Further North

Gear ratio matters less than inches of line per turn of the handle. I have a big Abu Garcia with a 6.3:1 ratio that picks up line faster than a smaller Shimano with a 7.1:1 ratio.

Looks pre-spawn.

Weird - I've never seen anything like that. My leaders are all 12" - 18" long and tied directly into the main line with either an FG knot, or an Alberto knot (I dislike having hardware at the top of the leader.)

We've had plenty of years here where there's still plenty of ice on the fishing opener the first week of May. I don't think we'll have that this year, but who knows...that's the joy of NW WI.

You seem like you want to argue. I'm not going there. I think it's dumb, you clearly don't care. Neither view matters even the tiniest amount. I'd suggest relaxing, enjoying the post,and not looking for something to argue about.

Glad you got out...but I'll trade your long cold winter for ours any time. 😉 It'll probably be at least another month until we have open water, and it's June 1st before we can fish for muskies.

Does it matter? Probably not. Makes them look not-terribly-bright to anyone familiar with how bullets work.

I didn't have a way to reach them, so I put it on their FB page. Hopefully someone can fix it for them.

...that's not how bullets work. From an advertisement on my screen on this website:

Thanks. Super easy to tie as well.

We catch a lot of smallies on musky flies every year...most of them are big... Both of these work on bass, pike, and muskies...

Good looking ties! I've tied mine with similar materials, and also on jigs for conventional gear. Here's a bunch of variations.

I'd love to see what your version looks like, and how you tie them.

Jaw spreaders are cheap: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-fish-mouth-spreader https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/tyrant-tackle-jaw-spreader You can spend more, but those will get you going. Hooks with crushed barbs make it even easier - I can usually unhook pike, and most muskies, without taking them out of the water. ...for leaders, I just tie tieable wire into my main line.

For pike, you need a jaw spreader, and a steel leader. Barbless hooks make a huge difference too.