Team9nine

There are some nice studies out there on this subject showing good correlation between light penetration and maximum growing depth of vegetation. While there will always be one-off examples and outliers, the studies generally show that submerged vegetation requires a minimum of 10% incident light for growth. Using Secchi Depth transparency, about 90% of the time the max depth of growth will be 3X water clarity, with around 60% of that falling within 2X water clarity.

That's basically it - don't like the "openess" of interpretation as written myself, but it is what it is...this year ?

About the first 20-some years when I fished tourneys, I almost never fished worms. I usually only kept one package with me on the boat along with a few hooks and sinkers, "just in case." Could probably count on 2 hands how many times I actually fished them. Once I stopped fishing tourneys, along with older age, the rise of the shaky head and Ned rig, I now probably throw them about half the time in some form or fashion. In fact, just walked in the house from a 3 hour trip and the only bait I threw was a worm - lol. Caught nearly 50 on it today.

I use an uncoated river anchor, 15# with a little sharper fluke ends than what is shown. Digs into muck well, but you have to be a little careful around rock and stumps.

I'm going with this ^^ Need to have plenty of line out to get the best angle and some cushioning so the flukes can do their job, at least 2X depth and preferably 3X as Scott mentioned. Mushroom anchor would be much worse under most conditions. You could add a chain as you mention, but usually not necessary under normal conditions. Fifteen pounds should be plenty under typical winds. Buddy and I both run 15# anchors with 16-18' aluminums with minimal issues.

Yes, they're designed that way so that you constantly have to go buy more and more bags, often after just one fishing trip. In the manufacturing world, this is referred to as 'planned obsolescence.' There's a reason why Gary is a millionaire and us Senko throwing bass anglers aren't ?

"Chatterbait" for vibrating jigs "Pop-R" for poppers A newer one coming into that realm, "Biffle Bug" for swing head jigs

Unscrewed one side of hangers and removed the original hooks. Added a split ring to the rear hanger. Read several places not to add one to the side hooks (tangling), so I didn't - just swapped out.

Freedom Flag Foundation (Google them...)

I rarely use straight braid, almost always with a leader. I also never throw more than 10lb. braid on my spinning outfits. As such, for me, it always applies. Most rods can handle 20 lbs of force before approaching a breaking point, though most people and reels probably couldn't - lol. I would say some practicality comes into play at those line strengths and it doesn't matter much. Backreeling has always seemed to be a domain of light line/finesse anglers, or old-timers who grew up with questionable drag systems.

These guys pretty much summed up the majority of the reasons. A couple things I will add. On baitcasters, I'd actually disagree to a point as baitcasters have thumb bars, and a good "thumbarrer" is the equivalent of back reeling, IMO. I do it rather frequently with fish on baitcasters. The other point is that I don't like leaving line strength on the table. So if I set my spinning reel with 8 or 10 lb. line at 2.5 to 3 lbs of drag, it's a pretty decent amount of pressure (try dead weight lifting, equivalent to the way most guys fight fish), but the line has several more pounds of force it can handle (5-7 lbs or more in this example) before breaking. Problem is, every time you get to 2.5 or 3 lbs., your drag starts slipping or screaming, and the only control you have left is to put your hand on the spool to try and apply more pressure. I'd rather control all that through the reel handle and the position of my rod, and if I need to apply 5-lb. or 7lb. of force to stop or turn a fish, I can. I get that we're in the vast minority these days, and it's not something I'd recommend to everyone, but it's the way I like to play this game, so for me, I'll keep buying reels with the switch until I can't.

^^ THIS ^^ I know I wouldn't buy a spinning reel without unless the option by manufacturers simply wasn't there...

Got the first one (only one so far - lol) on the big JB last night about 15 min after sunset. I'll keep messing with it on some other waters as I get the chance.

Yep - I ain't swinging unless I feel the fish first. At 1.25 ounces, the last thing I need is a face full of Jitterbug and a trip to the emergency room but I SO want to catch one on it - lol

Use some type of setup to help keep the worm on the hook better (crossed o-rings, thread, etc.), or change to a more durable worm that won't tear up as easily. You'll still lose and go through some with this technique, but you can slow the pace with a few changes.

Yes, but it's a game of trade-offs. How frequently might you lose fish by having a bit heavier rod and applying too much pressure to the small hooks every trip? You'll have to make the call. If it's just minimal scattered cover, I'd go ML. If you actually have enough that fish might constantly be taking you into places where landing them becomes difficult, then go M. A few scattered sticks and thin weeds wouldn't be enough in my opinion to upsize. You can still put a decent amount of pressure on a fish with a ML if you have to.

It's actually the reverse...you'd be more likely to get broken off the heavier you go in rod power. Unless where you are fishing has an abundance of larger than normal bass, I still say ML is the way to go unless you can find a more moderate action M rod. Getting a bit harder these days since everybody seems to want F/XF for whatever reason.

Picked up an original wooden Musky JB off eBay a couple weeks ago. Swapped out hooks and ready to try and land one on this big old piece of history. First attempt last night resulted in half a dozen blowups, but no hookups. Still fun for the first time out. We'll keep trying until I find one big enough to actually eat this thing ?

Ok, definitely don't do the latter. However, to get maximum knot strength with minimum line heating, after moving the loop under the hook and putting it (the hook) into/through the loop as you mention above, continue to lift the loop all the way above the overhand knot, basically flipping it upside down before tightening (see my pic above). Leaving that loop line lying against the hook eye or on top of the overhand knot will definitely weaken the finished knot.

As this last event proved, national tournament directors have no problem disqualifying a competitor for breaking the rules. Anytime there is an accusation or a protest filed against a competitor, you can believe there is a phone call and conversation, and quite frequently a polygraph given even if you never hear about it as a fan and follower. Jacob has had more than his fair share of all the above (accusations, conversations, polys, etc.). The point being, if any or all of those accusations were true, and the tourney directors were made aware of them (and several of them were), you would have seen a lot more penalties or DQs assessed on him if there were any truth in regards to actually breaking a rule. Walking a fine line is not breaking a rule if the tourney director doesn't deem it so. Great competitors in every sport always push the boundaries in this regard, and some people simply don't like it. That pushing is also why we have many of the rules we do - because the line was brushed and a new rule was ultimately put in place to clarify or restrict certain things. Roland Martin was probably the king in this regard as to having rules later put in place because of things he did which didn't technically break any rules when he did them. Look at how many people said the "no info" rule would kill guys like Jacob, who some thought were pushing the boundaries in this regard, yet his MLF and Bassmaster events since show that the truly good anglers will always catch them regardless. I first started taking Jacob fishing when he was just 14 years old, and have acted as a mentor to him ever since. He is very competitive...wants to beat you out on the water every time, no matter what you're fishing for or who you are. They say the great ones like KVD are exactly the same (speaking of, nobody made a big deal out of KVD being reported and penalized for fishing in an off-limits area during one of the first two days of that event. You probably didn't even hear about it. I'd love to know why he wasn't disqualified like so many others before him for that same infraction). Most of the greats in any sport are like that. He's where he is in this sport at his age, and with a long list of sponsors, because he is a competitor, not a cheater. All accusations have a grain of truth at their core, but true "cheaters" are quickly eliminated from this sport. Don't expect Jacob to be going anywhere, anytime soon

Having a hard time trying to figure out exactly what you are saying and what the difference is from your examples. Top video looks like he ran the bait/hook through backwards perhaps. As someone who has used the Palomar solely as their only direct connecting knot in everything from braid, to nylon to fluoro without issue for over 30 years, the biggest mistake I see is people don't flip the last loop after the pass through up and over the entire overhand knot (and lure/hook). It should look like the picture below right before cinching, and if done this way, there is never any burning or heating of the line.

Hard to say. Fish might use the small lake for spawning and then move back into L. Michigan the rest of the year. Not every fish can be made to bite. After trying some options, I'd chalk it up to a "cool" experience and then go find some fish with a better attitude ?

I tend to lean toward not using them in many instances, but that's not the point I want to contend. Instead it is the size of the trailer hooks most commonly used - they're overkill. Nearly all the manufacturers who provide or sell trailer hooks do so in sizes similar to the main hook, notably sizes 2/0 through 5/0. Big mistake in my opinion that will cost you fish. Same with the rubber sleeve they usually supply as a way to attach and lock the hook in place - again wrong IMO. The absolute best trailer hook I've used, and the only one I'll attach to any of my baits, is a smaller size 1 limerick style hook. I tend to use the Mustad version, models 31010 or 8260D, primarily because I have a lifetime supply of these hooks. These hooks cost $0.08 a piece and come in packages of 100 for $7.99. Compare that to a package of traditional trailer hooks which cost about $3.59 for 5 of them. I use the tin hooks just because that was what I could find in the area at the time, but they do make a bronze version if that is a psychological hangup for you. Being tin, you can also take a black Sharpie and easily color the metal as an option. The picture below has the hook I use on top, and a traditional 2/0 trailer that comes packaged with many lures below. I wish I had a 3/0 or 4/0 size hook to compare against to show the differences more dramatically. Regardless, the advantages include a smaller diameter wire and smaller barb for better hook penetration. It still has a nearly 1.25" length though which is all the extra length you need in a trailer hook. Smaller size also means easier to hide on the bait, plus less weight to offset any possible running issues and more room for a plastic trailer if desired. Finally, smaller profile means it comes through heavier cover better which is a primary reason people tend to shy away from adding trailer hooks to many of their baits in the first place. As for installation, forget the rubber or plastic rings that get supplied. Simply take a pliers and slightly offset the wire hook eye where it meets the main shaft and slip over the baits primary hook, then clamp to close the circular gap just small enough so that it can't slide back over the large main hook barb. Trust me, it won't go anywhere once you have it installed correctly. This will allow the hook to move around and swing as needed, plus the fish won't have any extra leverage to possibly throw the trailer should that be the only hook that sticks him.

I'm going with juvenile bluegill in both pics. Just not enough distinctive markings like you commonly see with crappie IMO.

Wheeler has been doing this for 6 or 7 years. Believe he picked it up from one of the Tour guys back when. It was a quiet secret for a while, but of course given the coverage these days, not much gets hidden for long. He's done a couple videos on rigging it that way and how, why, etc. You get a lot more weight than a traditional buzzer that makes for some pinpoint casting as well as better distance. Buzzers also skip better under trees and docks with that frog body on there. Have to believe the profile difference might also help some on waters where more traditional buzzers get thrown a lot. His namesake buzzer from Accent Fishing comes packaged with a skirt that isn't attached, making it easy to fish it either way. It also has a wire keeper on the shaft to help hold the frog on better, though in the early days, he would simply slide the whole toad over the buzzers head and add a little glue to help hold it on. Really helps with skipping that way, but you need to play around with different toads as some plastics used in making them don't hold up well to that level of stretching and tear rather easily. The toad body also gives a good amount of mass for when a bass just tries to suck it in instead of completely engulfing it, making for better hookups at times compared to plain skirted buzzers.