T-Billy

My tackle load lightens as the season wears on and they become more predictable. Early season... Everything goes, including the kitchen sink. Ya just never know.

Trigged something. I'd probably start with a beaver type bait. If that didn't get bit, switch to a worm, or lizard, or baby brush hog... Sometimes they really prefer one profile over another.

I have an uncle that's one of those guys. He's been trapping 60 years or so. Skinned, scraped and on the stretcher in 10min or so. When you've done thousands, ya get purty good at it.

LOL!!! We're wired as polar opposites for sure brother. That actually crossed my mind when I posted pics of my boat build in your waiting on ice out thread. I seem to recall seeing your VERY organized tackle storage in a pic sometime prior to that. Your garage perhaps? I thought man, A-Jay's liable to develop a nervous tick seeing my semi organized disaster of a garage in the background of my pics. ?

Unless it's an unusually wet summer, I'll drop my deck down in late june, scalp that sucker, let it turn brown, and not have to mow again until Sept. I'm not a fan of yardwork. Couldn't care less about having a manicured lawn.

I thought your dogs took care of that task for you. ? We just had our offer accepted on a house yesterday, after looking for a year. Packing and moving is gonna put a serious dent in my fishing time for the next 4-6 weeks. BUT... I'm moving back to my little childhood hometown. Population 355. I'll be five minutes from a ramp, and 15 minutes from the neighboring lake that fishes completely differently. Really looking forward to it. Been working to get back there for years. The time has finally come.

Break offs are a problem with flouro no matter what knot you tie IME. I see pro's break fish off often in tournaments, BUT they're getting paid to use it, and sell it sooo....

What time is it?

Thanks to your previous posts on these rods I have both, and I'm really enjoying them. I have a Curado BFS on the L, and a MGL 70 on the ML. They have replaced my spinning rods for bass fishing. These Feathers have a great taper. They have a fast tip, but when fighting a fish they load clear back into the butt section more like a mod fast. Absolutely perfect IMO. Good chance I'll end up with a second ML. Thanks again for your reviews on them FryDog. Come to think of it, your line stretch tests were a help to me back before I even joined here. I appreciate ya brother.

The best bite during the cold water seasons is in the afternoon. An extra hour of light in the evening will prolong that afternoon bite.

Nice fish. Congratulations!!! I'm a fan of those short arm spinners too.

? LOL. I even use cheap mono. XT and Big Game flat get it done for me.

^THIS^ I'm also a Megastrike fan. Crawfish.

Longer, slower taper ML rod and straight mono. I lose WAY more fish on the ned with braid.

Agree 100%.

Outstanding Ned rod. Very light, sensitive, quality guides and seat, at a price that won't break the bank.

Re......spect.

You ARE smart. VERY SMART!!! We all respect you a great deal for being that smart. ? This is why we love you ????!!!

And this weeks train wreck of the week goes to...

ARK is also using these larger micros. I'm a fan of them. Small and light, big enough for an Alberto to pass though. Perfect size IMO.

My slx xt was curado smooth out of the box. After one season of fairly limited use, it's not. Curado will stand the test of time far better. Anything below curado, you're better off with Lew's. $99 LFS will take a beating and stay smooth in my experience.

I'm a big fan of ARK rods, but for the techniques you mentioned. Phenix Feather 7'1" ML. Outstanding rod for light baits.

God bless you too brother. Keep in mind, the VAST majority of us on here enjoy your posts, appreciate your insight, and love having you around. Don't give the naysayers a second thought. They don't deserve to occupy any space in your head or heart.

Forcing myself to learn the A rig this spring. Caught a 3' musky on it the other day. I expect to catch a bunch more of them through the spring. They're VERY cooperative in cold water. This rig will allow me to land most of them on my bass tackle. Hopefully some big bass will cooperate too.

I too add my remelt to a little virgin plastisol + heat stabilizer. I use ceramic coated cast iron pots on a hotplate. Nice even consistent heat. No scorching ever.