Wayne P.

Stringjam, no, super glue is too thin to fill the gap and it's too brittle when set up to offer any resistance to the line slipping thru. Even using super glue on the knot to keep it from working it's way around to the gap won't last but a couple of casts since working the lure and weight will break it loose. Without snelling, filling the gap with another knot before the final tying-on works the best. tCR, the gap cannot be closed with pliers since there is really no gap, it's the small contact area of the wire end to the shaft that is the problem. The wire has a blunt end and that is resting against a curved surface which is the round wire the hook is made of.

Snell the line on the hook with a uni-knot especially when using a heavy tungsten weight. That way the sinker can't come in contact with the knot and the knot is not in the hook eye so it can't slip out. Put the line through the hook eye from the point side when starting the knot.

For early year fishing, I find the Northeast sections of the lake warm up the most and fastest. Most warming weather comes from the Southwest and the sun in the afternoons is more intense in the Northeast shorelines. It is true that the Northwest shorelines are more protected from the cooling affects of a cold front but when the water is cooling down, the fishing is lousy anyway.

For those that like the swimming frogs, use the proper length hook and put the hook bend between the legs and then skin hook the point into the back. That way the bend of the hook is not blocked with the plastic when the hook is set as the frog swings out of the way=less lost fish. For the Zoom Horny Toad, the Horny Toad hook or the Gammy Oversize hook works well. I prefer the Horny Toad over the others as it is heavier due to the added salt in the plastic and can be cast farther.

Thanks Cory, I was advised of that a few weeks ago on this site.

PM sent

I use them this way

The little gators like plastic worms

fishing man, when I'm in my bassboat, I use a camera tripod on the back deck with bungee cords holding it down to the storage hatch latches. In my jon boat, I made a camera mount with some 3/4" sturdy PVC pipe and a camera mount that I purchased without the tripod. I just screwed it to the transom.

I got the blue gill one for pitching to bedding fish. I haven't seen any fish on beds yet to see how good it works. In the water, it will sit upright on the hooks, that is what prompted me to purchase it.

Noisy frogs: don't put stuff inside the hollow frogs/rats as that will prevent the body's compression when a bass takes it. Use the external rattles to make extra sound.

For nylon mono, the Stren Clear/Blue fluorescent line is the original line watchers choice.

Yes you can and it works quite well. Several years ago I was fishing with a C-Rig and kept feeling the strike like a Tx rig hit but was missing the hookset. After close examination of the lead sinker, I noticed scratch marks on it an figured the bass were taking the sinker instead of the lizzard I was using. I had some 1/2 oz. Strike King Denny Brauer jigs with the horizonal eye and replaced the sinker with the jig. I started catching the bass on one or the other lures after that.

I use a Canon ZR850 Mini DV video camera. It uses small tapes and also captures stills on SD cards. I can playback a tape, pause on a frame and take a still of that frame. It has a remote control for videos and stills. I transfer the tapes to DVD and I convert some of the DVD's to digital videos with Studio Manager software which is a free program. I got that camera because of it's 35X optical zoom since I do a lot of videos when deer hunting. I carry it in a waterproof case made by Pelican.

Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog has a larger bend hook and the points are more upright than most other brands and styles=better hook-ups.

I got mine from this supplier: http://www.threeriversmarine.net/catalog/item/2521337/5648759.htm

I have that software. HD versions of some lakes are available for an additional cost. One HD map of your choice is free.

Correct T-Rig, a largemouth bass is a member of the sunfish family.

RW, I haven't tried that and probably won't. Too much going on to be a practial presentation. I don't use the Poison either, the Chatterbait knockoffs with the split ring connection for the blade gets hung up too much in timber.

Then there is this bass found in East Africa:

The centrifugal brakes in a reel work just like the centrifugal clutch in a chain saw, go cart, or ATV. The movable parts are forced against the outer drum to create resistance. Lubricating the friction surfaces lessens the resistance and decreases the effectiveness of the primary function of the parts.

The time not to use a craw/jig is when you make a cast and the sound of it hitting the surface is "thunk" and not "splash" as it lands on frozen water.

PlasticMan, I bought one of those Chatterbaits and the other one with the small crankbait on it. The smaller one works better. It seems that the blade size on the Trap model is too large for it to run right. That spinner/lipless bait is old school and was marketed a long time ago. I used to have some, but I don't remember the mfg.

VABasser, I'll send a PM with more detail

Your gear ratio has no effect during a cast as the drive train is disengaged. It's your casting technique that affects the lure direction. Using the same rod/reel/line combo for both takes a different reel setting and casting motion. The heavier spinnerbait loads up the rod more on the backcast and has more momentum on the forward cast. When you cast a much lighter weight, you need to reduce the spool tension and make a faster backcast to load the rod along with a more forceable forward cast with an earlier release of the spool. The ideal situation is a rod/reel combo set up for the weight of the spinnerbait (medium heavy) and another lighter action (medium to light) rod/reel combo for light cranks. Practice, Practice, Practice