Tackleholic

I fish for enjoyment. I enjoy trying out new lures, rods, reels, etc.. Even when I know others are catchin' them with certain methods and lures while I'm blanking out, I will usually continue my own way. I have the boat, electronics, and experience to cover all bases, but some methods are unappealing. For example, I don't enjoy "video game fishing". Drop shotting, Damiki, jigging spoons, live bait, etc., are boring to me and I'm not entering tournaments or concerned with filling the freezer because that would turn my hobby into a job.

We are turning over right now in North Central Arkansas.

No Tatsu available on sale today😒.

Three which come to mind. In a boat alone on a dark night, Hayward Wisc.; kept hearing a soft splash, splash. Finally hit a spotlight and there was a bear about 3 feet away, must have smelled my Walleye. Sleeping alone in the woods, in a WW2 Jungle Hammock, a Bobcat screamed, sounded like it was right next to me. Bank fishing late at night, two Racoons got into a fight; sounded like people were being murdered.

I only use microguides when using no leader. From all the replies, general opinions are for smaller diameter line, larger eyelets, and/or learn the FG knot. I'll try, but know I won't like it; especially learning the FG knot. Thankyou everyone.

Relating to baitcasting with 30# braid and 15-20# leaders. I use an Alberto Knot and I'm pretty good at tying and trimming it. Sometimes that little catch of the knot going through rod guides will cause a backlash. A fresh leader will typically be the length of rod tip to reel, getting shorter with each re-tie; I replace them when they reach about 3 feet, and it seems a backlash is more likely to occur with a short leader. Do any of you experience this and do you have a cure?

Triple willow or quadruple willow when around lots of tiny shallow shad. Only problem is sometimes the bass bite only the blades.

Thankyou for all the ideas; I will try them one at a time and post back when I find the solution. To begin, I have swapped out the front treble on one lure. That lure already had short shank #2s and I could not find a shorter shank so I replaced the front with a #2 wider gap. Happened to have the exact hook on hand that FishTank recommended.

Photo?

I used that line in 4# and 6# for years; the only reason I changed is it had more stretch than I wanted.

Happened with me too. Really sucked.

I have some belly weighted hooks by Davis, had them awhile, that seem to be lighter wire than most.

All good with a Zillion; why confuse things by going shotgun. All is good with a Zillion, why confuse matters by by going shotgun? All is good with a Zillion; why confuse matters by going shotgun? No need to feed the bait monkey.

That's a start.

You will surely learn.

Twice I paid Guides so they could go fishing themselves. They rigged up my friend and I with the same lure as on his rod, then they ran the trolling motor and made the first cast to every target. I never hired or referred either of them again.

I bet you will like the left hand retrieve once you give it a chance.

Not used in close to 40 years? Sounds like something I would do.

Agreed, I used to have the same problem. I now use a golf score counter and simply give it a click each time I catch a fish. When I get home, my OCD takes over and I record everything, I do mean everything, about the day. 100% agree.

Interesting, Bankc; I never would have thought about a longer hook.

I've watched weigh ins on my lake where fish obviously have the bends and are released belly up with no attempts to fizz them; makes me very angry. It is also my observation that tournament participants who do not call this lake Home, care much less about needlessly killing fish than do the locals.

I have a lot of wake baits, but yesterday I was throwing a Berkley Wakebull and 6th Sense 4" jointed whatever the name is. I have the problem with most wake baits due to the straight up and down short lip; sooner or later that front treble hangs up on the lip.

I fish a lot of wake baits; prefer them to most forms of topwater. The only downside I have is the front treble often hangs up on the lip of the lure, especially in windy conditions. Do any of you change out the stock front treble to a shorter shank or even a single hook to prevent this? I would like to hear about your modifications, if any. Thanks y'all.

Took it out today for a trial run, paired with a Zillion SV. Did not try it with a jerkbait, instead I used a couple of small cranks that I would only throw on a spinning rod; it bombed those lures way, way out there. Impressive! If you want to sell your rod for the same $75 I paid for mine, I'm in the market for another.

That brings up another question : Are the Edge Rods by G Loomis comparable to the original G Loomis rods? Is Gary Loomis really designing them?