GetFishorDieTryin

That was the first crankbait I ever used. I fished a small pond with a buddy in the fall and he gave me one. He crushed em. I caught a couple, but I just didnt have the cadence and feel down. Lots of times you wouldn't feel the hit, so I didnt know to set the hook. I think mine had dull hooks too. I lost 6 or 7 that just shook the bait out.

The first chatterbaits used single layer EZ skirts. They dont look as nice as a handtied skrt, but theres a reason they were used. Thinning out the inside layers of the skirt allows for better action and less lift. Simply trimming the skirt can cut the size a bladed jig in half. The spunk shads are good trailers, but the density of the plastic and buoyancy of the plastic causes the bladed jig to run shallower than it would with other trailers. IMO the spunk shad works best on a burn and stop retrieve with a hunting bladed jig. If you want the bait to run deeper, try Net Baits 4.5 flat sided shad. The tail and body to tail length ratio is very similar to a spunk shad. The flat sided shad just has a much thinner profile, so it stays deeper and casts a little better.

Thats strange, you at elevation or something?. Up here in NJ its rare we get ice for more than 2 weeks at a time. We average 1 or 2 ice overs a winter, with a total of 2 to 3 weeks locked out. Normally we get a blast of cold air for 4 or 5 days that will lock the water up. After that the jet stream moves back up and we get a blob of warm air from the south with enough rain to thaw the ice or at least rots the ice to where it breaks up or holes open up around sluice gates and bridges, which is where the fish are anyway. On average years you notice the feeding windows of bass and crappie really start to open up and the fish become noticeably more aggressive. Prior to the fish becoming more active, instead of starting big and downsizing, I throw micro bucktails, keitech mono jigs, 3" ES and other smaller baits. I have a JB, a suspending trap, flatside or Shad Rap, and a jig or bladed jig rigged up and ready to go if I find a concentration of fish. Barring sustained sub freezing temps, by the end of the first week of march the shallow lakes are warm enough for sparse grass and lilly roots to begin to sprout. Once that happens the lily fields become ideal for crankbaits and even swim jigs.

Initially I used a 1/16 #1 in both Owner Darter Head and Keitech super round, as well as 1/20 wheel heads on the 3" Keitech. Since then Ive used over a dozen different kinds of heads depending on the situation. Some heads really stood out. Berkley Half Head Hayabusa Baby Shooting Ball (DCd) Hayabusa Brush Easy Outkast Tackle Money Jig Core Tackle Hover Jig Decoy VJ 74 (keeper is is almost non existent, but there is shrink tube on the shank for tying a custom FC/Mono keeper, which works great)

I couldn't part with a few of the SS reels I have. When I was 10, I mowed lawns, scraped barnacles and painted boats for months to get the 4500 SS. I used the 4500 and 2 other SS reels in what almost feels like a different lifetime. My Dad fished a little but isn't an angler. There was no internet as we know it when I was a kid. Through reading and fishing with different people that would become like family, is how I learned. The nostalgia and memories of people long gone when I pick those reels up, make them priceless.

Had some serious health issues a couple years ago. Since then, I fish the bank more often than any one of my boats.

Magnesium is a metal, its just the density which makes it feel different from AL. If you want a tiny solid reel, check out the Bates BFS option. Those reels are machines from a solid block of AL, which is far more resilient than a forged reel. peace not sure than any piece of tackle has blown my mind more so than the first time I got hands on one.

I only had issues with pickerel when using Red Label or InvizX. Every leader material had very few if any bite offs through the entire year. I think you're the first person ive talked to that has used it, and or remembered the name. I had gotten a couple spools of 10 and 15 right after it came out. Its definitely the hardest FC I've ever used. I used to use it with pencils, catch 2k, and other twitchin/walking baits. You could hit it pretty hard and the line wouldn't foul on the belly hook of the plug. I used it to throw tin at blues and bass. It was stiff enough to minimize twisting. For the most part I really liked it, but there were some attributes I didn't love. It wasn't the best knotting line. For connection knots you really to put pressure on it completely seat. The other was the dia. Just holding it hand, its noticeably thicker than Blue Label and wouldn't get down as fast. When using long leaders that go into the spool, it would jump when pressure was taken off. I just used shorter leaders. Lastly, the stiffness could have a negative effect on lighter subtle baits. I was carrying 3 different FC leader materials in my bag, blue label, HD Carbon and Shinsei, so I wanted to phase 1 out, which wound up being Shinsei.

I came really close to buying a 3k a couple years ago. They're light for an AL framed Daiwa, but from what I remember. I cant remember exactly what they weighed, but I'm fairly certain the 3ks were over 8oz. I was looking at the EVA knobbed 3k because it was going to be an inshore reel, and it was over 8.5oz. I ended up not pulling the trigger because Stradic 3k was .5oz lighter than the 3k Lexa. I compared the 2500s to my older 17 fuegos weight and the short handle model was pretty close, 1/4oz sounds right. The newer Fuegos cut close to 1/4oz off the total weight so now I bet they would be closer to 1/2oz lighter.

The 4" sickle tails are great on 1/16oz light wire #1 darter head fished in grass.

Grubs have been super effective forever; the only reason they aren't pushed hard is because they aren't a sexy new bait and most grubs don't have a high profit margin. A buddy of mine has just about exclusively been throwing 2 and 3" pearl grubs since the 60s. Theres a period of time, about 4, maybe 5 weeks in the late winter, sometimes into very early spring when the fish key on small craws, and soaking a TRD can match or exceed the numbers produced by even the 2" grub. The rest of the year, the grub will come out on top numbers wise. I think a grub can cover water faster than a TRD and match or exceed the high bite %. The tail on a grub makes them easy to bottom trace with and slows the fall, all with a subtle action. Much like a swimbait, the shape of the grub, size, plastic formula, durometer and tail style, all have an effect on how the grub fishes. A real sleeper that many people dont even know exists are the Z man grubz. They're unsalted, like the curly tail/streaks, which results in an incredibly buoyant bait. The lack of salt makes them incredibly resilient. I've literally caught hundreds of snappers, with some cocktail blues mixed in less than a full tide cycle. Without bigger blues cutting you off or snags a few packs will literally. The buoyancy of elastomer has to be taken into consideration when choosing jigheads. A 1/8oz head on a GYCB 4" grub will have a much faster ROF when comared to the elastomer grubz on a 1/8oz. I like the EZ tubes, but the problem with them has always been the skirt. The thin tentacles want to kink and set crooked. They're really hard to straighten. If you dip in them in hot water, the skirt stretches under its own weight. Even if the skirts are straight, they're so thin they want to stick to each other in the water. The TRD grubs saw some improvement. They got a solid head shorter skirt relative to overall length and strands were thicker which helped with the clumping issue, as well as adding salt, which helped the sink rate. The tube is in a similar situation as the grub. Tubes and grubs were both hot baits at one time, and obviously still produce well. Tubes are still popular up north, but the once extremely popular flippin tube don't have the buzz they once did. Zoom should have been prosecuted for axing all but 2 base colors in the TBH. Rootbeer pepper grn and bluegill were killers on the keitech mono jig in GP and bluegill respectively.

Ive fished PE to FC leader material since Blue Label came out and within the past 4 or 5 years started using FC running line for some outfits. I work on certain techniques or baits every season. It might be a technique that I did well within the past and have gotten away from, but generally I use a technique/bait that I need to build confidence in, or just to become more proficient. I went down the DS rabbit hole one year and was blowing through 30 yards spools like crazy. While using Blue Label, I can count the pickerel bite offs throughout the entire season on one hand. With running line FC, you will see bite offs nearly every trip. Just before the '25-'26 ice age, I had a day where I really beat em down on a Rozy 63 in Riverbait. That lake has a few snakeheads, but no pickerel. The very next day I fished a different lake. On the 3rd or 4th cast I had a big pickerel bite right through the Red Label leader and take my last 63 in Riverbait, which aren't cheap or easy to get on a good day. I had a few places where I could get Duo 63s, but all of a sudden everyone is sold out. Wouldn't be surprised if the TW guys were talking up the Rozantes, because the 63 and 77s have gone from scarce to very scarce in a few weeks. Had I had 8lb FC leader materials instead of 8lb Red Label, there's a very good chance it wouldn't have been a bite off. The leader material would have more than paid for itself.

BFS gear is a blast, but as far as clear advantages it offers over spinning gear, there As far as I know, the majority of pros that swear by back reeling have retired from the sport or are in the twilight of their careers. In theory back reeling would be superior to any drag, but its a skill that needs to learned. If you goof up, it could cost you 6 figures. Improvements in drag has limited the need to learn to backreel. Even entry level reels today have very smooth operating drags, which virtually eliminate tearing and breakoffs. In theory you could set your drag very low on a BFS reel and use your thumb to add/remove pressure. You may be some people do that eventually, but I think for now spinning gear is just more efficient.

An additional 6" can make a huge difference in how a rod performs and feels. 6'6 to 7' you notice a difference, but both rods are still fairly similar. IMO going from 7'-7'6 is a much more noticeable difference in the balance and action. Rods over 7'2 start to get tip heavy. Youre goign to have a lonnger handle length to counteract that. The longer handle length gives more leverage in the cast. Coupled with the longer overall blank, it can really increase casting distance, so long as the blank has sufficient power in the mid and lower section to handle the extra leverage you put into the cast. If not, that extra tip speed gained by the longer rod wont give any increase in distance. The longer handle and overall length make 7'6 rods a little less ideal for baits you have to twitch or walk all day. I still use twitchbaits on my custom MagM 7'5 blank, but just for a couple hours or less. Although its just a 6" increase, a 7'6 gives you the feeling like you can control depth better and move more line without using the reel,

Thats terrible news. Ive never liked the shape and feel of Tatula frames, but the newer ones feel great in hand. Im hesistant to spend $300 on a Tatula, but the elite P/F looks awesome on paper. I hope everything works out with the reel. Let us know what happens. TYIA

I dont think the bearing will make much of a difference, it comes down to preference on the feel of the reels. I favor the Daiwas, especially for smaller reels, because I use them for stripers and blues. The 2500LT reels have a gear that's bigger than a 4k Battle or and most 4k Shimanos. The solid MQ frames, coupled with an even larger main gear give those little reels a surprising amount of torque for their weight. I love the look of the Daiwa reels as well. As great the Daiwas are, I think Shimano has Daiwa beat as far as line management goes, unless you still use mono than that super slow oscillation isn't desirable. I feel like that impeccable line lay is an advantage for light baits. I somewhat favor Shimanos drag system as well. Daiwas drags are smooth, I just like how Shimano drags are really precise. Honestly you cant lose, both reels ooze quality and will do the job well.

Ill fish in bedding areas. I've found a mojo rigs with creature baits that suspend off the bottom to be really effective. Not too many can stand a palmetto bug just sitting in front of their face. Ill fish a few casts in bedding areas, but really don't like to target spawning females anymore.

The silent MBs arent silent? There are some guys who really think a lot of the provoke. They arent expensive, so it would be worth trying.

Those double dipped solid tubes been out forever.

The LTG are all glass. Big difference in weight and feel.

There are several US style BFS rods that are basically like light Mag Light or ML crisp tipped casting rods. They should be perfect for those light 1/8-5/16 cranks that are difficult to throw on M power rods.

You want the hook to be static with a DS. If you use a standard dropper loop without twisting the line to createa solid standoff, the lure wil just sit slack without current. The best DS knot to tie is one that i dont even know teh name of. Its essentially a dropper loop without the loop. You just cinch the knot onto the eye of the hook. Once right the hook cant turn or roll and will always be in the correct position. That kind of knot also allows makes it really easy to get exactly the amount of tag you want without having to run through the eye, like a palomar or uni DS. https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=best+drop+shot+knot&&mid=7BC36694BD85367604417BC36694BD8536760441&mmscn=stvo&FORM=SVRTHV

I thought about getting some too when it was on sale. I checked my supply and realized that I already have 3 new kinds of PE to run this year, the USDM YGK X8, Almight and another sunline PE. I was told by someone whose opinion I trust as much and even times more than my own, that it was one of the "best" lines he had ever used.

Theres a legit topwater bite right after those first bigger fish push shallow as the early prespawn kicks off. You just need the right conditions, calm and a couple hours of sun. Ive seen whopper ploppers work, but small sublte buzzbaits seem to work best and you can get on that bite again later in the fall.

Coresolid v MGL is just marketing jargon. For reels that FW bass anglers would use coresolid just refers to a metal frame, as all the smaller Shimano reels have composite rotors. If the rotor and frame were metal you would end with a 10oz 2500 size reel. Shimano doesn't make things simple either, they have reels that are marketed as coresolid/MGl hybrid like the TP FE. Most reels will be either "finesse" or "power" reels, with some being a little bit of both. If the reel has a hagane body its a power reel, if its a ci4 body then its a finesse reel.