Bankc

Always a good idea for just about any knot. Also, you can melt it with a lighter or something to put a ball on the end so it doesn't pull through and unravel. Though, you have to be careful not to melt the rest of the knot.

Winds below 25mph, no heavy rain (because our storms can get violent out of nowhere down here), and temperatures above 35°F, and I'm at least thinking about going. Of course, there's also work, family and other responsibilities that have to come first. Recently I've been avoiding going fishing as much because the temperatures have been over 100° and I haven't had much luck this summer. I'll still go out probably every other weekend, but I'm okay with skipping a weekend. Kind of the same thing in the winter. When you know the fish probably won't bite and the weather will wear you down hard, sometimes it's not worth the effort and risking burnout. Fishing is supposed to be fun. I've got a job that provides me with all of the hard-work-for-nothing that my body requires.

Why do you want a boat? Is it to go fishing? Because, as you know, you don't need a boat to go fishing, have fun, and catch some fish. And I think you know this because you sold your last boat. And what's to say this new boat won't end you up un the exact same place? How, and I'm asking an honest question here, not a rhetorical one, would it be different from last time? You've tried solving this problem with both solutions (nice truck/no boat, boat/not nice truck) and neither staved the desire for change, so I'm betting the problem lies elsewhere. It sounds to me, based on my own personal experience, that what you need is a fishing buddy. They don't even have to own a boat (but it sure would be cool if they did!). Someone to call you up and say "I'm bored. Wanna get a line wet?" There's nothing like a fishing buddy to provide a little motivation to break the routine. And life is always better when we have something fun to look forward to, like a fishing trip. I'd grab your rods and just head out and have fun. Fish from the docks. Meet people. Just be yourself having a good time and see what happens. Worst case scenario: you go fishing.

All I can say is that color doesn't matter, until it does. And the best way to know what color is working is to try it and find out. Typically, I go with natural colors for clear water and more extreme colors for stained water. But that's just the starting point. Sometimes the fish behave in the opposite of what you'd think.

It depends more on what kind of reel you're using and what kinds of lures you're using. If you're using a baitcaster, I wouldn't go below 30# braid, as the thinner braids can dig into the spool and create backlashes. On a spinning reel, this isn't really an issue. If you're throwing finesse style baits, you might want a lighter line than if you're throwing power style baits. The idea being that you'll get better action on lighter line, which is also harder for the fish to see. But a thicker line is less likely to break. I honestly have no idea what the line rating on a rod is for. The lure weight rating, speed, and action are all I pay attention to. As for brand, I don't think it matters much. I've used a bunch of different brands of braid over the years, and they've all worked for me. There are differences between the various brands, and after you've fished a long time, you might develop a personal preference. But braid is pretty safe in that most any brand you find will work.

Why is the FG not working? I just tied some 15# 832 to a 10# Yo Zuri Top Knot fluoro leader yesterday, and I've been using that setup for years without issue. I've only had it fail on me once, and that was when I was trying to break my line after getting snagged from the bank. Usually, it breaks at the lure knot, but this one time, I actually broke at the leader connecting knot. Still, no complaints, as I had to pull pretty hard to get it to break.

I've never had an issue with braid slipping on a spinning reel, and I've never used backing or tape on one either. I've never had a problem with line digging in either. It's baitcasters where all of those problems rear their ugly heads for me.

I wouldn't worry about the rust. It's just surface rust. A little bit of surface rust actually helps to prevent deeper rust from forming. That's why you'll see a lot of outdoor steel sculptures and architectural things that are rusted on purpose. Though, if you want, you can get some rust conversion spray paint. Just hit that spot with a stiff brush, clean it with some soap and water (or something to get the dirt, grime and any oil off), and spray that paint on and it'll stabilize any rust left behind. And I'd leave it in its original position. It should have been balanced so that it has the proper tongue weight when loaded which will not only be safer, but do less damage to your truck's suspension over time.

I've got a small Fiskars diamond file sharpener and a small Arkansas stone, both about 5" long that I keep in my fishing bag. I think the Arkansas stone is technically an oil stone, but I just splash some water on it and call it good. The diamond sharpener is too coarse for putting a fine point on a hook but works for regrinding a point. It's probably around 400-600 grit vs. maybe 800-1200 grit on the stone. The metal is so thin that it only takes a few swipes with each to go from useless to good-as-new.

Oddly enough, it's actually illegal to eat on a boat in the lakes I typically fish. I think it's to cut down on littering. And it's not really something they enforce, or at least I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for it. And I do it all of the time. But it is technically on the books.

I'm talking about the price I'd tell my wife, not the price I'd pay the butcher.

I think, for $125, I'd probably Texas rig a Kobe beef ribeye fillet. I'm not one to go half-butt crazy. I either go all-out crazy or I don't go crazy at all.

If you're as bad as me at fishing, you have a lot of time to think about things without being distracted by a bent pole.

Over the past 40-50 years we've been on a trend of more and more money being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. As a result, there are more people than ever before that can afford a $100k bass boat, and fewer people than ever before that can afford a boat of any kind. So the manufacturers are just making whatever will make them the most money. And since there's more profit in churning out one high-end bass boat than churning out 5, low-cost boats, that's what they'll concentrate on. The middle of the market has largely been hollowed out. It's either luxury bass boat or kayak/jon boat. Companies aren't in the business of making customers. They're in the business of making money. And unfortunately, it's just not good business sense to make affordable boats right now. Kind of the same thing with housing and automobiles.

I'd say it's more likely to, but not necessarily guaranteed to. Around here (we don't have pickerel), lakes are often getting better or getting worse, as they're not usually well maintained. So that they're rarely able to stabilize for long. It's common for a change in the ecosystem to effect one species first, or more than another. So I wouldn't say that big pickerel will always equal big bass, but I would say that big pickerel suggests a healthy ecosystem, which would also be a good indication of big bass. But it's not a guarantee.

I'll sometimes wrap braid in a figure 8 around the handles of my pliers. It's cut into the rubber coating, but that's a good way to break 50# braid. Also, I buy cheap needle nose pliers so I don't worry about losing them, them rusting, or the rubber handles getting destroyed. For smaller diameter fluoro and mono, I'd just jam the spool with my thumb, point the rod at the snag, and back up until it breaks. It won't hurt anything. It's not until you get into the thicker lines that it starts to become an issue. The downside to this is you'll dig your line in and can cause problems on the next cast or two.

The only thing that's really important is having a rod that can make a decent cast with your selected lure. All of the other stuff is just fine tuning to help you land a few percent more fish over the course of a year. It's really important if you're a pro and make your living off of it, as one missed fish can equal many thousands of dollars, which is far less than the price of a good rod. But if you're just having fun, then there's no reason to feel like you need a dedicated cranking setup. So what if you catch three less fish a year because your rod didn't flex enough and the fish got off?

It depends on what the drag disc is made of. If it's felt, you'll ruin it quickly if you don't store it loosened. This is where the habit came from. With those softer, rubbery plastic discs, they'll ruin over time if you don't loosen them, but they're pretty resilient. With carbon fiber, they won't ruin if you never loosen the drag. They're hard as a rock and you'll strip your bolt threads before you compress those. I switch all of my reels over to carbon fiber, if they don't come with it already, specifically for this reason. Otherwise, I have a bad habit of missing my first fish because I forget to retighten it.

I change depth. And I do that by changing location. Usually the best shallow water spots aren't too close to the best deep water spots on the lakes I fish. And I change speed on just about every cast until I get a bite. I only change presentations when Mother Nature tells me to. Like when she snags one of my lures and won't let me have it back. I'm kind of lazy about that stuff.

Ditto. I can't hide behind being a "rookie". It's best if I just come clean and admit that I don't know what I'm doing and am just killing time in between the brief moments of dumb luck that accidentally happen upon me from time to time.

Or do double bullet weights, back to back and peg them together. This thread got me to thinking, why don't I punch more? Then I remembered, it's because I fish mostly water reservoirs, and they keep spraying the vegetation down so not to clog the filters. So it's rare to find something to punch. But I do like doing it when I get the opportunity!

Peanut butter crackers and water for me too. Though I'll usually throw a tea bag into the water and let it brew so I have tea to drink by the time I'm ready. I usually eat before I go and eat when I get back, so I don't need a full meal.

Anything but camo. Especially those neon camo colors. Not that I hate camo in general, it just makes no sense on a fishing rod. Kind of like a giant spoiler on the back of a FWD car. Outside of that, I don't even care about cork vs. EVA grips. All I really care about is performance and price. Though, I will say, I do give a few bonus points to rods with a bit of cork or foam in front of the reel seat. I have few rods that just have threads there, and they're a bit uncomfortable. Not a deal breaker, but it does make a difference.

Remember, we don't forgive others so that they may feel better about what they've done. We forgive others so that we may let go of our own anger.

I have trouble comparing it to the Ned. The reason being that, for me, the Ned rig works best when you need something extremely subtle. So putting claws and flappers on it is a step in the wrong direction. I mean, it would definitely work in the right circumstances. But I'd rather think of it as an alternative to a T-rig or other, less subtle soft plastics. But I guess that's just my opinion, as to me, a Ned rig and drop shot are kind of a last resort option.