JHoss

I've got a pile of baits in front of my bow graph mount. They lay there until I clean the boat out again, and by then, they're usually dry. It's not perfect, but it works.

I try to view it as a good thing when I can't find a go-to lure locally. Means the fish might not be seeing it as much as the lures everyone can find locally. I've gotten on a few trends before they got popular and it always sucks when you walk into a local shop and see your secret bait on the shelves.

I'm curious why you wouldn't just order from an online retailer? I'm all for supporting my local tackle shops (pretty sure I paid for at least one kid's college education with the money I've spent in Ocean's East), but I also love saving a buck. Sounds like you tried to do the right thing by supporting local and they gave you the green light to save yourself a few bucks online and not feel guilty about it.

I've had a battery Ryobi for probably a decade and it still works just fine. I think this is the right answer. Especially if you have an old chain you don't care about.

I've gone to a soft plastic bait binder for my spinners and buzz baits this year. Each pouch holds a different style/weight spinner and I throw a desiccant pack in each one.

I've never had consistent luck bringing my lure back against the current. Sure there are times when it's worked, but no where near as consistent as bringing it back with the current. I do feel like the effect decreases as current speed decreases, though. My local trail is mostly small lakes, but we do fish a river or two. It's funny watching the guys who are usually hammers on the lakes struggle in a river. And a lot of the time you see those guys on the rivers, they aren't keeping their bow into the current and fishing with it.

Another vote for the AirdX. Idk if they still make them, but I rocked some of those $30 highlighter yellow and silver lews rods from Walmart for a couple years. Aside from the reel seat, it was actually a decent frog rod. I, also, bought one of these when I first got into bassin a few years back. I still have it and it works just fine. I'm not a fan of how the reel seat feels, so it just collects dust in the garage now.

I fished a smallie river a month or two ago. Day 1 was normal levels and clear water. We caught good fish primarily on neds and natural colored jerkbaits. Day 2 the water came up about a foot and a half and got dirty. We caught maybe 60% as many fish, but had more big fish. One guy had an obnoxiously bright jerkbait that outfished everything else 5:1 and caught the biggest few fish of the day. We caught a few on neds day 2, but nowhere near as many as day 1.

I bought one a couple months back. Haven't been able to test the drag against many big fish yet but the reel feels solid overall. I have it on a ML AirdX as my minnow rod- they balance well together and feels like it should cost a lot more than $80 combined.

Surprised no one has said jerk baits. They're one of the top producers on the upper sections of VA rivers. A jerkbait/ned rig 1/2 punch is hard to beat around here. Spinnerbaits, cranks, and chatterbaits are also pretty good.

Dude, I didn't know we had fished together before?!? I started this past Saturday's tournament with 14 rods on the deck of my 1448. Part of the reason is because our trail makes the lakes off limits the two days before and I'm not usually willing to burn PTO on a Wednesday to practice for a $40 buy in. Add the fact that we fish 10 different lakes/rivers in a season and it's a recipe for going in blind more often than not. It doesn't help that I'm very analytical in my fishing and always looking for ways to be slightly more efficient. That means bringing extra rods to reduce downtime retying and having a lot of options at my finger tips to test things from dirt shallow to 40 feet. The only thing I've found to be helpful so far is putting unused rods away in the locker once I start to lock in on a pattern. A co-angler with small feet and good balance would help. One thing I do plan to try is some of the neoprene hook-proof rod sleeves for the ones in the rod locker. I hate going in there because I know it's going to be a battle getting to the rod I want and getting it out without tangling all the others. If I could store 10 rods in there with easy access, 8 on the deck would be very manageable. One tip I do with that many rods on the deck is to put all the treble hooked baits towards the outside. Reduces the risk of accidentally taking a hook to the foot.

I loosen mine (or try to remember to) after every trip. I've forgotten to set them again before a bite the next trip many times, but I'm getting better. And anyone who fishes with me gets warned the minute they step on the boat that they need to check the drag if they use one of my rods. I've got a couple Shimano casting reels that have definitely lost some drag strength over the years.

This is one of the reasons I love fishing local tournaments. Usually guys are willing to give you the general info for where you went wrong. That said, it's extra maddening when you find out you were in the same area, using the same baits as someone who did well.

Even less durable than rage bug IMO. A Zoom Z Craw might be a good option for you. Another thought, join Omnia or one of the other online retailers who offer a membership. I'm an Omnia member so I get 10% cash back on all purchases. They regularly run awesome specials (right now is 20% off all line, last week was Roboworm) and there's always a 10% discount code out there. Plus you get the app which has some nice mapping and forecasting features.

I like the Leland's Lures Loc n Knoc a lot because the plastic sleeve seems to be easy on my line. If I run out, a 2 ounce weight and a coated paperclip usually get it done.

Black Sheep Custom Tackle if I'm not mistaken. Never.

The new jig company he and some other big names are starting seem more in his wheelhouse. I'm excited to see what they come out with.

I'm sure he's great with most baits, but when I think of Feider, a fluke is not the bait that comes to mind.

Download the Fishing Chaos app and search your area. Most places have a semi-local trail and that seems to be the default app for kayak events.

Anyone else feel like the weight of the swivel is going to weigh down the nose and mess up the action?

Time on the water. Nothing can replace that.

Baits you can skip easy: big soft swimbaits like the magdraft; "poop" style heavy baits like the yamatuniki; neds, senkos and flukes on spinning gear. Baits you can skip that require decent skill: chatterbaits, jigs, buzz baits, T Rigs, frogs. Baits you just can't skip (or at least I can't): spinnerbaits, crank baits, drop shot.

Thanks, @dwtaylor and @Smirak. I have more questions but don't want to hijack the thread so I'll DM y'all.

Thank you. I just watched this and feel less crazy now. I don't think my knot was coming untied like the one guy talked about, but everything else he said matched what I've seen.

I'm not a "scoper" but have it on my boat. Should I be scanning around my popper to see if fish are coming to investigate it? I picked up 3 MB Popmax and one of the Shimano Flash Pops because of this thread. Last night, I came dangerously close to slipping up and saying to my wife, "can you believe these things are $20 a pop?" The finish on the Popmax is incredible. I bought one to try them out and went back to get two more after I opened the package and saw how good it looked and felt.