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I personally think that green Hybrid is harder to see in clear water than clear Hybrid.

Good video. I had to do that once with a hook in my leg. Using fishing line with some slack in it to jolt the hook free is MUCH easier that trying to wiggle it out by hand. It's about as painless as can be. Like Red Earth said, having the hook shank parallel to the line is key.

Good tip. It's been like that for years. Even Walmart is way more expensive.

Nice fish! You calibrate a scale with a jug of water. A quart weighs 2.1 lbs and a gallon weighs 8.35 lbs. If it's accurate at 1,2, and 3 quarts and at a gallon, you're good to go. Factor in the weight of the jug, of course.

Many people have had problems with Vanish. They say that it makes your lures "Vanish." I'd give Trilene 100% or Seaguar Invizx a try.

Try Northstar jigs. Chris is a sponsor here and he makes a first-rate jig at a very good price. I prefer the Pro Series with an Alien head. It's a great all-around jig with standup head that snakes thru the weeds very well. I use mostly 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 oz alien and football head jigs in black/blue, junebug, PB&J, and green pumpkin. I prefer Rage Craws, Paca Chunks, Senior Paca Chunks, Zoom Super Chunks, and R.I. Sweet Beavers and Smallie Beavers as trailers.

A solder iron would be another alternative, and is more precise. I use them all the time to repair Senkos and Sweet Beavers that get torn up after a fish or two.

Good advice. Matzuo cranks are junk, some of the worst baits I've ever tried.

I'm not much of a deep crankbait fisherman, but I think 8-10# copolymer line works great for crankbait fishing. I was using 8# CXX on my cranking stick last year, and it worked very well I thought.

Same here, except for on braided line. I can tie it with my eyes closed, and have never had a problem with breakoffs with any line, even Berkley Vanish! I'd say, find a knot that your comfortable with and learn to tie it flawlessly. I think that's more important than trying to find the "perfect" knot.

Up until a couple years ago, I was a St. Croix/G. Loomis guy since about age 14-15(1997), when I began to see some income and started buying nice tackle. During that time, I owned about 12-14 rods from the St. Croix/G. Loomis lines and still own a few. But after my first Dobyns, that's all I'm interested in buying/using. They're easily the best value of the three brands that I mentioned.

It works well to prevent metal rusting and corroding in your tackle box. I've been spraying it in my terminal tackle box for the last year, and I have less rust in there. ----------- I like the stuff. I use it on almost everything, every trip. It's a very good product compared to other line conditioners. It's not a great product like the Bow To Stern that Clever Innovations makes, that stuff is magic, but it's well worth the cost of two gallons of gas for a bottle of KVD L&L. Like K_Mac said, it has more of an effect on some lines than others. Of the lines I have a good amount of experience with, I've noticed that it works especially well on Yo Zuri Hybrid and Ultra Soft, P-Line CXX, Trilene XT, and Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. Some other lines...not so much. With P-Line Fluoro, Trilene XL, and Sufix Elite, it had less effect, but still softened the line a little. IMO, it seems to have very little effect on Seaguar Invizx, but maybe I'm imagining things. Whether it has any effect on braid is debatable, IMO. Personally, I think an oily line conditioner like Ardent Line Butter does a better job lubricating the braid so it casts better with less noise and friction, which makes the line hold it's color longer. ----------- Do you guys have any opinions, thoughts, and observations about how KVD L&L works on one line vs. another? What kind of line are you naysayers using?

This will be a good opportunity for those that like the E Series Curados and Citicas to stock up during the sales. Wait until the new ones are released, then the prices will really drop.

Great comparison!

I like to fish a wakebait or wake a spinnerbait just under the surface. I work them fast and cover a lot of water, looking for bass that are willing to chase.

Snag Proof Phat Frog (My favorite go-to frog) Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog Spro Bronzeye 65 Can't go wrong with either of these three.

Far fetched indeed. Even if they are made in Malaysia, I doubt the price will drop.

Thanks for the help. This is my first real boat and I haven't tried many props. It may be time to experiment and try a higher pitched prop. I've been using an aluminum 19 pitch, 4 blade prop since I bought the boat a few years ago. I don't really care about top speed, they lakes I fish are mostly small. I usually run at 3000-4000 rpm and 25-35 mph. The boat is a 2004 Stratos 275 Pro XL with a 90 HP Johnson Bombardier on it. It tops out at about 45mph with two people and a good sized load. What prop should I take a look at? Thanks, Joe

Mine tops out at about 50 with a light load, and I'm using an aluminum 4 blade prop. The edge isn't curled over, just a little scuffed up with a dozen dents and dings the size of a grain of white rice. If you don't mind me asking, why will the prop shops be upset if I touch it up with a file? I've touched it up lightly a few times already with a file and hammer. I never really planned on having it worked on. It a $90 prop and the places around here charge $50-60 and they say they don't even balance them.

Lake Minnetonka. Good fishing right in the Twin Cities.

It'll cast the 1/4oz jig just fine, just not as good as a lesser powered rod that will load more on the cast. But you're talking about casting 3/8oz of lead plus the soft plastic bait, right? You might want to try to find a dealer in your area where you can compare a 3 and 4 power side by side. Cabelas maybe? To me, the 3 power rods feels a little light for a 3/8oz jig and trailer.

It doesn't take more than a few minutes. I don't do it very much anymore, but I used to all the time. I've run them under a trickle from the tap, but a glass of water that's as warm as bathwater works, too. Put the spool it there until the water is room temp and that's all you need. Then shake or blow the water out of the drag area on the spool and you're good to go.

I like the Cutter Outdoorsman with Deet that they sell at my local Walmart, but it's kinda oily and will leave slight oil stains on your clothes, so it's best to have a fishing shirt if you're going to use the stuff. Works great for deer flies.

I haven't fished with the 743, but the 744 handles jigs and plastics in the 3/8-3/4oz range very well. Even with a 1/4oz swim jig and small trailer it does pretty well, but ideally that would be the smallest weight that I would use on it.

Here's the specs on the two. They are nearly the same, regardless of the medium or medium heavy designation. I think that's about as close as you're going to get. AVC70MF - 7', 10-17lb, 1/4-5/8oz, Med/Fast 703C - 7', 10-17lb, 1/4-3/4oz, Med Hvy/Fast