10,000 lakes Bassin

How close did they cast to each other??

I bet most guys will stay straight braid, but I just run my normal leader setups at night. I throw some treble baits on braid+leader also, so a little shock absorption never hurts when a fish is thrashing boat side and you’re fumbling with the net in the dark. A bonus is being able to hear your leader knot clicking up through your guides at the end of each retrieve if it’s pitch black.

Yeah I kind of feel the same way. I used to use sniper solely but I got some of those bad 12lb spools so I stopped. 15lb+ invizx seems bulletproof but ive casted off probably a half dozen baits on new spools of 10lb in the last 2 seasons. I bought some R18 10lb so I’ll see how that goes.

I spooled up a reel with new 10lb invizx last week and fished it for probably 6 hours, landing like 30-40 fish. I used the rod for the second time after spooling it yesterday and I casted off a bait and a few yards of line right away. I looked at the rest of the line and it didn’t look great either so I had to re spool. Is this what I can expect with these smaller diameter fluoros? I checked my guides and they all looked good. I was fishing only in open water away from any rocks, wood or anything that could have weakened my line that much.

Tatula elite 7’3 MH/F. I’ve thrown everything from finesse jigs to small glides and 6” linethrus. It normally has a single hooked moving bait on it now that I’m in a boat instead of the kayak.

Rig it with a EWG on the top bait?

Nothing smaller than 10lb invizx for me, but at this point my idea of finesse fishing is dragging a 1/2oz jig so I rarely go below 15lb.

I can’t help you much with those lines but I’d ask yourself what weight range of jigs do you plan on mainly using and what line do you prefer to fish with? As a braid to leader guy I wouldn’t look for a XF jig rod personally.

do you have any H/F exprides to compare it to?

Genuinely curious, what do you think blows the Expride out of the water at or under the $350 mark?

6-8” swimbait on a beast hook.

Have any of you fished the flag also?

Even crazier is how some of the Canadian fires stayed smoldering all winter underground in peat bogs. I remember learning about how native Americans would make "fire baskets" to keep embers smoldering so they could transport them long distances. They used peat moss to make them. Pretty much the same thing going on, on a much larger scale.

One report I heard said that it’s likely they’ll be burning at some level until the first snowfall.

I ran the 65lb on a big bait rod. It’s basically the same as 50lb 832 diameter wise. Makes my FGs go through the guides a lot easier. It might replace 131 for me.

There’s no substitute for time on the water

@Zcoker Thats surprising! I hope your luck continues! Do they ever attack the fish you’re reeling in? My luck one would bite my PB in half at the side of the boat.

How frequently do you hook into/ ger bit off by gators?

Not to hijack but any recommendations for a jdm 5-7” oversized craw?

Hoog S&M wake MS slammer

That’s essentially what it is. Heavy line and heavier hooks so you can present a finesse bait in heavier cover

Power shot with 6” roboworm flipping hook and 3/8oz weight on 30lb braid

Those are the real deal

I’m looking to paint some soft swimbaits. Specifically I want to add a light belly on some dark baits. I’m curious how opaque the paint is. If I painted the bottom half white on a dark baits would it actually stand out or is it too translucent?

Any hard bait over 8” worth spending time with is going to be more than you want to spend. You can get a 8” cull shad on TW right now for under $7. Not a perfect match profile wise but they get chewed for sure.