bishoptf

Yeah I think getting the drag right is a good point, I have had some big ass catfish hit my lures and I have to adjust down since I do not want to lose my bait, getting in that right spot I need to get better at setting. One of the main reasons I throw braid to leader is I can replace leaders often. The other big reason with a bait caster is even though I have been throwing them for up teen years (yeah Im old) I still can backlash my real from time to time and if that is fluro and it kinks its done. If I kink braid its no big deal, it just keeps on trucking for the most part and I just use it now on all my setups. Everyone has given me good things to consider and appreciate all the input. Now that I have been stewing on it for some time I have thought of one more possibility. Long story but many, years ago fishing I ended up getting tennis elbow in my right arm. It could be painful to fish and I ended up using my spinning setups since I grew up fishing spinning and always used left hand retrieve but holding in right arm. That took pressure and allowed me to fish but all of my baitcasters WERE right hand. Last year I picked up several LH baitcasters to see if I could switch over to them some of the time and now I have probably half of my baitcasters in LH retreive. Only my second season using them and I have been using a LH baitcaster when throwing the cranks, which means I am doing things differently than normally so maybe that has something to do with it also. Something to think about it, so far for certain baits I have really enjoyed the LH retrieve, I can make a lot more casts and things are faster but still getting used to it and maybe using my right arm I just need to make sure I am not overly agressive vs when using my left arm, something to think about.

They are becoming unbuttoned, the larger fish just do not seem to be as aggressive as the smaller fish. I brought in several that only had a single hook from a treble on the back end, again its just not something I normally see. Usually they have a mouth full of trebles but not here recently. I am not concerned about the braid part of the setup, the rod has plenty of give being medium/moderate and I do not set the hook per se more of a swing to the side, hooks are sharp so that its usually not a problem. Again I throw quite a few crankbaits and usually do not have a problem, I mean I can lose a fish here or there but this is lots more noticeable, several decent fish across multiple outings. Originally I thought I was the smaller hooks but happening even with the larger hooks. Will keep trying different things, also going to dry some different cranks to see if that makes a difference, but currently they are hitting the crap out of the dt6, but maybe I will try a lill john md50.

What i would say for the rod that I use, lots of play why I am confused. I have upsized hooks, tried ewg and round bend, I am now running ine of each, lol. Will see tomorrow how things go, before we were getting lots of rain now its blooming heat, sigh ...

For my small/light baits I have a medium/moderate so it has plenty of give has served me well for my crankbait needs. I pretty much run braid to leader on all my setups, 30lb braid with 15lb mono, leader is usually 14-20ft. Honestly I think the larger bass are bumping the lure or slapping at it for some reason, I need to try some different lures and see if changing color or cranks would make a different, but I've never lost so many fish like I have lately but really first time fishing a dt6. I've tried slowing down but only using a 6.3:1 reel, just odd...probably lost 3-4 decent fishes yesterday and some of the ones I got to the boat were barely hooked. But again the smaller the bass, catfish, crappie, green sunfish have no issue. I can only assume its something the larger bass are doing, just not inhaling it, not sure why.

Usually do not have any issue with fish coming off crankbaits but last couple of weeks I have missed quite a few decent fish when fishing a dt6. It's kind of funny since the smaller fish including green sunfish have a mouth full of hooks but a lot of the larger bass barely have one hook in them, like maybe they are slapping at it or something, but I've had quite a few just come off before getting to the boat. I have a cranking setup that I have used for years, medium action and typically works really well, I have upsized hooks, tried KVD triple grips, ewg and also long round bend, and one of each, lol. Just thought I would ask for any tips or things that I may try to minimize the missing fish, thanks.

Yeah, the one color that ive been having lots of luck is disco shad, like green gizzard with a yellow bottom...still going to try to find something that is close enough and more durable though.

Yeah I bought a bunch also, the duel hardcore are really nice cranks...

Which of these are silent...I see many $$$ cranks on the list, i'm cheap so probably the bill lewis maybe the only ones on the list but will keep the list and see if any of them go on sale, thanks for the list.

Yeah looks like they will replace them if you ship them back but with as expensive as shipping i can just purchase new ones qhen they are on sale. Strike king will just send you replacement if you take a picture. Agree about the durability but at least the dt6 for me catches fish. Trying to find an alternative that is silent and has a tight action as a replacement for dt6. Berkley has a dime 6 and a dredger 8.5 but not sure if they would match the action and if they are any more durable. I know I have some frittside 5's and the bill on them is pretty easy to break. Anyone have any dt6 options on m all ears.

I have to many jerkbaits as it is along with crankbaits but for what they have them listed for I bought more. I do wish they had all the colors on sale but bought a bunch of both...they are really nice baits.

So now that I have searched some about the quality of Rapala and found post on this forum going years back having the same issue so it appears to be it is what it is kind of thing. Maybe I should start a new thread but I really like the dt series, i'd like to here what are some alternatives that I can look at that are very close to the action. I think the Berkley dime series are plastic replicas is that true and what other options?

+1, for those that fish crankbaits the duel hardcore cranks are one of the best I have used..looks like they are discontinuing them in the US, for 5 they are a steal....

Man I have a lot of cranks, i think i may pick up some Berkeley dime 6 and see if they work as good as the dt 6, maybe be more durable. Which yozuri cranks do you like the best, need to add them to my list. I will say right now if you want to try an awesome crank that is on sale at tacklewarehouse is the duel core cranks...the weight transfer system and the baits are great. I think they are discontinuing them in the usa since they didnt sell well but they are awesome cranks and for $5 a steal.

Yeah, and it would be so bad but they are not cheap but I really like the dt series and some of the other cranks. Heck I really like the berkly frittside 5's but if you sneeze on the bill you will break it. I not a professional and when i cast long and hit a dock or the shore I cringe everytime since im not sure if its coming back whole. But both of these catch fish so I will keep getting them but only buy them when on sale knowing that they are not the most reliable.

Thats what I have, I bought a bunch during sales, most appear to be fine but I have several with cracks. I emailed rapala customer service and will see if I get a reply. I had an issue with a strike king crank and emailed them and they sent me a replacement. Will see if they will replace them, I know i will look at them closer if purchasing locally but when ordering online kind of hard to do it in that situation.

Nope, I had read about that the dt6 was new out of the box. Not sure how the crack got there but in both cases the bills could be pulled out. Now that I think about it I have a shad rap that was split across at the rear hook attachment.

Maybe its just me but I really like some of the rapala lures but quality now appears to be much worse than years ago. I have some older rapala cranks that are tough as nails but I am finding some of the newer stuff not the same. I know balsa can be that way but I have 2 brand new baits that are cracked around the bills and the whole thing pulls out. Purchased them in March durning the basspro sale and put them into my bins ans didn't look close enough to see the issue until i went to tie it on. I have a rocco that pretty much has the same issue. Justa wanted to see if it was just me or is this a more common issue these days with the balsa baits.

Yeah I just never have really noticed it in the past, I am trying to do what you have stated, but with some lures/weights its to lose. Will keep playing with it until I can figure it out....

Yeah I pretty much run braid to leader on all my setups and replace the leader pretty frequently. Most of my leaders if not all are mono, just something I have started noticing, not sure it weakens the line but its still there and bugs me since you can see and feel it.

I dunno, since i've retired and do a lot more fishing I have come to notice that when I grab a rod from my locker that has something already tied onto it, that the line at the tip will have a bend/wave to it. I assume since its it tight from the lure/hook being attached to the keeper is what is causing it. I try not to place to much pressure when connecting to the keeper but I am noticing it more and more. Probably not something I paid much attention to in the past but kind of bugs me. It's clear to see and feel in the line where it is and while not a kink I'd prefer to try to minimize it as much as possible, anyone notice this or is it just me? If so what have you done to minimize it? Thanks

I've watched that exact video, and understan what he is saying but man this one lake I feel like is an odd one at least for me. Its only 600 acres and pretty shallow, mud bottom, no real current to speak of and lots of bait fish I mean lots. This spring has been really odd, cool and lots of rain and water has not really warmed up, still mid 70's which is pretty crazy for this time of the year. Lake has no vegetation but there are lots of docks and brush piles but I just am unable to figure out the patterns, like I should be doing x and doing y or in y location and should be doing x. I think the cooler water is allowing them to be pretty much anywhere in the lake, when the water heats up and the thermocline sets up then it eliminates a lot of the deeper water and pushes the fish towards the lifts. Right now I'm not sure where or what they are relating to, been a struggle and today I thought I was gonna get zippo (like yesterday) but last hour caught 2 fish, only 2 for the 4 hours of fishing. Covered a good bit of water with several different baits, top water early am (cloudy), pop-r, whopper, heavy swing head 1/2oz w/big craw off some points with brush, fished a tube some, multiple cranks og6 and finally a dt6 and that is what I mustered to catch the 2 on. Last week it was overcast and I caught 2 decent fish on the pop-r but that was it for top water. This is similar to what happens in this lake in the fall when the water turns back over, the fish I believe are chasing shad and there is lots of it in the lake and when the water cools off it allows them to be anywher. Somehow I need to get better with my electronics and learn how to find them deeper and off shore since they do not appear to be shallow currently. I can see structure but never sure when I see fish what I am looking at. Just not sure how to figure out the better off shore places and then what to use. I dunno I just unable to figure things out consistently and not really sure how to make progress, feel like I am just beating the banks and need to figure out more off shore stuff. I do think FFS may help in some regard but really do not want to stare at the screen that much but I do believe it allows you to learn more about bass behavior and see what they are relating to and where they are located. Thanks everyone for the suggestions...:)

Trying to get better and figuring things out, try new locations and techniques but feel like I really struggle from day to day figuring out what is work and where the bass are relating to. I think I tend to stay in a area to long or with a technique to long before making a change. Just looking for how I can get better in figuring things out sooner than later and catch more fish. This spring weather wise has kept things really tough at least for me, water temps still in mid 70's which is pretty crazy and normal patterns have just not been the same, struggle city. Thought I would ask and learn, thanks.

Public service announcement, check those orders...ordered a bunch of zman minimax from DSG and got one of these, lol...I knew immediately what had happened. DSG is going to send me another replacement but took 30min on chat to resolve and really its not there issue Z-man screwed that one up...so much for quality control.

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I noticed that also and bought some of the senko's also....probably should have bought more but great find!