softwateronly

Region of the country, time of year, and boat or shore access will get you better answers... scott

I came to my senses and ordered more sharpies.... scott

I usually agree with this, but I'm inviting some more possible pain by giving the graph shads a chance. scott

Ever use these with elaztech? scott

I have a tat 300 on my swimbait rod that's good up to 8oz, and a zillion hd and tat 200 on my other swimbait rods rated up to 4oz. Very happy with all of them. I prefer having the smaller, lighter reels when not tossing the heaviest of stuff and the zillion hd is a dream. scott

Water temp on my water was 50 degrees on tuesday, and the bite was much more open than just dragging. My fish were on shad, and mostly moving on schools in 20-30' fow, and I was catching them working a tailspinner from the bottom to about 10' off of it, hopping a walk the dog retrieve of a duo Bayruf jig, and shaking a jig and minnow. That said it's been real cold the last few days, and I certainly expect a big drop in water temp the next time I'm out there. The slow stuff might be what i need. I lean toward a compact jig w/ a no action trailer, shaking a minnow right off the bottom, slow swimming a tiny underspin w/ a 2-3" swimbait as glued to the bottom as possible, a suspending jerk bait tuned to ever so slowly sink, dragging a little tube, and my best producer, lifting and dropping a blade bait. But this sudden drop in temp can really stun the gizzard and make them dumb easy meals if they get shocked. This might fire up the bass for short periods, beginning/end of day always seem best on my water. Tightlining a small flutter spoon, jigging spoon or tailspinner, and/or then reel ripping 2-4" jigging/flutter spoons a few feet off the bottom, deep cranking w/ short bursts and pauses, hopping a lv500 instead of a blade bait, and working an erratic finesse scrounger or chatterbait might all get a chance. I stick to jigs and tubes as craw imitators and drag and shake at glacial paces when signs of life are absent, but mostly lean toward mimicking struggling shad with vertically fast and erratic but horizontally slow(ish) presentations and have been rewarded frequently with plus sized bass and decent bags. The last few years have taught me to not overlook some of this faster stuff in the cold, the bass do get active in the cold water, it's just rare that the window is there for long. scott

@Swamp Girl from your pics and wonderful descriptions, I feel like there's solid similarities in water clarity and vegetation in the waters we fish. scott

My waters make me comfortable with all the natural hues, and I love to mix a lot of them in on my jig/trailer combos. Solid white is what I'll never throw, feels like a highbeam flashlight turned on underwater. If there's a shot of purple, green, pink, or blue on the back and the body leans toward clearish white; it's then one of my favorites. I doubt the fish care as much as I do. scott

Only once? I'm thoroughly impressed! I'm going the other way, working on top level calluses, currently I'm immune to 30lb braid but taking it on the chin from PE 1. I will train hard in 2025! As a side note, I now can now just wave my finger in the vicinity of my soft plastics to find out their salt content. scott

Well the cold finally landed, got the boats out Tuesday to avoid the snow and sleet. Here's my last gasp at feeling my fingers while fishing. Couple city bass from shore, dragging a little tube yet again; And here's the last days of having the bigger boat out, the bite was a little more open, shaking a minnow, mid column walking the dog with a BayRuff, and aggressively working a tailspin in the bottom third of the water column with my first fish caught in over 30' fow. scott

Mustad website is offering 35% off. I ended up getting some bulk order ballheads with keepers for under $.55 a pop. This way I can continue to donate to the underwater tackle eaters of lake michigan and not feel it as much. scott

Regional diversity is fantastic for learning. Growing up in Chicago and fishing the midwest, my entire life, bucket boys have meant 2 things at the same time; kids drumming on 5 gallon buckets for cash and fisherman that threw everything they caught in the bucket regardless of size or regulations. Food fishing is most definitely the norm for the generation older than me out here, my solidly middle age generation is probably a healthy mix of C&R and table fare, I don't know enough about the younger generation though I suspect they lean more toward C&R. Ancedotally, I feel like the last 30 years of fishing in the midwest has improved. First, industrial clean up of our water is the number one fix. Second, even with population increase and increased development of land and waterfront, most fisheries seem currently balanced and the generational differences in harvest and C&R probably play more of a role than I was aware of or willing to admit. Let's hope a balanced view of and execution of carrying capacity informs our laws and that we follow them. Personally, that means more keeping for me in the future. scott

@Morello87 If you throw 15lb braid on a "normal" baitcaster, you often end up with line dig. Line dig will blow up your casting stroke and make fishing unpleasant and possibly slow your thumb education. I agree 40lb braid is about as low as you wanna go while learning, but 30lb is pretty much hassle free for me on my reels a few years in. There's not many of us on here, but I think braid to leader is a viable system that has more advantages than drawbacks in my book. Line choices are hotly debated on here, and over time I can see the logic behind all the differing views. scott

@Alex from GA I'm in the same camp. I've gotten used to the way braid to leader fishes and don't feel comfortable moving away from it anymore. scott

@Mobasser Earlier this week, a 3/4oz deracoup tailspinner was the deal. Water temp is barely 50, and wolfpacks are chasing small shad schools all over a basin that ranges from 25-35 fow. My flasher makes it seem that the shad are close to the bottom and I caught my first bass that I know was over 30' when it hit. Without much electronic knowledge, I usually tightline my long cast till bottom, counting till a bite or hits bottom. Knowing those rough numbers allow me to work mid column more effectively if I find out that's where they want it. I have a strange rod that keeps them pinned, it's a 7' M/MH XF w/ a solid tip. It's the right combo of soft tip/mid blank load/ and power to hook em way out there and get em to the boat. If you get ticked, more times than not that's a crappie in my lake. The bass leave no doubt. Here's a couple chunks hooked in the face, I will say there's lots of gill raker hook ups. It's important to have your pliers ready if you want to get the bleeders back in the water quickly. scott

Where it is, including angle/direction, and speed are my usual assumptions. I fish alone most of the time, so I don't have much experience with your scenario, but I know I can't rule out a spot without mixing up speed and the angle I'm approaching from. scott

@Cuddy I'm close to https://www.clearh2otackle.com/ and this is my favorite mom and pop, but it's clear across the state for you. Also, they don't tout themselves as jdm, but interesting things do sneak through there. The website is ok at best. I can scope it out if you've got specifics you wanna share. scott

Looking for a 2fer. Anyone use these? Thinking of minnow shaking and 2.5" tubes. I like the options of 1/4 & 3/8oz heavy w/ a 1/0 or 2/0 hook for tubes at a reasonable price.

Hey all, it's also online but buy 2 get one free.... scott

@Jig Rookie That PB!!!! Congrats on an absolute tank. Casually big baiting your way to the largest predator in that pond, and to be sure, I hope we get to see her again next year on this thread. scott

Nah.....he's long arming all of em. Especially that musky, it's like he doesn't even have arms. I'm lucky to have the means for too many combos, and have the most options in the medium power(6), followed by heavy(5), then MH(4) and only one of them is fast and that is my 6'6 jig rod. In general, throwing braid to leader means I gravitate toward RF or MF in terms of action and end up catching with baits and hooks that more often than not fit in the M and H categories better. scott

Yessir. scott

I've seen people cut up some pool noodles and vinyl tape them to the hoop/handle. Opens up more options. scott

@Junk Fisherman my limited time in basically one spot on lake michigan has opened my eyes to dragging the little 2.5" tube. You have to add it in or back in, it was just too effective for me this year. scott

@MickD I have alphas 800s, alphas air, and a zillion w/ roro x27 spool all capable of casting 4g with the modified zillion and air definitely able to go lighter/throw further. I think jdm alphas/zillion with an extra lightweight spool (usually $80 ish) can you give you the most flexibility if you end up moving away from bfs, use it seasonly, or remake combos for specific trips. Alphas w/ 2 spools would be $240, Zillion w/ 2 spools $300. The Tat 70 might fit into this category too, I just haven't kept up with the all the iterations of the tatula. All the previous posters helped me previously, back then I wasn't ever considering spool swaps. scott