Master Bait'r

That's to save time if you'd like to rob a convenience store on the way home to pay for gas/plastics/terminal/lures lost over the course of the day

If you need someone to send you plans than I doubt you have the wherewithal to build it safely to be completely honest. I'd recommend one of these types of structures if you aren't very handy. Easy to set up, pretty durable and not very expensive either.

Especially by the people who by all accounts should know better. The amount of casual ignorance and blissful selfishness at play pretty much anywhere these days blows my mind.

Man, it's bad enough when there's a few people out on your honey hole when you normally have it to yourself. It's even worse when they feel the need to crowd the **** out of you. Literally so close I could have casted right into his kayak. Seriously? You can see I'm working my way down this bank and you row right into my next corner?? You have the whole lake THE WHOLE LAKE and you come all the way over here to crowd me. People really are just selfish and inconsiderate. I mean come on. Come. On. Have some courtesy. I'd call it common courtesy but it's really not very common anymore unfortunately.

I fish in Mass out of a kayak and believe it or not you don't need electronics at all. Between bank cover, weed lines both surface and submerged and drop-offs you can see down in the water you will have your hands full with options to try. The days where you will exhaust all your techniques and features are few and far between my friend. For the ~$350 you will likely spend on an entry level fishing kayak, it's the best money you can spend. Banks are for money. Boats are for fishing.

That's when you kindly let all the air out of their tires and leave them a thank you note for their courtesy before you fish somewhere else for the day.

I haven't used KVD on Nano, was merely suggesting it. Was about to pick up a can though so thanks for that heads up! Nice factoids for sure! I only asked since I am about up for a respool and had to ask about this stuff.

Try spraying it with some KVD line conditioner. I use 17lb on a baitcaster and have had zero problems aside from bouts of dumbthumb from time to time. I use 8lb on my spinning gear and have had no problems at all there either.

Seriously, at $3 I would be tempted to buy BIG but with all the conjecture about it breaking and such I'd prefer to keep buying fresh line and condition it well. No sense in opening yourself up to the perils of dry rotted line if there really could be longevity issues with the design of it.

Hmmm... I have only noticed a few nicks and have not had any issues with an inordinate amount of abrasion yet. I will keep my eyes peeled for sure though! Man, that is strange to me. I've never had such issues, but I also haven't gone down to #4 either. I would ask if you wet the line but that would be like asking KVD if he's heard of Strike King haha

I remember it very clearly. It was a beautiful day and I was out with my friend Shane. He was having a rough go of things as his little sister had died of cancer not too long before and I wanted to take him out in my little tiny rowboat just to get out there and fish- he is my #1 fishing buddy and he hadn't been out in a while. We had a cooler full of beers and snacks, loaded tackle boxes and a full day to float away. We went to a larger area pond that we frequent that has great cover vegetation and structure, and it was in full swing. We mush have caught 75+ bass that day out of that little 8 foot rowboat. Back-to-back-to-back catches, both catching fish at the same time, and just beautiful little consistent 2-3lbers like I've never seen before. We were hootin' and hollerin' and high fivein' all day- and nobody else on the lake was catching anything! Well as the day goes on the wind picks up a bit and we had no anchor with us, so we were getting blown around quite a bit. After about two hours of constant adjustments, we were ready to pack it up. Shane says in total frustration "Man, what I wouldn't do for an anchor right now, this is ridiculous! I've had it!!" literally not even 10 seconds later, I noticed a piece of yellow rope coming up from the depths. I row over, he grabs it and wouldn't you know it- the other end was tied to a rock! We had just been given an anchor in our hour of need! He gets it in the boat and we look at each other and he says "Thanks AJ!" (his sister) He went on to beat his personal record for most fish caught that day. We fished probably 3-4x a week for the next two years or so. Thanks AJ indeed. Talk about the healing ability of fishing... I know for a fact that he really needed that outlet and that day was just the perfect example in my mind of what fishing is about: Getting away and clearing your mind- even if it's just down the street you're a world away when that lure hits the water and something slams it.

I absolutely love this stuff. Silly small diameter, super strong & tough, and I like the low vis green too... So what gives? I know they only go up to 17lb now and that it isn't limp like PP braid but why does it seem like nobody else is using it when my own experience has been so overwhelmingly positive? This stuff is quieter, smaller and stronger than anything else I've used thus far so I'm just wondering why it seems too good to be true. FWIW, I always use a double palomar and I've never lost a knot, not once. Cheers!

I'd strip naked and have a cannonball contest with everyone in my boat. If you can't beat 'em... Flash 'em.

one of each should be a decent start

I personally don't get the whole "sit on this bedding fish for 10 minutes until they go crazy and swipe something" deal at all but regardless... Inside the mouth = catch Outside the mouth = only if you're bowfishing! Basically what I'm saying is this:

Agreed! You can't put a price on happiness. If you want something and can afford it, it's "worth" it. People have all kinds of hobbies and interests and within every hobby out there lies an ability to spend every single penny of a vast fortune should one so choose. You should see how much some of my skiing friends blow on a 7 day heli trip or an on-mountain chalet etc... Or people that are into boats, cars & planes? Hellooooooooooo bucks! $1500 wouldn't even register for a purveyor of vintage sailboats, antique motorcycles or fine art... The latter of which I truly believe high end fishing gear to be a part of in a way. I'm a craftsman so I appreciate the work of other craftsmen all the more. So it's really all relative. Since fishing is just so broad-reaching there's people in every capacity involved from the absolute beginner to the seasoned pro. It can be unfathomable for an entry level fisherman to hear that one GC swimbait is worth more than all their gear and tackle combined. Again though, that worth is so subjective because by itself that would not balance out to the lay fisherman. What are you going to do with one lure? Of course it sounds crazy haha... And that's kind of the beauty in it! Different strokes for different folks. The important thing is we're all out enjoying The Gifts if you ask me!

Kopper's live target has the best (most realistic) patterns IMO, and is available in 3 sizes instead of 2. I like this because it lets me be as inappropriate as I want- throwing frogs when it would otherwise be totally uncalled for if I didn't have a 45 to use- and big'uns still smash them too! I can't even tell you how many times I've caught big fish on the little guys when the bigger ones weren't getting so much as a look. As for soft plastics, T-rigged horny toads and Lunker City Salad Spoons are about as good as it gets IMO. Predictable, simple, cheap and completely weedless. I don't really do hard body frogs. Don't like them. Open trebles are the last thing I will reach for in heavy cover situations when I'm thinking frogs. If it isn't weedless, I generally don't throw it anywhere near cover- there's better alternatives IMO. The key will be finding the right balance between what you want to throw, what you're most comfortable with the action of and what works for your wallet. Only you can find that comfort zone though and it's different for everyone!

If 3 people know, it isn't a secret.

I believe you... BUt I'm pretty sure the wife is just humoring you in not calling you out. You can't stop. You wouldn't be here if you could!

frogs > everything else

You haven't heard? They are building an X-Man baby. So far they've got gamma rays and radioactive spider bites into the kid and it's worked out pretty good. If they can get toxic sludge into the mix, there's a solid bet the kid will fly and fart laser beams. Don't crush their dreams, man.

Well first check this out (very helpful for someone trying to get the basics down) http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/130634-rod-selection-the-basics/ And then check out the Flea Market section of the forums to possibly save yourself a few bucks. If I had to put something together for that price though, I'd probably get a 6'10" M/F *** Black spinning rod and either a Sahara or a Supreme MGX.

Ok, this changes everything! If I could list something like "In your mom's bathtub" on the form I'd be tickled pink haha

I think the important thing to ask yourself is "If I don't claim this, what is the likelihood that someone else will anyways?" If it really is your go-to honey hole and nobody is ever there, don't say a word. The more people fish a place though- and therefore the more likely the fish is to be caught again, the more likely I would be to claim it. I'm not a hoopla kind of guy though- I prefer not to be noticed most of the time. I have found that flying below the radar is often a smart way to go.

Well, I really did it this time. After much deliberation, I just locked in my dream finesse combo. Got my NRX852c green from HighSalenity the other day & last night I finally found and bought a MINT perfectly matching green Curado 51e. I cannot wait to fish the crap out of this setup! I already ordered some Abec7s for it, but I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeally looking forward to building that reel to the hilt. Thanks, I am stoked right out of my boots at the moment and just needed to let it out. Oh, and I also brought a friend out to the honey hole in the spare yak last night for his first time bass fishing ever- he's hooked for life after learning how to walk a frog and watching me pull this fattie out of the lilies on a Slug-go SS So yeah. Pretty jazzed at the moment. Fishing is grand.