Team9nine

I'm eating it ? Most have been my own fault. You can't bang windshields, throw them on rocks or docks, slap weeds off them against the water, etc. like you can do other jerkbaits. Only 1 or 2 were questionable lip breaks.

Tackle Warehouse write-ups say some of their lines have it (e.g., machine gun cast). Don't use Sunline, so can't say for certain. I do know that Toray SH Upgrade has a mid spool mark. Would be great in my eyes if more companies adopted this practice

Short answer is yes, well worth the money to me based on the catches I've made on them on my waters. That said, the bills and body are fairly delicate, especially in cold weather and water. Have now broke about half a dozen including two already this year. Also would think twice if pike and musky were very common in your waters.

No pike here, but I've definitely had quite a few times where I've had to fish them that fast to get a reaction strike from bass that just wouldn't commit otherwise in clear water. Double edged sword because you miss or lose many fishing it that fast, but won't hardly get bit if you don't. -T9

Look for cocktail cove, also called party cove on the lower right hand side above the dam. One of the best protected spawning areas on the lake. Usually tough this time of year. Check out the ILF (Indy League Fishing) website as they've held qualifiers there the last week or two. Might be able to glean some info. Typical winning weights are 11-15 pounds, much lighter than Geist. Speaking of light, did you check out the HL weigh-in? Heard only one limit caught in the event, and that guy won. Tough.

SaltStrong has done a lot of great knot testing, you just have to do a bit of searching to find it all on the site. Good stuff though ?

Fireline is made from Dyneema which has almost zero water absorption. Soaking it in water does nothing for it other than get it wet, and since its fused (and hydrophobic), it does that pretty poorly, too. The water soak trick only works well with nylon based monofilaments. -T9

Not sure what the regular old fisherman's knot is, but it don't sound good switch to the uni and you'll probably be fine. Highly doubt it's bass teeth causing the problem.

What knot are you tying presently and what pound test? Uni is easy to tie and would work fine with mono, but certainly not the strongest knot you could use. Could be a variety of reasons your line broke.

It's fishing - you have to accept that there will be casualties in the field no matter how much you try otherwise. That's life.

Yes, he did...originally a fluoroclear question.

Since we're still on this subject, it's worth noting that the thought of this setup being a weaker link in the chain for failure since it involves 2 connections vs 1 is actually incorrect, due to the fact that both of the individual connecting knots to the swivel will each be stronger than any line-to-line connecting knot (assuming you're tying correct and proven knots). I would like to see data on the FG vs traditional though now that that knot is becoming a bit more widespread in use.

If I'm looking at the right one, it's the Rattling Suspending Shad Rap in "Shad" color. Model SRRS05 SD. Last 2 digits ("05") are the size of the bait, so could also be '07', '08' or '09'

Now's the time to determine if professional bass angling is going to be a career path for you - you should be out there Sunday if so, even if alone. Each boat can only bring in 5 fish, and you're catching more than enough to be competitive. I played around and mostly just idled to the backs of coves to see what was going on. Managed 45+ on TRDs but almost no keepers. Fun to see how many you can catch in a small area though. Had one tiny pocket barely big enough to turn my boat around and about 3 boat lengths long that I managed to pull 10 bass and 1 crappie out of.

I saw you leaving my honey hole around 8:30-8:45 last night First big bass tourney this Sunday. You fishing it? -T9

Another vote for Toray SuperHard Upgrade -T9

Yep, a couple hundred + here, too. First one on Feb. 11 this year and been catching them ever since. Great start for Indiana, and we're still just in March

Yep ? bought one from my local hardware shop for under $40 I believe. Shoot hub temps and tire temps while towing about every month to make sure nothing is starting to go bad. Basically just looking to see if both hubs and tires are running the same temp or very close. Shouldn't be a big difference between the two. Just good piece of mind for me, and interesting to know actual specs on this kind of stuff - yes, I'm a nerd ?

Sorry, but won't get it from me... To Darren's point, I fall clearly in the "hate" category with this line. Won't ever find it on my reels again. Not a P-line "hater" either. Use their nylon and pure fluoro lines at times without issue. -T9

Yep, another vote for tomato stakes ? though in the winter, they also serve a dual purpose of marking the edges of your drive and street so the snow plows don't take out your yard -T9

OK, just looked it up to see what they've done. First thought would be what you just posted, stick with the Sunline That said, to the OP's question, the XL version should be less abrasion resistant than the original 100% because they invariably had to soften it up somehow to get the nylon-like qualities they espouse.

Lots of options in the braid market. My suggestion is if it's your first go round with braid, simply pick up a spool of Power Pro and be done with it. Nothing fancy, but it's about the most proven "bang for the buck" braid out there. Kind of like the Curado of braided fishing lines ?

If I'm understanding you, you are comparing Trilene 100% which is a fluorocarbon line with Berkley's XL which is a nylon based line? If so, the 100% fluorocarbon should have much better abrasion resistance as XL is their "soft and more manageable" line. There probably isn't a great deal of difference between their 100% fluoro and XT though. 100% seemed like a pretty solid fluoro when I tried it, and I always see people recommending it. Not sure if it would be any better than Sunline though.

No offense meant, but it's a sad reflection on the sport, and the current media/tournament mentality when you feel embarrassed by catching a bass. They can't get big by not being small, first. I love catching them all, big or small ? -T9

I like the format just the way it is. Still plenty of decent sized fish caught in most events along with a few big ones. They start making it more like every other event out there and I'll stop watching.