J Francho

150K on mine, no major issues. Towed a 22' bass boat for about 25% of those miles.

I have a one eyed Sammy 115 that has no finish left on it. Been fishing catching with it for at least a decade.

How far east? There's contour lines all the way to Jenison.

I'm looking at the Navionics Chart Viewer, and it shows everything in 1' contours for Grand River.

Exactly, not to mention the myriad of jig head styles.

I use Mike's jigs and spinnerbaits exclusively.You can PM him here, and have him do custom work as well. @Siebert Outdoors

Jig.

I threw one for 8 hours in TX on Oneida. I was in the river, near Rt. 81 bridge, right next to Jaime Hartman, who was fishing a Fed tx, IIRC. He came in first for that one, I came in second for mine. Man, was I sore the next day.

https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/main.sc

Some great footage!

Don't rip them through the weeds, finesse them through. Look for openings, breaks, or holes so to speak. You might want to watch some videos on fishing slop. Look for changes in species of vegetation. Look where it abruptly starts or ends. Bottom line, if you aren't putting your bait in the weeds, you probably aren't near the fish. If you can't get through the slop, use a heavier weight. If it's so thick you can't deal, use a hollow frog. A DS has no business here, not even a bubba shot rig. I call this "medium" weed cover. It's 6-10' deep here. Totally choked 2' below the surface. https://photos.smugmug.com/Family/Fishing-Journal/i-m9H4BzB/0/0d0137b6/X2/IMG_2556-X2.jpg In this spot, you can only really get a frog through. https://photos.smugmug.com/Family/Fishing-Journal/i-whtLq8t/0/0fe11f66/O/Photo-0050.jpg

0 to whatever is at the end of the docks.

Those are cool.

It looks like it would work with ANY soft plastic. Thanks @Ronnieh

We fish A LOT deeper, but remember, it's all relative. I'm not ever going to rule out 15-20', but I pretty much have ignored 30' or less the past decade or so. I'll consider that 30' line on my maps "shoreline" and look at structure from there. LSC isn't all that deep, so, I'd say you're good at that 15' level. I'm talking dead of summer and that point where they hit their wintering spots. Fall and spring, you just never know, but if you run into them, it's game on.

Which Ike in the Shop is it? Shouldn't be any problem posting a YT vid.

Without a little memory on either, you're going to have bigger issues. The big advantage I see with Tasu/L&L is I don't get the tight coils like I do with lines CXX, Trilene XL/XT, or Big Game, if the reel sits unused for a few weeks. Of course, if you get the line wet, and stretch it on a couple nice fish, problem goes away.

Really good question, and I'll use Erie and Ontario as my example. If I find bait, and by bait, I mean the bottom is carpeted with bait on the graph, I'm confident something that I can get down there will get bit. It's usually either on a Hopkin's Shorty spoon (1 oz.) or some plastic on a DS. Occasionally, I'll throw a football and craw jig, or a tube on a 3/4-1 oz. tube head, but that's rare anymore.

I've something similar to lock my kayak to the rack or truck to prevent theft, but wouldn't recommend it for securing the boat to a vehicle. But hey, until it doesn't, it works for now.

Then you are fishing them wrong. I fish these baits, from shore, in some of the weediest slop. They are designed for fishing exactly this situation. Learn to finesse them through the weeds, and you'll get bit. The heavier the cover, the heavier the tackle. This is not a DS situation.

I wouldn't count anything out. That lake is loaded with big fish. To limit yourself to a 3' range is asking for trouble. Tie on a drop shot, and try 15-20' ledges. Go shallow. You never know. That's what makes that place a challenge. You know there's fish everywhere, just gotta find the ones that are biting.

I have a Helix 5 and 7. Mostly use the 5 on my kayak. I got Lakemaster chips for mapping. I think either would do fine for you, I just happen to be more familiar with Humminbird menus. Link to Screenshot of Helix 5 Video of the same: https://plan-b.smugmug.com/Family/Fishing-Journal/i-sS5w2Zg/A

Welcome back!

??

The beauty of a drop shot is the direct connection from the tip of your rod to the hook. Add slack into that equation, and you lose all the advantage. As Tom said, the bait will move, even when you are dead sticking. There is current in most bodies of water, even deep lakes, and the bait will orient and quiver in place. Consider a 2D graph, as it will open up all kinds of water to fish. On Erie and Ontario, I start around 17-20', often as deep as 40'. No way I'd do that fishing blind. Here's a good hook up: https://photos.smugmug.com/Family/Fishing-Journal/i-4Kv6V94/0/b087d1fb/X2/20101113-ErieWithNoel-06-X2.jpg