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They're not high end, but they're not too bad either. I've definitely spent more on worse knives in my life. If you tell your wife they're made in Finland, she might even let you keep one in the kitchen.

And if it's not the bearing, try cleaning and lubing it with some Cal's drag grease or some other thick grease. That usually takes care of it. These reels aren't high speed devices, so you don't really need a lightweight grease.

Hardly anyone back reels anymore, instead relying on drag. So hardly anyone actually needs one for its original purpose. Most people that back reel these days, just do it to do what you're doing, which is giving you some more slack when you accidentally reel too much line in. And, as noted, you can get around that by pulling on the drag. So it's one of those cases where most customers would rather have the added reliability and savings over paying more for something they wouldn't ever use. Of course, they still make reels with an AR switch. But they're slowly going away. On the reels that I have that have them, I almost never use them. Nine times out of ten when I need one, I forget it's even there. Mostly because I have a spinning reel without one that I use a lot, so I've gotten used to not using that switch.

It's funny. So I too have a lot of fond memories of those old Zebcos and marvel at how durable they were. And I too complain that the new ones just aren't made to last and everything is a throwaway these days. BUT.... A brand new Zebco 33 today costs about $25. A brand new Zebco 33 in the year 1955 listed for about $19.50, or $224.41 in today's dollars. Which means it's about the equivalent of a modern day Shimano Curado MGL, Daiwa Tatula SV, or Abu Garcia Revo5. Which means, yeah, it was a higher quality reel back in the day. But you paid for that quality! Would you buy a modern day Zebco 33 that was built as good as the old ones for $225? I don't know that I would.

The Bass Pro XPS Boss Glide isn't bad. I haven't tried their Swerve Glide yet. Both are fairly cheap so they're easy to get into and figure out if this is something that's worth more time and money. As for how to fish them, there's really not much to it. The hard part is casting those heavy buggers. After that, just count it down and then give the reel about a half spin, pause, half spin, pause... Just cast it a few feet out in front of you and watch it move as you bring it back in, and you'll get the idea. You can also fish it on a straight retrieve or like a jerkbait, but the half spin, pause method seems to work best for me. Occasionally throw in a long pause, especially if you can see a fish chasing it. And varying the speed and whether you use a full half spin or more or less can change the action. Enough of a pull and you can get that bait to turn 180° or more. A smaller pull and it'll just slightly lean over to the opposite side. You've got a lot of control with them. I'm not a huge fan of glide baits anymore. They can be a lot of fun because of how much control you have over the bait, and they will hypnotize fish. Like you'll find some that follow that thing all the way back to the boat and not even notice you until you pull it out of the water. But you'll get a lot more followers than you will biters. And, for me at least, they're catfish magnets. I've caught maybe 10x more channel cats and just as many flatheads with glide baits as I have bass. I once caught a channel cat that was smaller than the glide bait, which made me laugh.

Honestly, I'm a big fan of teaching kids to fish with minnows, an aberdeen hook, and a Zebco 33. It's probably the easiest way to learn. Start off fishing at the dock. Move up to fishing on the bank with a bobber. Then move on artificial baits, like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and Texas rigged worms.

If that doesn't, there are trolling motor props made by APC Propellors (an RC airplane prop company) that you can use. I bought one (for about $10), and I don't remember the exact gain in speed, but it was significant. Just make sure to get the ones made for trolling motors, as they're left-handed and have the right shaft dimensions and whatnot. Of course, that depends on the amount of weight you're pushing. I'm fishing from a kayak at around 300 lbs., so I don't need the torque, even on my Endura C2 30.

I don't tournament fish, and I'm not rich. So I don't own a livescope. I also fully believe they are cheating and morally wrong... until I can afford one. Then I'll happily change my mind, because they look like they'd be pretty awesome! Though honestly, if I was tournament fishing, I think it would depend on when those tournaments are happening. Like in winter or the dead of summer, I don't think you'd stand a chance without one. When the bass go deep and suspend and don't want to bite, being able to see where they are and what they react to is HUGE. But during the spring and fall, I don't think it would matter much. I'm either fishing shallow or fishing deep structure where the fish are relating to the bottom and more predictable in their behavior. So I don't think it would do me much good in those circumstances. Sure, it's one more data point to help you make decisions. But sometimes too much information is a bad thing. You could easily find yourself chasing after a fish that wants to chase, but not commit, when without it, you'd just pass by, not knowing what was happening, and move more quickly onto more active fish. So it could easily hurt your chances under the right conditions. Then again, with enough experience, you'd probably learn what is and isn't worth your time. So if I was serious about kayak tournament fishing, I'd definitely get an FFS. But if I was just doing it for fun and the tournament was in the spring, early summer, or fall, I'd probably hold off and save my money, as I doubt it would make enough of a difference to pay for itself.

On social media, you can be anything you want... except honest. Nobody wants to see that.

Honestly, unless you run into a reason to switch lines, whatever you have is probably what you'll like best. That's my take. Just string something up and if it doesn't work, you'll know better for next time. Don't swap just because someone told you to. Swap because you have a reason.

Topwater colors don't matter much. To the bass below them, they're just shadows against the sky. Typically, the lightest and darkest colors (bone, black, or clear if the sun is shining) give the best contrast. But really, any color can work. I only have one and it's a bluegill pattern. As far as the bass know, it's a semi-transparent white, as that's what it looks like from their vantage point.

I did when I was younger. As I've gotten older, I've developed a more existential outlook on life. I've failed enough times at enough things that I'm comfortable in failure. I can accept that there are good days and there are bad days. We can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we feel about it. And all of those negative emotions don't benefit us, so there's no benefit in indulging in them. Seek and ye shall find, so, seek the good. Instead of getting mad at not catching a coho salmon, dream of the day that you do. Every time you fail is just sweetening the eventual time you succeed. The story of the hero who wins without trying isn't a story worth telling. The story of the hero that wins after failure after failure is the story we pass on. You're not failing to catch a coho salmon. You're writing a better story.

I won't ever enter into a tournament for reasons like this. Not even a friendly tournament. I won't even do a friendly wager with a friend. I want to keep it as pure and simple as possible. I don't want to get frustrated out on the water. I go to get away from pressure. I want to relax. I don't want to make it exciting. There's enough stimulation in modern life. I want to let go of my thoughts and embrace my instincts. Get back to my feral roots, lose myself, and blur the lines between me and nature. Now if others want to tournament fish, that's fine. I'm not suggesting it's wrong. I'm just saying that I've burned out of so many things in my life, and largely it was due to becoming too involved into it, until I sucked all of the joy that I once found in it. If you're not careful with your passion and allow yourself to deny yourself, you can become nose-blind to it. Nothing is special that is common.

A wise man once said: "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying." Another wise man once said: "You can't blame a guy for trying." Therefore, we can safely conclude: "You can't blame a guy for cheating." Unless you get caught. In which case, you will get blamed for cheating. And possibly arrested if there's money involved.

I just take a photo on my phone. It tracks time, date, and location. Get a picture of the lure in there too, and you have the lure and a good estimation of depth. Plus a relative size. If it's big enough, I'll get a picture of it on the scale too, but that's more for showing off than useful data. And to be honest, it's not that useful to me. It might be more useful if I also kept track of weather patterns, water temperatures, air pressure, wind direction and speed, etc. And you'd have to add to that that none of these lakes near me are natural lakes. They're all either power plant lakes or water reservoirs. And power plants around here will go active or inactive based on the current market prices of coal vs. natural gas, so you never know if one is going to run a lot one year, or hardly at all, and that will affect the water temperature and current speed outside of the weather. And since we don't invest much in infrastructure around here, you never know if a water treatment plant will go down, and then they have to divert water from one lake to another while they save up the money to eventually fix it. So water levels and temperatures aren't necessarily directly tied to the weather patterns and would need to be recorded as well. And with climate change, no two years seem to be similar anymore, weatherwise. In the last 15 years, we've had the hottest year on record, the coldest, the driest, and the wettest. And a couple of those records have been broken more than once. Ultimately, I think it's more hassle than it's worth for me. Plus, I'm an amateur doing it for fun. I don't WANT to make it a job.

My lakes are crowded enough that if you run into a problem like this, just yell at the next guy over for a tow. So long as you didn't steal his spot, he'll help you out.

I can't say for sure, but if I were in your shoes, I'd buy them and make them work. You might have to flex the metal a hair and drill some new holes, but I'd take the gamble. They're not really structural pieces, so I'd assume you can get away with a less than perfect fit, if you're not too concerned with aesthetics. But I've also never messed with trailer fenders before, so there might be something I don't know that would come back to haunt me. What's wrong with the old fenders? If they're just rusted a bit, it might be worth repairing them. A wire brush, drill, and rattle can can go a long way. Even if they've got some minor holes in them, they might still work. And you can often fix minor holes with JB Weld and some scrap steel. I mean, if you're not too concerned about the looks. Or go without fenders, depending on your state's laws and any laws of the states you plan to travel to.

True. I've battled depression for most of my life so far. Funny enough, my pattern seems to be getting depressed, losing interest in my hobbies, then at some point, channeling that depression and getting super deep into a hobby, and then working my way out of depression through the hobby. I'm not sure that one has a direct impact on the other, but there's definitely a relationship there. We can't change the past, but we can change the future. It might be a good time to re-evaluate. Actually, it's always a good time to re-evaluate. I'll say that what you're describing is very common. You don't have time to spend with your kids when they're young, and then as they become teenagers and want to break free, they suddenly don't have time to spend with you. "Cat's in the Craddle" by Harry Chapin is the definitive work on this subject. It's one of those guarantees of life like death and taxes. Still, if you're feeling something, then there's a reason for it. Explore what that is and why and what you can do about it. It's not worth regretting past mistakes, so don't focus on what's lost, but instead focus on what you have now and where you want to be in the future. You won't find a "solution", but you might find a better way.

Yeah. And not just with fishing, but lots of things. Music, painting, photography, woodworking, electronics, computer programming, just to name a few. If you dive too deep into anything you'll eventually burn out. At least that's my experience. But, if you truly love something, then it never really leaves you either. And you'll find your way back. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder", as they say. And there's nothing wrong with taking a step back every now and again. The important part is to not push yourself until your hobby becomes a chore. It's important to deny yourself some involvement to build anticipation. It's important not to lose track of what drew you to it in the first place. That's one of the great things about fishing for many of us; there's an off season. There's a natural time to walk away to help stave off burnout. But burnout can still happen. So just walk away if you're not feeling it. Forcing yourself to go when you don't really want to go will only make things worse. Enjoy some time away and find a new hobby. One day, you'll look back on fishing fondly again, as we as a species tend to hold on to good memories better than bad ones. So just as it's natural to burn out, it's natural to be drawn back in, looking to recreate the passion you once felt.

Yeah, next time hold the line further away or run it through a few guides. The further out you're stabilizing the line, the more even it will usually spool. But I wouldn't redo anything now. As noted, just fish it as is, and it should clear itself out. Worst case scenario, let out a bunch of line while trolling or bomb a cast and then walk back to unspool most of it, and then reel it back in. It should sort itself out unless you've got reel problems.

What I've found with EWG hooks is the ones that are offset have better hookup ratios. But the ones that are inline come through dense vegetation better and can often get more strikes because you can fish them in more places. So they both have a use for me and either one can catch more fish than the other. It just depends on where I'm fishing. As for brands, I'm not really brand loyal. My only rule is no Eagle Claw. I've been burnt by them too many times in the past to trust them ever again. I usually just go to the store and pick them out based on what's in stock, the size of the gap, the wire diameter and price. I typically either want a lot of gap or no gap, opting for one extreme or the other, rather than trying to find something that balances the two.

I'm not a brand loyalty kind of guy. But I am loyal to specific models within different brands. Rapala DT and Shad Rap Berkley Frittside and Dredger Stike King KVD Squarebills and XD That's probably about it. Of course I own quite a bit more, but those are my main crankbaits that get the most use.

Everyone's got their own preferred workflow. So long as it works, it works. I rarely use crimpers. I prefer to solder when possible. I also rarely use wire strippers, relying on my pocketknife. And I almost never use heat shrink, using liquid electrical tape instead. And instead of dielectric grease, I use silicone grease. But within those, I am pretty picky about having good tools. For instance, I use a specific blade on my pocketknife for stripping wire and keep it sharp, so I know how much pressure to use to cut the insulation without cutting the wire. It's not just a random pocketknife.

It probably depends on the lake and subspecies of bass in question. On my lakes, it's largemouth by a mile. There aren't nearly as many smallmouth bass, and they're extremely hard to find, due to all of the white bass. Plus they're hard to catch in these stained waters, even if you do find them. I can get on them every once in a while, but it's rare. Rare as in, some years I won't even catch a single smallmouth.

I buy the Costco glasses. I don't know if they come in progressives, but they tick all of the other boxes. Well, actually I know that they do come in progressives, but I don't know if they come in progressives AND transitions sunglasses at the same time. Also, they have name-brand frames if that matters to you. Costco glasses are pretty high quality, though their lenses tend to be a generation behind the best available. So they're likely going to be as good as your old glasses, but not quite as good as a brand-new, high-dollar pair would be. However, the price on them is really hard to beat. I can get a pair of regular glasses and a pair of transition, polarized sunglasses, both with AR and anti-scratch coatings for over $100 less than one pair of normal glasses at my old eye doctor. And, as an added bonus, I don't have to pay money to the Luxottica mega-corporation that's made eyewear so unnecessarily expensive through the powers of monopoly (who owns also Costa).