FryDog62

Was he filming, or just out having fun alone?

I’d spend the $100 on a Fuego myself... maybe get it Black Friday for $80. Better off putting money into the reel first and foremost. Save the $20 until the next sale or when you have another $30 and buy a Berkley Vengeance rod. Awesome combo and you won’t look back and wish you’d have bought a better reel.

First of all, I hope they can do C&R and keep both formats. I like MLF but it can be too much of a dink-fest. No reason on the FLW side you can’t weigh, release and record your 5 biggest. Second, would there actually be two 3 day tournaments back-to-back? We all love fishing but 6 days straight is a lot!

Great report Punch. Curious what depths and any size to the smallmouth??

I think yes, but as the water dips well below 50 a lot of the fish are heading to wintering holes. The remaining “feeders” are usually by green vegetation. But you may jerk some nearby that are either cruising between weed clumps or getting ready to go deep.

If the rain doesn’t kick in Thursday... might be the day to get out just before the front...

I get as surgical as I can when fishing for largemouth late in the year. Number one thing is to spend the time driving around the weed edge looking for any remaining green weeds - before you start to fish. There will be very few green weeds left but that is where any remaining feeding fish will be. I then throw jigs... I start with big ones and move a little lighter/smaller if I need to. Love throwing a 3/4 oz Mop Jig with a big floppy Megadaddy trailer. Worked phenomenally last Fall. Next size down would be a 1/2 or 3/4 oz AT Grassmaster jig with Chigger Craw. Or if I need to, move down to a 3/8 - 1/2 oz Grassmaster with a compact, do-nothing Berkley Creature Hawg. I‘ve done this the last couple years down to about 42 degree surface temps and still caught some fish. You’ll catch less fish, but I’m really only targeting the big girls this time of year and use the mentality of go big - or go winterize your boat... And speaking of that - this is also the only time of year I think about having an E-Tec... that I can winterize, but take out again if you get a nice stretch of weather late in the year.. and then re-winterize with a push of a button..

OperationEagle and I got out and fought off the post cold front conditions and 20 mph winds to find a few fish on a West metro lake. 57 degree water temp. Fun day! In hindsight, we probably spent too much time casting the flats and mid-depths (where the fish were located in the days before the rain/cold front). But that’s where you start... Towards the end of the night we marked fish out as far as 17-26 feet. Drop-shot got one of the better fish at 18 fow. That’s probably where the majority of the better fish were, but maybe they will come back in a little shallower if the sun/warmth kick back in ?? PS - everyone should go fishing with Mel... he packs the best snacks!!

Yes, but was wondering where the lines might cross on a Palomar...

Interesting, I watched a couple other videos that both said to use the drop-shot knot because the Palomar knot can dig into itself... So help me here... I haven’t had that problem myself... but if it can happen - at what point in tying the Palomar do you need to be sure you don’t cross lines? Maybe I just learned it the right way (lucky me ) but it might be good to know what to avoid...

Friend of mine reported today: 58 degree water temp, Largemouth in 5-9 fow around grass. Lipless crankbait “on fire.”

That’s why I’m looking to switch to this knot, have heard a few reports that the Palomar can dig into itself when under stress and accelerates breaking strength. Plus sometimes I don’t always get the hook in the ideal position with a Palomar and this new knot looks to be better in that regard. I don’t use the spin-shot any more because I switched to all baitcaster (and it has less line twist than spinning) plus the spin-shot requires one extra knot that could potentially fail. But I know many people use it and like it... I suppose I could loop twice through the eye when tying this new knot.. worth trying anyway..

I saw a few previous threads about this knot or a variation of... and am wondering for those of you who have used it - how strong is it? It looks very simple to tie and end up with the hook positioned correctly, however I have a bias towards knots that pass through the hook eye twice. This knot only goes through the eye once. But maybe it’s strong enough?? Anyone weigh in on how well it works, strength?

Wow! I get the craftsmanship on a lure like that but yeah, one pike bite-off up here in the North and there she goes...

7’-2” MH+ Zolo Toadface and 8 lb Sufix Advance. I bought on sale for $170 so a bit higher than your stated range. Hard to explain, but the stretch of this line seems to pair very well with this particular rod for Chatterbaits. Casts a lot farther than any other bladed jig set up I’ve used before too..

Couldn’t tell price from the site. 110’s are $20, same for the Balsa squarebills?

With the Black Market Balsa, and also 6th Sense Movement 80X - is it a tight enough wobble to work effectively when water temps get into the 40’s-50’s (in a couple weeks here)? Same

I have 2 of these somewhere in an old tackle box. Thx for reminding me, will resurrect them. I’ve heard good things about 6th Sense crankbaits. With the wider wobble would you say the Movement 80X! would be best in warmer water, and the tighter wobble of the Flat 75 better in cold temps?

Looking for crankbait recommendations for throwing in shallow rivers with lots of lay downs... a hard balance to find something that sticks the fish but not all the branches. Have heard 6th Sense has some good options as well as other brands. I’ve typically used KVD 1.5’s and DT Flat but my supply is running low. Suggestions??

This works fairly well: https://www.scheels.com/p/crank-caddy-crankbait-storage-box/15934-BOX.html Fits the same into 3600/3700 tackle bags.

The pros want as much deck space as possible without sacrificing speed to get to the spot before the other guy. For me, I’m where Scott is above - it’s all about garage space. If I angle my boat with my trailer valet, motor down, swung to the side, pin pulled on the break away tongue... I can fit 225.25 inches diagonally in my garage if I also grease up the gunwales on each side and suck in my tummy (hence my Lund Pro-V Bass 1875

Sniper is 95% of whatever Tatsu is for half the price. But if you have disposable scratch buy Tatsu...

I wouldn’t wear the jersey outside of an event myself... but I get it they are comfortable and offer good sun protection. For that reason, I have some generic Carharrt and Columbia spf shirts, long sleeve, hooded, etc. I still think I look plenty “cool.” Lol

I like the weightless wacky worm too - although sometimes the fish just seem to like a small TRD better. Kyle Peterson from *** uses a pretty snagless Ned technique for TRD’s in rivers for smallies. It works too... video link is available if you google “The Most Dominant Finesse Bass Rig I’ve ever used.”

A lot has happened since 2016 and I did switch out/upgrade a lot of equipment. I now have 3 Curado 70’s and they are great - maybe the most palmable reel I’ve found. Where I need a reel for really light lures or for skipping weightless plastics, I have a couple Daiwa Alphas and a Steez. Still miss spinning reels for a few things, but overall switching to all baitcasting has worked fairly well..