Tackleholic

For many years I spooled with 15# fluorocarbon from one of the most recognized line brands. Sometimes I would become hopelessly snagged, but when trying to break off, the line would stretch so much that I could not, even when wrapping the line around a dowel and walking the length of my 21 ft. boat. I read an article on this site which compared line stretch tests and promptly switched brands; problem solved. My spools of the "stretchy stuff" are now used only for leaders when I'm spooled with braid.

I have well over 200 storage boxes, mostly the Plano ProLatch and I recently picked up 30 more of a Chinese brand from a fly fishing shop going out of business; .25 cents each and just as good as the Planos. I keep some dry packs in every box, but I still leave wet lures hanging in the boat until they dry. Works for me.

The 3 wheel trailer jack; where did you get that?

I'm 82 and the bow pedestal seat absolutely kills my back. Yesterday I ordered a stand up seat which adjusts from 45to 90 degrees, mostly used as a fighting seat in salt water; hope it works. I will take advice from the BR member who recently said he keeps the trolling motor remote control on his person, always; this in case he falls overboard with the trolling motor set on auto.

Have you tried salt water fishing sites?

I would like to see tournaments begin a No Cull rule; that would really upset the apple cart, but add a new challenge and save a lot of mortality.

I have not tried it yet, but I read where a regular old bell sinker works too. I plan to give this method a shot later this year, right now the fish are too deep.

Fast forward from 1/11 to 1/31, regarding trolling motor wedges. Vexus now has the 5 degree wedge available in their parts dept.. New boats can now be ordered with one molded into the gelcoat.

Isn't that called a Free Rig?

Zoom Z Craw Jr., color 420 California, 1/4 ounce red/black football jighead with a 3/0 sickle hook. I hoard those jigheads because I can't find them anymore.

I've lived with lactose intolerance for longer than I can remember; it's getting worse as I age. The gas and bloating has to find an exit point and can be quite embarrassing when it does. I live alone with my dog, and she has learned to deal with it.

Being a newbie to jerks (that's how I label them) , buy a few in the low to mid price range. Fish them hard until you feel you are pretty good with their use. At that point splurge for a couple 110's. Chances are you will become another Megabass 110 only guy.

"or a lot more really good video game fishermen out there".

Very sadly, my percentage is dropping each year. I moved to this well known Ozarks lake 13 years ago. There were 7 pounders being caught and 6 pounders were common. It's been years since I heard of a 7 pound LM or 6 pound SM. These past two years I've accounted for two 6# LM and two 5# SM, I'm a catch and release guy. The number of tournaments seems to increase yearly, and I think of the study done in Alabama which concluded that between 40% and 50% of weighed in tournament fish do not survive, and those are the largest ones caught. Add that to mishandling for photos and all the fish fry seekers. These days 4# is a big fish and they are getting scarcer; mostly 1-3 pounders being caught. There is more than enough forage. Sad to hear of similar declines in other lakes.

Since much of this conversation has been about discarded fishing line, I'll bring up some of my major dislikes; abandoned trot lines, brush lines, and jug lines. Trolling motors hang up in them, lures are lost, casts are redirected around them; I came across a dead deer wrapped in one, and fish are left to rot. The laws state the lines must be checked regularly, but it's obvious they are not, and many have no ID tags. It is illegal to tamper with those abandoned lines, so I wont say that I ever have.