Master Bait'r

Too soft. 440 is also used in things like sword blades and is very hard stainless. 304 or 316 would offer good corrosion resistance but would likely scuff, scratch and generally degrade to replacement much faster. This is also why ceramic is a nice choice albeit noisier.

Grabbed one of the new weedless hudd bluegills to walk along the bottom. Can't wait for the water to soften, all this new gear is killing me!!

Nice! Picked up a dark bluegill rof12. Gonna bump this bad Larry across the bottom of every lake in the area Now back to my frozen hole to wrap this job up!

Well I will be on the side of a mountain laying in a frozen hole and welding broken pipeline with a snowcat, excavator, generator, compressor and who knows what other machines running. It is easy to not notice what time it is when you're working like that and directing a crew, hence the alarm I WISH I was still going to be asleep haha

Wow. I'm setting an alarm.

Winter is when I knock the cobwebs off personally. If the water's gonna be hard/fluffy it's still a great source of fun. Boredom is certainly no issue for me here in the North during these cold months.

Bettencourt > BBZ1 More construction options, great handmade finishes and multiple sizes. Those rodent lures get SMASHED and I love using them as a wakebait. Not that the BBZ isn't a nice lure but IMO it plays second fiddle to the Betty. Personal opinion of course. There is no wrong choice here

Yeah but when it hits cover, it just smashes right through!

Ooh she's onto you, man. Might have to resort to the 'ol guys weekend combo switcheroo or "won it in a poker game" haha

Pffffff... Child's play. Just make sure you have something she wants delivered on the same day. I call it "the package deal effect". While she's tapping away on her iHooziedinger or slipipng into her cozy somethingorother you can be free string up your new reel in peace AND still be Mr. Awesome later on.

Who are you kidding, you know you'll get both

I have one and it's smooth as butter. Paid I think $45 for it and fwiw I still think it's a good reel @$100.

You'll be surprised what will try to stuff a 110 into it's mouth.

My panic box just has beer in it. When I start to panic, I just pop one open and relax for a minute to remind myself that even just floating there is pretty darn nice.

Yeah there is no good reason besides the price to not have an NRX so if you can find a killer deal do it. They are great rods, I love mine and I'd have to say that I only appreciate it more as time goes on.

Same. It's definitely a performer. I give it two bass thumbs up for a $100 reel! (I got mine for I believe $45 but I still think it's a solid value at $100)

Depends on the frog but you should fine with a MH as long as it's got some good backbone to it.

Y'all need to come skiing. It really is awesome and it keeps you in good physical shape too. It sure beats sitting around listening to the sounds of people catching monsters in the southern states haha

Too much, and it's still not enough.

I think a Bears hat would work just like a stinkbait, no? Just kidding haha I'm not really a luck guy, but my only real tradition or procedure is to try to clear my mind when I get into my boat. You know- Leave all of that stuff that was bothering me on the shore so to speak. Sometimes my friend Bob Marley helps when I need a hand in doing so. That's really my only must-do tradition though.

Ok so I've been on a bit of a search. Who else makes something like the Izumi alive diver? (A swimbait with a diving bill on the front that goes to 4-6'). They can't be the only company that makes something like that.

Also "which hook" depends largely on what else I want to accomplish besides hooking a fish. Am I trying to match, reduce or gain weight? You can make a floater suspend and a suspender dive if you want, but it's all about what you're trying to do. I know the question seems simple but like anything else in fishing it's just the cover page to a very long novel

I mostly use EWG hooks as they seem to catch on cover less. Also I am looking forward to getting a few barbarians on some baits to see how the heavy gauge outbarb point works. The smaller outbarbs (katsuage hooks) are pretty sweet and tend to keep fish buttoned very well even though they're so light so I think they'll be great. My favorite point is a trokar lazer though. @ $7 for two though, they're only going on like a $30 lure or up haha.

I like suspending baits when conditions make the fishing slower. Just stalling it there and giving it a few twitches seems to make all the difference.

A much better but absolutely perfect explanation! Thanks!