Michigander

Other than for true flipping because the line would get caught on the handle, I just don't understand what a right handed baitcaster does for someone who is right handed other than the fact that that is what they first learned so it seems normal.

Either will work fine as a leader. Mono is going to reduce how deep your bait runs more than fluorocarbon (mono floats). Whether that is good or bad depends on the crank and the depth you want to fish it at. If you're just worried about having a shock leader, use some copolymer. It has some of mono's stretch and some of flouro's stealth factor, plus it sinks.

Cool, free materials for some locally sourced hair jigs!

Yep, and I don't cross the DNR.

A slow retrieved Toadrunner might do well for you. It's a go to bait for me in those type of situations.

Sounds about right for the overall performance But the 168 is 1-5/8oz and the max lure rating for the rod was only 5/8 so I am inclined to believe that had a lot to do with the breakage.

I always wear my PFD but when I am cold water kayaking I tend to stay in areas where I could walk to shore if need be. Not worth the risk being out in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, my kayak is slow and very stable, I would have to do something truly stupid to tip over in it.

I have not. But if they keep killing my lakes, I might consider it!

That's what I thought too...

Yeah, can't have unsightly weeds for the powerboaters or some nonsense like that...

This will catch you up. Ballistic and Tatula are lighter than the CI4+

Yeah, the bait monkey can get totallly out of control sometimes. Heaven help your wallet if you are getting into a totally new technique!

Over the last two years, I have noticed that lake wide weed kills are starting to be a thing in several of the lakes I fish. Obviously I am not thrilled by chemicals getting poured into my waterways but even worse is that it seems to, at least for me, make the fishing extra difficult. Does anyone have advice for how to be successful on the water when the vegetation has been killed and the fish are likely partly poisoned? I know deer get really confused when the leaves start falling and the landscape looks different, but what do fish do?

Wish there was a flow chart for making spinnerbaits. I have made several ones that were pretty to look at but worked very poorly in the lake.

I don't see the fishing log as something that will tell me what to do based on what happened a year or two ago. More, I am looking for patterns of where I was successful or not based on what I am doing. For instance, if I analyze the data and see that I tend to fish deep weeds after a cold front has moved in and I barely catch anything, then the next time a cold front moves in, I can go spend my precious fishing time elsewhere on a lake. I try to fish as many local tournaments as I can so I don't have the luxury of only fishing on nice days. Freezing rain, tornado (happened once!), unseasonable heat, recent weed kill in the lake, these are all conditions I would like to have a data based starting point for.

Been a while since I threw that one! Caught a lot of bass on that pattern. Landed even more of them when I upgraded the hooks! Eventually I had to pay the pike tax and it was no more.

Good on you, but I don't think I could restrict myself a small set of manufacturers like that. I have been restricting myself to certain baits for certain presentations. For example, only Keitech Fat Swing Impacts and Exoswims for paddle tail swim baits, only Rage Craws and Rage Bugs for craws, Snack Daddy for tubes, etc. I like VMC for light wire hooks and Owner for heavier hooks. I feel like a more refined selection of baits and terminal tackle that I am practiced with will help me choose an appropriate presentation and have confidence when fishing it.

How many hours of casting and reeling do you think you have on it?

I've been eyeing the Alijos 300 by them recently because it is the only $100 low profile baitcaster that I can find in the big boy sizes for swim baits. Next up is the Abu Garcia Max Toro for $130 but I don't have a high opinion of that company's reels either.

I think as long as it isn't broken out of the box, it should be a serviceable reel, for a few seasons at least. You will just probably never think it's a nice reel.

To aid your search, go out early in the year where you expect the mats to be and drop waypoints where you find interesting stuff like rocks, holes, bottom changes, logs, abandoned picnic table, etc. That stuff will still be there when the vegetation takes over and the fish are more likely to hang out next to a log in thick weeds than just thick weeds alone. Also, when the mats return, look for places that a bass could use to ambush food and present your bait so it can be ambushed.

That's a perfectly reasonable answer.