BigAngus752

It was definitely the knots and not abrasion. Two of the three breakoffs weren't near any obstructions. I use 6lb Trilene XL on another rod with the same ratings. I cannot tell you the number of bass I've caught with that rod and I've never had a knot fail. I could very well have done something wrong with the knots but it also has to have something to do with the Yo-Zuri Hybrid in addition to how/what I'm tying. I tie the same way with the Trilene XL. I love the light line stuff! That makes it more challenging!!! I have 20lb Sufix 832 on two other spinning setups. I love the stuff. I use those for T-rigs, Carolina rigs, etc. I'm going to use the 10lb for this because it will be all weightless stuff. Plus I already have two spools of 10lb so I don't have to buy more LOL! ?

I posted awhile back that I was putting together a spinning set-up just for skipping weightless plastics under docks. I bought a 6'6" spinning rod and a new 2500 size reel. I was going to use one of the spools of line I already had but instead of using mono or braid I decided to order some Yo-Zuri Hybrid. That has been my go-to line for my baitcasters for three years now. I have never, ever had a problem with the 12lb Hybrid and I have it on multiple baitcasters. This time I bought 6lb for the spinning setup. Today was my first trip out with the new set-up. I was on the water before the sun came up. I tied on an Owner Mutu Light Circle hook using a Palomar knot and I threw it wacky rigged. The first fish that bit was 2lbs or less. The fish started to run and with only a slight pull the line broke. Closer inspection confirmed it broke at the knot. I tied on another Owner Mutu Light hook but this time I used the Trilene knot (this is my favorite knot and it is extremely rare that it fails me). I skipped another wacky deep under a dock, got a bite, and again the line broke. Again confirmed that it was the knot at the hook. I couldn't have been more stunned because I love the Yo-Zuri Hybrid. I thought maybe there as something with the circle hooks so I used a Palomar knot to tie on a VMC Neko hook. Again, wacky rig but this time on a shoreline under some shady trees. Again, good bite, fish runs, line breaks at the hook. I'm interested in hearing opinions, but there isn't much that will change my mind at this point. I am switching to 10lb braid. I would, however, like to know what everyone thinks about this. I've always talked up Yo-Zuri Hybrid and I still love the 12lb on my BCs. Never had a problem with it. Of course the title of this thread says FOUR breakoffs and I only described three. Here is the end of my unlucky day. I was headed back to put the boat on the trailer and decided to throw a T-rigged U-Vibe at the docks before I loaded up. I got a good bite and set the hook. This was about a 3lb fish and she immediately did a 360 around one of the metal dock posts. I pulled too hard and "snap" went my 10lb Sufix 832. I had a good day of fishing. I boated five fish (four were "keeper" size) and that's a good day around here, but I really, really, really hate to leave FOUR fish swimming around with hook/worms in their faces. In the words of John Wayne, "That causes me great annoyance and displeasure".

I've tried a few different types and I was religiously using Megastrike with indefinite results. This year I tried MaxScent baits from Berkley. This is as close to a "gamechanger" as I have found. I recently fished the same spot with two different wacky-rig set-ups. Both rods had 6lb mono on them. Same VMC weedless Neko hooks. I put a Berkley MaxScent General on one hook with an o-ring and an identical color Senko on the other with an o-ring. I fished the same spot. I caught three bass on the General and lost a fourth at the boat. I had a single bite on the Senko and couldn't get the fish hooked. Scientific? No, but I felt all spring and early summer like the MaxScent was making a difference and this only reinforced it. Am I giving up all my other plastics? Not yet. Am I going to burn through more bags of MaxScent because I am now highly confident in them? Absolutely.

I own 2 Pfluegers (one President and one President XT). I own one Fuego LT and one KastKing Sharky. I will not buy any more Pfluegers. I liked them when I got them and thought they were smooth and dependable. The KastKing is better than either of the Pfluegers. The Fuego LT is significantly better than either of the Pfluegers.

Oh my salty people!!! LOL! Hey @ChrisD46, go catch a state record with this rig and show these Grumpier Old Men what's what. What a crowd today! The Flex Seal Tape was good but I'm disappointed that no one mentioned the Shake Weight. Now I'm headed out with an 8/0 hook and a bag of chili cheese dogs to catch my PB. I don't care what you think.

I fish Ned rigs and weightless Senkos on spinning gear with 6lb Trilene XL with no problems at all. If you are using a reputable, name-brand mono then I think you might want to take a look at what knot you use and how often you retie if this is happening in open water.

What I use to pull my Ranger RT188 (or haul my little Jon in the back) is the same thing I drive to work every day. I bought it after I bought my boat and as @Fishes in trees would say, I decided to go "matchy-matchy" LOL! I like to be organized and having my truck and boat match seems more squared away to me for some reason. I have a mental disease.

Is one digital and one analog? Are you properly translating from tenths of a pound (digital) to ounces? If your digital scale reads 5.5 pounds you need to correct it (.5 x 16) to determine the fish is 5lb 8oz. You won't know if your scale is accurate until you follow @Scott F 's advice.

Looking for some info about Green River Lake in KY. I saw that this lake made the top 25 for this year and when I was showing it to my wife and she saw the floating cabins at the marina she told me to make reservations immediately. I know this lake draws down from Sept. to Nov. and we would be going close to the end of draw down on a weekend in November. Can someone tell us what we can expect for boating, ramps, and bass fishing in November at this lake? Thanks in advance.

Wow, this is so close to what I have done all year. I have a buddy that is a tournament fisherman and he was looking at me like I was a freak when I told him how successful spawn and immediate post-spawn was for me when I was fishing a weightless Ultravibe in the thickest brambles I could find. I had a great pattern going. If the laydown was in the shade and had a bunch of tiny little branches that your line inevitably tangles around then I could pull a fish out of it with a weightless Ultravibe. I would have to stand on the bow and jiggle it up and down and back and forth to get it to fall through the little sticks but I was literally calling the targets I would pull a fish out of. It was a great couple of weeks. Later when we got tons of rain with the water high and muddy it was all The General. Wacky or T-Rig they find it by smell.

The Zoom Ultravibe is always a top producer. This year I'm trying Berkley's The General and it's running a close second to the Ultravibe. That horrid smell is a magnet for bass.

I think Yo-Zuri Hybrid is the best non-braided line you can put on a baitcaster. It is the smoothest casting, strongest line I've every tried. I've found, though, that it's Achilles heel is that if it gets any kind of sharp kink, even if it's not a hard bend, the line is done. Absolutely done. Guaranteed to break at that slight bend after one or two casts. If I had some light Hybrid sitting around I would absolutely give that a try but all I have is 6 and 10lb mono and 10 and 50lb braids. That's a good thought, though. If I hate the braid I'll order some light Yo-Zuri to try. Thanks

I realized later that I misspoke when I mentioned I would be using this for Ned rigs. I have a dedicated Ned rig rod (Falcon ML w/6lb mono) and I'll use that when I want to skip a Ned under a dock. I agree about the line visibility. Yesterday I was pitching wacky Senkos into laydowns using 20lb Hi-Vis neon-colored Sufix 832 and I caught fish in the same lake I'll be skipping docks. I'm going to give the braid a try and if I hate it I'll try something else. Thanks for the input. I was just using 10lb Sufix 832 yesterday for pitching laydowns. I have never had an issue with it around wood. We have very few rocks so I've no experience with it around rock. I actually have a new spool of 10lb Sufix and I considered using that since the EZ braid floats and the Sufix is "neutrally buoyant" but the new spool is Hi-Vis and the EZ Braid is moss green which matches the water better. I'm not a big believer in bass being "line shy" but I figured to give myself every possible advantage. 832 is my favorite braid by far though.

I'm putting together a spinning set-up just for skipping weightless plastics (and the occasional Ned rig) under docks. The majority of the time I will be skipping wacky rig stick baits. Looking through my stockpile of line I will either be using 10lb Trilene XL or 10LB Spiderwire EZ Braid in moss green (no leader). My question is, since both lines float will the mono slow the fall rate down more than the braid since the braid is only the diameter of 3lb mono? I'm barely patient enough to wait for a weightless wacky to fall on a line that doesn't float. If the 10lb mono is going to slow it down a lot then I'm going with the braid. Thanks in advance.

That's awesome. Like @A-Jay said, you definitely deserve this. You have been so patient and positive about your previous boat issues that it has actually inspired me to work on my own patience level for all things mechanical. Enjoy this new boat!

Mine was 40 years ago. I was just a kid. Family vacation at Lake of the Ozarks. Dad made me get up early one morning to go fishing at a state or county park that was on the lake. We walked the bank and he spotted a point with enormous, VW Beetle-size boulders stretching off the point just a few feet under the water. He said, "That's the spot" even though he'd never been there before. We waded out, walking from boulder to boulder. He warned me not to slip a leg between them. We got out a ways and I started casting an inline spinner. After awhile Dad let me use his brand new Rapala Floating Minnow. I was so proud that he let me use it because he didn't spend much on fishing lures and this thing was new and it was his favorite lure. I started casting and jerking it. A bass came out from between the boulders and hit it like an attack dog. I set the hook more out of shock than fishing skill. I started reeling and to day I remember as clearly in my head as if it happened yesterday that fish jumping, bending back and forth in the air trying to shake that lure that was stuck front and back trebles in it's lip. I remember the sun reflecting off of it in the air. I was thrilled and terrified. Dad was bounding from boulder to boulder toward me and pulled it out of the water for me as I got it close. It was 5 1/2 pounds (I can't tell you exact ounces because Dad only had a ratty old spring scale). I remember Dad holding it up and telling me it was the biggest bass he'd ever held. I remember how heavy it felt and being scared when I held it that it would swallow my hand with that huge mouth. I remember it all clearly, like it just happened. Dad's been gone 29 years. I still have his Rapala. The trebles are rusty and I never, ever use it. I just started bass fishing again a couple years ago. I know I'll catch a bigger bass eventually. I've come close a couple times already. Some days I go out and I want to catch an 8lb bass. Some days I just want to keep my PB that I have already.

I generally hang a paddle tail off of my vibrating jigs. I will give the bug a try! Thanks

Thank you for this. I was thinking the Rage Bug should displace a significant amount of water. And I left out an important part of the pig description...it's a bag of Bearded Grass Pigs. It is designed to be a swim bait but it looks like a freakish shrimp or squid. It's heavily salted and has a very heavy body. I've not had a chance to get one in the water yet but I would think a bass would eat it just because it's so ugly. LOL

Have you actually handled both? I have and I feel a noticeable difference in them when I operate them. I own a Fuego and it's my favorite spinning reel. If I were shopping in the price range of a Regal then without any doubt I would buy a KastKing Sharky. I own two of those. They are nearly as smooth and refined as a Fuego. Almost. Next time I find a Fuego on sale I will buy another one. Researching and discussing can only take you so far. Try them and see what you think.

I might have the opportunity to go fishing this weekend. This is incredibly rare for me right now as I'm working two jobs so I don't get to be picky about conditions. We have flash flood warnings right now and the water will be high and muddy this weekend. I'm still trying to stick with my commitment to fish only jigs and plastics this year but I don't have a good understanding of how to identify plastics with not much "action" and those with a lot of "action". I will need something flappy and noisy if I go this weekend. Here's a list of some of the craw/creatures I have in dark colors. If anyone can shed some light on which have the most action it would be much appreciated. If you could tell me the difference between the ones that do and don't and why that would be a bonus. Rage Tail Structure Bug Rage Tail Menace Yum crawdad Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw Berkley Bearded Grass Pig Doomsday Tackle Devastator 3.8 Yum Christie Critter I also have some monster-size worms (some with bright-colored ribbon tails) and some lizards if you recommend those instead. I'll also be throwing some larger profile jigs with rattles but I want to be prepared with some T-rigged plastics. Thanks in advance.

I had the same problem and realized that the of the fish I boated, 80%+ of them the Ned head would just fall out of their mouths when i got them in the boat (when there was finally slack in the line). I realized I was losing them to slack in the line while they were in the water. I switched to using a Falcon drop shot rod that's softer and I bring them in slowly and concentrate on never allowing slack in the line. I haven't lost another since I switched to that rod and focuses on a tight line. Don't pull them in fast or with a stiff rod. You'll get "bounce" in the line and that's just enough for the little Ned hook to come undone.

Gosh, for $150 you can get a Daiwa Aird X from TW, a Daiwa Fuego from eBay, and still have money left over to get some new jigs from @Siebert Outdoors. It's like Xmas without the tree.

I'm with @Sam. There are too many variables. For the sake of argument lets just say you stumbled into some conditions that you weren't expecting, as in the weather and water are completely different than you thought they would be. When that happens I just throw through the whole water column both fast and slow. I usually start at the top (spook, pop-r, whopper plopper), then something in the middle (lipless crank, spinner, Shad Rap, underspin with a paddletail), then the bottom (slow rolling a vibrating jig, T-rig, Carolina). My "no skunk" technique is the Ned Rig. 1/2 of a Zinker Z on a 1/10th mushroom head will always catch something. Usually a T-rigged Zoom Trick Worm will catch a bass and a lipless crankbait will catch something that swims. Could be a crappie. Could be a water snake. Everything likes the lipless.

Good call!

In Illinois if you don't bring your own realtor and just call the realtor on the sign then at closing you have to sign a document swearing that you understand that the realtor is working on the behalf of the SELLER and NOT YOU. That's their license to "not tell you" stuff. You have to find it for yourself. Always hire a reputable home inspector and if the property is not on city water and/or sewer then you need to hire separate inspectors for the well and the septic system! It amazes me that people don't have wells and septic systems inspected. It costs $10,000 for a new deep well or aeration system.