papajoe222

I am curious. Is there any advantage to having one of the hooks in line with the eye, or is it just a confidence thing on your part. When replacing trebles with single hook, I can see the advantage to one line tie angle over another. On trebles, I don't see it.

I don't purchase very much in the way of house branded merchandise, clothing and soft plastics are about my limit. Bass Pro Shops rain gear and cold weather gear for fishing is top notch, IMO and most of their soft plastics get the job done. If Academy would offer reduced shipping or free shipping, I'd would get some of their products. For online shopping, I prefer Sheels for both their house brands and name brands. Big box store prices, awesome customer service, and as close to a LSG store experience as you can get.

Seeing as it's after midnight, I thought I'd be one of the first to wish all the fine people on this site, especially Glen and the mods that continue to keep this site the best of it's kind, a very Merry Christmas to you and your families. That said, I'm going to bed.

For an action trailer, a RageTail craw. When I'm just looking to add bulk without a lot of action, like in cold water, I go with a chunk. There was a time when I used a pork trailer in cold water, but I never liked dealing with removing them at the end of the day and having to rinse the jig so the hook wouldn't rust, but they did seem to produce better than plastic.

For me, it depends on the cover, or lack of, that I'm fishing. If is vegetation, I want a fast action so I can get the fish up our out of the grass quickly. Once in open water, it's a combination of how my drag is set and my ability to play the fish to then get it landed. If I'm structure fishing, I prefer a Mod.Fast action. I don't like to get a fish to the net as fast as possible and a softer action gives the fish a chance to fight back but still allows me to get it to the net without over exhausting it. This is why I have more than one jig rod.

Guilty to the point of excess. 3 cranking rods, 2 jig rods, 1 worm rod, 2 swimbait/swim jig rods, 3 topwater rods, a tube rod, a jerkbait rod and a number of other dual purpose rods. I really don't count my spinning rods as technique specific. To my way of thinking, they're all finesse rods.

Depending on how much you use your TM, you may have a battery with a dead cell. Some chargers will not attempt to charge such a battery. Get your hands on a meter and check each battery independently and then in series if both are showing 12+Volts. Then plug in the charger. and check again. If you're getting 13+Volt readings on both batteries, the light is the problem. If the voltage doesn't change on one battery, the charger isn't working. Also check the wiring coming from the charger, there lmay be a bad connection.

I'm going to be the naysayer here and advise you to not purchase a FFS unit as your first unit. Think about this, if you will; Right now, you don't know how to interpret 2D sonar, Down Scan, Side Scan, what mgh setting is appropriate for the depth of water you're fishing, etc. I suggest getting a unit like a LOWRANCE Hook 2 Tripple shot, the 7in. version. It does all three and with auto settings, it's basically the best plug and play option, IMO, for someone starting out. Take a season to learn how to interpret those forms of sonar. When you're confident with your ability with those forms of sonar, sell it and go out and get a unit that offers it all.You'll likely get a better FFS unit than one you could purchase now or the price of the current offerings could go down. Getting frustrated attempting to learn everything, is not a good and that statement applies to just about any subject.

Questioning the need for a drag that clicks. I know it's a personal preference thing, but do you play with your drag setting while fighting a fish, or back off a certain amount of clicks at the end of the day and know exactly how many to add when using the reel again? I always set my drag a bit on the light side at the start of the day and add pressure with my thumb, if I need more for whatever reason. The more features a reel has, the more opportunity there is for one to fail and it's usually at the worst time when it does.

Not that I purchase a lot of new reels, but I never heard of a new reel being dry. Is that something the big three are doing now, or it it just a hit and miss thing?

It still is.

Ah, 'The magic lure' with a bit of a twist. Yes, when it came to a different presentation (drop-shot, wacky rig), I knew when I first laid eyes on them where they'd shine. With baits, not so much. There have been a few that lived up to the hype, Mann's +20 crank was one. That doesn't mean I won't stop purchasing ones that catch my eye. What can I say, I'm a tackle junkie. I can't wait for the next years new line of baits to be introduced.

Not for punching, but I have used some CB's Hawg Sauce in my tubes when using a dragging presentation. My thoughts are, it couldn't hurt, so why not.

I use 15 different baitcasters and 4 spinning reels during a season. There are 6 baitcasters that do most of the work and they all get a full breakdown, cleaning and lube before ice-out. I started working on them last week. The six I use most often get the bearings an level wind cleaned and lubed sometime in late July. Sooner if I feel they need it. I actually dislike taking apart spinning reels, but once I got some experience with them, I still dislike them and not just cleaning them.

I've been thinking of switching the grandson's braid to Hi-Viz, mainly because I've been trying to get him to watch his line. I don't know how many times I reminded him to set the hook because he wasn't watching. I've used Hi-Viz line with young folk when instructing them on fishing soft plastics and they picked up the idea of line watching fairly quickly. I was at BPS yesterday and picked up some 40lb. YO-ZURI Super Braid, yellow. I've never used their braid, so I have now way of comparing it to anything I use. It was the same price as BPS Hi-Viz braid, which I have used. Should I have stuck with something I'm familiar with, but not overjoyed with its performance?

For that lake, 3/4oz. tungsten punch weight- brown/black skirt-5in. craw tube. I stuff a packing peanut inside the tube to slow the fall rate. I go a little lighter, 1/2oz. early in the season when the pads aren't as thick and skip the peanut. When it starts sitting on top of the pads, I switch to the heavier weight.

I remember a Rick Clunn video where he showed the rods on his deck. All were the same brand and length with different actions and all the reels were not only the same brand, but the same gear ratio. His reasoning was he didn't need to think about how fast or slow to turn the handle to get the speed he wanted, line recovery never changed per handle turn. I didn't go that far when I fished tournaments, but all my reels were Daiwas and they all were the same gearing, except for my deep cranking combo. I didn't switch to different geared reels until I retired.

One of the lakes I fish in another state has lillypads so thicl you'd think you could walk on them and they extend 15-20yrds out from the bank. Every one that fishes that lake for bass is off the water an hour after sun-up because the bass disappear from then until just before sun-down. I catch them all day punching the pads and the ones I catch are almost always in the 3-4lb. range with an occasional 5+lb one. I've targeted deep structure on this lake and caught fish, but most were under 16in., so I stick with punching until the sun goes down.

I don't catch as many LM bass in colder water with a soft plastic jerkbait. That's why I opt for a hard bait then. What I see happen frequently with the longer, three hook versions, is the front hook will be in the front section of the fish's mouth and the rear treble will either be burried on the outside of its mouth, or somewhere down its throat. What I think is happening is the fish are hitting the bait near its head and during the ensuing fight that rear treble ends up someplace else. On those three hook versions, try removing that rear hook and adding a suspend dot to make up for the weight. You'll end up missing short strikers, but you'd miss them on a soft plastic bait too.

I'm guessing you've done some fly tying as some of those bodies resemble wet flies.

I wouldn't consider 55-60F winter conditions and maybe that's where your thinking took you, In most of the south, bass would be chasing baitfish and up creek arms is a prime area to find them. In your neck of the woods, I doubt water temps will get much below 50 and until they do, keep an open mind about fish location. After all, you have to find them before you catch them.

You're basically fishing for active fish, from what you've posted. What you need to accept and commit to memory is; In water that's less than 40 degrees, not only are bass only active for very short periods, they don't need to consume much when they do eat. Acknowledging these two facts, presentations geared to feeding, or active fish rarely produce. If they're your first choice and you don't contact active/feeding bass, it's time to switch gears and slow down. Concentrate on solid structural elements where you've marked fish.

Of the rods I own, only 1/3 of them are ones I've built. Of the rods I regularly use 1/2 are builds. The other half are St.Croix. I've added diamond and chevron butt wraps to a few of those to personalize them. I don't sell rods, but do build for friends and family. I have on on the dryer now that's a Christmas present for my grandson.

I've been using 12lb. test Original Stren for years for these two topwaters. I'm wondering if going lighter, 8lb., would add more action to them. I use a loop knot for attachment and always figured it allowed enough freedom of movement, but I also know that lighter line can improve the action of soft plastics and, to a lesser degree, crankbaits. Your thoughts. If you're wondering why I'm asking this in December, I'm doing my winter reel cleaning and need to add Mono to my list of things to buy with my BPS gift cards.

The only time I use a trailer on a spinnerbait is during pre-spawn and the only one I use is a Kalin's Lunker Grub. It's sole purpose is to slow down the retrieve speed while keeping the bait at the depth I'm targeting. I've never fished a bladded jig, so.............