS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Decoy_V_Snap_13pk/descpage-DRSP.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Decoy_Egg_Snap_7pk/descpage-DEGGS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Spro_Split_Snap_8pk/descpage-SSNP.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Touch-Lok_Snap/descpage-VMCTLS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Touch-Lok_Snap/descpage-VMCTLS.html For what I'm looking for which do you think I should go with and which size?