AlabamaSpothunter

Big user of scents, not really picky about what scents as long as I'm using one. Like WRB I'm not using them for attraction qualities, rather to mask my scent. I use heavy Deet, so I want something to help mitigate that.

Have you used an ACOG before, if so and you liked it, then that would be a great option. The word 'tactical' gets thrown around too much imo, but that's really as close to a 'tactical' optic as you can get. I would liken that optic to a technique specific rod, whereas a variable powered optic is more of a 7' MH F that offers more versatility. A good shooting Mini 14 with factory M193 or M855 should group about 3-4MOA @ 100yds. At 200yds you're looking to hit a target about 6-8MOA so anything powered more than about 6 is wasted given the rifle's potential. 3x should be plenty mag to hit that sized target at 200yds. The ACOG has been used by front line US military forces for decades now, so a fixed mid powered optic certainly has it merits, however I personally like either true RDS optics or a variable powered optic. All of those Primary Arms in house optics are great options and have been well vetted by customers for many years now.

Great job Katie, bet that was a metric ton of fun! I've never caught 70 quality Bass in a session. Mid 50s is about my best.

Given that 99% of defensive firearm scenarios involve distances less than 100yds..specifically 3-7yds, I'd have a hard time using any kind of magnified optic that didn't include a 1x setting. I find target shooting at 100yds to be quite fun with a magnified optic, and as we get older it gets harder and harder to use 1x type sights at those distances with Irons or a red dot. So I think you'd be most happy with a dual usage type setup. I'd recommend going with a 1-6x type optic. You can run it like a 1x red dot for defensive purposes, but when you take it to the range or hunting you can dial up the power to 6x. I don't own the below scope but PA has long been regarded as the best maker of budget friendly/reliable optics. In your situation that's what I'd buy. Primary Arms SLx 1-6x24 SFP Rifle Scope Gen IV - Illuminated ACSS Nova 5.56/.308 Fiber Wire Reticle - Flat Dark Earth

It all depends on what you're looking to do with the Mini 14? Hunting? If so at what ranges? Home defense? Red Dot General purpose rifle? Maybe something like a 1-6x The Mini 14 isn't a very accurate rifle, so even if I put a magnified optic on it, I'd limit it to something with a max power of around 9 or 10x.

90%+ of baits have junk OEM hooks. I consider hooks to be more important than any other single factor in regard to landing fish. I can fish awesome hooks on a 25-30yr old rod and reel and see no difference in catch rates. On the other hand give me a brand new Steez and Conquest and 25-30yr old hooks and my catch rates would plummet. I replace OEM hooks and split rings with upgraded ones for the .01% of fish. If you fish long enough, you'll encounter a fish that is able to free itself because of inferior hooks or split rings. I had to learn this lesson the hard way, but recently had a 8.6 come in the boat 1000% because of Owner STX 38s and Hyperwire split rings.

You were oh so right about the Johnston brothers. They really are terrible for the sport. It's a team sport, yet these guys get to operate as a team.....way beyond what roommates and friends do. They literally share a bank account where all their derby purses go into. And your right, more coverage of a bad product is not going to improve said product, it will only showcase more of its deep flaws Crazy that Zaldain would rather have YT clicks than a good reputation. He chose to release that confrontation video which blows my mind. Then he got fined for it LOL. That or he didn't even release how bad of a look that was.

I got about as much as I could handle of BASS in 2024. The last event was disgusting with the Johnston brothers. The only league to not make either the fans or the anglers happy. It's a bold business strategy, we'll see how that works out for them over the next few years. NPFL should be awesome next year though, and even the BPT will be interesting.

He lives the most charmed Bass fishing life I could imagine. He deserves it though as he was the pioneer of FFS. A guy like you who also lives an amazingly charmed fishing life can relate I'm sure 😎 He either recently got back or is going to South Africa in the near future specifically looking for the next WR.

Dworkshak Reservoir in Idaho He's been going there for a few years now. Has caught 8s before. Long ways to go for 11.15

The vast majority of fishing I do is with FC lines, but Tatsu has always been a bit too expensive for me. Shooter however is a very strong and abrasion resistant line. I suspect Tatsu is as strong and abrasion resistant as Shooter, but more supple and manageable. Maybe someone else can weigh in with a direct head-to-head comparison. It's really hard to beat Sniper in terms of price to performance ratio and seems to be the best jack of all trades FC line again based on bang for the buck. Tatsu is widely regarded as the best overall FC line made. So many factors come into play when picking the right FC for your application. For example I hate the knot strength on Sniper, so I try to avoid it for bottom contact presentations or at least upsize a pound test category. On the other hand I love its perfect balance of stretch, and suppleness/castability. I love this line for moving baits. Shimano Mastiff and Daiwa J-Flouro are two more FC lines that I think belong in the mix of top tier options to try or consider. Shimano's knot strength is awesome. I still need to use it more to really rank it verse Sunline or Seaguar's options, but it's high quality stuff. The Daiwa J-Flouro is the closest thing I've found to Sniper. It's a bit more expensive but comes in a bigger spool so sometimes I opt for it when doing the math on how many spool refills I can get. Specifically Daiwa makes J-Flouro Hidden Concept line that I feel is the best Jerkbait FC made. It's even more invisible than traditional FC, and has that awesome suppleness that Sniper and Invizx have in order to launch Jerkbaits into orbit. Lastly P Line makes some really good FC, and in my usage is stronger than any other brands, however the line diameters of their offering are usually bigger than the others listed above, and is usually less supple. TL/DR: Everything is a tradeoff with FC lines.

The OG Steez is what I use on a P5 110 Stick. Perfect Jerkbait reel. I'm a Zillion fanboy so that's what I'd go with.

It's easier if you think about it like Seagur's Invizx is a direct competitor with Sunline's Sniper FC. The two lines are very similar. I wouldn't really bother replacing one with the other and vice versa. Now if you want to upgrade either with Shooter or Tatsu, that's a real improvement depending on what specific attributes you are looking for. Both Shooter and Tatsu are stronger and significantly more abrasion resistant than Invizx or Sniper FC. Shooter gives up manageability and suppleness to Sniper FC, but in return is a stronger, more abrasion resistant line. I don't use Tatsu but it's generally regarded as the closest FC to being perfect in every category. Tatsu is at the top, below that you have to make compromises based on what particular aspects of FC you stress the most.

A couple of things I'm extremely curious about are: 1. After fish have been caught on a lure that tricks them into thinking it's a very particular meal they target, do they then have problems actually committing to eating the real thing. So, when they eat a DT10 in Gizzard Shad in 11fow, do they have problems eating a real Gizzard Shad in 11fow. 2. To the first point, after a fish has been tricked on that bait, how long does it take if any time at all for the fish to resume feeding normally on the real version of the lure that tricked them. Berkeley has done some studies on fish 'memory' IIrc, and again IIrc the results seem to indicate a fish could remember things for about two weeks. I find that a little hard to believe as you see some baits like the A-Rig and Whopper Plopper never return to their incredible fish catching ability as they enjoyed when first released to the masses. I'd hate to think that pressure actually makes the fish less likely to eat the real thing, but it's a very real possibility I've pondered for some time now.

Pressure leads to really cool innovation. I don't think Bass fishing would be nearly what it is without the constant arms race between humans and Bass. I can't think of another species of fish that enables the angler to use as many different lures as Bass, and specifically LMB.

I didn't know you had small Bass in your lakes Katie 😎 Whenever I catch a fingerling I wish I had an aquarium. BamaBass on youtube has documented their journey raising numerous Bass from wild caught fingerling sizes.

I didn't realize the Shimano buyout was that early. The warranty and quality of the lower price point rods were much better during the late 90s than today imho.

Awesome rod. The pre-Shimano Loomis rods were the pinnacle of Bass technique specific rods, nobody compared to them 20 yrs ago. My favorite cranking rod to this day is a 25+ yr old 6'6 MH F GL2. The rod you picked up has an even better action and is more user friendly.

Such a beautiful setup, something about white or pink braid that always looks so good on a setup. Would you get two Zillion SV TWs or one Steez SV TW?

I try to keep to a weekly/monthly budget. I don't feel too irresponsible spending $50 weekly/$200 monthly. The number one thing that drains my fishing budget is soft plastics. If I'm catching them on hard baits, I'm not really spending much money. I identify as guy who has a 2024 Bass Cat with a 300R, and spends thousands a month on LMB though 🤣

Thanks for the kind words friends! @GreenPig I see somebody else has discovered the magic of the Flashback Mini. If you ever want to upsize the profile a bit, Damiki 3" Armor Shads make the perfect trailer for them.

@ol'crickety Beautiful fish, and I had to look up that Googan bait. That's a cool looking bait, and makes sense why you'd be fishing it #whopperplopperqueen 😆 Last few days have been surprisingly great since we've started to transition into Fall. 8.6 on a DT10. She bent out both hooks on STX 38s. That fish would have been lost on stock trebles 1000%. Those hooks are just exceptional. 7.10 and a 7.3 on Free Rigged D Bombs.

I've watched a fair amount of content from folks like Jon B on Youtube fishing in Maine. Nobody 'represents' Maine better than you Katie! Beautiful fish and leaves, Fall fishing imho is the hardest time of the year. So much junk fishing goes into it that it can feel random and unproductive at times.

A great place to always start in the Fall when the temps start really crashing is to fish the last green aquatic vegetation on the lake, if there is lots of stuff like this, focus on the healthiest looking stuff. Pay special focus to any irregularities within those places. Good luck pal!

The week before, the MLF BPT showed the Elite Series guys the way. The Elite Series followed the BPT guys again on the SLR. Don't need way points when you can just watch the MLF live coverage. So stupid the way these organizations schedule events.