softwateronly

I don't know if the why is correct, but my experience says the same thing. 2-3 hours after nightfall is a much more active and successful period for me. A grass jig/beaver and swim jig/paddle tail have been my best day baits on this lake, and also my best baits at night. Really, my main takeaways are to spend my nights in the same productive day areas, using mostly the same baits in the same colors, in mostly the same depth of water, working similar structure and cover. The caveat being that I'll spend some time exploring dirt shallow, but that usually goes quick for me because if they're there, they'll chase down anything close. scott

I know no one asked, but the jdm 22 Zillion HD is immediately a top contender for best reel I've ever used. For sure, I'm getting a better understanding of Diawa users love of the of the brand. You're definitely onto something. scott

^^^^So true, have a 7" WCZ Citizen shipping now....but the sneaky one is jigs. Especially grass jigs and swim jigs in esox waters and a reluctance to move to steel wire for "reasons" scott

I throw braid and braid to leader on my bc setups. Sometimes a bad backlash can have the braid cut itself, but I find with 50lb that seems to go away. Now that I'm more proficient, I throw more 20 and 30lb braid. Starting with 50lb was a good idea for me. scott

Not the Medium. Either MH will be good to go. scott

I think $50 isn't much for a rod. I think the last thing to worry about is breakage. Just fish the heck out of it and enjoy it. scott

The odds are 100% that there's not enough biomass to support any large fish unless it was stocked. scott

I'm not well versed enough to know, but everything about a crank doesn't seem subtle. Yet, serious and successful crank fisherman have loads of colors and flash levels, so it might matter. My most successful crank dives 15-17' is natural and has a narrow strip of flash across it's side. Seems like starting with a "loud" and "quiet" crank would be a good way to see how they're reacting. scott

Hard to say, I have been on water where I can see the bottom in 19' My water is clear, usually in the 8-12' range, so I throw natural colors. Don't see how white ish is ever bad though. scott

Threw the outcast chicken jig for a couple hours late Saturday morning. Was fishing a hard bottom with sparse weeds on a 18-22' flat. Was bombing it out, semi slack sink to the bottom, 2-3 reel handle turns, and let it glide again. I didn't let it rest too long. Got 4 bites and landed them all, 2-3lbers, but it was fun to put a new to me technique to work. Never got a hit on the way down, my assumption is the bass were relating to the bottom. scott I have 2 and threw the lighter one, which is either 1/2 or 5/8oz. Unfortunately, they're not labeled and I don't remember what I bought 2 black fridays ago.

Slow is a strange and niche action for me. Moderate is about as parabolic as I go. For me, I'd get a H/F or H/MF. I prefer to throw mainly single hook baits and have come to enjoy larger and heavier baits, 1/2oz swim jig with a 5" paddle tail being one of my favorites. That bait probably weighs just north of 1 oz total. A Heavy opens up T-rigged swimbaits too if dealing with heavy cover. There are many modern H power rods that feel light in hand but have the backbone when needed. Side note, ALF has used rods with 15% off right now and if you're new to them you might be able to tack on another 10% off. I've purchased a few of their used rods and have always received it as described or better. Falcon, Shimano, Ark, Diawa, Dobyns, Phenix, etc all have really intriguing options at your price point or below. scott

I'm another in favor of getting a mgl (70 or 150) spooled reel and not giving him the green beast. Inheritance is earned! scott

It's also my most fickle reel, but does bomb when it's in it's sweet spot. They've all moved to rods that throw heavier things to help alleviate but I don't like using them at night because of this. The external adjustable mgl spools, Cur 71, Bantam, and Met are all way better shimano casters in my hands. You're not alone. scott

I've caught on the scrounger with it, and Gambler has a power ned that I've used to pick off a few. Hog farmer has a stand up swim bait head that also might put the tail to work in a subtle way. scott

Texas rig a 6-8" worm with 5/16oz worm weight and work those drop offs. If a weedy area meets rock or sand, try to imagine that line running down the drop off and out of sight and work those transitions. Cast deep, and slowly bring it back to you with small rod movements or very very slow reeling, feeling the bottom. When you encounter weeds, try to shake it through with small pops. When not moving, keep a slight bow in your line and watch it and feel it. If it moves or feels "weird" reel down and set the hook. The entire drop off or break on the Squaw side of the narrows you like, looks good. Concentrate there, anchor shallow and work uphill. If the wind is coming from the wrong direction, look to the North, there's a place to anchor shallow and cast deep. This link will show the drop offs, use houses, docks, and when you lose site of the bottom to orientate yourself and triangulate the spot. https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating/mapOptions@15&key=opidGljl{N Good luck scott

single hook; t-rig Shimano SLXCX72MH paired with Shimano Curado MGL 7.4:1 trebles; topwater, moving single hook; G Loomis E6X Inshore 843c MF (7ft medium/mod fast) paired with Shimano Scorpion DC 6.2:1 Jig rod/frog rod - what do you fish? I paired your reels up just based on gear ratio/IPT. I like 7ish:1 reels for most everything, but prefer frog and jig on 8ish:1 if possible. But flipping them around for feel always ends up dictating which goes where for me. Being comfortable trumps whether I have to slow down or speed up my reeling. scott

Maybe it's time to break out the XH gear. If it happens again and it's on 65lb braid you can just wrap a stick and walk back till you have a fish and a salad. Sounds like a spot you need to get back to though. Honey hole indeed. scott

You might be overthinking it, you're catching fish. You might be overlooking/underestimating the structure underlying the cover. And you might be missing the cover on the structure. Isn't this hobby fun? scott

The Magnum is just special for slowly getting a big worm through the slop. My hookup ratio has been fantastic and my worms seem to last forever. Might be nice with a large fluke as well. scott

First off, I don't know. But I've thrown a 7" speed worm on a owner oversized worm hook in 7/0 very often, the point is way back there, and I haven't gut hooked in a few years. I swim the worm, hop the worm, and soak/shake the worm. My gear has gotten better in sensitivity and I stopped fishing weightless or almost weightless cross wind. The wind might be the biggest factor for me personally. So my guess is that it might be more related to feel rather than rigging. scott

Can't recall who on here put me on this, but the Fin-Tech title shot is fantastic if dealing with extremely heavy cover, especially weeds. scott

I'm fortunate, zirtek works for me and whatever I'm allergic to that corresponds with the dogwood. If you do find an otc pill that works @WRB and @Kev-mo are most correct, not sure how it's metabolized, but it's much more effective if you get on a regimen before symptoms. scott

I don't get to throw treble topwaters that often, cause we get so much floating detritus from recreational boats that I'm almost stuck with frogs only for a few months, and not quite as affordable as the yo-zuri, but the R2S bubble walker has caught fish for me, even in the low 50's water temp. Easy to get the desired action and produces even dead sticking. So far, good enough for me. scott

I'm following for sure. My attempts and successes have been limited so far with the preacher style in the summer months. scott

Silly Canadian, we only go to the doctor when it's bleeding too long or it fell off... scott