EmersonFish

Fine. I'll take Daniel; 1990 Skeeter gets Dan; ddossett1976 gets Danny. Any other Daniel/Danny/Dan's are out of luck.

Didn't click the link above, but there are articles around. For now know that the basic idea is: Round Bend Offset Hooks for more slender, straight baits. Extra Wide Gap hooks for bulkier baits. And don't rule out the use of big Straight Shank Hooks for power flipping and pitching when you need to get fish out of junk fast. With these hooks it helps to find a way to keep the bait from sliding down all the time, like glue. Some hooks have a little barb or whatever they call it on the shank already for that purpose. Your instincts will tell you a lot. Grab a bait. Hold a hook up next to it. Imagine it rigged up. Are you confident you'll have enough gap between the bait and the hook to get a good hookset? Will I be able to put the hook back in through the body of the bait in a durable spot? Will the hook's point rest on the bait where it is meant to if the bait has a recess built in to make it more weedless? Will the thickness of the hook itself damage the worm too much if it's more of a finesse type worm? There are a lot of things to consider and a lot of it is trial and error, personal preference, and other stuff you learn over time.

Welcome from the middle of the State. See you around the forum.

Welcome Jay-D! As a Kansas Jayhawks fan, I'm just glad you are located in Chapel Hill, Texas, and not Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boo the Tar Heels! See you around the boards.

Welcome Danny! My name is Danny too, but I'll step aside and allow you to use it since nobody calls me that here. Nobody calls me anything around here yet. I'm pretty new as well; but I've learned quite a bit already. See you around Danny. Signed, Danny... I mean, EmersonFish

It's junk. Put it in the Flea Market for $15. When you do, I have dibs on the first "PM Sent".

Are you tying a good, clean line-to-line knot; or is that still something you are getting better at? Maybe as your knots get better you'll notice this issue takes care of itself. In the meantime, you probably could practice casting a T-Rig with more than 4"-8" of line past the tip. That would give you some more leader if you were worried about reeling the knot into the guide. I find that when I'm T-Rig fishing I'm making a variety of casts to different targets. Full casts are just a fraction of the casts anyway. Pitches, flips, and little roll-casts leave more line out anyway. Maybe you need to try making the leader even longer? It seems counter-intuitive, but if you make the leader long enough that your bait is generally still in the water when the knot reaches the tip, you can get in the habit of moving your rod in a way that takes a little tension off the line just as the knot is about to reach the tip so that it may pass through easier. Okay, that one might be a reach, but we're brainstorming here. Personally, put me in the "fewer knots between me and the hook the better" camp. I'm also in the "black-bass are a relatively line-shy species" camp, but I understand the benefits of Hi-Vis line.

I kind of like those goofy bags they come in. I can pack it with a few different colors of worms, a pack of 1/0 Gamakatsu Drop Shot hooks, a pack of 3/16 oz. drop shot weights, and a small pair of pliers. Fold it up, put it in my pocket, and start cruising the bank with my spinning rod. It's easy to get in and out of, and I never have individual Roboworms long enough to worry about "freshness." Even when I'm fishing out of the boat, they are in the worm bag, and I'm happy not mess with another poor quality, "resealable" package to frustrate me that day.

Never used a bass fishing guide, but I've always assumed they did some fishing to establish a pattern. It would be different if he got it figured out, and just kept on casting; catching a bunch of fish instead of making sure the clients got on 'em. Now with other kinds of fishing, the guide doesn't need his own rod. I wouldn't expect a striper or catfish guide to grab a rod out of a holder and catch fish when a client could get it. In this case, maybe the guide was not a very good communicator; or maybe the client was completely irrational. In any case, it didn't work out.

I should probably just keep my mouth shut because I have no experience with the Aetos. I do own the 7' MF Avid casting, and can tell you that it will do what you are looking for, and is capable of a whole lot more. It's a very versatile rod. Maybe the Aetos is even better (I don't know), but the Avid is a workhorse that is more sensitive and feels better in your hands than its somewhat old-school, utilitarian looks would indicate.

Probably not a lot of true 'ice fishing' for bass happening with the guys responding, so they are talking about what they would use in 'ice out' conditions in winter. Of course "jig" could mean a million different things if you were to get technical. Plenty of jigs that can be fished vertically. I don't ice fish around here either, because we don't get enough ice, but if I had to use one lure in the heat of Summer and through a hole in the ice in Winter to catch bass, I suppose a Kastmaster Spoon could always do some good in deep water. I'm not sure it's the "Best Year-Round Lure," but it's a pretty time tested, fool proof design.

So far all I've done was take a flyer and buy a 7'3" Big Bear 3/4 Heavy, Casting Rod. Came out to a little over $150 after the rebate, which is still a lot for me on a rod I've literally never seen in person. But from what I've read, it's a Rainshadow blank, and I think I'm going to really like that synthetic rubber grip. I might do some more shopping today for some smaller things that will add up to at least $50.

Like a lot of people, when I talk about Roboworms, I'm generally talking about the 'Straight Tail Worms' that come in 4.5" and 6" sizes. They can be used for anything you might use a finesse worm for, but they are pretty much my go-to drop-shot bait, and I will occasionally wacky rig one. I use both sizes. The water around here tends to be clear. 'Aaron's Magic' has been a good color for me, but I use others that have purple in them that I don't know the name of. I like 'Witches T' when I'm fishing in an area with a lot of sunfish/bluegill. There are some that I don't know the name of off hand that are more of a baitfish color that I use.

I bought some Roboworms, clearance price, but one get one free. I'll probably go back and get some more today the way I've been going through those things this Summer. Otherwise, the selection isn't great right now. They took a bunch of stuff out to expand the hunting section for the Fall.

Oh boy. That picture wasn't on my screen when I answered earlier. Now I'm on my phone and I see it. The way you described it, I imagined a boat up on a good trailer that's only apparent need was a floor. That looks rough. "Money pit" is a probable outcome, and what you end up getting after all of that work and money likely isn't as good as the boat you could have just bought outright for the same money. Unless you have a lot of free time you need to fill, this might be more than you bargained for.

If the motor is sound, I see no reason it wouldn't be worth it (of course, I don't know what you are trading for it, but you seem okay with it). Putting in a floor shouldn't be out of your depth. There will likely be other issues that arise, but if the boat is sound and the motor is sound, you've crossed the major hurdles. You might consider, while you have everything out of the boat, taking that time to replace the wiring for your electrical, or at least make sure it is all is good shape. If there is a live well, make sure all of the hoses/fittings are in good shape. Make sure you have a good bilge that works, and the hoses/fittings for it are all good. Stuff like that is all pretty easy, and actually kind of enjoyable to work on with the kids. For the most part, even if you don't know anything about boats, the existing stuff in the boat serves as a diagram, and if it doesn't, there is a ton of info on the internet to guide you. All of the things I mentioned, and the little projects others might mention, add up a bit (money-wise), if you end up having to do a lot of it, but nothing out of this world.

I think a lot of people like Invizx in the early days after coming to fluoro because it handles more like mono than some of the other fluoros and seems familiar. I like it myself. You might find that some of the other, "better" fluoros don't feel as good to you because they seem less familiar, but that doesn't mean they are not great lines; you'll just have to get use to them. I'm kind of in the same boat. I'll stick with Invisx for lighter applications for now, but am looking at other options in heavier applications. Currently I have 15# Abrazx on a MH Jig/Plastics rod, and so far, I'm not stoked about it. It's kind of a lateral move from Invisx price wise, but the line has different qualities. Haven't pulled the trigger on Tatsu yet. I've spent so much money on line this year; I think I might ride what I have until Spring.

Buying a low end G-Loomis is not unlike buying a Mercedes C-Class. It's a Mercedes. It's still an okay car. But for the money, you could have bought a much nicer car with a less prestigious name, or spent less money and got a car just as good. I can't imagine a $150 G-Loomis ever happening. They wouldn't put the "brand" on something like that.

I think a lot of people use bigger baits than they even realize, at times. If you look at the profile of some of the "creature" baits out there, they are not exactly finesse baits. What keeps people from using the truly LARGE baits to target trophy fish is time on the water. Guys like me who don't get to fish as often as we'd like tend to focus on techniques that are likely to produce action, and possibly a big fish; rather than techniques where you might not get bit much but you are searching for the big one. I liken it a bit to catfishing, which is my background. I'm more likely to chase channel cat and maybe some decent blues on a Friday evening when I have a few hours, than rig up a 1 lb. carp and hope to catch a giant flathead.

Small stuff for me. 6" Roboworms, Drop Shotted. Baby Brush hogs and Baby Paca Craws, T-Rigged. I haven't got to fish as much as I'd like because I broke my foot. This has been a bummer Summer, for the most part.

I'm not in that realm yet. Maybe I'll get there when these kids get out of my house; if I'm still healthy enough to fish.

When I first answered this, I hadn't even considered you might be using the Crucial as your cranks/jerks rod. If that's the case, you need a new cranks/jerks rod more than you do a new flip/pitch rod. The Crucial is better suited for the latter than the former.

A hijack, no doubt, but I'd be interested to know as well. My budget is, let's just say, sub-Cabela's Guidewear for this fall.

That probably depends on how gnarly the stuff you tend to flip in is, and how badly you need a rod for cranks/jerks? I'm not super familiar with the action of the Crucial you speak of. I am relatively certain it would be a perfectly fine pitching and "light" flipping rod. Some would argue no rod is really great at pitching AND "heavy" flipping. I tend to agree, but if you are like me, you can't afford to specialize that much. I'm looking to upgrade my rod for short-range, heavy cover work as well. I just have to talk myself out of that Megabass Drop Shot rod so I have the funds to buy other, more practical things.

The irony is KVD NOT making it is a testament to what an accomplishment is has been to qualify for 24 in a row. And a big bummer as well that the AOY Championship that he narrowly missed out on after so many years of success is in Michigan. Not that I feel sorry for him. He's had a great run, and he'll be back (likely with a vengeance).