Preytorien

Well that explains it. Looks like some bad stuff. Wish this wasn't around....it doesn't seem to be killing fish though, that's good. Thanks for the info.

I caught a few bass this evening, and all of them had very tiny worm or leech looking things in their mouths, several of them per fish. They were about the size of a grain of rice, and they mostly were on the top of the mouth. What are those things? They look hideous!

I live in a suburban area, and with the number of retention ponds I fish, there are geese EVERYWHERE. They're a nuisance, and are aggressive while they're sitting on eggs. Some neighborhoods have tried to curb the geese population by taking the eggs, but the DNR have such strict rules that the amount of red tape discourages the HOA's to do anything about it. One of the more brilliant ideas I've seen is one neighborhood strung a line of fishing line all around the perimeter of the lake, that way when they geese attempted to get out of the water, they'd have to jump over the line, which they can't do very well, so they stopped coming around. Other lakes have lifelike owl or raccoon statues every several hundred feet or so since they're natural predators of goslings. Either way, I wish they'd lift the restrictions on geese in any manner, HOA's need to have the ability to manage their properties from goose droppings, water pollution, and aggressive geese.

It's a good time of year for our local river smallmouth fishing. It's easily wade-able, clear, and slow moving. I've noticed in the past couple of trips that I will see schools of 4 or 5 smallmouth moving as fast as they can downstream, like their trying to set some speed record. They're not enticed by any lures we throw at them. Normally the bass will sort of saunter around and search the river, sometimes even swimming slowly, but these guys the past few trips are booking it downstream and not stopping. The water is in the mid-70's and stable. What's going on?

I could see that being an awesome setup. None of my tests (in the other thread) included using a leader. A leader, especially flouro, would eliminate my one and only concern with the line - fraying

I've been using it a while, and although it's working very well, there comes a point where I am having to cut off line to keep the fraying at a minimum. Otherwise it's a good line. I'm impressed

That looks sweet. I like the cork, very classy looking. Looks like a nice solid reel seat too. Congrats!

Now I want to see the article.....got a link? I can't imagine anything coming close to this....

I'll admit I'm not "too manly" to get my yearly physical. I tell the doc....go ahead and just plan to check everything. Full physical, CBC, Lipid panel, testicular exam.....the whole nine yards. I don't see it as too much of a hassle to allow me to continue to watch my daughter to grow up, come fishing with me, and ride bikes with daddy. It takes maybe an hour at the dr office guys....do it once a year, insurance even covers it

Ha, those are great memories. Cool videos!

That really bites man. I've been there and done that. Now you can wear that same T-shirt we all got for our trip to heartbreaksville and back. I agree though.....a TW order ALWAYS makes it better. You'll be back though, and you'll land her soon enough.

I have a feeling the Ned Rig will be the only lure I've found so far that will actually produce for me during cold weather just before the water ices over I have sporadic luck with a jerkbait and small jigs, but nothing consistent.

This thread has really deviated off topic. HA

I'm fortunate to have a great small lake near my house to fish, and it produces almost every time I fish it, but i'm restricted to the bank there. Last night, much to my chagrin, I see a large portion of my most productive shoreline swamped with geese and a few ducks. Some were in the water, most were on the shore. The ones in the water were in pretty shallow water. Do the presence of ducks and geese scare away fish for a while? I get so irritated at em'

Very well said. I think that pretty much sums it up for most the folks who call themselves bass fishermen, and it would do us all good if we would remember it

Man that sounds like a good idea, I just don't pour my own unfortunately. I may try the Gamakatsu Alien heads, although they don't stand it straight up. I wonder how much difference that'd make? If that doesn't work out, I'll have to go back to the Shroomz heads, and just make sure I stock up when I see them

I keep having Shroomz heads that are pitifully fragile. I notice that many times after a while the metal barb plastic-keeper will break off, and I actually broke a hook clean off last night unhooking a fish, which makes twice I've done that in the past couple of months. Here's to hoping they beef up those hooks a bit since I've not found a better replacement for them yet. Anyone else having the same durability issues with them?

I use them almost every time I fish. I use them for grass that reaches the surface. Rig it weightless and since it's a floating bait, i just walk it across the surface. It's deadly on hot summer nights. The durability is insane, I've been using the same one for about 2 months. As mentioned before, either store them all by themselves in a box, or as I do, I just keep them in the original bag, they'll melt everything else they come in contact with. I use the Ned Rig also, there isn't anything that says you couldn't rig an Elaztech tube, it'd probably do very well. The TRD's though are everything the hype says, those things just flat catch fish.

I did post one test I did about the abrasion resistance of the line, because I had heard Nanofil had its issues, and I found Gliss to probably be similar, where it lacked. My point was to make that while I'm not going to take the line off my reel, for the folks that consistently fish abrading conditions, a flouro/mono leader will probably be the only way you'll be confidently able to fish this line (or Nanofil, or most other braids) and have confidence that fraying won't break your heart. That said, I've had fraying and abrading, and have not yet had a breakoff, so the line even when frayed seems very tough, but I'd rather eliminate the chance and use a leader, to which I do all the time anyways with other braids. Hope this helps.....like I said, I'm still not taking it off. The benefits of this line so far outweigh the apparent only flaw I've found yet in it.

I've been giving them an eye, but I'm unfamiliar with their concept or how to use them. Any direction?

The best scenario is like i found tonight. Went to the local Cabela's that opened a week ago. Lucky Craft lures, boxes and boxes of them in a sale bin....$5.99 each. Needless to say I was stoked!

Definitely spend the money for a wading belt and I even use a kayaking life jacket as an extra precaution. I fell in last late-November and that shook me up pretty good. I use the Orvis Silver Sonics and they're the best I've used. It's one of those things that you want to spring for the best your budget allows. As stated before, in most cases breathables are the way to go. You can always layer UA 2.0 or 3.0 underneath late in the fall to keep warm.

I'll admit I've not tried my spool of it for as long as most of those guys, but it seems to me that 99% of their problems (which I've not had yet), could be alleviated by using a mono/flouro leader. I'm still testing out some leader knots to ensure that slippage isn't observed, and it's been good so far. But I can attest that there was some fraying at the ends of mine, very close to the lure, so that's the reason I've added a leader. I fish some very rocky shallow river bottoms, I wouldn't want to lose fish from a frayed line.

I have to say John I've never thought of it that way, and it makes sense. I've shelled out FAR more this past year for flukes and senkos than any other bait. Add those, the hooks, and weights, and that's a pricey little system to just lose the lure after a couple of fish. Might just use this logic in my next "But honey I NEED that Megabass lure!" arguement....

Had to share this.....went out a couple nights ago went bank fishing at a small pond by my house and was doing really well with a Duo Realis Spinbait 80 G-Fix....one of the more expensive lures I've bought in the past year. Got it snagged on a particularly resilient little laydown about 10 feet offshore. I wasn't going to let that ruin my day....I stripped down to just my shorts, kicked off my shoes, went for a swim and brought that baby back. Anyone else ever do this?