softwateronly

The baitcasting feather series is one of the best bang for the buck series I've ever fished. Sub $200 rods that have the sensitivity of $300 rods, inmo. I have my eyes on another to up my total to 3. scott ps - they have a reputation of slightly over rating their power compared to others, but it is consistent and is easily mitigated by having that knowledge.

Most evidence up here points to gobies being a net positive for both lm/sm bass, and all gamefish really. They're omnivores, but I think they're also the only thing eating zebra mussels. So with both of these invasives, we get closer to a "balance" and the game fish get a new, successful, protein rich prey. The asian carp thing seems to have more possibility to harm a fishery from what I've read. Their voracious appetite and breeding success seem to change the ecosystem from the bottom up and they outgrow their prey size very fast, and greatly reduce the habitat for other prey species to remain successful. scott edit: without gobies, I think our northern fisheries would be in much more peril due to the zebra mussel over-filtering.

I've purchased their used rods 5-6 times and received what I expected or better condition each time. I only sold to them once, in person, and received @ 80-85% of what I would have listed them at. The convenience was well worth it and I was selling rods that are not high end, so their market was limited from my pov. scott

I do not have scientific proof, but any reason not related to their circulatory system making adjustments to prolonged colder water temps seems fishy. I just can't follow it, do we think red lips are from crawdad combat? rooting around in the mud/clay? an outward display to make crawdads mesmerized like a cuttlefish? There's nothing I can think of or have heard that even seems plausible. scott

I learned on a dc as well. As I was learning I did my best to educate my thumb regardless of the braking system. Lo and behold, when I got my first non-dc reel I was casting and backlashing exactly the same as a dc reel. Not to bash, but in lots of ways, I don't find dc reels any better or easier than shimano and diawas other modern reels. Be confident that you can throw a non dc because I'm positive you can. scott

My bags and bags of soft plastics means I have no understanding of how to limit it to two. I'm sure if you follow any advice here, you'll have success because I have with most people's suggestions. I think it would be good to think about one other thing; weights. I'm a believer in bullet weights, free rigs, and weightless. This is kinda new to me, but I think I would choose free rig if I only did one. It can do most of what bullet and weightless provide and seems most versatile, but I think preparing for all 3 is best. scott

Throwing little spoons, both flutter and jigging, almost exclusively for the last few weeks has reinforced that truth even if I forget to translate it to other baits. Every cast is a mini experiment, tightline the initial drop? let it plummet to the bottom like a shiny rock on slack? reel rip off the bottom w/ rod tip high or low when I kill it? bow to it on the kill? mid column swim? I have theories why what works, but I think I do best when I just feel it out in the moment. scott

I use my heaviest jigs in the heat of summer and the coldest open water. In the summer, I do well hopping/stroking and busting through the heaviest cover. Often times, my bait gets weightless or there's the distinctive thump. In the winter, almost all of my bites are dragging and shaking, where the bass plucks it off the bottom. The heavier weight just makes it easier for me to feel every single thing since most bites are inhales without swimming off and spongey is my best description of a bite. Basically, the heavier jig in cold water is best for me to move slow enough on the bottom and to detect the bite. I'm sure rof can come into play into the winter as well, I'm just not experienced catching them on initial falls this time of year. scott

I disagree, and that's fine. Let's catch some fish. scott

I'm with @Zcoker. It can be absolutely impossible to understand for some of us. No judgement, just can't fathom it. scott

I used a Dobyns 795swmbt rod with a curado dc for 1.5 seasons and caught fish. Eventually, I grabbed a curado 300 and a tatula 300 for my 2 swimbait rods, and everything fishes better with the bigger reels. As far as line, I'm happiest braid to leader, 65lb pp to 20lb maxima ultragreen or 25lb fc 100. I own more shimano than diawa, but I do think the tat 300 is better than the curado 300 for me. It's more comfortable palming and I feel like I cast farther. Big game and Sunline Armilo in 20-25lb are very popular mono choices on here for bigger baits and I see sunline shooter rec'ed often for floro. scott

If I could, I'd certainly throw a pro-KGB right into a lake, probably prefer a fast sinking model though. scott

I don't know, but my industry was mostly on strike this year so I had way more time since May and probably fished more hours this year than at any other time in my life. I had numerous 5-7 days stretches when I was able to fish everyday. It probably saved my sanity as I burned through our savings paying bills. The only drawback, was that I worked loads of hours in April missing my favorite window. Even though I didn't hate it, I'd rather not have a year like this again for at least 20 years barring some sort of financial windfall. scott

Original packages stored in those mesh laundry bags sorted by type and size. I can see through it well enough to determine what each grouping is. scott

I don't think plastisol reacts w/ plastic other than melting from heat. Color often bleeds, tails get kinked, and rigged baits often rust out hooks with the high salt content. It's a bit of a gamble that I don't take with my baits, but I know others on here do. If you store them nice and neat with like colors, you're gonna be happy. Elaztech on the other hand does not play nice with other plastics, definitely keep those away and separate. scott

I just spooled up 2 alphas 800s w/ varivas 8 in pe# 1.2 and got a few outings in with it. Great casting and handling, so far so good. scott

!!!!! But then there's the entire NW corner of the peninsula that looks like a fractal wet moonscape. Just stunning. scott

I just spent 20 minutes on google maps staring at that beautiful and haunted Ungava land?scape. Simply amazing what some glaciers and meteors can do. Thanks for the reference, I'd never noticed it before. scott

Major Craft 5G Black Porgy Series Baitcast Rod BP5B-782ML. I just bought and used for the 1st time the BP5B-782M and was able to easily send a 1/4oz little cleo 30+ yards w/ an alpha 800S. I could easily feel the spoon being sucked in on the fall and also knew it wasn't right when it was grabbed off the bottom. The medium is rated 4-20g and the medium light is 3-15g. If I get more time before the ice, I'll do my best to find the bottom range of the medium, but I feel confident 1/8oz is gonna work. Just sharing if any of you are becoming as spinning averse as I am and are looking for a longer rod. scott

I was out of town for a few weeks for work, putting my every month open water bass project of 23 in jeopardy, but yesterday I had an opportunity to get the canoe out with weather in the 50's. Turned out to be a great idea, nothing huge but 12 bass in 3 hours is well worth my time. Also, got to try out a new rod and ended up doing almost all the catching on that one. scott

Swim jigs and jigs are still my staple, but this year I learned some new baits; - the chad shad, being able to chop a bigger bait brought on some furious action April thru June - Hags *** tornado t-rigged and on a fin-tech jig was a great big bass worm for me this year - 5-7" flutter spoons, opened up a new world of pelagic bass in July/August. Then leaving it tied on and floating it down weedy breaks gave me some great bites as well. - jigging spoons/small flutter spoons ripped and killed mid column gave me a new angle on presenting to bass keyed in on shad in fall/early winter and combined with blade baits and tail spinners proved to be a great 1-2-3 approach. scott

My DC735 and DRX755 have very similar if not identical actions, just length, weight, and sensitivity differences. The HP might just upgrade the whole experience. scott

I remember people on here getting them for $365 shipped from japan, worth checking the usual sites. scott Ahhh, forgot the Canada import tax

The only thing I sometimes struggle with on the TB is big texsposed beast hooks on 6-8" soft swimmers. I usually have to bomb cast them, and when I get bit way out there I've had some subpar hooksets. My technique could be better, so your results may vary. Otherwise, it does everything in the weight range well. scott

The TB is great at all of that, I think you'll love it. Also my favorite big spoon rod. Haven't fished any other P5's though. scott