Hookem Hank

I have thought about my gear that I use and have questioned if it may be a factor. I appreciate the input! I have been fishing frogs for a few years now and I know the difference in the two, I do however feel where you are coming from because I have had the same experiences in the past. I will admit that I think that one big one I lost was partially because of my drag not being set correctly.

Live target, 50lb braid mh rod Yes I am sure I had them. I tend to lose them right at the boat if not about halfway between the boat and initial strike. I haven't tried bending out the hooks and I'm using live target

I have lost three fish this year on frogs, one would have been my personal best. What can I do to change this up? I have caught fish on frogs in the past but I don't know what is going on now.

Alright guys I need advice. I pulled a Bill Dance and went overboard with a battery. The battery was un-retrievable for about 18 hrs in roughly 12ft of water and with the help of a really good friend we finally recovered it. After the recovery I hooked it up to a 55lb thrust trolling motor and it worked, however I hear sloshing around in the battery. The battery said it is accessible for maintenance but I have no idea what to do. Any advice would be great, thanks!

I am down to have a meet and greet. When and where?

I actually went out on 3/9 and the temp was 58-60 degrees, I was pretty surprised by the quick rise in temperature. I appreciate the follow up report.

Looking for water temp, clarity, fish behavior???

I like the idea of supporting my local brick and mortar store and love to shoot the breeze with them. I ordered a Revo Sx spinning reel from them and they beat TW's price by about $20 so I cannot complain there. They had a sale last month that was suppose to be 30% off certain items through the end of the month. I stopped by a total of three times and realized that the percentage changed each time I went in from 30 to 20 to 10% off. I thought it was kind of strange that each time I went in the prices changed. The only other thing that keeps me going back to the online retailers is the fact that the prices are clearly marked on the sites. When I go into my local shop I find it frustrating that nothing has a price on it and I constantly have to ask what the prices are. I understand that it is a business and I like supporting them but I find it to be kind of shady to not have prices clearly marked. I have made several purchases from them and like the customer service aspect of things but shopping online has its perks.

I received my new tackle bag from TW and holy cow this thing is nice and roomy! I love the reinforced zipper handles, special pockets and compartments for all of my gear. I now have more space than I have stuff and that is a perk in itself because I now have an excuse to buy more tackle. The one and only thing that I have a complaint about at this moment are the 3700 boxes that come with the bag. The design of them IMO are useless. They are the Plano boxes that have both the vertical and horizontal compartments and I cannot stand them. I tried to make them work but my OCD took over and I went out the same night and bought boxes that I wanted from my local Dicks.

Don't just decide on one brand of reel or rod. A man can never have too many fishing rigs, but with that being said that doesn't mean you have to go spend a fortune. My advice would be buy what you can afford and fish with what you find confidence in.

I do the same thing. If you have a couple extra reels that you can use it is the easiest way that I have found to do the job. It can be time consuming if you have many reels but I personally like tinkering around with my gear so I don't mind so much. I have only done it with braid but generally for the same reasons listed above. I use backing on my reels that are spooled with braid so I take advantage of the situation to also practice my Alberto knot skills.

May be a given but just make sure you make the breaks even. If one is on the next one should be off.

I have a Mojo and I really like it. Great bang for the buck in my opinion.

I thought about it long and hard but finally made the decision to transition from my Plano 7771 to a soft side. It makes more sense to me sense I am going to be fishing as a co-angler. I will make it a point to give my initial impressions once it arrives.

Hey appreciate the input guys! I ended up ordering the the Plano Guide Series 3710 bag from TW. I will probably give an update on my first impressions once I receive it on Monday. Thanks again!