Bazoo

I change my line often. I lose lures and subsequently lose line, and change lures enough to lose line. So... I always use a mono backer if I use braid. I don't use braid much for casting though.

I also got 2 more bass and 2 bluegill on the shallow shad rap but was too far from the wife for a picture.

Interesting, thanks for the tip @Randall.

Thanks! Another factor is that I am the only person I know of that fishes this area. I learned that as long as I don't grind the bottom, or hop the jig, I am less likely to hang up.

Yes, losing 5-6 per trip. For the last 2 trips, I lost 9 jigheads and grubs, and 5 crankbaits. I only fished crankbaits for 1 of those trips. However, I've caught a mess of smallmouth and largemouth out of there and I've seen a huge smallmouth, like a 4lber, caught by a friend. Which is why I go back.

Interesting discussion. I can’t keep from getting line twist. I’ve taken to adding a ball bearing swivel to the front of my roostertails and that alleviates the issue 100%.

I’m still learning what I like and what works. I like classic lures and lures that have been pushed aside for the new and shiny. That said I do enjoy a modest tackle collection; always have.

I’ve considered a Fanny pack too for when I go lightweight. I often slip a bag of soft plastics and a few books in my pocket. Plus I’ll take 1-2 hard baits. However, I haven’t found a really convenient way to carry those soft plastics. Most of the time I just put them in the bag with a soft plastics, but they end up poking me, or getting tangled.

Hmm that’s something to consider. Thanks GRiver.

It is snag city there. But it s also, catch city there. I’ve experimented with different stuff. Crank baits work. So does curly tail grubs. It ain’t nothing to lose 5-6 cankbaits and 6-8 grubs/jigheads in a trip. i had not thought about jig heads with paddle tails or similar. Thanks for that idea. My thinking was that if I lose $25 worth of tackle every time. And I can recover half of the crankbaits, I’d be saving a lot by switching to braid. I might try switching to single hooks and see how that does too. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure if my hooks are snagging or the crankbait itself is wedging in the rocks. Honestly, I think there is some rope, line, or net out there that I am snagging on in a couple of specific spots.

Nice ones! Sorry to hear about the shoulder though. I will pray for you. I had some shoulder pain the other day, up on my back, and I was pretty sore after going to the river a few hours... but another couple trips (and some hot showers) has really helped me.

I often fish (from shore) down at the river in a rocky spot, and I lose a lot of crankbaits. I'm thinking about putting braid on my favorite crankbait rig so that, when the lure is snagged by the hooks I can straighten out the hook and bring her back in. There are others that fish this spot, and I have been snagged on old nets previously and numerous times on other's line. Mostly catfishing line of the approximate 17-20 pound mono variety. However, God only knows what's there. I've fished braid some, but mostly in spinning tackle. Casting distance is important to me at this spot, and 12 pound big game mono casts good for me with my current rod/reel. What pound test of braid should I use?

I don't fish in super heavy stuff, so for me it's 99% Big Game mono in 8, 10, and 12 pound. I don't use a dedicated rig for topwater, so I use whichever rod I have with me that is best for the application. And depending on that rod/reel, determines which pound line I'm using. If I was going to use a dedicated rod for topwater, I'd probably run 12 pound big game on it. I'd rather go light for frogs in heavy stuff, than to deal with braid tangling in the hooks of everything else.

I currently use this for bank fishing - https://www.academy.com/p/h2ox-premier-worm-binder It's been holding up a couple of years and I have no complaints. I don't use it for a soft plastics binder though. I removed the clear binders and I use the main compartment for a 3600 size box. It will fit 2 3600 sized boxes actually, but normally I use only 1. I put some bags of soft plastics in the main compartment, with the primary soft plastics I use in the small compartment. It actually is a nifty little system. The only thing is... sometimes I wish it was identical except large enough for 3700 sized boxes. In other words, just a touch larger. Anyone use something similar or know of something similar?

I prefer shallow water. No deeper than 10' for me. Now... if I was on a boat with someone that wanted to fish deep, sure I'd give it a go, but it's not my thing.

All 3 on a fat albert grub. First smallmouth of the season He doesn't know he isn't a real bass.

Had a nice view on the drive down to the river this evening. Only got 1.

Glad you got over the funk. I've been 4-5 times getting skunked before. It can be a confidence killer for sure. I always go back to basics when that happens, slow down and really concentrate on presentation. I tend to get sloppy when the fish are really biting.

It does sound pretty clean. I never would have thought of that.

This trip earlier in the afternoon wasn't enough to satisfy me, so I went back later, and got skunked. Or.. since I caught some earlier and only left for a few hours... did I really get skunked? The second go round, my wife and the baby came with me. So we had fun nevertheless.

Fat albert grub. Fat albert grub. Weighed this one at 2lb4oz. Fat albert grub.

Thanks. I had the Zoom split tail trailer.

That river trip earlier wasn't enough, and since I needed to swing by the church, I hit the pond a bit. Curlytail grubs on jigheads and the Johnson Silver Minnow today. I've never had success with the minnow, so this was a good start. Grubs, well I've had a bit of success, but honestly I've mostly fished them texas rigged so jig heads are a new rigging for me. Both tied with the Kreh loop knot. There was also another that I didn't get a picture of. But he gets honorable mention for spirit, as he unhooked himself upon hitting shore, then squiggled off the thumb and flopped back in.

This carp hit my crankbait and I had him hooked in the mouth. Never caught a carp before, but seen a few others had caught. My scale was in kilograms when I grabbed it, so I converted that to 7.25 pounds. Time for a retie after that critter. 2.0 lbs on a fat albert grub with a 1/4oz jig head. I don't remember if it was before or after the bass, but I hooked a nice sized gar on one of those grubs. Cut my line in twain though. Had a carp for a minute it seems. Got this nice crappie, and I threw him back during a flurry of pleads from a couple of onlooks. It was his lucky day since I am catch and release... Bit off more than he could chew. I caught another carp of about the same size right before I left. I foul hooked him with the Fat Free Fingerling. Got him to the shallows, up on a rock skimmed with water. The hook came out just about the time he got up there, and since the boy was handy, I told him to kick him back in rather than try to get a picture. A nudge from the youngun's rain boot and the ordeal was over for the beast - sure beats going into the bucket. The boy didn't catch anything, but we had a lot of fun.