T-Billy

I've run 8# XT and 20# 832 without issue.

The lighter the bait, the more important every part of your setup is for pitching. Going with too heavy a rod will cause you to loft your pitches and makes it hard to get any distance or accuracy. It's a balancing act. The rod needs to have a tip soft enough to load a little with the bait you're pitching. The reel needs to be set as loose as you can set it without constantly picking out overruns, and I like mono in the 14-17# range for light to moderate cover and 30# braid for thicker stuff. The longer rod helps IMO in the aspect of tip flex. Generally a longer rod will have a little more tip than a shorter rod of the same series and power. For example, my 7'3" MH Veritas is a pool cue compared to my 7'6" MH Veritas. A reel with a light shallow spool that starts easily helps too. I'm REALLY liking my new SLX MGL for pitching 1/4oz.

My favorite local lake has tons of rather large aquatic snails. Some large rocks are almost completely covered by them. Couldn't find the species looking at the ODNR guide. We have quite a few native species of aquatic snails. Seems they're pretty critical to a healthy aquatic ecosystem. They occasionally pull my line up inside their shells when fishing bottom contact baits. Their operculum cuts the line everytime when I try to pull it out. Catching a goldfish would be AWESOME!!!

I would just be happy for my dad, and appreciate the time I got to spend with him. My dad's been gone many years. I wish I could take him fishing one more time. I wouldn't care if I caught anything or not.

Look at the ARK Rods Lancer, Cobb, and Viper series before you buy. The SLX is a decent rod, but those ARK 40T blanks are a BIG step up at about the same price.

Deer maybe? They're curious at night. I've had them follow me through the woods after dark, even after shining a flashlight in their direction. If they can't smell ya they'll get pretty close sometimes. I wasn't fishing, but one night while coyote hunting, I was just sitting there letting things quiet down before I started calling, when two glowing balls of light appeared about 25yds or so in front of me. They drifted through the trees for several seconds then went out as quickly as they appeared. As I sat there fairly freaked out and trying to make sense of what I had just seen, they appeared and disappeared again going the opposite direction, and slightly farther away. They were definitely self luminescent, not reflected light, and floated along kinda like a balloon in the breeze. I've researched online and the most accurate description of what I saw seems to be ball lightning. Kinda odd though, it was November, temps in the 40's and no storms around. Sure creeped me out.

Good point. I can watch Matt and Tim all day. Tons of solid in depth fishing info and informative tackle reviews. I can watch Randy all of about two minutes. YMMV.

I have four of these Tharp series Ark rods now with more to come. They fish well above their price point IMO.

Hope ya feel better soon Catt.

Some great guests along the way too. Bradshaw, Mel Tillis, and Foster Brookes come to mind.

I got the hat in my avatar photo from his store. His daughter Pamela runs it, and we had a great email conversation about watching his show on Saturday mornings as kids, after cartoons and before Big Time Raslin. LOL. She offered to have him personalize it for me. It arrived a few days later signed, Tim, Saturday mornings were the best, Bill Dance. I couldn't not wear it. It's my hot weather fishin hat. I still enjoy watching his show. God bless Bill Dance. Great guy and great ambassador for the sport.

Nice. Keep us posted on how those braids perform long term.

@bulldog1935 how's the abrasion resistance of those X braids compared to 832?

Can't comment on their low profile stuff but my 4600 C3's are still butter smooth after many years of use. They were my flippin reels for a long time. I've since switched to 8 speed low profiles for that task, but those C3's excell at winching bass out of thick stuff.

40# 832 is my Goldilocks line for my flippin sticks. 30# on my moving bait casting rigs. A couple thousandths difference in diameter doesn't sound like much, but it can make a significant difference in casting distance. I tangled with a couple jumbo flatheads in big laydown piles this summer. Got my butt kicked both times, but 40# was up to the task. I clamped my thumb down on the spool and leaned into 'em until my flippin stick couldn't take anymore. I couldn't pull those beasts out of the wood, but I couldn't break the line using my rod either. Plenty of abraision resistance in this weight too. I see no need to go heavier.

From ice out until it gets weedy there are many days where the only rod I pick up is my ned rod with a TRD Bug on a 1/8 football head. After the weeds establish themselves, there are many days a flippin stick is the only one I pick up. Grab a rig you have confidence in, and go to work.

You will be. You'll be dissapointed you waited this long to try it. ?

I've had trouble burying the hook with 20# XT in the past when using thick bodied baits and a straight shank hook, and XT is lower stretch than BG. This with a flippin stick, and I'll put my hookset up against anyone's. 12-15 only makes the issue worse. This is a complete non issue with braid. The only issue with braid is throwing the under 2 pounders over the boat.

True but, I haven't found the fading to be an issue. Fish bite faded green just as well as dark green in my experience. If it bothers you, a sharpie will fix it right up. Love 832. Round, smooth enough, handles great, Palomar and Alberto hold great, and it's the most abrasion resistant braid I've found. Priced right too.

Thanks Catt. I ordered a few packs from TW a couple days ago. The 6th Sense OX are a good hook also. I've had zero issues with them other than the keeper is a little closer to the eye than I'd like. I snell them the way Tharp shows on YT and it's tight getting the wraps between my thumb and the keeper. The NJ has lot's of room there, but obviously R2C has some quality control issues. Not sure these Mustads will be easier to snell, but I've been a Mustad fan for years. I'm sure they're a quality hook. Looking forward to giving them a workout next week.

When I can find 'em in open water, I can't put that TRD bug down. I've caught everything from 5" bluegill to a 42" musky on it. Big musky, cats, and carp are a hoot on 6# line, but it's those big smallies that really make you feel like you've got a tiger by the tail.

^^^THIS^^^

I have a local lake that's always been awesome in the spring and late fall, but brutal in the summer. It's rocky with lots of wood. Best smallmouth habitat of all the lakes around me, but no smallies in it. Took me years to get a handle on it in the summer, and it still kicks my butt some days. The bass either go super shallow up under brush along the bank, or they get on offshore rock structure. Forget the laydowns in summer. It has tons of them, but they don't hold bass alot of the time. The offshore fish are very nomadic following the shad just like smallies. Here today gone tomorrow. I forced myself to spend a lot of time there this summer and I'm glad I did. It's been rewarding. It's the least pressured lake around me because it gets so tough post spawn, and it's the most scenic. No houses on the shoreline, and no boat docks other than the marina. It's the only lake I fish on the weekends. It's also the lake that produced my PB LM, 6lb10oz, and a bigger fish that wrapped me up and broke off. 20# Invisx. That put an end to flouro for me.

It's official, Ish's New JUNK Flippin Hooks. Broke another today when I hit a WOOD dock while skipping under it. Not good when wood breaks steel. Shame. I really like the design, but I'm done with 'em. A good example of where I'm catching them lately. You won't catch many fishing the outer edge. Gotta get back in the thick of it. 20# Mono or Flouro will get your heart broke back in there. 40# braid or higher is the only way to fly IMO.