ACGOG

Pictures included:

Thanks for the tip! I've used Digitaka in the past for all my reels and have had great experiences. I'm hoping that someone will work a trade out with me as I don't ever use my Stradic anymore (it's a great reel though). It'd be great if someone else would get some use out of it!

Hope I'm not too late to this. YGK Soul Upgrade X-8 (the name is ridiculous) is by far the best braid I've used, hands down. It's tough as hell and is so incredibly smooth. The casting distance is also insane. It's a little expensive but it's lasted and I've had zero issues with it. It's also surprisingly not lost any of its color either. I'll see if I can take a video or something of the cast when I get the chance.

Yeah, my experience with casters has been awful but after doing a ton of research this seems like it'd be the best one to start with to make sure everything goes smoothly. I wish I had a better reel to trade for it though as I'm not sure anyone really wants to downgrade, but I'm not in a rush so we'll see!

Howdy! I think I'm finally ready to dip my toe into the baitcaster world. After doing a ton of research I think the Curado DC is an ideal place to start and will help prevent a lot of the issues I've had messing around with baitcasters in the past. I have a Shimano Stradic CI4+ 2500 that was recently serviced and had all of the bearings replaced (and hasn't been used since) that I'd ideally like to trade + $100 for it, which hopefully is enough to swing in your favor. I'd also consider just buying it outright if the price was right (I have twins due in August though so trying to keep costs down ?). Thanks! Quick Edit: Realize there's a bunch of different Shimano DC reels out there. Happy to add cash as appropriate. I also have a Daiwa Exist that I'd *possibly* be open to trading for a higher-end reel as well.

I agree, 100%. It's probably just muscle memory but that doesn't mean they can't break the habit! I wrote MLF this morning (probably should have done that first) to see if they would consider implementing a rule against it. I'll report back if I hear something, but it seems like it's universally despised - which is great ?.

I very explicitly looked at the Bass Pro Tour rules and guidelines and there's nothing in there about the proper way to handle a fish. That's a big reason I wanted to bring this up as BR is the absolute biggest bass forum on the internet. Maybe someone will see this? I don't know but I'm glad to see others here are in the same boat, and lots of good fish pics holding them the right way too ?.

Yes, this is the pic I was talking about and was definitely careful to say it's not as bad as some of the other examples out there. It's a smaller fish so you're right, but again, a newer angler or someone visiting the site for the first time might not understand all the nuances behind it. Same with pro-tour anglers. That's why it'd be nice to see if a best practice could be implemented, or at the very least recommended.

Call me a bleeding-heart type or whatever, but when I see a professional angler do the horizontal lip hold where it looks like the bass' jaw is about to snap off it irritates me. Hell, right on the front page of BR is a decent example (though it's not as bad as some of the others I've seen) and it was done repeatedly at the Bassmaster Chickamauga and St. Johns tournaments. I personally think it looks ridiculous, but somehow it became the "cool" way to show off a catch even though it's been proven that holding a fish horizontally greater than 10* without a second hand to support it can dislocate or even break a fish's jaw. I know I watch tournaments where it's done all the time and I think it sets a bad precedence for people who might not know better. I don't know how absurd this ask is, but I don't see anything in tournament rules anywhere about proper handling of bass. Is there a way to get one implemented or get some eyes on the subject? I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way. If I'm missing some info out there that steps are being taken that'd be great to know too but I figured trying to talk about it here would be a good place to start.

Thanks for the insight! I switched my reel from one pole to the other, so the same line and everything (12lb Sniper Fluoro). They both use the Spiral-X technology or whatever. However, I did double-check them and it looks like I got them mixed up. The NRX is Medium-Heavy, Ex-Fast. The CNQ is actually Medium, Fast. For some reason I thought they were both Medium so I need to update my post. I would have thought a Medium-Heavy would be less sensitive though? But maybe that means it's more stiff?

I hate gut hooking fish. Absolutely hate it. Every time I pull a bass out of the water and I don't see the hook poking out of the mouth, I couldn't care less how big it is - I just want to get the hook out. Up until recently, I've only had it happen a couple of times. The rod I have been using forever for my Senkos, TX Rigs, and recently Ned Rigs is my trusty NRX 803s. I love this thing. After my experience with the NRX, I turned into a bit of a G.Loomis fanboy so I thought spending the money on a Conquest was a no-brainer. I picked up an 842s second hand, and a member here was kind enough to trade me a 782s. The 782s has become my new Senko/TX/Ned Rig rod for the past two weeks. With this rod, however, the past two times I've picked up a smaller fish and didn't even realize it was there until I went to pull back to get a little action on the bait. I always keep a close eye on my line but I'll also occasionally look for action elsewhere on the water or near to where I'm standing while I'm slowly reeling it in. On my NRX I'll feel the little nibbles or the bite and then snap my attention back to set the rod and reel it in. On the CNQ this is proving to be substantially more difficult, which I find extremely odd. Since I switched I've gut hooked 3-fish - one more than I can recall in all of my years of fishing. I'm using the exact same reel and the exact same line that I was on the NRX. The only thing I can think of is that the NRX is a Medium-Heavy/Extra Fast Action while the CNQ is a Medium/Fast. I mean, could it just be the CNQ isn't as sensitive as the NRX is? I know there's a lot of debate as to if "sensitivity" is actually a thing or a marketing gimmick, but I feel like I really can't feel as much as I could on the NRX. Maybe I'm just subconsciously fishing differently or something, I don't know. Maybe the fish are just hitting the lures more aggressively now? I've thought about switching to barbless or circle hooks, but I've read circle hooks aren't good for bass because they require the fish to eat it and then swim away. Sorry for the long post, just getting a bit frustrated and hoping for some insight. Edit: Got the power and tip actions mixed up.

So quick update... it did not work. The bass don't want to have anything to do with anything, and in fact swim away from every. single. lure. I can see their beds very clearly, and even when I plant the ned/senko directly in it they won't touch it. They just swim hesitantly around it. Never seen anything like it, but guess I'm just going to have to wait for them to move out.

Sweet dude, thanks! I'll give it a shot!

Hoping to get a bit of advice before my spots all get destroyed with the upcoming tournaments. I've been on a bit of a dry-spell as of late and haven't caught anything in almost two weeks. I went from catching bass like crazy to nothing (though I managed to snag a nice white drum). My go-to's are baby bass/watermelon colored senkos, lipless shad and craw crankbaits, green pumpkin and watermelon red flake rage craws, and a couple different swim baits... and I've gotten nothing. I went to one of my old stomping grounds remembering that there were bass beds and sure enough saw a ton of them including a whopper or two and exactly the same issue. They wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything I was throwing. What's the deal? Do I have to wait another few weeks until they move away from their beds to catch anything? Don't get me wrong, I'm loving this weather and the worst day of fishing is always better than a day in the office but I'd like to grab something lol

^^^ This guy! I'm using an NRX + Stella combo with Super FC Sniper 12lb. I've tried a bunch of different fluoro lines and (in my opinion of course) Sunline is so much better than all of them. Absolutely love the setup and if I could only use one rod/reel/line combo for the rest of my life it'd be this one. If you like braid, YGK G-soul X-8 feels like you're casting butter.

Can I hijack this for half a second? I was getting ready to make a post myself (I'm also in ATX). The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past few days and I've managed to sneak out to go fishing on Lake Travis early in the morning. I can see the fish - including what was possibly the biggest bass I've ever seen - but they have *zero* interest in anything I'm throwing. Watermelon Flake Rage Craw's/Senko's, slow-moving lipless (both craw and shad colored), smaller chatterbait, and even my go-to when I'm catching nothing and don't want to go empty handed, Baby Bass Senko. I've tried pulling it past them and even bonked one on the head with it and they couldn't care less. Any tips??? I really want to catch that mama-jama I saw and might even wear some trunks to jump in if I have to ?

Boy oh boy. No it doesn't lol. I started on a yak that was probably not as nice as yours. Enjoyed it, upgraded it... but then started eyeballing other yaks with more features. I just recently went from a Field and Stream Black Friday special for $400 to a Jackson Coosa HD. Nothing wrong with the previous yak, just wanted more features because I made the mistake of doing research and one thing led to another... Then I started looking at mini-power poles... and then found out you can put small trolling motors on the Coosa... and it has a dedicated scupper hole for a fishfinder... It's bad man.

Booooooy do I know that feeling man. I can just kind of tell though because it arcs way higher than it should and I wind up just standing there like a dumb*ss with my jaw dropped before I start cursing again ?

I don't use live bait but my buddies do. One night we were on a lake up near Dallas on his boat night fishing. I don't know if it was the under-lights on the boat or the speed he was going but I noticed the shad were jumping like crazy. I held a net over the side of the boat to see what would happen and caught hundreds of them in a single go. He had bait for a good while ?.

Hey ya'll, thanks for all the tips!!! Turned out it was the knot. Big thanks to @rtwvumtneer6, @txchaser, @AManWearingAHat and @Spankey (sorry if I missed anyone else who mentioned it). I took what RT said originally and tied a palomar knot for the first time. I had zero issues fishing my replacement lure for hours. Side note, I gotta say that I'm absolutely loving braid. This is the first time I've used it as I mostly avoided it for visibility reasons but saw it recommended for crankbaits, etc. and holy smokes - the cast on it is absolutely insane. I couldn't tell you the distance but I find myself able to hit the bank on what feels like 100+ feet away and super smooth the whole time. I'll keep using fluero for my TX rigs since Lake Travis is clear as day most of the time and the bottom is super rocky but I keep eyeballing it and thinking what my TX rig rod would look like with braid ?. Thanks again everyone, going to save me a few bucks in the future lol.

Wound up finding a solution. The tongue weight wasn't the problem it turns out. Somewhere down a forum page somewhere in the recesses of the internet someone mentioned pulling off the bottom leaf of the springs. I did that last night and it works like an absolute champ now. I don't plan on ever hauling 1k+ lbs worth of stuff so I'll take the smooth ride and if I ever have the need to do that later I'll figure it out then. Honestly wouldn't have been able to troubleshoot it without everyone's advice here so I appreciate everyone who popped on here to say something.

Okay so I asked someone on YouTube who had done am extension and he said that my weight distribution is probably wrong, that I need 10-15% of the trailer weight on the tongue. How would I do that? I wish I wasn't such a noob.

I'll have to give that a go. I did the q-tip thing and didn't have any issues: no nicks or pulls on the cotton (that's what I'm looking for, right?).

Hey all, This is probably dumb I know, but I've used soft-plastics forever and am trying to diversify my portfolio. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong but I keep losing Strike King Red Eye'd shad lures - and those lures only. I'm getting real tired of casting it only to watch it sail across the water and sink while I stare at my empty line. I tie it to the ring at the top of the lure, and do my standard improved clinch knot (which has been working for years) on 30lb braid and 7/10 times I lose the lure, either during the cast or recently when I hooked a fish. I've looked at the line and it looks frayed with no indication of memory from it being loose. Should I not be using the clinch knot? Am I casting it too far/hard? Should I remove the ring and tie it directly to the lure? Am I using too light of a braid? Any help would be appreciated as it's embarrassing how many times I've replaced these lures in the past few weeks (plus I don't like littering).

Dumb question, how do I do this? Bring it to like an NTB or Discount Tire? Do I need to bring the trailer itself or just the tires?