Looks like you could just use an old fuel line or a half smoked cigar with a zip tie haha.
Lol just about. Just slap some fish oil and salt on there and let er fly
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What kind of rig are you slinging with? I’ve got 4: my favorite is a bait caster / Lew’s Mach Crush with 40 pound braid / 25 lb fluorocarbon leader (used to have 2 of these haha). I have an ultra light with 6 lb fluorocarbon (set up for trout primarily) & 2 big dawgs with 65 pound braid / 50 lb fluorocarbon leader, could probably handle anything in the reservoir haha.
I used to have some pretty nice gear back when I was heavy into fishing. Sold all my fishing stuff when I was a broke college kid. These days I just have a few cheap Lew’s rods and reels from Wally World. I did get a new Abu Garcia Max Z 30 from Wally a few weeks ago on sale. Pretty decent reel for $30 I think. I try not to invest a whole lot of money into any one hobby so that I can afford my other hobbies. Guns and golf ain’t cheap these days. And the way I figure it the fish don’t care if you catch them on a $10 rig or a $100 rig. Mostly I use fluoro but I’m going to rig a couple up with braid and see how I like it. I tried braid on a baitcaster once and I birds nested that thing up every cast. I’d love to figure out how to set up a baitcaster because I love skipping top waters around docks and trees but I get by okay with a spinning rod. My brother has all the fancy gear so when he upgrades I’m gonna sweet talk him into selling me some of his gear on the cheap lol
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Maybe @JAtkinson will find this thread useful since fishing is basically marketing / sales on a more primitive level. If you can convince a fish to attack a piece of plastic, you know the rest… @Innocentbystander is probably gonna say we’re idiots for not just sticking with a worm on a bobber haha. Those old guys are in bed at this hour.
You’d be amazed how many small mouth I’ve caught on this tiny little pole. You wanna talk about a fight! This thing can’t be any more than maybe 5’ long. And like @dcbrock I like to go back to my childhood days with the thumb caster every now and then.
Heck, one of my most used rods right now is a $10 Ozark trail grit stick. It works great but I haven’t landed any big ones with it yet. It’ll probably snap as soon as I hook a decent fish with it lol
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Not @Racer. He’s an insomniac like me lol
Only guy on the forum I know that is making money moves at 3am
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True story! Real as it gets right there. Braid is awesome, it has no memory. It comes out like new after the worst bird’s nest & supposedly lasts forever. If you get in a jam & need to break off, a leader comes in handy. I’m a huge fan of braid with a leader. You could run a 6 pound leader behind an 80 pound braid & get pretty much the same result.
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Can’t wait to get these bad boys out on the water. Got a 4 day float/camping trip planned for my 30th this June. Gonna be a blast. Nevermind my thermostat wire hanging down in the basement here. It’s low voltage so sometimes I gnaw on it to wake up a bit.
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I wake up to pee and find this
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I’d be better off staying up til 3 than getting up by 3… unless we’re talking PM, then I’m probably up anyway haha. If somebody was going to ring a customer’s doorbell at 3am, it might as well be Racer haha. He could probably pull it off.
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Man, tell me about it. My brother only fishes braid with a leader and he raves about it. I like that you can pick it up with the eye a lot faster than fluoro or mono when the sun is flashing off the water. I’m gonna grab a cheap bait caster setup and a couple spools of braid and just practice out in the pond this spring and maybe by this summer I’ll be decent.
Are you right handed or left?
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Only dude I know that takes a leak while checking the phone haha. Back to bed young’n! This thread will be here all week.
I’ve fished open face reels since I was in elementary school, so I got used to reeling with the left. The bait casters I use are left handed & I love em. Wouldn’t have bought one otherwise. It’s actually what sold me, standing there in the tackle shop.
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Love your dog! Best companion a feller could care to run into. Nice boats! Those seats look uber comfy compared to what I’m used to. Mine are great for about 10-15 minutes & the the back pain starts creeping on something fierce. I’d say you’re doing well! The leader is what’s presented to the fish. Use anything you want here but you’ll love braid once you try it out. It’s a game changer.
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…keep in mind, 15 lb braid has the diameter of 4 lb test.
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easy there whipper-snapper…
For me, it’s pretty much all Shimano spinners. Only baitcaster I ever owned had Lightning McQueen on it, and came with a set of “get the kids into fishing” accessories 
Never own more than 1 rod longer/heavier than about 6.5’ medium, but I have as many <6’ ULs with 8# test as my rod locker will hold.
Personally I’m an auger tail worm Texas-rigged (or just naked, but I always have to go with the grassless hookup around here). I keep a good # spinnerbaits and floating minnows, and the occasional rattletrap. Now I’m getting the bug, but it’s actually been freezing here alot this winter, so we’ll see what spring brings.
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Whipper snapper, haha! Good stuff… At the end of the day, just getting out there is what it’s all about. Don’t confuse bait casters with closed face reels haha. Big difference there but the end goal is all the same (catch a whopper). On that note, somebody needs Lightning McQueen to drag one in about 10 or 12 pounds haha. That would go viral. I typically try to pay attention to what they’re feeding on & go from there but I’m a huge fan of the plugs / crank baits. I think I want to try more plastic baits this year.
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I’m a shimano spinner myself. Currently running a fleet of Stella 5000’s with carbon drag upgrades and 20 pound braid for the inshore stuff. For you kayakers that are into light spinners i highly suggest you look into the shimano stradic Ci4. excellent little spinner that I’ve tested out in the deep, for the end all and be all pop down to your tackle shop and ha be a hold of a Stella. Nothing comes close.
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Your brother knows what he’s talking about. I could never go back to mono. Braid will improve every part of your fishing game.
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