Fastbee

Come to your attention how? By reading what other say or by your own personal experience? Have you bent out hooks with a fish on? I've been using lighter wire hooks for years on my A-rigs. The lighter wire allows me to straighten the hook when snagged without losing the whole deal. I've caught 100s of A-rig fish including many 20+ lb striped bass and multiple 40+ inch muskie and have yet to have a bent hook cost me a fish. So like a couple of others have said I think you're overthinking the whole deal. I've never cared where the line tie is, doesn't seem to matter. I use two setups for A-rigs: Powell Max 3d 7115 rod, old Curado 200B greenie reel loaded with 20 lb Big Game. The rod is a little softer since it's a crankbait rod but I like it for shallower situations where I'm working the rig faster. Powell Endurance 795, Tatula 150 reel loaded with 20 lb Big Game. I use this one for slower/deeper situations. This rod is a little stouter despite both being 5 power. That little extra is useful when a real hookset is needed.

TnRiver46 - the coal is burned to heat water to produce steam that turns the turbines to make electricity. In a nuke plant the reactors heat water to make steam to turn the turbines. Hydro plants skip the need for steam and use the water itself to turn the turbines. Since coal and nuke need water for steam there will be cold water intake and warm water discharge for both. The warm water discharge at Kingston didn't go horribly wrong, the ash storage did. Separate from that, TVA wasn't doing a good job meeting the warm water discharge requirements, not for toxicity but the temps were too high. Tennessee Dept of Environment and Conservation finally started enforcing the regulations after years of basically ignoring it. The fishing was MUCH better when it was warmer and running all winter. Bull Run was at one time slotted to be closed in the near future due to the cost of clean air controls. OP - I used to love fishing the warm water discharges. The ones around here were much like you described, lots of fish but not many big ones. The only exceptions were some mondo striper and musky near the Bull Run discharge.

It wasn't at a warm water discharge at all. The fly ash was from burning the coal. It is mixed with water when captured in the scrubbers and transferred to holding ponds to prepare it for final removal. One of the pond dams broke, allowing the slurry to escape into the river. It was never designed to be discharged the way it was and the warm water discharge is a totally independent process. I live a few miles from the Kingston and Bull Run steam plants. There is limited warm water discharge from each but not like it used to be (frequency of discharge as well as temperature of water).

That's not even remotely the same thing and I don't believe it played any part in the stoppage of most warm water discharges. I seem to remember the state permits for discharge water expired for the nuke/coal plants and the TVA had trouble meeting the tighter temperature ranges or something like that. I don't recall any disasters around here caused by warm water discharges...

Lack of resources isn't a direct cause for lack of success. As usual, Catt nailed it. Time spent fishing is the single most important thing to getting better. When I was able to fish 3-5 times a week I was SO much better than I am now only fishing maybe 1 time a week. I was a broke kid fishing out of a leaky aluminum boat (when I had enough money for gas) or off the bank. Only had a handful of hand-me-down combos and a few baits but I learned to maximize what I had. Also, if there isn't anything there to catch it wouldn't matter if you had better stuff or a "pro" to learn from.

Early on I had lots of success. Three of my uncles fished alot and usually found time to take me. I started as a co-angler in a small club (two of the three uncles fished in this club) when I was 13. I won some money here and there and usually caught fish. I qualified for the Tennessee Federation state tournament at 15. I got a leaky 17' Bass Tracker when I turned 18 and quit fishing the club tournaments and moved into the local boat ramp wildcats. I can't tell you how much money I won out of that boat. I fished almost every day and at least 3 tournaments a week for a couple of years. When I finished up with college I got a "real" boat and planned to start fishing bigger local/regional events. Due to my job I wasn't able to fish nearly as much and my fishing winnings suffered. I've never regained the success I had then. As I was more able to afford better equipment I've upgraded boats, rods, reels and tackle over the years but have gotten worse at fishing. This year was the worst I've had in 20 years, I haven't cashed a single check and this weekend is the 2 day championship for the local trail I fish. My partner and I have been fishing together for 30 years ( he's like my little brother) and we've decided we have to get back to our old style and stop trying to catch fish like everyone on YouTube and Bass masters. We still enjoy the time together and the competition but without success it hasn't been nearly as fun...

I guess I've never understood statements like this. I'd never depend on the reel to move a fish out of cover like that, that's what the rod is for. When in heavy cover my reel is only used to take up line. At some point you should really consider your own experiences with your gear and how it fishes. Seems like you are always on here asking what everyone else does (despite claiming to own a bunch of high dollar gear). Do you never use it? I'd think by now you would understand what you like and how to determine what works...

At least you didn't ask what the best set up was for skipping! I stopped replying on here and another site because the technique trumps the gear all day everyday. Anyway, my stuff is loose on the Shimanos. Spool has side to side play, internal brakes are basically off and external dail is whatever it happens to be on. Daiwa SVs are similar, very little braking from the reel. Too much tension will make the lure fly high and left (assuming you cast right handed, opposite of you're a lefty) and too much braking will limit your distance. If I had to choose, start with low tension and higher braking, especially with lighter lures. I've suggested in the past high tension/low brakes when learning but that's with heavier baits that are easy to skip. Once you get the stroke, loosen it up. I still blow up a reel here and there but not very often.

On the Garmin Echomap units you have to make sure you're dropping the waypoint on the cursor and not the boat position. It actually takes an extra step to ensure the waypoint is on the cursor. There is an icon on the top right of the screen to put the waypoint on the cursor rather than boat position.

100% agree with the above. Getting that "feel" is critical and practice is the only way to get it.

Swindle hasn't won on the Elites...his only win was an Open about 10 years ago. Livesay is much more than a Fork specialist, as mentioned above he won on Chick last year and just won an open on Barnett. The guy is good!

One very important thing to remember is to practice with the same body position as you'll fish. Standing on a bucket skipping in your driveway (simulating fishing out of a boat) will not help you much if you are fishing from the bank or in a float tube. The rod angles will be different. The acquired muscle memory will be different. That's the main reason I always preach to learn on the water instead of poring over videos.

It's not that...I use mono all the time without incident. Two things will help you out on swim jig hookup ratio: 1. Wait until you feel the pressure of the fish. I actually reel into the fish after the strike to take up all the slack before my rod moves. Hit 'em hard when you do set the hook. 2. Pay close attention to the sharpness or the hook and position of the trailer on the jig.

Haha...I've tried the most popular models from Sierra to Champion Extreme HP and they never stick around. Like I said, they are fine rods it's just a personal preference thing. I wouldn't hesitate to use my SLX MGL for frogs or flipping, it's a strong performer for the money.

The only thing I've successfully paired with a Dobyns rod is a FOR SALE sign! They are fine rods, just not for me I guess. I did have a Champ XP 736 last year for frogs and paired it with a JDM Bantam XG. It was a good combo, but I feel like the SLX would be fine. I also really like the 2020 Daiwa Tatula SV TW103. 50lb braid is the heaviest I use and have never felt like I needed more for frogs.