Functional

@Bankc oddly enough I experience the same thing. For 2 years I could catch fish on a spinnerbait anytime I wanted then the next year I couldn't catch a single thing. They preferred the chatterbait last year and I haven't been out enough this year to see which they prefer. I thought maybe I overplayed my hand with a spinner but it was across all the lakes I fish regardless of frequency. Weird.

I must be weird... I fish a spinnerbait when its almost dead calm, just wisp of ripple. With willow blades I feel it gives a much more subtle action and slow rolling it around has produced well for me. When the wind picks up I switch to the more aggressive chatterbait UNLESS I'm throwing into heavy wood. Heavy wood gets the spinnerbait always, light wood or a branch or 2 the chatterbait is ok. This is when I'm picking between the two.

Agreed with @Tennessee Boy and @Mike L. I have a few different techniques/lures I'm confident in but I'll match up where I expect the fish to be and be doing before I pick one of them. I cant force feed a Trig to bass that are looking for a jerkbait. I try to be decent at a few lures that can cover top, middle and bottom, hard cover and weeds and pick based on where I need to fish. For the fun of the thread, if I'm picking 1 from each depth level... Top: Frog Middle: Swim Jig Bottom: ribbon tail 10" worm, Triged with 1/8 to 3/8oz bullet weight. If I have to pick 1 only...its the 10" ribbon tail. I can make that do things in ever part of the water column and have caught fish doing it. Not ideal in all levels but it will do.

Agreed with everyone overall. If you fish long enough its going to happen, along with a tongue hook and gill hook and eye hook, etc., etc. They all suck but its part of the risk of fishing. For me, those bad gut hooks and tongue hooks become food. No sense in wasting a fish that is 90%+ chance of dying. It sounds like it could be one or both of 2 things. 1) your bite detection needs work. Keep your finger tip on the line when at a pause or fall helps tremendously. Keep just enough tension on the line to feel the bait but not move it (hard/impossible to do with weightless). 2) you are waiting too long to set the hook. Pretty much what everyone has said but things to possibly improve on.

I think something else missed here is the dangers for women chasing a life in the professional circuit. Its a life on the road in hotels/motels and unless they have someone they do it with would be more dangerous for a female to be doing than a male. As is can already be sketchy enough for men to do it and if I recall right there have been recent comments made by some of our own members here that attest to that. A lone female is going to present a seemingly easier target than a lone male. This alone is probably enough to turn off a good portion of women who want to try their hand but don't want that type of risk. If you ever have or will follow Kristine Fischer she even admits she doesnt do hotels or motels, she finds air bnbs or bunks up with other people she knows from the tour. As far as the sport itself there is nothing physically limiting that would prevent females from competing just as high level as men. I'm sure there are plenty of men who would get bent out of shape being beaten by a female but that is the case in nearly ever other coed sport. As for statistics think of it this way...if only 10% of the male fishing population competes in general and only 3-5% of that is in the pro level it makes sense why only a handful of females are at or approaching that level. (I've pulled those percentages from thin air, but I believe the sentiment should get my point across)

I usually use a small nail weight but I put it in the bait right where my band is. I dont have a good reason why I do it that way but if I'm using a wacky rig I figured why put a nail in one end and make it like a very light Trig. I was looking for a horizontal fall and that seemed like the best spot for it to achieve that. I think this way would achieve @gimruis natural fall comments.

A ned is my absolute last resort and luckily I havent had to go there for a quite a while. I start with my favorites, if that doesnt work I get more deliberate with my selection and move to a more thought out profile/size/sink rate. I'll go for reaction before I go to a Ned though and swap into a crankbait. If that all fails I'll go to the ned. Its very rare I even have to resort to even a crankbait though, usually its just a matter of me finding the right spot rather than stray from the few techniques I'm most confident/enjoy.

I use 3.8 for 98% of my FAT Impact use. Its worked well in lakes that I typically have to downsize and also just as well in lakes I dont have to downsize.

I've heard it used for exactly like @Tennessee Boy just posted. Some people are really fancy with it, I tried it for half a day and got worried some dock owners were going to sink my boat. Regular skipping for me with bass lures.

ahhh... upstate in quotes...that means you are in the dutchess/orange/ulster county area 😂. I was going to add suggestions but @Pat Brown covered everything I was going to add. One thing I dont see answered for you is why no leader. Some baits you would want to use a leader and others you dont. Frogs need all the power you can get with those twin thick hooks and the fact that a lot of times you are pulling through weeds or pads of some type. Any stretch and it will be hard to really drive those hooks in through all of that. Youll find a lot of us differ in dedicated line (mono, floro, braid) vs braid to leader vs straight braid with a lot of lures, but one of the few lures we all agree on is Frogs are dedicated braid.

Guarantee the house could look like a tornado hit and she will still be incredibly happy to be home again. Not going to matter to her as much as it probably does to you. Do what you can but don't drive yourself down. More important you are spunky for her when she gets back. Glad to hear she's getting out! Been thinking about you two.

@ol'crickety If you wanted to try fishing a jig but they want something flashier you could try fishing a chatterbait like a jig. That blade on the front would move some water and give a flash. Personally I prefer the excitement of spinners/chatters/swimbaits and the hits they bring but nothing says you cant fish a bladed jig like a jig.

I'm still more excited about this than I really should be....

This, for every food. If all I can taste is burning or seasonings and nothing resembling the "host" flavor its a fail for me. In my own cooking and when eating somewhere. I'm ordering the fish because I like the flavor of fish, enhance away but let me taste the fish. Youtube in general has to be taken just like everything else. If I'm looking for reviews or how to do something I use multiple sources. No less than 3 different videos and I'll pull info from a forum if its possible. Some of the least followed "youtubers" have been more value than the big ones.

Elijah Craig has been very solid for me for Bourbon. Bourbon isnt my preferred but I'll never turn down some EC and is the only bourbon I'll keep picking up. I've had Eagle Rare, makers, buffalo trace, etc. and still think EC is better than them. Sold/gave away my Makers and Buffalo Trace and looking for someone to give my Eagle to. Just not worth it when there are so many good options out there.

if I cant see the back of the boat I'm finding somewhere to take shelter, otherwise I'm fishing if I'm already out. Wont go out if its already raining. Only 2 things I really watch for is if its a cold rain that comes with wind, you can still get hypothermia in the summer under these conditions and I've had to find a spot in the woods and build a fire(small fire starting kit on the boat at all times). Also a reason I keep a towel in a dry bag (should add a spare set of clothes). The other...is lightning. Thats a big nope for me and I'm gone. Good lightning tracker app helps judge how far out it is. I set the mile notice depending on how long I anticipate it to take me to get back to the dock and on the trailer.

You could look at the county plat maps. That will show the property lines and i'll be willing to bet quite a lot (my company has an entire department dedicated to doing plats) those property lines do not go into the water and will stop 1-2 ft from or right against the water edge if there is public access to the lake. Even more so if the state or utility puts money into stocking or maintaining that lake/pond/water. For me, right or wrong, thats where I start, if there is public space that allows me access to the water and there is nothing in all my searching or signage that says I cant fish it or access it then I'm going. Wont touch anyones property without permission but I wouldnt believe I was wrong in using public access to access water. Pond surrounded by farm land, hard no without permission. Bridge with side access to water that is funded by the state (my taxes) to stock I'd willingly go to court and press charges for harassment. If I lose then I'm taking it up with the state why my tax dollars are going to stock private waters that dont generate electricity or drinking water. I've also admitted I'm no expert in this permission thing, I dont often have to do any of this but the times I have I've had no issues. So take all that as you will.

I'm not fancy, I dont know how to link a single post so here is a copy/paste for what I just put up in another thread. "for lower cost reels I have the below 3 for a few years. SLX MGL: Nice little reel, handles very light lures down to and including a ned rig if wanted. Fits my hand perfectly. Only downside is it seems the brakes are a hair touchy and it seems to go from not enough brake to too much very easy. Takes a bit more for me to dial in this reel so if you are swapping a wide range of bait weights it could be a chore. Tied for my favorite handle next to the Lews LFS SS. Fuego CT: Nice reel, for me it seems to shine with heavier lures like spinners, chatterbaits, etc. Id say 3/8oz and up is a nice good all around reel. For my hands its a bit big/round for me but its still manageable. Knobs are beefier on this reel than the SLX and LFS, not my favorite but thats personal taste. Lews LFS SS: Wont throw down to a ned rig but will do down to a 1/4 and 1/8oz Trig and jig and all the way up to a 2oz swimbait. Despite only having mag brakes the reel is very easy to dial in. This has become my favorite reel for everything but skipping (the SV spool reels just do better here). Can be had regularly for like $80, sometimes cheaper if you really hunt. For reference I use a Medium glove. I may try a Curado for the hype but at this point with the reels I have the LFS SS is my go to reel. "

for lower cost reels I have the below 3 for a few years. SLX MGL: Nice little reel, handles very light lures down to and including a ned rig if wanted. Fits my hand perfectly. Only downside is it seems the brakes are a hair touchy and it seems to go from not enough brake to too much very easy. Takes a bit more for me to dial in this reel so if you are swapping a wide range of bait weights it could be a chore. Tied for my favorite handle next to the Lews LFS SS. Fuego CT: Nice reel, for me it seems to shine with heavier lures like spinners, chatterbaits, etc. Id say 3/8oz and up is a nice good all around reel. For my hands its a bit big/round for me but its still manageable. Knobs are beefier on this reel than the SLX and LFS, not my favorite but thats personal taste. Lews LFS SS: Wont throw down to a ned rig but will do down to a 1/4 and 1/8oz Trig and jig and all the way up to a 2oz swimbait. Despite only having mag brakes the reel is very easy to dial in. This has become my favorite reel for everything but skipping (the SV spool reels just do better here). Can be had regularly for like $80, sometimes cheaper if you really hunt. For reference I use a Medium glove. I may try a Curado for the hype but at this point with the reels I have the LFS SS is my go to reel.

Do exactly this and read the # rating on the zip tie. I think I use 7 or 10lb zip ties. Saved my rear a time or 2 already.

I dont fish anywhere that isnt public and crowded already so if I catch it it's getting reported. A biologist does need to examine the fish but I have enough crap from my fish keeping hobbies to give her a nice comfortable home until they can arrive. NC record hasnt been beat for 25 years, would be cool to have my kids be able to see my name in the state record books.

whenever we see water on a road trip we always say "Get the poles!" ....coincidentally we used to call it seaweed when we were young. I'd say that checks out.

@TOXIC If you are having Tic already at 95K I'd personally question how long it would last even once disabling AFM. If you really wanted to keep the truck I would disable AFM and get the lash taken out of the lifter so you "start new". I never liked that technology.

so jealous....unless you make an actual dedicated effort we have stuff that looks green and crunches when you walk on it down here. I miss a good northern lawn.

Just a word of warning to all doing this (its what I do), make sure your safety latch on the hook is there and working correctly. If not you'll be stripping down and swimming to your boat....ask me how I know....