Volfan

40, but if you’re really whipping casts I wouldn’t go below 65, and even that is pushing it once you’re over 3 oz.

Lip, grip, and grin is the goal for pretty much everybody one here, as big a lip as you can grip. Some will live, some will die. I’m appreciative of people who handle fish well. But pretty much everyone here cares about dragging the biggest fish you can around so you can see that it’s the biggest fish you can catch, and more often than not, take a pic so you can show people what you caught and on what sweet sweet bape. The only reason it’s about the fish’s health is so you can catch the fish. And that’s ok. It’s a healthy fun hobby. I just try to keep the magnanimity out of it.

What he said ^^. It’s a blood sport. We drag fish around by their faces. Some faster, some slower. As we do that it behooves us to keep them alive and healthy. Conditions, budget, season, emotional state, and moon phase all play into that. Do the best you can with what you got.

That’s a beaut’ of a pickerel - nice fish

Some good looking out right here

He’s running a business and really leveraging his brand and supply/demand around the holidays. How you feel about paying about tree fiddy for a good but not magic bait is up to you. They’ve gone for well over that on the BM, so maybe he’s just trying to get his. Feelings about his personality and business model are free and may vary widely.

Carolina Fishing Tackle if your route takes you through Charlotte.

In the 2 - 3 inch baitfish scenario, I’m fishing a glide or swimmer deep behind the fish eating the baitfish, especially if it’s a school of small bass. You’d be surprised at the potpourri you catch doing that.

@Frezzy- They cast like greased lightning- Probably longer than I should on co-poly.

Fish it on braid and wax the first 8 inches of line with a candle or other piece of wax - you don’t need complete stiffness just enough so it’s not limp. Make your jokes...

We’re supposed to catch fish? I was just collecting bapes like Pokémon cards...

They run the gamut - I have both thicker and thinner ones. Get yourself some wood doweling and have at it. A little ballast weight on the belly goes a loooooong way.

In for that. Good looking bait!

Yep - that’s about the only time you can’t fish a glide...

Baby Wake in black with a blue tail. First fish was a DD blue cat, second was a DD striper. Both in the Tidal Basin in DC. I actually think I’ve caught more catfish in that thing than bass but they are still fun on that wake with only one treble to deal with.

Bait doesn’t matter if it’s not getting wet.

As El W said above, the best (and still not good) way to do it is to drill out weight. Small bits, good clamps, go slooooow. I still don’t recommend it.

Western NC or Eastern TN. If you want more trout-y cold water options I’d be on the NC side. More hunting and better green fish (it’s close) in East TN.

Beautiful fish - with the spots around here, it seems like they have trouble getting the jig hook inside their mouths, it just seems to hang on the outside. Maybe cut the jig hook and go stinger only but keep it up near where the original jig hook was.

Almost 250,000 posts in the Black Market, just over 50,000 in the Got ‘Em section. There are a lot of great people but for the majority of people on here, it’s not about fishing. You just have to accept that and handle your own business how you handle it.