Sphynx

Seeing as I am spending more time this last year plus in one area, the box is currently a hodgepodge of colors, styles, and weights, but as you can clearly see you could probably fit 70-80 jigs in there if you really wanted or needed to, I don't fish tournaments (or at least I haven't done so to this point in my journey) but I would be willing to bet that a fellow is unlikely to lose 50-60 jigs in a day's time, so loading the box up or changing the included jigs would be a seriously inconvenient thing in some boxes, fortunately the EDGE box makes this less laborious than the boxes I used to use, I have no experience with the competitors offerings, and I believe there are 2 or three companies now that have released products in the last few years to directly compete with this line of boxes, so I'd definitely do what I could to get my hands on them and see which one suits you best if you decide to invest in nice boxes, do be warned however that they are not at all inexpensive, but the organization system, rust prevention measures, and the durability/functionality of these boxes made the price worth the expense to protect my treasured tackle, I am sure other people have systems that work just as well though, so don't be afraid to tinker with a couple different options until you get it right...I could buy a whole lot of tackle boxes for the price of replacing an entire box of rusted, lost, or broken jigs.

The EDGE jig box from plano does pretty great work by my estimation, got 51 jigs in it, and got room for the punching/California swim jigs I'm waiting to be in stock to order, and I figure they should fit relatively easy

The part that concerns me about noodling for catfish hasn't got anything to do with catfish, it has everything in the world to do with snapping turtles, which inhabit a lot of the same places as catfish do, and are quite happy to relieve you of any fingers you graciously offer for a snack, also of concern is the fact that there's no telling who kind of junk folks toss in a lot of rivers/lakes these days, tetanus, needles, all kinds of unpleasantness can be the result of an adventure in noodling.

I'm a pretty big believer that the only rules that matter in the end are what the fish tell me matter, I don't care if the water looks like a mirror and it's 95 degrees and bluebird skies, if they are munching spinnerbaits, then a spinnerbait is the right lure.

White lizard, I prefer to use colors that are easily seen by me as well as the fish, I think they are far less picky on beds than any other time of the year, they want to move anything at all off those beds and they aren't real particular about what "it" is

This is the box of jerkbaits that I have assembled currently...I don't use a lot of bright colors in the sense of bold, chartreuse etc, but I do use a fair number of metallic and reflective colors, and the more natural variety.

He's also pretty up front that even a tyer like himself will only create a properly fishable fly every so often, he might tie a dozen of a given pattern and be satisfied with the action in the water of 3 or 4 of them, certainly is an encouraging sentiment for those of us who are entirely less talented, I generally appreciate his frank, open nature.

Kelly certainly has an inappropriate sense of humor to say the least, but the man is a fantastic designer of flies, ties them well, and understands what makes a pattern effective in a situation in a way that very few people who are so public and forthcoming with designs do, I think his having a small laugh at offending the more sensitive natured members of the sometimes stuffy group that makes up the fly fishing community is a small price to pay for all the great patterns, knowledge and theory he freely shares.

In these conditions the options are to find local alternatives and resign ones self to the probability that you'll pay a bit more supporting a smaller business, to manufacture the required lures yourself (necessity is, after all, the mother of invention) or to simply possess your soul in patience and wait for products to become available at the usual suspects again, it really has been some tough sledding and I certainly sympathize with this particular struggle, been tough going finding much of what I have been looking for as well, I generally am on the 3rd option I listed, and have simply begun to focus on the things I can control, and let the things that I cannot control look after themselves.

A sharp change in elevation is often referred to as a drop-off in the fishing world, and is a favorite haunt for all manner of predatory fish, especially bass.

For every angler I have heard use the theory to use as light a weight as possible because it keeps a bait in the strike zone longer, I have heard another angler perfectly convinced that using a heavy weight to force a quick reaction by limiting the time for choice is more effective, I also have seen both theories result in both skunks, and fish being landed, so I am not entirely convinced that the size of your sinker is really all that much of a contributing factor as far as the fish is concerned, or perhaps it is simply that other factors mean so much more that the difference is immaterial in a practical sense beyond getting your chosen presentation where you want it.

Being on an 18 wheeler and fishing when and where the opportunity arises it's been mostly about discovery for me, met lots of real cool folks around the country, met some real bad ones too, fished some great spots that I enjoyed very much, fished some fish-less waters too (yes, actually fish-less, I found out that evening from a conservation officer that was having a chuckle at my determined efforts to get a bite that the entire reservoir had been drained a month before that and had not yet been restocked) and that wasn't so great even if it's funny looking back, it helped me learn to start paying attention more, catching quality fish is the reward for reading the formula right for a given set of conditions, rather than walking up to a body of water now and hoping there are fish, I am much, much better at figuring out where the fish have a high probability of being and that has made me a better angler fundamentally, I have friends who fish very limited areas, and those guys have named every blade of grass and pebble in the places they fish and you are never going to outfish them on the home water, but you take them to a new lake they are lost in the sauce, nothing necessarily right or wrong with either approach, mostly depends on your lifestyle and how much moving around you either do, or want to do.

I would need a whole new casting convention for a 7 foot leader, most people would find it to be more trouble (potentially painful as well) than it's worth to fool about with a leader that long, typically I like to start somewhere in the 18-24 inch range, if I have to go much longer than that I usually switch to something else that gets me higher in the water column, like a dropshot, and much shorter than that we are getting into Texas rig territory.

I generally will tinker with a jerkbait a bit to try and get it to suspend by changing rings/hooks, I do not like the idea of putting strips on my baits personally, but if they work for you and are easier/less expensive I say go for it

I shouldn't say you came off rude, rather, I saw it was fairly clear that you two were talking at cross purposes, these little miscommunication happen over text a lot, generally better to assume a miscommunication than foul intent is my rule, as to the pin over the hook, that's brilliant, and I have no shame at all in admitting I am stealing that time now and so saving myself a pile of cash on dropshot baits LOL

I believe the point OE is making is that if the cover is thick enough that you feel the need to horse a fish out you are not going to be in a situation that an open point presentation is going to be your best option, I doubt he is saying abandon the dropshot forever, just that for the situation the OP presented, a T-rig would be a more effective approach than trying to upsize a finesse presentation.

Well...I don't know what the bass fishing is like around there, but your backyard is basically lake Tahoe, and that is a world class trout fishery. I wouldn't be surprised to find bass there, but I don't have any first hand knowledge about it. Your about 3 or 4 hours away from Clear Lake in California too, it's out of state with the usual inconveniences and requirements associated with such situations, but it's a solid fishery for bass no doubt.

I expect these sorts of gigs to be few and far between, and the economic ramifications on the way/under way from 2020 are going to limit them even further, computers, test tanks, and pro's already being paid are your competitors, and many of these pro's have long and very good relationships with these tackle companies (Strike King and KVD may as well be inseparable by now) and considering that both of them want similar things from the R&D process, a bait that will sell like fire and catch great big fish reliably, it's a natural fit. Not all pro's have the communications and organizational/analytical ability to effectively test baits that are experimental, but there are a number I'm sure that do...given the physics generators on these newfangled computers these days I am sure a lot of the testing can be done in a tank and modified from there, and then get pushed out to a few trusted pro's for testing, there are always exceptions, but an exception is never the rule, building a relationship with someone in touch with these things in the company/companies your interested in is likely your best bet.

I honestly do find that the excitement level of topwater is far greater than any other form of fishing, that tap you get from jigs, or worms, or the loading up and cessation of vibration on a crankbait or bladed jig simply cannot compare to the visual effects added by topwater, I seriously wonder sometimes if I stick with it even when something else would be even more effective just for that rush

The day you start either seeing baitfish busting on the surface, or the day you start noticing vegetation growing you can fish over top of are the two indicators I use, the second one is less useful in the south and other places with year round vegetation.

Congratulations on the win, sounds like you guys had fun if nothing else!

Boy did @Glenn nail that one square on the head, part of the sales game as it was taught to me (and still employed in my small business very effectively) is "Speak in terms of the other guy's interests." Never walk up to a guy and ask him for something because you want it, walk up to that cat and explain to him why it's in his best interest to give it to you, you will go much, much further.

My PB bucketmouth came on a stupid cold day, Louisiana had ice on the ground, teens for temperatures, decided screw it, going anyway, didn't catch a bloody thing all morning, give myself the old "last cast" pep talk and hang up in the weeds, start cursing and grumbling because I didn't want to lose another jig, finally get it back in and start cussing my luck pulling all the salad off and what to my astonished eyes did appear but the biggest bucketmouth I ever did see lol...you bet your backside I stayed and fished the rest of the day.

It's not quite so bad as this, but I have to admit you aren't hatefully far off...deep winter through spawn gives you a reasonable chance at sticking a big fish, *IF* you can locate one...this does not apply the same in the frozen north as it does in other parts of the nation

I'm not sorry a bit, chap was doing no more than his duty and I wouldn't hold that against any man, besides, any man ballsy and skilled enough to get that close to me while I'm paying attention and not trying to do him any favors has earned my respect, no doubt about it, it wasn't personal, just business. My tours were 08-09 Kunar with the 1st ID, and also 10-11 with 10th Mountain