gunsinger

I always avoid crossing the lines. I've seen it more with Flourocarbon but crossing the lines puts additional stress on the knot. I've always done 5-6 wraps with the double clinch.

I hope you get your rods. If you don't, don't count on Paypal to make you whole. My brother used Paypal on a "too good to be true" 15x12 plastic shed...."installed." Suffice to say, once they got his Paypal payment, he never heard from them again. I urged him to contact Paypal and get his payment revoked. Either he did something wrong, or they don't protect you like I thought. They kept telling him, "Send a copy of the return receipt showing you've returned the merchandise and we'll refund your money." Of course, he had no return receipt because he never got anything to return. Maybe he just didn't do a good job of explaining that he had been scammed.

I've tied the Palomar on all my braid without issue. My process is the same as yours and I've never had it to break. I'm pulling pretty hard because I'd rather it break in the boat than in the water with a PB on the other end. The double clinch is a good one too.

Having had to put down our Golden Retriever, Lucky, a few months ago, I know the pain one feels. They're not just a pet, they become part of the family. Our Yorkie is probably in her last year and i'm not looking forward to that day. Condolences for your loss.

My house was hosting the show choir seniors meeting last night; 20 boys and girls plus the directors. It was made clear that I needed to make myself scarce. It was a bit rainy off and on (no lightning) so I figured fishing was a better use of my time than hiding in my bedroom. The show choir director's husband agreed so, off we went. We got in a couple of hours and only caught 5 between us. This was the last, and best, fish of the night. Sadly, it was so dark by this time, I could not see the line movement and never felt him so he ended up taking the boat ride home to his new resting place in my freezer. His passing was odd though. Despite being hooked deep, i was able to successfully extract the hook without bloodshed or obvious damage to his gills. But, by the time I put him back into the water, he was a floater. I didn't think I kept him out too long but maybe I did, which begs the question, how long is too long for a fish to be out of the water?

Good to hear.

If fish go in my livewell, it’s because they’re to be eaten. Otherwise, it’s a quick pic (if they’re pic worthy) and back in the water to be caught another day.

My brother and I caught the same fish … on the same trip about 30 minutes apart. It had a very distinctive scar that couldn’t be missed.

My Lowe didn’t come with any tubing for rods in the locker. The Ranger right beside it did but was $2k more. To save the $2k, I made my own tubes.

Got out and tried the Free Rig today after watching @Glenn’s video. Caught 4 on it with the one below being the best of the lot. I found it hard to detect the bite but it may have been because they were cruising and picking it up on the fall. My only clue came from line movement. Caught a total of 6 but only one was picture worthy.

Welcome to the gang.

I see what you did there ? I've done it twice. It wasn’t a crappy experience.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve snagged line while fishing. If I can, I pull it in and drop it in my trash. Otherwise I clip it down as best I can. Kudos to the OP and all others who try to leave nature better than they found it.

Tat looks good.

Nice fish. Congrats

I’m fortunate to live in Mississippi where I can pretty much fish year round but, you know what they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

I actually ended up doing that very thing. ?

I returned to the launch one day late and found a fine Lews rod/reel combo with a jig on it laying on the dock. No other boats or vehicles in the lot so I picked it up. I knew the boats that had been on the lake though not the owners so I resolved to watch for them. Finally, saw one of the boats out fishing so I motored over to him and asked if he'd lost any tackle recently. He was able to tell me what I'd found so I gladly returned it to him. His boy had left it and they figured after 2 weeks, it was gone. Made a friend and fishing buddy that day. In a separate instance, I hooked and lost a nice one on a squarebill crawfish colored crankbait. About 3 weeks later, I found that lure hanging on one of the signs by the dock. Apparently, someone found it floating or still in the fish and left it for the rightful owner to find. Some new trebles and she was as good as new.

Got out yesterday after the rain. The day started horribly. Lost the first two I hooked; one a 2lb, the other a dink. If you’ve seen my thread on losing a monster, you can image I’m seriously doubting my hook set by now. Finally, after a couple of hours, I get one in the boat. DINK! Time is running short and I’m well on my way to my worst fishing day in months. A friend invited me to go axe throwing, which I’d never done. I wasn’t really feeling it but agreed to go. I figured it couldn’t be any worse than the day I was having on the water. So, I fish my way back to the launch (never give up right?). I set the hook on fish number 2. DINK! Man, what is the deal? I cast to a lay down with my TR worm and this one salvages the day. 4.74 lbs.

I saw a youtube video on how to remove the hook from a gut hooked fish. They actually eased the eye of the hook out through the gills being careful not to damage them. The further they could get eye pushed towards the tail of the fish, the easier it was to see the bend of the hook so as to grab it and work it out. Of course, the smaller the fish, the harder this is to do. I always start by striping the worm off the hook so I have good visibility and, if necessary, cutting the line. It's a toss up as to whether or not you'll be successful though.

I hooked one through the eye not too long ago. Not much I could do but remove the hook and send him on his way and, to my knowledge, he survived. I've had some that I've hooked so badly that there no option but to put him in the livewell, take him home, and clean him. Most of the time, I'll drop the fish in the livewell. If he's still kickin when I get back to the boat launch and i don't need any fish for the freezer, I'll release him there.

I've had it happen....normally when the bite is so light I don't detect it quick enough. Usually, it happens on the smaller fish who hit the worm on the fall and they waste no time swallowing. If you have room to bend the eye of the hook down where you can grab the bend, your success rate at getting the hook out without killing the fish goes up.

Nothing on FB Market Place or Craigslist? I bought and sold the one I had that way.

I've never owned a boat with this setup and I like your logic but I would think it should be locked in. I would think that resting on the pin could allow too much unexpected movement.

As far as I know, they still sell them at Academy. https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/pelican-bass-raider-10e-102-pontoon-boat?sku=10-beige-or-khaki They're out of stock in my store. Do you have one near you?