gunsinger

I unlock the reel to spin it backwards when the bail is not in the right position to catch the line with my finger. Other than that, I know of no good reason to unlock the reel. But, TBH, I don't fish spinning reels much.

I smoked for 20 years. Got started when I was managing a Waffle House at the age of 19. Stress was a major factor. Quit cold turkey in 1986. I honestly don't miss it though I do occasionally find myself taking a drag off my toothpick ?

@keagbassr If your only fish was 4lbs and up, that saved the day right? I was manning the back of a buddies boat for about 3 hours this evening. He was fishing deep water Carolina rigs, about the only setup I didn’t have. I managed to eke out two. The biggest was 2.52 lb.

Very nice.

Dang @A-Jay how many boats do you have to have to carry all those baits? ?

Hard day on the lake but I managed to put 8 on the boat. The big ones eluded me so I had to settle for this one as my only picture worthy catch of the day.

I fished the Tokyo rig (3/0) today. Caught 7 on it. Zero missed fish. All the hook sets were in the roof of the mouth. The bite was very slow today for all who were on the lake. But, I’m liking the setup. The bite was similar to a t-rig. The Tokyo was very weedless though I did manage to lose one rig on a 25 stump that refused to let go.

To be fair, TN has produced some quality players. Just need a few more of 'em and they'd be contending.

Top dog in the top conference. Why leave? Roll Tide!

SEC is just getting stronger....but the downside is, they'll beat themselves up through the regular season while other teams play a softer schedule.

Iffen I was only closer ?

I leave it loose.

No harm, no foul. @jimmyjoe

Touche. I didn't mean to come off as accusatory. Was just passing along what I'd read.

I'd fish any dock I could, especially for LMB and especially if there is deeper water nearby. Not sure about how Smallies relate to that kind of structure.

I read where it's not recommended to use a paper clip for two reasons. One, they rust and, two, many of them contain zinc, which is harmful to the fish/environment.

I do think are not understanding one part of this. The OP didn't say anything about his brother, I did. And I didn't teach him anything. He bought the shed using PayPal. Had he consulted me first, I would have attempted to dissuade him from making the purchase because I could clearly see that the site he bought from was a scam. I simply urged him to see if Paypal had any protection in place when the buyer was obviously scammed, fully expecting that Paypal could get their money back from the buyer. No bragging or bilking going on here.

I did KNOT know there were so many KNOTS.

Congratulations on catching your personal best @ThrowinPlugs

I just bought a couple VNC brand rigs. I’ll see how they perform on my lake and, if I like the way they work, I’ll start buying the material to make them myself myself.

I saw a Roland Martin video where he claimed all he tied was a uni-knot. I tied it a few times; it was fairly easy. I still favor the Palomar. When tied right (no crossed lines and everything pulled to the top, it’s as strong as any I’ve tied. Most break offs for me occur because I didn’t check the line for fraying.

Impressive fish. I'd likely pass out from the adrenaline rush.

I'll add in one other cautionary note about the Palomar. Be sure that the loop that is formed when you tie the overhand knot pulls all the way to the top of the hook eye after you pass the lure through it and before you cinch it down. I've had one strand of the loop get stuck at the bottom of the eye on occasion and if you cinch it down before addressing that, your knot will be weaken.

On the Palomar, I pull the main line and the tag at the same time. I also make certain that the tag doesn't fall out of the loop. After cinching it down with both, I pull on the main, probably harder with braid than i do with FC, and cut the tag. There are a lot of good videos out there on tying the Palomar and the double clinch so you can see it in action.

Congrats on the BBOTY (Biggest Bass of the Year) ?