Phelptwan

One of my co-anglers has the reel flipped up while he casts and drops it down once the bait hits the water.

Grabbed one of the TFO Tactical 6' 10" rod's and put a TW80 on it. Works really well. The reel seat was loose on the handle when I got it and I put some hot melt on it to keep it in place. Otherwise it's been fine and I've caught a fish on it with no issue. The TW80 on the other hand ran great out of the box, then after the first time out apparently all the oil disappeared and it sounded like dragging pop cans down a gravel driveway. I pulled it apart and oiled/greased and now it's fine again.

I have a lot of Champ XP's and a Kaden. Their site has lists of what every rod is "good for" and it's pretty accurate. I have 12 different ones right now that all have their own uses.

I threw one for a couple of days and caught one fish. It got destroyed by the one fish as well. I lost others just skipping docks and pulling through weeds. Probably won't invest in anymore.

I'm not sure in some 12 years of throwing ned's I've ever had a bass swallow one. Had plenty hork down stick baits, t-rigs, and swimbaits.

Way better with 7/0. Actually managed to catch fish on it today.

I played with a 4" this week but didn't have any hooks larger than 5/0. I had a good deal of hits on it, but couldn't seem to set the hook. Grabbed some 7/0 and will try again.

Will probably pick up a couple next time I see them in stock and a sale is going on. Hard to spend $20 on a popper. I like the new world minnow though, but it doesn't hunt like the Stunna's or Visions.

The smaller Rage Craw or bug.

Heavily cover dependent for me. If I'm fishing heavy cover I'll probably throw a T-Rig, but open water it's wacky. I've also found wacky skips under docks a lot easier.

I've been buying them because it's easier for ME to see...

I know there's a good deal of people in Michigan on here, so D&R Sports in Kalamazoo is having some great in store pricing on stuff. Pretty much everything in the tackle department is marked down. Some memorable stuff; 15% off St Croix, 20% of Shimano, GLoomis, Daiwa. Pretty much every bait brand is some percentage off.

Can anybody identify this buzzbait?

I managed to hook a good size one on my first time out with a sleeper gill, but it swam straight toward the boat and I couldn't keep it pinned. Threw the hook. It threw off my game for the rest of the night. The next time out, I managed to put 4 in the boat with it. You REALLY need a strong hook set with them. The one thing I noticed is a lot of things pull at the tail but never really inhale it. Also, the dip/paint/whatever on them doesn't seem to last. After two times out the pumpkinseed one I've been using is basically white.

If it doesn't melt all other plastics when it touches them, I'd be interested. Biggest reason I'm not super fond of Elaztech is I can't reuse it or chuck it in the bag with the other dead baits.

Curado DC's for ~$208 at Academy right now. Looking deeper there are a LOT of good sales at Academy today; Tatula 100 - $77 Vanford 200 - $192

Yes. Works great.

First loop is the most important on the FG. If that one isn't tight, the rest won't cinch down well. The rule of thumb is the leader diameter should be thicker than the main line diameter. If you don't know/can't measure most manufacturer's list them on the box or somewhere on their website.

I haven't noticed a different while using a snap. I remove the split ring as well. Makes it a lot easier to swap out colors.

Just speaking personal biases. Anything under 10lb in FC my Palomar Knots break and the suggestion of a sharp hookset. Using a tri-tag, pitzen, whatever and they HOLD.

I ordered a couple new 10xd's this year because I can't find my old ones. I knew I had old ones because I checked order history at TW and found when I ordered them. Amazing how things can get lost in the pile.

D&R Sports (VanDam Warehouse online) has generally been the best I've gone to. Lot easier to find stuff now that they redid the store.

Gamakatsu G-Finesse Weedless Wacky - Number 2 - https://gamakatsu.com/product/g-finesse-weedless-wacky/ I throw a wacky in a lot of cover most of the time and this has easily been the best I've used. Occasionally I'll need to add a dab of superglue at the bottom of the tie on the weed guard so it doesn't slide down, but maybe one of 10 hooks.

Palomar Knots should never be used for FC Line. You are completely right about the majority of Michigan cuisine...