PhishLI

My local spots are tough too. Most were streams or creeks, now dammed, that flowed out to the ocean. Some still have eels and at least one has a newly installed fish ladder to let the alewife migrate back in. They're all shallow and weed ckoked. Throw in massive pad fields, water chesnut, and other wicked shrubbery and it's a challenge. Treble baits are almost impossible to throw after late June. I'll be able to throw Dark Sleepers until June and then it's over for it and any open hook bait. The baits in the pic I uploaded do the best here. Most come through the worst of it very well even after the grass has been draped with algae. The swing head ewg jigs are more likely to get caught up in the thicker algae. I drag in huge, slimy, green wigs with them occasionaly, but for the most part I can rip them through the majority of the weeds. I can't explain why the Beast Coast Miyagi with it's shape comes through everything so cleanly, but it does. All the baits shown below are fish catchers around here. The Hazedong Shad is killa everywhere.

This afternoon was perfect. Overcast. Mild wind. Slight ripple. ZilchO. Tonight: Darkness. The Mattlures 6" Hardgill. Boom.

Good sense of humor, man! Glad your reel isn't defective.

February night time bass on a Matt Lures 6" Hard Gill.

Unfortunately, not scientific at all. IPT will tell you nothing for a number of reasons. Put a marker down where the lure landed and measure the difference between reels if you don't want to hassle with measuring the actual distance.

Yes. 2020 model.

It's a new model. It looks to be the replacement for the Tournament MB and sports the dual supported P2 pinion. A good thing.

The IMAs don't suspend like a typical SP jerk. It's more of a slow sink depending on water temp.. This gives you options as to how you can fish it, especially over weeds and shrubbery, because it doesn't sink like a rock. Great bait. My 3rd best producer last winter and early spring. I bought a pile for this year.

Caliglide Customs Bluegill

6th Sense has their version out now. Quake suspending lipless crankbait.

This makes many shallow bodies around here extremely challenging/frustrating to fish and rules out many presentations including entire categories of baits. 70 miles east of me the lakes are totally different with very different species of veg and are way more fishable with a wide range of lures. I can use much lighter line out there with the only danger being that a humongous Pickerel will slice me off.

I beat my Fuego CT 8 speed like a dog while frog fishing choked pads fields for 2 seasons. It's still smooth on the retrieve.

I can't say why exactly but I had a bad habit of pointing my rod directly at the lure when I first started throwing chatterbaits. Especially on straight chuck and wind retrieves. Hookups were terrible. I'm now in the habit of instantly indexing to the right or left once the bait hits the water which brings my rod about 90 degrees to the line. Hookups went up like crazy. The reason is obvious..

The lake I fish the most holds big Bass, big Pickerel, and big Perch. If you fish this place during the daytime, except Sunday afternoons, you might come away believing it's sterile. During the week and Saturdays it seems almost impossible to catch anything except carp and bluegill. It's not impossible of course, but very close. Fish at at dusk and into the night and your reward might be great. It comes alive. You can absolutely hammer them. My group of hardcores that fish here consistently have been skunked and stumped as to why the daytime bite is so tough. We know better but still try. I've met so many daytime fisherman there who are not in my group that are totally frustrated. They're positive the lake is fished out. I thought about this subject for quite a while and have come to a conclusion: There's a major roadway that runs parallel to the length of the lake just outside the tree line. The traffic on this highway is non stop. There's an endless drumbeat of tires clipping expansion joints. You can feel it if you're on that side. This slows down dramatically at 7:30 pm. This also coincides with the bite turning on, for the most part, depending on a number of other factors. One night it could be 8:00 pm and the the next might be 9:10, and so on. Maybe this environmental noise factor represents one element of pressure the fish here have adapted to and shut down until it passes? But if you can put in those later hours, and are not spooked by being in the woods at night, the catch rate is great. The bite window shifts, but the bite can be awesome. If you catch one you'll probably catch more. They "seem" to come in and feed in waves, then recede in unison. There also "seems" to be a hot 40 minute window, then poof, they're gone. Please note the quotes around "seems", especially Tom(WRB). The other night my buddy had a gut feeling and hit it at 3:45 am and had a bonanza. This never happens during the day there for any of us and others AFAIK. BTW, vibrating baits work great at night. Ribbon tail worms, paddletail swimmers, and chatterbaits do the best. Wakes and glides work too

Jackall Dowzswimmer and Hudd 68 Special weedless.

Superduty Wide spool.

No. In this case moderate fast isn't anywhere near moderate like a dedicated crankbait rod. During actual fishing a little delay can often be a good thing as you're less likely to rip the bait out of the fish's mouth if you jump the gun on the hookset. The 795 has plenty of backbone, and quickly enough, to drive the hook home. Plenty. I lost exactly 2 big fish last year throwing larger profile weedless rigged swimmers on 6/0 superline hooks. An Owner Beast hook is like a finishing nail with a point. I caught plenty more on the same setup. It's far lighter and and only slightly faster than the 795. You'll be fine. So will I.

After having a tracking # for 3 weeks that never indicated that the package was released to the shipper, today my brother had his bank claw back the money. Oh well.

MS slammer mini. Tasty.

Great reel. I'm happy. You'll be happy.

The ideal treble hook rod and the ideal single hook rod are two different things. Is there a rod that straddles that line perfectly? I dunno. The rod I fish with the most when I wade is the lowly one three omen black II 7'3" MH. I have no problem driving home a 6/0 Owner Beast hook through a Beast Coast Miyagi with that rod. The FR795SB is a barbell compared to it. I'll have no problem with the 795 and single hook baits. None.

That's cool. Mike Bucca agrees with you. I differ. I own and use the 795 and don't find it's taper as moderate as I'd like for treble baits, so not ideal for me. It's not real fast but it ain't real slow either, man. I made adjustments after several shakeoffs and I'm good for now. If I'm out on the boat I'll be throwing those same baits on the 806sb or the DX MH.

In the price range of 100$-130$ the DX and the 795SB are solid choices. I just see the 795 as more of a single hook rod. But that's just my observation. You need to understand that enthusiast forums tilt towards recommending the "ideal" anything. The 795 is do-able with treble baits for sure, just not ideal. I prefer throwing them on my brother's DX MH. It's not an ideal larger single hook stick but's close enough for me and deals with treble baits better than the 795. Either will suit your purposes. For practical purposes I chose the 795. We can adapt to anything. The wizard I referenced in my previous post has very little in the way of a fishing budget. He fishes with specifically incorrect, for what he throws, 20+ year old hand me down gear and out fishes everyone I've ever known. So don't let my suggestion tangle you up. Get what you can afford, or as in my case, fits in your vehicle.

It depends on the type of grass in your lake and the algae too. I can't use them in the warmer months at all. This winter was not cold enough long enough to kill off some of the grass and lots of the algae. I can't throw a Ned in my spots, so a swing head is out of the question. I just end up dredging slime and grass. It's still too cold to be picking off muck after each cast.

Around here, L.I. NY, 8 pounds is a monster. 5 pounders are not an everyday thing by any stretch but I get enough of them. Personally I'm sticking to smaller swim baits in the 1.5oz through 4.5oz range. Up to 6" max, but more like 5". My brother just got a Deps 250 and a few others in that size and weight range. In my circle a few guys, but one in particular, do quite well swimbaiting. That particular guy is a bit of a wizard though. He has the ability to divine water and find fish with any bait. I've never seen anyone like him. But he does great on baits like the Ganteral jr, Tiny Klash, 7" Slammer, and even on an old school AC plug. He's not throwing any really big baits. We have a lake that holds some 14"-16" crappie and they even hit those lures. So do the Walleye. It's crazy to see it. All of my best fish from last season, and a few were tanks, came on small paddle tail swimmers between 3"-5". I know that trend is likely to continue. Swimbaiting is just a challenge to catch one on something different and big. It's definitely not an end all for me. Although it could happen, it's probably not your most likely path to catching the fish of a lifetime, IMO. But the idea of it is fun. Think of it that way and remain realistic in your spending on it. I know a few guys that have absolutely lost their minds buying this stuff. I've already spent too much on it and I'm not even close to those dudes. I have the 795. I would've gotten a Daiwa DX MH instead, but I can't transport it easily at 8' long. The 795 fits in the truck though, so I went with that. If you go with a 795 use mono and tone down the drag when throwing treble hook baits to compensate for it's stiffness.