GetFishorDieTryin

The Met 20 is a great little reel, but I dont think I would buy one just to be a SW specific reel. It feels plenty solid, I'm just not sure how well it would hold up. I dont mind the little JDM handle and knobs as much FW fishing, but SW is a different story. Even though the 150 is relatively new, the Tranx platform is solid.

The optimal time is prespawn, which starts late winter. It doesnt take very much warm weather to get them to push shallow. That warm spell had the fish concentrated and heavy on the feed. That doesnt mean it needs to be warm for the fish to start moving. The shorter nights and longer days let the fish now what time it is. The prespawn almost always begins in Feb here, depending on the weather. If you really want to get the heaviest fish possible you shouldn't start any later then Valentines Day. You want to look for shallow water with close access to deeper water (relative to average lake depth). Bridges, spillways and boat ramps are a good place to start. As far as what to throw, it comes down to preference. Personally a chatterbait is by far my MVP for numbers of good prespawn fish. I start out fishing a chatterbait more like a jig, slow and on the bottom and I speed up slowly as the water warms. You just dont want to miss that initial transition bite if at all possible, thats why its best to start early. If you manage catch that early transition bite, it makes it far easier to predict the mood of the fish instead of going in cold. Also the first fish pushing shallow are often the largest in the lake, so the chances of hooking a pb are in youre favor.

I used a Uni Uni for years with 20lb FC and 20-30lb 832 and it worked. I caught lots of stripers over 20lbs on it, but If I would snag up it wouldn't take all that much pressure to break it. Im surprised you could break it so easily. Ive never used Tatsu, but I suspect its soft which would make it easier for the braid to bite into it.

You may be over tightening the knots before you slide them together them together, without adding enough lubrication to the knot and the line its traveling over, particularly when youre using a braid that isnt very smooth like original PP. A uni uni is strongest when the lines are of = diameter, the more dissimilar the line dia, the weaker the connection is.

My favorite head for the GYCB hulas(4 and 5") is the Hayabusa Shooting ball. Its a football head a med wire hook 2/0 hook and mono bristle guard. The hook is small enough to limit snags and if you do snag up the hook will bend and you can bend it back. Trouble is all of a sudden, they are hard to get, I hope they didnt discontinue them. I like those heads overall, but I wish the eye was closer to 90. I fish them with light line and the knot really takes a beating because of the angle of the eye.

The 3k has the T knob instead of the I knob. The handle length is longer as well which makes a big difference IMO to how the reel feels.

You would be blown away at how much sensitivity youre missing out on if you switch to braid. You dont need to tie a PR or FG, an Alberto is easy to learn, to very small and extremely strong. The uni-uni is a little easier and strong as well, but its a little more bulky. If you're set on FC then I would recommend #6 or 8 Invzx.

Coronach is a good reel, but its no Metanium. Instead of the Chronarch I would recommend taking a hard look at the Zillion SV.

Being stealthy is just as important as what you're using, IMO.

Yo zuri actually put circle hooks one some of their smaller inshore JBs. I beleive the line had been discontinued. However Rapala started going to inline replacements which is what I would favor over a circle hook.

Dollar for dollar the Berkley half head is probably the best I have found, and nothing else is close. Keeper is effective with plastisol and elaztech and they use #1 fusion hooks which are super sticky. The hooks are small, but the wire is surprisingly stout. I wish they had a little more flex so they wouldnt weaken when bent, bit I haven't seen one break yet, which I cant say for most ned heads. I do wish the half heads had a rounder shape, more like the OG gopher heads. If youre using elaztech or any other floating baits the shape isnt really an issue. They used to be 4$ for 8, recently they are now closer to 5$ but you get 8 heads which is double or more what you would get for that money from another brand.

It depends on the shank length and thickness of the wire. The heavier that hook is the more influence it will have on the bait, whether its good or bad. Sometimes I like a Heavy wire hook on unweighted flukes just to keep the bait down a little better. If its on a T or free rig I generally want a lighter hook.

Thats awesome, what a beautiful fish, she's practically pristine. Glad they worked out for you. My top 3 are Black/Blue, Blue Craw and Wild Craw, but dont sleep on spanish craw.

The Ima suspending traps dont produce huge numbers but theyre a great bellwether as to what bait to go with, because theyre kind of combination of a trap, JB and CB.

Ive found on one local lake rattles can do more harm then good the majority of the year. When I do use them I like the 3mm Waspi for Air Tail Rattlers and 5mm GL for Biffle Bugs

Didnt have a scale, but about 6.5 or a little under on a Black, Brown, GP Chatterbait w/GP, chart swirl Swimmon

can we get a pic of the moded Zorro? I know what you mean, Ive got lots of pics fish that dont look like they weight as much as the boga thinks they do. The guys who really fish know a good one when the see it, thats a hammer.

I dont know that I would buy ther flagship models, but theyre budget to mid range rods are very good. I dont know of any other company that offers a 36t blank for 60$ or a 40t for 100$.

Barbs are over rated. Ive been smashing barbs for years without my landing % suffering. I have gone almost completely to single replacement hooks on my SW gear. Ive actually seen my landing % increase significantly since. I didnt take into account before swapping most of my trebles out, but replacing 2 3/0 2x VMCs on a swimming plug like an SP drastically changes the action. The loss of drag and resistance causes the bait to run tighter. While the baits still produce its something to keep in mind. I have done a little bit of experimenting with single replacements on FW JBs and so far results have been promising. So far the trebles I've been replacing are #8 or smaller and I havent noticed much if any detrimental change in action. It something you just need to try on a small scale at first to see how it works out. Just replacing tail trebles with singles should dramatically decrease eye pokes.

Im curious as well... I have that exact same Quake coming in the mail. Im curious to know how thick the body is. Suspending lipless baits are usually nearly double the dia of a typical lipless and have a straight taper.

You can get a rod that will do alot but not everything. If the rod excels with cranks it will lack the power to get a good set with a jig or t rig at distance. Ive tried to do the same thing and have found I need 2 rods. One for light cranks/JBs and one for just about everything else. I have an advantage too, because my local water is really shallow, so I dont have to worry about deep cranks or heavier chatterbaits. I went the MH mod F and had success, but found a 7'3 or 7'4 MH F to be far more versatile and efficient. Arks 40t 7'3 MH F blank is one you should look at closely. The other way to go IMO would be a Mag Bass taper.

X9 crystal is white. It doesnt fade, but if you fish muddy water it stains. There are no fade PEs on the market, but I have no experience with them. When I put braid on FW bass gear I hardly ever use more then 70 yards on top of backing. The first 25 yards sees the most wear. After it starts to fray and get ropey, I pull the braid off and flip it, that way I use just about every yard. Even if its just for an hr or 2 I get out nearly every day and it I can generally get at least a year out of that 70 yards.

Not familiar with the HMGs but the specs for the 7'2 are close if not the same as MH mod fast. Fish it first then go from there.

Thats pretty much the 2 I would go for.

I leave the blades alone, but I modify every skirt on every jig, spinnerbait, buzzbait and bladed jig I have.