Functional

Appreciating the inputs so far! I didnt event think of throwing soles in a pair of fishing shoes...I use a set in my work books and they do wonders. Going to look into these and the Keens so far. I need Crocs to launch my boat since I have to walk in almost knee high (im short) and will slip them on occasionally fishing but they dont offer enough arch support for longer than 1hr of use. Like A-Jay I dont sit down unless I'm motoring or eating.

Been trying to find a comfortable boat shoe. I mostly go barefoot or with my solomons but neither are all that comfortable for more than 4-5 hours of fishing, not to mention feel like my feet cook in the sun. Anyone have any recommendations for a very light, airy and cushiony pair of footwear

Taught myself how to skip earlier this year (large thank you to Diawa's SV spool) and been hitting docks hard this year trying to learn the jig better. I've had decent success hooking up with fish under docks but my struggle is now landing them. I do my best to muscle them out and I've yet to have any line breaks but they will 9/10 run the line over a dock support and it gives them enough to come undone. Cant decide if this is just something to expect, if I'm not pulling hard enough (drag slips, have it set to 4lbs, cant muscle much more unless I go braid and nearly lock it), my hooksets arent enough (reel up slack and sweep hard) or if there is something I'm missing. Any input would be appreciated. Skipping has opened up quite a few more fish for me but its getting frustrating not being able to land even 50%. EDIT: If it matters I've primarily used a 7'2 MHF Expride A with 17lb defier Armilo on a Diawa Tatula SV 7.1

I've got one short rod at 6'6 or 6'8. I use it for topwater and jerkbaits. Easier to do quick snaps to get the action I want out of them.

Not in your choices but power pro v2 slick for me. I've yet to find a braid as supple for same line diameter. Let's me go with heavier line without sacrificing how the bait can move and how well it casts.

depends. I can hit a week where I get an opportunity to go 3-5 times a week and then I could hit a dry spell for 2-3 weeks. On average its 3-4 times every 2 weeks. Now that my daughter is older and wants to go on the boat and my wife is up for it I suspect that number will go up on average this year. Shes already talking about a bigger fishing boat for more area for our daughter and bags that go with it....Showed her a Lund 1875 pro-v and it has her thinking...

Walking bait and chatter/spinner bait. If those don't work Im throwin the towel because I've had little success with anything else.

Agreed. I have a buddy who's been a mechanic his whole life and he says a lot of times if it's more than a fender Bender than the car typically never runs the same and always has its weird quirks you can spend a fortune chasing. More times than not people ended up selling and taking a loss than dealing with it.

Unfortunately they usually are. Glad you came out alright.

had 2 bass destroy 2 senkos never to be seen again. I'll still use them from time to time but I've been really liking the Z-Man Bang Sticks.

My experience is a bit different and I believe color absolutely matters. Identical SCUM trophy frogs, only difference was mine was Chartreuse and my fathers was natural black/green (white/green bottom). He couldnt buy a hit if he won the lottery while I hammered them, same technique. At this point I only fish Chartreuse in any condition but want to try a black one for some of the daybreak conditions.

Shows arrowhead lake about 20 minutes north of the raceway and albrightsville. The 3 places make a triangle ?

I really like this idea. Hopefully it doesnt shred the guts out but its worth a try. Appreciate it @Glenn I dont necessarily have the issue with Trigs and similar but I do carry tooth picks to put through the hook eye for those if I do. Will likely pick up some 6th sense swim jigs with the twist lock for anything new I buy. Love dirty jigs but thats my only issue with them.

My wife went to visit her family for mothers day for a extended weekend and I got to fish 3 days straight on my home lake. Every day on the water was different . Day 1: they wanted frogs back deep in the weeds 1-5fow. Sunny, light winds, 80 deg water temp Day 2: Bang Sticks and swim jigs at the edge to 2ft off weed edge, prefered some structure close by 5fow. Cloudy, light winds, 80 deg water temp Day 3: swim jigs were the only bite I could get against tree stumps 2-6fow. Cloudy, light winds, 80 deg water temp I usually start off with what was great the day before when I get to fish multiple days in a row, or at least days close to eachother. After that its working the puzzle. Can be frustrating when you go a few hours without so much as a bluegill nibble but the satisfaction I (us) get when you figure it out is quite a high.

Id say power and length. Longer rod will whip up more line on the Hookset.

Started fishing a swim jig this year and its already earned a place on a dedicated rod and tied 95% of the time. I've only used Dirty Jigs swim jigs with Keitech FATs and noticed after about 1-2 fish the FAT already has issues staying snug against the head and starts sliding back and off the hook. Its about every other cast I'm having to fix it and I'm over that part. I tried using the few plastic stops from trailer hooks I took off spinners but its a nightmare to remove when you have to put on a new bait and 9/10 I'm tearing them off. Any home grown solutions for this that are cheap or am I stuck with stuff like the bait button?

My go to answer is always "a few" or "not doing too bad" . 9/10 they dont believe you or you start getting followed. This past weekend I was pulling in some good 3 and 4 lb pass and a boat caught wind of it. I fished another 4 hours that day and every time I looked behind me that same boat was following. Changed parts of the lake and theyd be right there with me. They kept their distance so I didnt have an issue with it but it was incredibly obvious. Didnt see them pull any fish in though...goes to show just because you are in the right spots doesnt mean you can bring em in.

Did competitive shooting for quite a few years. Long rifles in tubes and confined spaces and awkward positions. Always wore ear pro but started with electronic buds and they didnt work so great. Went to electronic muffs (howard leight) but every so often the cheek weld on the rifle would break the seal. Also found out my old HL muffs are much louder than my wifes newer set. Didnt know you could wear out muffs but apparently I did. Here on out its double ear pro. Foam surefire buds and electronic muffs maxed out so I can still hear range commands. Only mild ringing in my right ear and only notice it in quiet rooms or when thinking about it....like now.

depends...I'll have a few fish of fun and then try something im a similar category. I.e. if I'm killing them on a spinnerbait I would consider a swim jig, chatterbait or weightless fluke, POSSIBLY a rapala/crankbait. If I'm doing well on a T-rig I might change the profile or throw a jig (with my fingers crossed).

I'd at least graph it if nothing else just to see what could be there. Might be a condition or piece of structure I'd look for other places if I don't try throwing something at what may or may not be there.

yea if its thick I'm thinking swim jigs, hollow body frogs, weightless and lightly weighted flukes and then a punching rod for Trigs and depending on how thick a jig. Might pick up one or 2 more things in bluegill to have on hand. Jigs and everything else I should be set on.

1/8, 1/4, 3/16, 3/8 are primary and then I have a very small assortment of 1/2, 3/4 and 1oz weights.

Pickerel I'm fully expecting. I lived in "middle" NY until I was almost 30 so I get it comes with the territory haha. What kind of forage is primary around those parts? NY could range from shad to bluegill to perch depending on the lake/region. After moving south I'm mostly geared for threadfin shad so would like to grab a few things to match a bit better.

my wife has just started getting interested in what I'm doing when we go out. Usually she just hangs out in the back, tans, looks stuff up on her phone, etc. This year she started asking about the electronics and what I'm looking at and look for and says she wants to come out more often. If she wants to fish I plan on throwing her on something that can be fished mindlessly but still do something. @TnRiver46 might disagree but when that time comes it will be a smaller spinnerbait on a spinning rod ? . Easy to fish and can bring anything from a crappy to bass to catfish in. Also addicting with the surprise violent tug.

excellent. Going to give Beltzville a try and a few of the small places around our area. Seeing some comments of good size fish coming out of Beltzville consistently. If none seem to produce decent I might take the trip out to Wallenpaupack and the Delware Gap. I think were going on a saturday/sunday and ending on a saturday so my plans are to fish on the week days and hope everything is calm on the lakes.