GetFishorDieTryin

Thats no Tornado...TH is such a good color.

Ive seen quite a few people get overwhelmed, trying to figure out what bait to try next when nothing is working. Depending on the time of year, Ill have 3 or 4 key baits that compliment eachother. Unless I have ideal conditions or see something that makes we want to use a particular bait, Im sticking with my line up, even if I cant get bit. I just keep looking for active fish

I have the same issue in the southern part of the state. The worst time of year fall, it seems like every pickerel in the lake is chasing my bait. The vast majority of bite offs occur when the fish turns and the line drags across the teeth, you can feel it. Other times the fish takes the bait deep enough to damage the line above the knot and as soon as you put some pressure on the line breaks. I used to use high quality leader material, like Blue Label, Shinsei, Yo Zuri HD and so on, all the time when I was using shorter leaders. When I started DSing more and going to leaders over 12' I began to use Red Label. In just a few months I had more bite offs with Red Label than I had in years of using leader material. I dont mind losing a few jigheads, its the more premium hardbaits or baits that I have few of that really hurt to lose. The only thing I can recommend is to get a couple spools of Blue Label. The ycan still bite through it, but its not going to happen as often.

Sometimes it seems like weather runs in a 6-8 day cycle.

SHs are so fun and really get good numbers. The drawback with a SH is that the knot is the first thing to contact cover, which means it takes a real beating when fishing rocks or even shellfish. You can substitute the SH with a neko and get a similar look without damaging the line. You need to be really OCD about checking the integrity of the line and knot, especially when fishing lighter leader around rocks. Ive got #50 Blue Label thats over 10yrs old, it turned cloudy but is still strong. I think as long the line hasnt been exposed to sun or extreme heat it should be ok, but I cant say for sure. There is excellent FC leader material out there, but its expensive. Blue Label, P line Shinsei and Yo Zuri HD Carbon are all abrasion resistant and very strong. A good abrasion resistant mono will fare much better then a FC main line and even some FC leader materials. Mono has a higher knot strength and generally a higher breaking strength when compared to FC of a similar breaking strength. You could also try to find a SH that has line tie that will protect the knot and line a little better.

I use a discontinued cabelas bag thats looks alot like their catch all bags but it has some extra features like a for forceps. They just cheapened it up and called it a catch all bag. It will fit 4 or 5 3500s in the main compartment and 1 in each front and back pocket, but I dont know if the new bags have a rear pocket or not. The 2 side pockets are good for terminal tackle. I can carry a ton of tackle and for 12$ you cant beat it. The sling bags are nice too, but they dont hold as much gear. When my bag is stuffed, with a boga and microfiber towel on it weights like 7lbs. Plano has some decent bags but the prices are up there and theyre a little smaller. Cabela's Catch-All Gear Bag | Cabela's (cabelas.com)

With VMC it seems like I either hate the product or really like it. Not a fan of their weedless wacky hook. The hook itself has semi self setting point, which is good for reel sets. The issue is the wire is considerably heavier then almost any other wacky hook, which requires more pressure to set which makes it not ideal for lighter wacky rig rods. When you add the super stiff weedguard to that heavy wire hook it makes it very hard for a ML to get a good set. The VMC neko is completely different. Its a medium wire, with a slight offset. The medium wire combine with the extra leverage from the longer shank allows that hook to be set with very little pressure. The slightly offset point makes it difficult for the hook to slide out of the mouth without contacting the inside of the mouth, usually the roof of the mouth. You can tell a good hook when most every company comes out with their own version of it. Now the FC guard on VMC neko helps a little with sparse grass, but dont expect it to keep the hook from snagging in wood or cover. If you want to to use an open hook in brush or sparse limbs, a wire guard will be more effective and also more expensive.

When it comes to FC, IME you get what you pay for. If youre on a budget, #6-#8 InvizX is where you should start. #6 for a 3k or smaller #8 for a 4k. Havent had a ton of experience with light Tatsu, but was impressed with the 8lb. 6lb InvixZ handles pretty well, but the 8lb Tatsu handled better. I dont know if it was just in my head, but I felt like I had better a better connection to my bait, especially bottom contact baits. I had a similar feeling about the stretch, or lack of it, in comparison with InvizX.

I got my hands on the longer ML LTBs and while they were nice, I didnt think the world of them. I really prefer their older ML F and XF actions. If you really want a good 7'6 look at the Steez. A buddy of mine uses one to glide light bucktails for weakfish and flounder and its awesome.

Thats not just bass fishing, thats fishing in general, and hunting too. The "you should have been here yesterday" line is just another motif in the perpetual pursuit of a tight line.

M

IMO balance is important. Its definitely a tangible aspect that effects the feel and way a rod fishes. For example the 1st gen St Croix Premeir Split grips were made a cableas exclusive. Constantly keeping the tip up increases fatigue, felt weight, makes the tip feel sluggish and decreases sensitivity The balance wasnt the best on the full grip premiers to begin with and by shortening the rear grip and removing a considerable amount of cork it made the rods incredibly tip heavy. Even when I put old Slammer 460 on it (19oz reel) the tip is still heavy. In your case, changing to a slightly heavier reel likley isnt going to help much if 9oz doesnt balance it, as it supposed to be a DS rod. I choke up on my spinning rods, all fingers are above the reel stem, which is why I dont care for Dobyns spinning rods, as they are uncomfortable lacking a foregrip. Im somewhat surprised at how poor the Sierra balances. Dobyns actually counterweights their rods to eliminate heavy tips. It makes the total weight of the rod increase, but the decreases the felt weight. The only suggestion I can make is to find an aftermarket butt cap at Mudhole. I have a 9ft suzuki rod that was tip heavy with any reel, a rubber fuji made a huge difference. Adding a rubber butt cap on the end of the rod will increase overall weight, but it will improve the balance of the rod dramatically.

Other then the summer when it gets too hot and when we have a hard freeze in the winter I fish nearly everyday. Most days I'm out only a couple hours from late afternoon until it gets dark.

Never had one in my hand, but got to check out the Tatula XTs a while ago and the 7' M would work well as long as you stay with braid.

He wont like it, he'll love it.

If he has a 3.0 average or better get him a JDM Metanium (100), tiny reel and just a pleasure to fish with. If you want to stay USDM then get a Curado 70. If his grades aren't that great then go for the Tatula 80.

A T rig or some version of it probably one of the most versatile ways you can fish. I would rather catch fish on a jig, but 95% of my local water is shallow with a slimy bottom, which makes using jigs a chore. Never fished a true C rig, but do really well with a mojo rig, still the T rig is #1 for me.

90% of the time I'm not using a peg. Even with baits that have action it takes a little while for that weight to separate from the bait on the initial fall. You really only have separation on a vertical axis with slack line. If you really want that bait to have a decent amount separation the entire retrieve you're better off with a mojo or C rig.

Although I lose a ton of them, theyre fun to fish. The range of motion that the bait has is an advantage, especially for baits that have lots of action. Theres almost a rhythm to the bait on the retrieve, very similar to a crankbait. When you run into a rock and get a good bounce it breaks up that cadence and can cause a reaction bite, just like a squarebill. Reins makes an excellent sliding football weight that fishes similar to a swinghead, but its just not the same. If im just draggin a bait through rocks then I prefer a sliding football weight, but Im actually trying to deflect off the rocks then I like the swinghead. Not to mention the price of Reins football weights. They were 5$ a pop for 1/2oz a few years ago im sure theyre closing in on 7$ per by now.

The rod I always want 2 of is a 6'10-7'3 M F, especially early in the year when I have either a JB, lipless or squarebill ties on all day. I like them for crankbaits, JBs, 1/4 jigs, light t/free rigs, 5/16 spinnerbaits and even 1/4oz chatterbaits. Its been a while since I've had my hands on a MH Fury, but I remember them being a lighter MH with some tip. The Fury should be able to handle the single hook techniques I use my M Fs for. Since the fury somewhat overlaps with the mojo I would go with a 7'3 or 7'4 MH F (or a heavy with some tip) that is rated 1/4 or 5/16-1oz. Once you get to a 7'3 MH F usually the tip section is little longer compared to shorter rod which gives them an action slightly faster then a modF. That makes those rods really versatile. I use one for chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, t rigs, jigs/swimjigs, buzzbaits and even bigger med depth cranks.

The best way to keep a knot from breaking to tie it correctly, as both of those knots are proven. I suspect that you are either using too many or too few turns, not using enough lubrication and or failing to seat the knot correctly. With the Alberto, the braid needs to exit the same side of the loop it entered on. Is the knot pulling out or is the line breaking, and if so where?

I like a Med power F for a whole lot of different things. I like a F action for bottom contact, twitching or when im trying to bounce a bait off something. I fish alot of lily pad fields before the pads come up. I feel like a spongey rod doesnt alow the bait to deflect as well.

Very nice. Do all of their plastics float?

If you fish Keitechs or any kind of bigger swimbaits that are on the pricey side, you should use Mend It. Ive never used it on the water, as I generally paste my torn up baits back together after I get home, let them dry over night and use them the next day. If you have it on the boat you can paste a bait back together and be using it within 5 minutes. I have a bottle that is 2 years old and its still good. You will see some congealing on the top of the bottle or on the applicator. I suggest buying the biggest bottle they offer and 1 or 2 of the smallest sizes. I keep the big bottles at home and carry 1 or 2 of the small ones in my tackle bag.

Luvias FC 2000