softwateronly

Best hand warmer I've ever bought was a harbor freight 4" angle grinder. scott

hogfarmerbaits.com still has some if you want to punt your decision..... scott

I've been cycling between .33 and .40mm based on price/availability. I haven't seen a noticeable change in head wag. 8/0 beasts on 14lb might make me a little nervous around cover, I tend to swing for the fences on weedless swimbaits. Not sure if this is helpful. scott

Hey! there's a long line for that... scott

My confidence is to start with a swim jig and back it up w/ a spinnerbait or bladed jig. I put that on water clarity, less is more type thing. I'd flip the order with clarity less than 3' Somewhat surprisingly to me is that heavy versions of both have been very effective for me in deeper water, but the 3/4-1oz spinnerbait seems slightly better, especially at night. scott

I get it, it's my one place to get away from screens. scott

I'm sure you're right, knowing your water is most important in my mind. But to me, mega 360 looks really useful. Deep weedline turns and changes give me the best fish in the summer, but are challenging to line up with triangulation and long casts. I think 360 would be super useful for that. scott

Someday I'm gonna go full bait gorilla and get a little more current than my 1993 lowrance flasher, but I think a truck to get off my lake would be first. And then there's the rehab we've been putting off. I guess it's gonna be awhile. scott

I know there's haters in every corner of the world, but I'm always taken aback when I run into it in the fishing world. JJ is capitalizing on a niche opened up by new technology and absolutely destroying everyone else in terms of numbers. It'll be studied and talked about for years. Congrats to him. scott

Personally, I don't think SAL does that much except it's proof that the FL stocking is working and traceable. So in the end, it is working and rather genius. Unless they are always paired up with large FLLMB males, then you do kinda get a 2 for 1 genetically speaking. scott

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0688 Where I found it, so a 2014 FL or a 2015 F1? scott My edit, probably between 2010-13 really. 17 is giant!

I just got back from lake murvaul and did some research beforehand. TPWD is still stocking pure FL strain, I was able to find the years and quantity for that lake. I think FL stocking is a continuous process statewide from what I gathered. scott

Does sharelunker ever publish if these giants are F1 strains or straight Florida bass? scott

For me, 200 size is quantitatively better. IPT and wear and tear of the reel are conserved. I prefer 7 speed, but I don't mind reeling slow. I've been using sunline fc shock leader (floro), sunline defier armilo (copoly?), thanks to @WRB and Maxima ultragreen tied with a fg knot to pp 40/65lb, and a san diego jam direct or to a decoy egg snap #4/5 without issue. The maxima seems unruly compared to the defier if one wasn't going to use braid to leader. I think minimum should be 20lb - 22lb test. scott

Beast coast and keitech have done really well for me. I definitely recommend. scott

I cheated and went to Texas, but it's my first nonetheless, 2/8/22. 1/2oz jackhammer w/ a swimmon. Water was 49. She was a pig and a pb till later in the week. scott

I'm a Sox fan and even I can agree that Wrigley is special. I haven't been since the big remodel, I'm sure its an even better experience. I'm walking distance to Comiskey and have done season tix more than a few times. Really hope these a***ole owners get it right and give us the season. You make it down here and have time, you have to give south side, tavern style pizza a shot. Phils and Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream are a decent walk from the stadium and are good representations of what we really care about. That said, a good east coast pie is never something I'm gonna turn down, so I get where you're coming from. Glad you enjoyed your stay, I know when work or life take me somewhere new, I love seeing how everything is different yet the same, love this country. scott

I don't know what way is more unfortunate, but that IL Trooper death referenced above was a suicide. Both problems need a society wide fixing and I wish there were simple solutions. scott

@MN Fisher if you get the chance, it's most definitely worth coming back. If it was the mid 90's and you were at the Hot House or Velvet Lounge, sadly they are closed and certainly missed by me. I think Jazz Showcase is now the spot for that neighborhood. And if it's been that long, the neighborhood might be unrecognizable with the infill and lack of crackheads. @Spankey the river gets real stagnant and nasty outside of the loop, it's improving for sure, but it's been small LM and rock bass for me. The SM are in the harbors and way bigger, 31st, Burnham and Monroe being my favorites. I've caught 4lb SM, seen coyotes hunting rabbits, and Peregrine's snacking on pigeons all within 50yds of this pic. It's wild to see nature find a way to claw back into "our" world. Look, I don't mind or care if Chicago is not for you, but if there's nothing positive about it in your mind, it's probably because you don't like any cities. It's the lack of specificity, projecting, and ignorance in these absolutist and hyperbolic complaints that are most annoying. scott

Symmetrical has worked best for me and most of my spinning/tumbling has been fixed by adjusting for symmetry, re-rigging my baits to be straight, and sometimes using one heavier head in the center/low position. I actually seem to have better results only making weight changes to that head. I do 2 dummies/3hooks, 2 hooks are always 1/8oz and the center head I'll go up to 3/8, 1/2, or 3/4 if more depth efficiency is needed. I've only used g-funk and hogfarmer. scott

I find that as long as I can lob cast the Arig, a stout rod isn't necessary. I throw 3 hooks/2 dummies, usually 1/8 heads, sometimes 1 3/8 middle head and bladeless more often than not. When in a pinch a 7'6 MH rated to 1oz has worked for me. scott

I'm roughly 15 - 2 shimano over diawa, but the Tat 300 seems way better than the 300k to me. scott

I don't know what's best but want to add that I really like my exprides. They are as fun to fish as my more expensive rods. I've looked at Diawa, Ark, Falcon, Irod, and Phenix recently in this price range. From what I've gathered, they should be on your list. scott

How does one acquire this magical moana rod? Need a new light jig rod setup with a soft tip... scott

Thanks, I'm looking for a lighter, longer rod to fish weedless 6-7" swimbaits, preferably 7'6-7'9 (X)H/F. I use the Expride 7'3XH and love it for target casting and dock skipping. I want this new rod to bomb out on deep, clear water weedlines and am looking for the extra casting distance with the backbone to set the hook firmly without having to resort to my actual swimbait setup. The specs on the M1 7'8H and FTX 7'7XH are almost exactly what I want the numbers to say, but I fear without handling it myself that the Phenix line might be too soft for my application. scott