Turtle135

an underwater peek at the hydrilla on my local lake, this is at about 12 feet down

Two nights ago. The hydrilla in my local lake is dense down to about 14 feet. A quarter ounce bullet style swim jig head knifes right through that stuff.

I believe my primary source of income (before getting an actual job) was the push lawn mower. Like one poster mentioned, Rapala Floating Minnows and plastic worms were the mainstays. A fishing rod or a reel usually was received as a birthday or Christmas present. Took a lot of years before I had more than one combo.

now that I think about it I guess you just use leave that first tag end long (would not have to deal with long leads to wrap that way)

I believe what he is doing is tying a Uni Knot with the line doubled (which gives you three tag ends). Two of the tag ends you cut, one tag end is threaded back down through the eye of the hook (this tag end gets the weight). I suspect the difficulty in tying this knot is that your tag ends need be be fairly long and that makes it harder to handle your Uni Knot wraps.

What you have to try in the situation you describe is continue to cover the water with the techniques described in that video. It can be hard to get that first bite but when you do it is likely that there are other bass in the immediate vicinity. So you can punch grass for hours on end and then catch 3-5 in 10 casts in one spot. Presentations need to be more "vertical" and less "horizontal" (topwater, spinnerbaits, swim jigs)

As was mentioned you probably do not want the knot in your "working" line passing through the guides on a cast and retrieve. Better to have the knot deeper into the spool where it would only see the light of day if a monster fish makes a big run against your drag (unlikely to happen with a bass).

I second what Wingman87 suggested. Assuming you have enough braid on the reel to work with, pull it off and add some inexpensive monofilament as backing. Uni to Uni knot and reel your braid back on.

nice greenie! how did you rig your presentation?

I can stop fishing anytime I want to. I just don't want to!

Funny how things work out. I hurt my rotator cuff last fall and my pool cue MH casting rods were killing me. So I started using a TFO 7'3" medium light casting rod, which kind of opened to the door to tossing finesse jigs. Lews "LFS" Tournament MB and monofilament (Trilene Sensation or Trilene XT, 10 to 14 pound test). BOSS also offers a fine wire finesse jig head which I have not tried but might pair nicely with a spinning combo. https://fishingskirts.com/product-category/boss-fine-wire-finesse/ https://fishingskirts.com/product-category/boss-finesse-flip/ https://fishingskirts.com/

My top producing lure during solar eclipse's is a black & blue jig and craw.

I have fished the 4" Chompers Twin Tail Skirted Grub on a 3/16th ounce finesse flip jig head made by BOSS. The Chompers is one of the most smelly plastics (garlic) that I have ever handled. A buddy and I refer to this combo as the "instant jig" as the soft plastic is both trailer and skirt in one. I get most of my bites on the initial drop as the combo swims to the bottom.

Yes, as was mentioned above you want to pay more attention to the diameter of the line. Just fyi, Tackle Warehouse lists the diameter of each line (see the examples below). Even if your setup may say it is rated for "8 pound test" you can actually use much heavier test braid. That thinner line will generally give you greater casting distance.

hmmmmm, no!

I know some anglers who swear by them for spinning rods. I can't see how they would improve the performance on a baitcasting rod however.

Look at that, with a few keystrokes Glenn made your PB even larger! Congrats on the personal best!

I have always heard that Rock Bass are an indication of good water quality (and they go together with smallmouth bass just like largemouth and bluegills compliment each other).

great looking bass! replica, so she is still out there getting bigger!

question: How often do you catch a big bass? answer: Not nearly often enough! I fish frequently (at least 2-3 times per week in season) and I seem to get one to two "big" bass per month. Big in my area (Maryland) would be a largemouth bass 20" and larger.

Technically a "Texas Rig" would have a sinker outside the bait (and would not involve a jig head). The "Stupid Rig" was around long before Secret Lures teamed up with Terry McWilliams. Secret Lures does not claim to have invented the rig, they just sell jigheads and tubes that work well rigged that way.

a tube rigged "stupid" is a great bait for skipping

Temple Fork GTS DSC 733-1 (7'3" medium light casting rod) I throw finesse jigs with this rod.

Do you have a Wi-Fi network in your house? I think you might need that to cast over to your TV.