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As a general rule I use the smallest line diameter I think I can get away with across the board on every reel. Outside of a few exceptions, every lure is going to be presented better and more naturally on the smallest line diameter you can use effectively. Occasionally you'll run into a scenario like throwing blade baits where you actually want a stiffer, thicker line so that it doesn't foul up with the treble hooks as much.

I started making bugs for river smallmouths because they preferred soft plastics with appendages over straight worms most days. I had 100 fish days with them . Then I started using them for reservoir largemouths. Caught a few nice channel cats with them.

12 lbs 14 oz I have a video clip, but I haven't been able to resize it, so a screen grab it is. Those were the days my friend, We thought they'd never end.

Musky lures are designed to catch muskies. Bass lures are designed to catch fishermen.

Not in a million years would I consider changing line because I thought that was the factor in not getting bit.

Guess I could see changing out spinning spools if you need different line, but I've never done it or considered it. I think most of us here simply have a completely separate setup of rod/reel and we just grab that if we need to change our presentation. Completely changing out line while on the water seems like a big waste of my fishing time. I prefer to be ready in advance rather than doing something like that.

If you’re serious about stepping up your bass fishing game, these eight actionable tips will elevate your skills and make this your best fishing year yet. Whether you’re new to fishing or a seasoned pro, these strategies will help you catch more fish consistently.

I became a Seaguar (and Umpqua) fluoro fan over Rio fluoro leader. Never landed over-30" Alaska rainbow - one came unhooked charging me across the width of the Kenai faster than I could reel. Another broke off on a Rio fluoro knot. Not fair working a decade on and off in Alaska and PB rainbow was in a TX tailwater. "we're gonna need a bigger net" @FishTank - forgot to mention my favorite trout fluoro for strong knots is Frog Hair, which I'm certain was the 5x tippet for the buck just above. (size 22 midge dropper) .

That may be the case for your region but not necessarily everywhere. I catch so many more on jigs than Trigs that I have almost quit using them.

One thing I like about the video is seeing that the places where Glenn fishes look like the places where I fish. If I'm Swamp Girl, then @Glenn is Swamp Guy.

There are differences between offshore assembly line reels and Japan-bench-finished reels - the difference is intentional and goes beyond the labor rate. Made in Japan Sells in Japan. While the parts all come from the same manufacturing, the Shimano Malaysia worker or Daiwa Tica-Taiwan worker is getting reels out the door. What they do in Japan is sort and match parts from the bins for smoother function as they're assembling the reel - the extra time and labor quality is designed into the pricing. If you put a Stradic and Twin Power side-by-side, you'll notice the difference - and Stradic is good enough, you won't notice the difference otherwise. @softwateronly - no offense, the only Daiwa warranty return I know of was an Alphas that left out the frame-spool-ring on one side. Also, there are full-bench and bench-finished reels still made in USA (to me, this defines USDM - i.e. imported USM reels are not made domestically)

👆This. Muskie baits are still very much a cottage industry as well. A large percentage of them are handcrafted in small shops here in the USA and Canada. Nah. Lots get caught while fishing for other species, but not in the numbers that muskie anglers catch them.

Strong leaders and line are useful around treetops, stumps, snags and even chain pickeral. Ever fish a place like Briery Creek Reservoir in VA? My usual lines are 17# to 20# nylon and 30# to 65# braid depending on how deep I'm fishing and I don't use a leader. Nothing like worm fishing 20' feet down in the dark on a moonless July night. My idea of finesse fishing is 15# with a 3/8 spinnerbait and a 3-,4- or 5-inch grub. Fishing in a stump field is sort of like playing pinball. Cypress swamps are fun, too.

Jig color isn’t as important as weight and head shape. Bass will detect a jig moving near them and ignore it if covered with weeds. Color selection matters more to the angler then the bass, so use a color you have confidence with. If I told you that white with green back was best would you use it? Tom

Finally. Got on the board three weeks earlier than last year. Green pumpkin jig, sunny 48f with north winds to 30mph. Third cast. Now I'm going home for coffee because I did not bring the appropriate gloves

From the moment I leave, Tank waits . . . and waits . . . and waits for my return. Every Time. You can't make a dog do that. #tankslife #bestfriend A-Jay

So does that mean lots of yellow ice ? 🤓 A-Jay

@the reel ess @Jig Man @MediumMouthBass That's way I keep both tied on 24/7/365 They gonna eat one of em 😉

Gapen’s Ugly Bug, introduced in 1969 by Dan Gapen and one of their best ever sellers. Still used and around today, but it was a killer river bait, especially when tipped with a piece of crawler for scent.

As strange as it sounds, I don't. I choose my leaders according to two criteria; water clarity and structure. I really only use fluorocarbon in gin clear water and step up to the 8lb in the presence of larger rocks, fallen trees, logjams, and root wads. In stained waters, I'll run the mono. For instance, the Black River in Northeast Michigan has a high amount of tannins, making the water a dark tea color. That's how the river got its name. I typically run my drag between 1 and 2lb, measured with a spring scale. This is my textbook example of where I run 8lb fluorocarbon; the upper Jordan River in Northwest Michigan. Make note of all of the fallen cedar trees. The last couple weeks of September I often hit that area for coho salmon since it closes to fishing at the end of the month. That's just a two week window to catch fresh silver fish. There are also huge browns on the prowl as well. Those cohos like to peel drag and lose you in the wood.

We’ve been fishing “fuzzy baits” in the Midwest with good success since 1969…

@Jigfishn10 Yeah I’d say a decent amount. Just about 45 minutes south up in the mountains they got around 15” we Got a 10” snow last year that didn’t melt for over a week. In 2020 7-8” of snow fell on Christmas Eve . The most I’ve seen was 2 feet in March 1993

Been a cold & snowy week. Far more typical for this neck of the woods than the past few years. These are the ones that make winter seem more like an occupation than a season. With both the holidays and the winter solstice in the rear view mirror, I'm feeling a bit better about looking forward. Sort of like getting over the hump. While January can still be a long cold month, I'm hoping it's all downhill from here . . . . 89 Days and a wake up ~ A-Jay

We catch a lot of smallies on musky flies every year...most of them are big... Both of these work on bass, pike, and muskies...

You can get away with as light as a regular old zillion g from Japan (6.2oz) as long as you’re using 18lb or less flouro or braid leader. The chad shad is easy to throw. could use anything , slx xt, curado 150, met, tatula 100, 150, Nothing special needed. I love the 73xh Exprides and have several of them. With that said, I do think the rod is slightly over powered for any treble hook. You’ll likely bend out the hooks pretty easily. I added a few 7’7 heavy exprides to my line up because they can do anything. They are awesome for frogging but are soft enough to throw anything . I really like throwing the chad shad on the 7’7 h with a zillion g with either 16-18 lb shooter or 50lb braid to 20-25 (16-20 normal diameter) gold label leader. With braid to leader on moving baits I like to throw something smooth such as 131 or silent braid

You have to admire those bass ambitions sometimes. 😂 I caught a LM about 13" on a 9" Grandma last year, twitching it around deep laydowns. It even had the front hook. Crazy fish.

I always wonder if the technican at bench H-g commits seppuku if this reel comes back for warranty. it was jokes

In the 90's I had 5 DDs. In the 2000's I had 3. Since then I have zero! Of course, I don't fish as much as I did then. My goal is to stop that streak!

Redfish. They pull really hard and for a long time.

Replaced and upgraded my Tracker seats. Seats were very damaged when i bought the boat, with the foam being exposed. After a lengthy backorder the seats finally came in and I couldnt be more happy with the end results. Boat: 2007 Bass Tracker 190 Pro Team TX

I can relate. My Calcutta Conquest SE 30 arrives tomorrow, I got and installed an Avail 17CNQ29R spool for my '17 Conquest BFS, got a new Palms Egeria EFVC-53L+ a month ago, plus 16 new jerkbaits, and the rivers have shelf ice and the bays and canals of Lake Erie and Lake St Clair are froze. Bummer.

"It makes no sense to run heavy line throught the entire spool when you don't need it. " It eliminates the knot, always a weak point and frequently an irritation. I don't know about anyone else, but I am constantly cutting off the first two feet of frayed/nicked line and retying. I may be down to half a spool by the end of the day. Line is a wear item, like tires and brakes and wiper blades. I live by the motto, "If you aren't getting hung up you aren't fishing." See the spinnerbait by the rod? I love spinnerbait fishing way back in the pads where the fish hang out.

I’ve had a 65 ah and 100 ah of cheaper brands, both have worked great and weigh nothing compared to the previous lead battery. 100% would purchase again.

Precisely. Japanese consumers have an eye for quality, unlike Westerners who have an eye for quantity. While most famous Western fishing brands have been relegated to nothing more than brand names with OEMs providing both design and manufacturing, Japan is much different. If a business is working and earning good reputation, they leave it be and do what it does best. Western companies are much more concerned about the bottom line and use a plethora of cost cutting measures to the eventual demise of the company. The example I like to use with how Japan treats its own companies is McIntosh Labs, the famous American audio manufacturer. They were bought by Clarion, a Japanese company in 1990 and many workers thought for sure the buildings were going to close and everything off-shored. What did Clarion do? Absolutely nothing. They let McIntosh Labs operate independently because they knew the company was very highly regarded. Why fix what isn't broken? 20 years ago McIntosh Labs was bought by H&M Holdings, a Japanese investment company that specializes in audio and visual equipment. Who wants to guess what D&M did to McIntosh? If you guess nothing, you are correct. That's the Japanese way of doing business. Heck, ABU only got into the situation it is now because Pure Fishing took over ABU distribution in Japan when Olympic went bankrupt 25 years ago. The best contemporary Swedish made and designed reels all hail from the Olympic era.

Ha ha - I've caught a 37" musky on a 1/2 oz Aruku lipless, and a 13" LMB on a Detonator :)

I can’t tell you how much your time is worth. That’s important to consider. I’m retired so my time is not worth much. If it was me, I’d get in the truck and go get the boat. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Well you could have a wreck, total the truck, total the boat, and you could die. Life is risky. The chances of something major happening on a 800 mile trip are low but they are not zero. If something happens you deal with it the best you can. It would be a major pain if you lost a bearing on the way home. If it happens you get it fixed somewhere or hire a flatbed to haul it home and be glad you survived the trip. 🙂

I don’t even try to keep track but I am sure you have much more than I do. My wife keeps asking what she should do with my stuff if she out lives me. Before I switched to the Midwest Finesse weedless mold with the Victory hooks I lost 15 Ned rigs on one side of Piney Creek on Table Rock one morning. After I got the mold and poured some heads I went back and fished the same area loosing only 2 Neds.

Some really good answers here. @A-Jay I’m in southern Michigan and would like to retire and relocate north for the reasons you mentioned. Lots of bass, walleye, panfish, pike and musky and plenty of waters to get out on to chase them. Already starting to plan for it.

What is Your Favorite Species and What Got You Set on It? Growing up and fishing in New England, it was mostly panfish and small LMB. Eventually I started catching some SMB and thought they were pretty cool. Didn't know then where that would lead. Throughout my life time I've been very fortunate to have had an opportunity to do a fairly wide variety of both fresh and salt water game fishing including Lakes, rivers, reservoirs, streams, inshore and off shore adventures. Blue water pelagic fish are a completely different deal. However what ever species(s) I would be targeting, I have always been a fan of "the Big Ones". And my 'favorite' is directly related to what's available where I'm at. I had a Serious Striped Bass addiction for about 15 years and chased them up & down the east coast from Maine to North Carolina. Usually from the beach or rocks and always at night. Lost a lot of sleep. Caught the Big Largemouth bass bug pretty bad once I started making trips south of the border. Gave me a chance to scratch an itch I'll never be able to do in the north woods. Since retiring to northern Michigan, the past 17 plus years, I've had access to several cool water game fish. Besides LM and SM Bass, these include pike, muskie, walleye and a few different trout & salmon species. And have caught a few of most all of them, but they were almost always by catch; except for the walleye (sandwiches). However I am mostly (OK Wildly) addicted to Smallmouth. I'm all about the preparation, the hunt and the execution. Trophy Brown bass are usually a very worthy opponent on the right gear and just look awesome all colored up ! Also they can be reasonably scarce, making them hard to find. This may be one reason why I'm often pretty lonely on the water. Which suits me just fine. A-Jay

I don't require it, but I highly prefer it with brand new models.

Yes it matters greatly to me. If it's over $200 I want it to be made in Japan. Few reels under $300 are made in Japan, but for example the JDM Zillion SV TW is, and as long as you can get that reel for less than $250, there's no reason to buy a similar priced reel that's made in China, Malaysia, or Vietnam....outside a few exceptions.

I think the 1980 is the model number not the year. https://vexusboats.com/model/avx1980/overview/ A-Jay

The Tatula 200 is actually a 300 capacity reel and has an identical spool dimensions (thus capacity) as the old non TWS Lexa 300. If it wasn't for the Lexa 300 having a spool bearing mounted on the spool then you could swap spools between the two. I own both reels and the only reason the old Lexa 300 is bigger is because it is longer to move the level wind a mile from the spool to help non braid line flow out smoothly. The Tatula 200 gets around this thanks to the TWS and is much shorter in length than the old Lexa 300. The modern Tatula 300, modern Lexa and Tranx 300 use a different approach than the 36mm wide spools of the old Lexa 300 and Tatula 300. They use a 43mm tall bit narrow spool to have the reel palm less wide but taller. You may want to palm a Tatula 150 or 200 in store to see of you prefer that low but wide palming profile over the modern tall but narrow take.

As much as possible while we’ve been dragging this thing around 😎

Some where back in the 60s my dad rented a wooden boat that had slats nailed across the ribs for a floor. I noticed what turned out to be a Scoundrel worm (black with two yellow stripes). Dad rigged it weedless for me & I cast it out & let it sit while eating a sandwich. I noticed a whole row of pencil reeds laying over in a stright line & thought what the hell. Dad screamed set hook, I did & caught a nice 2# chunk. 60+ yrs later still chunking worms & chasing largemouth!

I purchased a Battleborn 75ah a few years ago, and I think it was around $700. Battleborn was considered the premium American brand at the time. It has worked great, but if I were buying today, I would buy a cheap one off Amazon. If you look at Amazon reviews, a $200 Li Time battery has about the same review ratings as a $750 Battleborn. Some people think warranty and service are important. I say a warranty is only as good as the company behind it. When I bought the Battleborn, I felt good about the warranty from a strong company. Now Battleborn is struggling to compete with the cheap Chinese batteries, and if they go out of business, my warranty goes out with them. I don't think you can be sure any of these companies will be around in 5 years. Personally, I would buy cheap and take my chances. The biggest risk you take is if you get a bad battery, it can be very expensive to send it back. Some buy local for that reason so you don't have to ship it back. This topic generates a lot of discussion on this forum. These batteries are actually pretty simple. They consist of LiFePo4 cells, a BMS, a case, and wires. The cells are all made in China by large companies, and their primary use is in electric vehicles. A trolling motor is a very low-intensity use compared to a Tesla. To answer your questions: Is leakage a common problem? I've never heard of a LiFePo4 leaking. I've heard of the cells expanding from heat but not leaking. Bluetooth? Bluetooth allows you to monitor the charge level from your phone. You can decide if this is worth the extra cost. I'll also mention that you will probably want to get a charger designed for LiPo4 batteries if you don't already have one.

Getting less and less tolerant of cold, wet weather for sure. The doctors opening the playbook - it's a yearly game of "what's THAT??" Readers are a requirement Turning the light on your phone so you can read the menu Catching yourself stooping while walking - when did that start?? More gray/missing hair Aches and pains in joints, especially when getting up or bending down Where'd I put my keys? Watching the pop music awards and not recognizing anybody Prioritizing comfort over fashion in clothing choices Complaining about things being "different now" compared to when you were younger Feeling more cautious when doing physical activities Say goodbye to a full night's sleep

Caught a 6.4 on the Cue Bomb, and a 7.10 on the full sized Imo Kemushi last summer, these Geecrack fuzzy baits are pretty incredible. That said, they have some serious drawbacks, and are quite frustrating to fish with to some degree. As noted by @scaleface, if the hairs are orange, chartreuse, or other brighter colors, the Bream will constantly be ripping them out. Rigging these baits, especially the Cue Bomb requires creativity outside of using them on the Drop Shot like many do. Not a DS fan, so I neko rig them and use an Owner CPS spring tightened down around the hook along with a nail weight in the bottom. I tried them on a Core Tackle Whacky Shot but the hookup ratio isn't great and I think it's because of the gap the weight creates b/t the hook and the bait. If you rig those big Imo Kemushis Texas Rigged, they last a fish or two at most. I thread them on a big 5/0 flipping hook and try to stay away from the really heavy stuff. I'm also still learning how to actually hook the fish on the bait, it's very different than any other bait I've used in that way. You need to really set the hook like it's a jig or heavy T Rig, but at the same time you also need that wacky rig hookset where you reel into them and then apply a modest hookset. The little Imo Kemushi I rig like a combo of a neko and ned rig. Once I got the elastomer version, I started to really like the little Imo Kemushis. With the regular SAF material the things lasted for a fish or two. I use a CPS spring tightened down around the hook and then a nail weight. I need lots more practice and time with these baits, but their potential is only matched by their headaches.

Bass fishing legend Glenn May Congrats, I was wondering when you'd enter that category. Fuzzy Baits reminds me of the drink Fuzzy Navel. I think the baits will have a much bigger following.