Steveo-1969

^^^^^ X2 on wading in the summertime. I only use waders when the water is cold, in the summer it's old sneakers and shorts. It's a fun way to get off the bank and by far my favorite way to fish river smallmouth.

I just love the whole fishing experience. I am also one of those guys who can cast for hours without a fish or a bite and be perfectly content. A tug on the line will add to the experience, but NOT catching a fish certainly doesn't detract from it. Everyone is different though. I fish with a buddy in his boat occasionally and if we don't catch fish he thinks the day was a total loss. On the other hand he can sit in his tree stand from sun up to sun down without seeing a deer and still love the experience.

I bought RIGRAP CERAMAXx Super Cutters in January and can't believe how easily it cuts braid. I don't know how long the ceramic blades will stay sharp but so far so good. I bought them off Amazon for $10. Before that I was using the Rapala braid scissors but they would only last a year before becoming dull and having to be replaced.

I've had a lucky fishing hat for several years, never fish without it. I just bought two new hats and am in the process of turning those into lucky fishing hats as well, by rubbing lots of fish slime on them!

I've never had much luck using soft baits that come out of the package with a chartreuse tail, no idea why? BUT I almost always dip the tail/claws of my softbait into Spike-It chartreuse before using it. Maybe it really works for maybe it's just a confidence thing. Our local crayfish have orange-tipped claws so I just bought an orange marker to color my craw tips too.

"But ya doesn't hasta call me Johnson!!" Welcome to BR!!

X4. Enjoy your subscription!! And their TV show is great too.

Gander Mountain fluoro is definitely made by Sunline because it says that on the box. I don't know if it's exactly the same line as Sunline Super Fluorocarbon, but if it is then the GM line is cheaper. $25/400yd vs. $30/400yd

I've never used a Bitsy Flip, but the Bitsy Bug was the only jig I used for the past several years (until I got some Siebert jigs). Nothing wrong with a Bitsy Bug/Flip. The paint does chip quickly, and I found a couple with a dull hook but the bronze hook is quick and easy to sharpen with a file. I always broke off the jigs before the elastic skirt band broke... Oh, and a trailer? Another vote for the Strike King Baby Rage Craw! I usually bite one or two segments off the end to make it a little more compact.

Bass can definitely survive being hooked in the gills. I've even caught some fish that had a gill completely ripped and hanging out of the gill opening (previous injury not my doing) and they were fine. I've read some people pour Sprite or Mountain Dew on bleeding gills to stop the bleeding. I've also read that you shouldn't do this. So who knows? Me personally, if I have a fish bleeding from the gills I return it to the water ASAP and hope for the best when she swims off.

My girlfriend's family grew up eating raw Spam sandwiches. Yes, that's right. Not fried Spam, raw Spam. One of the grossest things I've ever seen somebody eat. No thank you!

My condolences to you. I still think about my first dog Bocephus. I held his head and loved him while the vet did her thing. I've never cried so hard in my life.

It gets no love here, but I've had a pretty good experience using Gander Mountain brand fluorocarbon. It's thicker than Seaguar or Sunline but handles pretty well for me with KVD L&L, I'm using 10# on a baitcaster right now. I can't compare to Red Label because I've never used that as a mainline, but it's about the same price. $25/400 yard spool.

If I'm by myself I don't say anything. If I'm in a boat I usually say "There's a bite" and then after a successful hookset I say "There's a fish!". I even named my cell phone "There's a fish", so if someone scans for Bluetooth devices that's the device name that comes up.

Looks like a Jitterbug with a skull face... What am I missing here?

Welcome to BR bucky0486. Lots of knowledgeable fisherman on here who will have much more intelligent answers to your questions than I will. With that being said, I'll take a shot... I've never fished with an Avid but they get great love on here. The new Avid X even more so than the Avid with the full cork handle. DEFINITELY try different reels on the rod you choose for balance, great idea! That would have been suggested so you beat them to it. I've experienced a very tip-heavy rod and I agree that it was very tiring to fish with. I use 10# Sufix 832 on my spinning rod and love it. You can fish the braid with or without a mono or fluorocarbon leader, that's really personal preference. Let us know what you choose and how you like it.

I am not the OP, but I was curious too. TW sells a 50 pack of 6" Senkos for $56.89. Holy moly...

"I don't often fish big worms, but when I do it's a 10.5" Zoom Ol' Monster (plum) t-rigged on a 4/0 EWG with 1/2 ounce sliding bullet weight, on a 7'5" MH/XF BC rod with 12# fluoro." This is off-shore ledge fishing.

Congrats on your first smallie! I'm very fortunate that my home river is full of them and consider myself very lucky. I take an annual vacation to Kentucky Lake to get my largemouth fix, but wouldn't trade a river smallmouth on the end of my line for all the greenies in the world.

Congratulations on the win! And great story, you made it easy to read the whole thing.

Cool, thanks. I've been leaning towards silver mirror.

Thanks j bab. I had the opportunity to try on some Costas at a BPS this weekend. Loved the feel of the Fisch frame, and also got to feel the weight difference between plastic and glass lenses. The glass was not nearly as heavy and I thought they'd be. Now it's just a matter of deciding what color lens and pulling the trigger...

I've used Strike King S11 sunglasses the last couple years but seriously thinking about getting a pair of Costas.

I generally bank fish from late fall to late spring on a river and carry a spinning rod, baitcasting rod, and a small tackle bag. Late spring through fall I'm wading with the same small tackle bag and 1 rod. I only fish with jigs, t-rigged plastics and small paddletails so the small bag is big enough to carry everything I need.