Glaucus

But not a wade fisherman problem

Surefire way to get bit on a wacky is to cast it out and then take a leak while it slowly falls. The bass just know when you're indisposed.

Very cool. My old truck with nothing special, but takes gasoline and drives all the same, my Jon Boat, and the few rods I take, with a little extra hands on care, do all the same thing for thousands saved, but whatever makes people happy.

Yup. Haven't had a reason to use anything but those 2. Casting gear is collecting dust.

It's your water.

My other hobby is billiards. My pool partner always has me break his cue down for him.

Do you need a Ferrari that's affordable too? ?

Not the way it read. You said the Ned isn't working but they want it slow, small, and off the bottom...So exactly Ned. All you said is they aren't loving a jig.

Whatever the reasons and factors behind it, it's all fascinating.

I'm not convinced that where they are in the water has anything to do with it. I'm fishing a river that averages 4 feet deep and has been inches to 2-3 feet deep throughout for much of the summer. It's fairly clear water too. Complete rock bottom. Coloration varies all the same with the pattern of smaller = pale and larger = darker.

I've kinda viewed it as how a lion's mane darkens with age. But I didn't realize this was perhaps unusual since I don't really fish for Smallies elsewhere.

The river I fish for Smallies in is like this. If they're about a pound or less, they are pale and have no stripes. If they are about a pound and a half, they tend to be greener in color with very faint stripes. Once they approach two pounds and more, they're very dark with big beautiful stripes.

Personally, I've noticed that the bigger they are, the darker they are.

It's probably harder in real life to tell your friend on the boat that they can't use any of your stuff. Easy to say on here, harder to do face to face because friends are people you care for. I think it says more about the character of a man asking how to go about it than it does about a man saying tell him to bug off. Asking how to do it implies feelings and humanity.

Went a different route on the rod. Placed my order for a decent Ned Rig setup.

Yep. I'm happy to do it. Not so much if it was simply a bum pattern.

My fishing buddy is less experienced and much further behind on the tackle he owns, being that this is his third season ever. He'll sometimes ask to use this or that lure. If he liked it, the next time we go out, he's bought his own of whatever lure or plastic. He also pays for lunch and beer. He's not using my stuff because he doesn't want to buy his own; he uses my stuff to determine what he likes and needs to buy - and he does it.

Just checking in. No pics of today's adventure due to being directly in the water (phone, water, bad). Buddy and I have been wading for 7 miles. Taking a break at the moment. I'm sitting at 61 Smallmouth and 4 Largemouth, as well as a couple Crappie and Rock Bass. Been slaying it with the Ned Rig. Not that I'm counting, ha!

And nothing of value was lost. Pizz poor politically correct decisions and a pizz poor selection.

Ditto. That infamous fall feed happens a month earlier than what is talked about around these parts.

They don't have the Eagle. How is FishUSA? They have it. P.S. First time ordering rod and reel online. Always gone to the store. My local DSG fishing department has gone to being absolute trash, I now live 2 hours away from BPS, and the local mom and pop tackle shop doesn't carry any rods I'm interested in at the moment.

Sometimes it's not possible. I'm talking about rare cases. But there are some cases where the hook is removable and I've caught such fish and removed the hook. Fully alive, fully healthy.

Not always. I've removed gut hooks that have caused massive bleeding and tearing, only to have them die soon after, as I find them floating shallow. Then I caught some with gut hooks, fully alive and healthy. Stopped removing gnarly gut hooks like the kind that killed fish. Can't really say, but when I've caught fat gut hooked fish, and when I don't see floaters in small ponds after gut hooking fish, I'd say in some cases leaving the hook prevents death. Key words being gnarly and sometimes.