Cgolf

I have used fireline, fused instead of braided, since it came out and hope to use it for the rest of my time. I use either 10# or 20# on my spinning reels. The only issue I have seen is the 20# can be a bit stiff initially, but it works in with use. Have tried some braids over time, but have always come back to Fireline.

Sorry for getting you folks worked up with me being a huge Zman fan originally to not using them at all for my own reasons I stated, specifically the the Finesse TRD and TRD Tubez being a huge disappointment. I would do a trade with someone but they would be too expensive to ship. So in the future I will keep my opinion to myself on Zman products.

I am stuck with 20-40 bags that will be used slowly over time, but they don't work well for my bank fishing system, and the hooks rust in the bag. I have made many hydro flow boxes out of mini planos for them. I gave them a good run and it just didn't work out well for me. I also do worry about trashing a bunch of other plastics too, so there is that. The Big TRD has a similar action to the Zinkerz. Maybe my finesse TRDs are different, they were from around when they first came out, but they are super stiff and tear. Where as the zinkerz and big TRD seem to have a lot of movement and don't tear and last forever as long as I don't lose them on a snag. In the boat I have like 3 rubbermaid shoe boxes with holes in the bottom to drain to hold rigged baits. Since I fish slider spider and ned heads with plastics, this works great for just tossing baits in and grabbing out what I need. On local waters when I go out for 2-3 hours I will only take these bins and just fish out of my prerigged stuff. Zman doesn't fit the system because I would have one giant mess. Probably like some others on the site, I have collected enough plastics over the years that right now having ones that last forever don't help me clean some boxes out of the master closet lol.

That is a bummer because I had really good luck with the bombshot on a ned head and it held up just fine to multiple largies. Would have expected that to be more delicate than the Ned bomb. Because they don't play well with other baits, and IMO they aren't the best option. The Zinkerz is a very good bait and has a lot of action. The finesse TRD however is awful compared to the Zinkerz, barely any action, and it generally tears where the hook comes out. The Bombshot, Robo Ned, and Anglers choice original Wart hawg have all worked very well for me. I am also working a bit with the Missle baits 48, but not enough of a sample size to give thumbs up or down. The better question is why are people stuck on Zman products? they have good marketing i will give them that.

These jigs while not a mushroom head, rounded ball head, sounds like a solid Ned option. The 1/16 ounce has a #4 hook and the 1/8 ounce has a #2 hook. Can't wait to see who carries these, hopefully TW.

Numbers have dropped a lot. If this brings more young kids out from behind the computer and take up fishing because their parents dragged them along, that is good long term for our hobby. Also the more people that fish, the stronger voice we have with our respective DNR's.

That is insane how close they are. I was just having a bit of fun with the ugly stick reel, but this a spot the differences puzzle for kids;)

To prove your point this is the reel I got with an Ugly Stick GX2 to keep in my truck during the summer. Rod was used not the reel. Materials are obviously inferior but the look isn’t all that different.

The Arsenal is a winner too and a pretty good value for how long they last. Two baits had over 20 fish on them, and one I snapped off on a reed with like 15 fish on it. I also stocked up last year on the TW black friday sale on the menace so I am doing alright so far. The reaction innovations version is pretty good, but their colors aren't the best for clear water. There is an independent that pours a similar bait, I may need to try that as well and they also offer colors like smoke purple and smoke red which I have wanted in the menace for years. The biospawn version will be interesting at 3.5", only thing I didn't like was their plastic didn't rig well with a slider head. The plastic is slick or something and the hook point always slides up becoming exposed to weeds. I haven't seen this behavior before with other brands of plastics, where I may have to readjust how the bait is positioned once every 10 casts.

I will answer without reading the rest of the posts, so hopefully won't duplicate too much. My Setups Baitcasters - I use either 30# Suffix 832 or 50# Power Pro on all but one that I have been trying Yo Zuri Hybird on, don't like the lack of feel but otherwise it is ok line. For baits like swim jigs I will use 20# sniper FC leader tied with a modified alberto knot which is 6-12 feet long. Spinning - 10# or 20# fireline with 6-12 ft red label FC leader also tied with a modified alberto knot. Fireline has been my goto spinning setup since I came out. I tried other braids but have had zero reason to change. I know fireline is not technically a braid, but its sensitivity is right there with any braid I have ever fished. Great line, hope Berkley makes it forever! Performance with old rods has been good for me. The only rod I ever had an issue with was one that had plastic line guides. What I have noticed with braid compared to mono or the yo zuri hybrid, is the sensitivity is increased exponentially. You will think that you upgraded rods with the switch. That is the biggest problem I have had when I tried straight Fluoro, I really missed the sensitivity of braid, especially for bottom contact baits. Biggest tip with braid - Loosen the drag due to the zero stretch. I also like moderate action rods and feel they suit braid very well. Older rods generally seem to run more of a moderate actions, so they may work even better than the newer faster tip models.

Maybe I just need to trim them up a little. I have never been one to trim the brush guards, maybe this is the sign I need too.

The only minor complaint is it seems a touch too short, need to work to keep some brush guards from getting compressed, otherwise it is pretty much perfect.

So if I one had ideas for boxes they would like to see, how would we normally pass the ideas on to them? Hopefully my replies get merged. I would love the inner dimensions of these boxes to see if I could make my idea fly. I may need to pick one up when they come out as long as the price isn't too wild lol.

For sure the 6.99 price the new baits are coming in it, that is just crazy. On my recent trip the arsenal assault bug outproduced the menace by a wide margin. Similar tail action, but slightly wider body on the bug. It also lasted a lot longer on average. The Zman stuff doesn't interest me because of the potential plastic interaction, but time will tell if others say it is great I may give it a go. I did just read it is going to be offered in a 6, 4, or 3 pack depending on size for 4.99. Where I fish these most, I lose more to snags than the plastic being destroyed so they may not be the greatest deal in the world for me. 5$ for 4 3.75" baits is a little steep too.

Just saw the new BioSpawn ExoPod and the Zman Goat series. The ExoPod in particular looks a lot like the Menace, 3.5" instead of 4". It just seems strange that all of a sudden a couple of look alike baits show up.

On a recent week long trip I had 14 bass combos, 5 spinning 9 Baitcasting. For my next trip I have cut it back to 4 spinning and 6 baitcasters. My numbers are lower because I truly can only carry 6 combos max in the boat when fishing with a second person. I could do all ten when alone setting some in the back of the boat. Not a complaint, but the reality of fishing out of a 16 foot aluminum boat. I do think sometimes though that less rods and baits can be an advantage, as I don't have too many options that I overthink it. Until I get a bigger boat I won't have 3 of the same combo with different line sizes to alter the running depth of a lure.

Outlet bait and tackle has a decent deal on 1/4 oz spinnerbaits. They have 2 and 4 packs. One of the 2 packs is 6.58ish, but they only let you buy 5. The other 2 packs are 8 and change. I was also a first time customer so got an extra 10% off.

With the Covid anglers, what we should be doing is helping them out instead of complaining about them. If we see them keeping small panfish explain why that is not ideal, no meat, and educate them as much as possible. Hopefully none keep undersized gamefish, but again explaining the rules in a nice manner would be helpful. If we are rude, we will likely scare them off. The trend is fishing numbers have been on the decline, if we can help these people out, maybe enough will stick with it and we will have a long term gain in anglers.

This sounds like my wife lol. To get in on the Dobyns deal, I had to sign off on buying other gear this year. Fast forward to vaca and war eagle spinnerbaits killed it, but I lost my stash. Got back found out they are pricey. Bait monkey found a loophole in the deal because I found a sale on those spinnerbaits and we now have 20 war eagles that will show up under a tree in December;)

I fish out of a small boat, so all my cranks, jerkbaits, lipless, and musky baits go in a deep 3700 and a standard 3700 with the hooks rubberbanded together. I know A-Jay and others have tons of storage room in their boats, all my stuff needs to fit in my magnum cabela's bag that sits on deck. I essentially pack like a coangler in my own boat.

My only shipping nightmare was the Dobyn's rod sale from Sportsmans outfitters. It just took forever to get filled by Dobyn's, but I got my rods eventually and they have been awesome. It was just a bit nerve wracking because I have never ordered from the site before. Good experience was outlet bait and tackle. Ordered Tuesday after 4 PM and it was delivered Saturday morning.

That's a great start, 10 years down the road, it will be a lot more, because baits and gear will fall out of favor for new baits and gear lol. Don't throw out those baits that have fallen out of favor though, because what is old is new, and they will eventually be your go to baits again;)

Not true at all. Zman just wants you to think that. Zman stuff no longer sees my jigs and I still fish the Ned rig. I personally like the robo Ned and anglers choice wart hawg cut in half. As far as the double tail grub or menace on a Ned head, it’s for sure Midwest finesse. @Team9nine can clear up if it fits a Ned rig.

Got my first order from Outlet Bait and Tackle and was very impressed. Ordered late afternoon on Tuesday and it arrived on Saturday. Stocked up on 1/4 ounce War Eagle spinnerbaits.

Chatterbaits would be on my short list. Other than that without seeing sales numbers I have no clue what could go. It is all about sales for companies. If there was one lure type that is pretty specific to bass fishing and not widely used by many it would be jerkbaits. So maybe some of those could go?