softwateronly

@Swamp Girl in general, no. 2.5-4.5" are my best sized smallie baits. But I have caught them on an s-waver 200 and a 6" deps death adder on a scrounger. The days I caught them on big baits, they barely hit smaller things. Knowing they were there and taking a guess on upsizing my presentation is what made it click. Now if I think they're on bait, I'll make sure to try some larger profiles before I move on. scott

MidwayUsa has northland tackle smeltinator underspins on sale right now. I like them a lot. I find a heavy weight // small hook to be most useful on my water and it's hard to beat a 1/2oz 1/0 w/ a 3" armor shad or mooch minnow at certain times of the year. I like the dirty jigs version as well, but northland seems to have the most weight/hook/color options and find their way on sale more frequently. These are light wire hooks, and reel sets are definitely my best bet. scott

I use braid to leader on all my rigs. I deal with zebra mussels in the bodies of water I fish and have moved to long flouro leaders, between 7-30 feet. The combo is the right feel for me and I bought rods that play well with a low stretch line set up, offers decent abrasion resistance regardless of rocks/zebras, weeds/zebras, and depth, also offers shock absorption for moving baits, and economy of constant retying of frayed line. It's a system that works for me and I feel like I've negated almost all of the tradeoffs. scott

@Rucksack Night time top water outside of a frog has never really done well for me, but night time is the absolute best time to catch big summer bass on my lake. Swim jigs, grass jigs, and a chop style glide do the most damage here on grass lines in 8-12' fow. I guess my point is; go fish at night, but try other things other than topwater. scott

I have gone back 2 days later to where I cast off a glide in about 16' fow, but right near a buoy, and successfully rescued it from the bottom. If your lady questions the magnet purchase, just play this video, he's so happy. scott

@ike8120 I ended up with this one, 61" extended and 17" folded up. Not exactly the specs I was looking for, but it was very close and very affordable. Got a chance to put it to work too. Appreciate the tip! @TLHSS all things considered, I ended up going for a cheaper option. We'll see if I end up paying twice. Thanks for the suggestion and it's filed away if I need to come back around for the quality. scott

This can certainly be true, but if you've blanked for two winters I'd lean toward they're not shallow in your body of water. The baits you're using will catch if they are there, some tweaks might give you more bites, but you shouldn't blank if they are around. Cranks, jerks, blade baits, jigs, jighead minnow, underspins, etc are all productive for me further north. scott

I'm agnostic, but shimano and major craft lead the way with dobyns losing share. scott didn't read OP's original post closely enough....I'd say major craft has made major strides for me in the last 18 months. The fishing experience for the cost can't be touched by other brands that I own, making them my current favorite.

I caught a 15ish pound brown trout about 15 years ago on a ML avid. I never knew a drag can scream that loud and that long. scott

@Darth-Baiter time for you to go striper fishing!! scott

Is it because you can't reach with your cast where they live in the cold weather? Usually, deeper water offers more temp stability and both prey and predator migrate there. So part of this question is; is it your bait choice or your location? scott

If you have a long haul or cold weather, buy a couple rolls of painters tape. After the mount is affixed, run a few pieces around the edges of the suction cup. It's a great back up to never fully losing contact. This is standard practice for the grip department on car rigs in tv/film, except they use photo black tape that costs someone twice as much. scott

Jigs, t-rigs, moving single hook, and trebles, the 6'9MH can do it all. I'd love it if it was $250, but at $150 this and the 692 M/F are just absolute steals. scott

Yes, especially in d-bombs and beavers. I like to think of them as my standard color, then deviate from there when I think the situation calls for it. scott

To me, yes by a mile. Here's how I break down my pe and all always used with a leader and all layered on 15-20lb ultragreen maxima for stacking keeping 80-100m on each setup; pe 1 - roro x27 spool on a zillion and an alpha air (standard spool) pe 1.5 - alphas 800s (standard spool) pe 2.5 - metanium (standard spool) scott

Thanks. @TLHSS Is that the screw in hoop style or the swing head style? I found an ebay option or two, but their literature is lacking. scott

You'd love this, 90% of a 2018 pa 7'3mh for half the price. I have one in my car right now. https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4573236260334 6'9 2 piece, MH/RF 1/4-1oz scott Congrats!

@ABU is overpriced From YGK, I've done G-Soul upgrade x8 and Ultra Max2 WX8. Both are light years ahead of US domestic options. I use pe 1 on shallow spool zillions and both have done well so far, but I will give a slight edge in distance to g-soul upgrade. scott

When the water is the right temp, I found a magic rock that allows me to find and land good sized smallies. Now I want a net that can reach down the breakwall and pack up for a train ride to open up more locations, this sounds very Japanese to me. I found these two that look the part, but wondering if I missed where to look. scott https://www.ebay.com/itm/276655224360?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1l39bb7GyQgW5C_-5IqC1Cg2&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=276655224360&targetid=2320093655185&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9217253&poi=&campaignid=21222258394&mkgroupid=164713660992&rlsatarget=pla-2320093655185&abcId=9408285&merchantid=101498432&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21222258394&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh8XszldBGSwNc-srwc5MrfvZ&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_dbABhC5ARIsAAh2Z-Rh8hx4r1OuqorgLfbj92DIy1zPs2Hxzu_oLX_dKxpEbP0ZXuGyzfIaAjGfEALw_wcB https://www.ebay.com/itm/404930331252?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1S3SHHNJ7Slqx6_QoQvqCwA4&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=404930331252&targetid=2319404999269&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9217253&poi=&campaignid=21222256297&mkgroupid=167054596991&rlsatarget=pla-2319404999269&abcId=9408285&merchantid=5305524520&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21222256297&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh_pPlsD3RF7IMaUymgWZnn6v&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_dbABhC5ARIsAAh2Z-SX_TO7EV6rGcLvT3r7U_mUtbTLXXo19HRcXNcK4OYYMY_Tm-LizckaAn7LEALw_wcB

Any 2x will weigh more regardless. Get the hooks you want and some zappu floating board. Should be able to dial in less sink. scott

Hahaha. You stole this from my brain. I also have the 755 and unfortunately broke my PA 7'3MH, but whole heartedly agree with your assessment. scott

Agreed ^^^^ @PBBrandon did you go drx724? Thoughts on action compared to the champ? scott

Cracked, taking on water? Not good imo, looks done to me. scott

@lavbasser I've done well with them too and haven't noticed what you're seeing. They have an aggressive posture, but not 90 degrees. Is this posture when you drop it right next to the boat? Sometimes it takes the cast and a pull or two for the weight transfer system to set up properly internally. scott

Nice! Don't need more combos right now, but look forward to your review. scott