Ham

I was told a Ned was gonna replace a tube and a grub for me and I thought those comments were crazy, but they were real close to 100% correct.

Ned and the Kansas crew have tried everything this side of a gummy worm on the Ned. I'm just gonna grind it out with half a zero or Zinker. Screw playing around, I've got fish to catch. I watched a Ned fall on slack in gin clear water and it had a wonderful death spiral. Not at all what I expected.

Well the Ned and a tube are different, but so far I can only fish one bait at a time. Often, if I am not fishing a Ned, I'm costing myself fish.

I like the 3.5 inch Power Team Lures Food Chain tube as well as the 4 inch double dipped tubes

It was easier on my Minn Kota then it was on a Motor Guide I used to own. I switched to the metal cable aftermarket kit to avoid these issues in the future.

I'm at 14. I got a Chain Pickeral way ahead of last year's schedule. I have looked at the Tenkara deal a couple of times. Sure, we can have a friendly smallest fish contest. I'll try to get a good photo of my little guys with a length.

3 freakin months is a prison sentence. Holy Crap! I start getting edgy if I haven't fished in 3 days.

The only thing you need to do is fishthe jigs you have. You obviously enjoy tying and tinkering with it, but there is no need to have every size and every color combo. I'd bet you more than have it covered. Not bragging, but I've caught thousands of trout on jigs and not one of them came on a 3/32. 1/16 oz and 1/8 oz get the vast majority of the fish for me. If I fished Taneycomo more, I would throw the 1/32 oz more often most likely. Go catch a bunch and tell us all about it. I look forward to your success.

Everyone is different, but to me, I love having the boat and a paddle. I love the simplicity of that. I don't want a drive system and I sure as heck don't want a TM and a battery complicating things. But that's just me.

The Pro drive would be cool for lakes and ponds, but it would be of little value on the creeks and rivers I fish.

Today would have been an amazing day on the river, but there will be more great days coming.

Very nice looking rig. I wish.

For me, the extra casting distance and the easy hookset from any distance are a huge plus. I have not and will not run straight fluro on spinning. Dang Fluro is so expensive, but clearly better on some bait casting apps. At least on a bait faster, I know the setup will last a year or so. Fluro spool ups have lasted well over a year for me. Three reels with Nano off a 150 yard spool that lasts for over a year on the reel. And that's with me fishing approx 80 days a year. Not too bad. Ham

I absolutely KNOW it has helped me put more fish in my boat. I'm confident for most folks it would mean more fish in the boat for them too. If you don't care about catching more fish, stay with what you're using.

I'd fish Nanofil that was Pink in a heartbeat.

Hey Hoglaw, Braid doesn't throw as well as mono. Nanofil out throws mono. If you go straight from throwing braid to throwing nanofil, you're going to put baits up on the bank, a lot. The Nanofil isn't as loud going thru the guides as braid either. I got used to the braid singing, but I like it better w/o the noise. The color in braid fades quickly. Nano's color doesn't change much. The extra casting distance is the biggest thing to me. Ham

I hear you Champ. The young guys seem to have forgotten how to play and land a fish. They rush it to the boat and then let it flop on the carpet or bear hug it. All the emotional antics might have been genuine at first, but now it is like the Who smashing guitars at the end of every show. I had to turn off the coverage of the Classic. I think they mishandle the fish and draw out the weigh ins excessively. Look, I'm pro tournament fishing and I have a hard time defending a lot of the stuff that goes on.

No problem man. You can wade at minimum flow, but if they generate, you can nibble at the edges in some places, but I wouldn't think it is worth your time from the few spots available from land. IF you are wading near the dam and they blow the horn, GET OUT. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Get out of thwe water. The lower Buffalo is off the table. You should also consider fishing at Rim Shoals or Wildcat or the Narrows if they are running minimum flow on the White.

The jigs look great. I'm sure they will work for you. I think ML is on the heavy side of the rod that's needed, but you can make it work. I prefer a true light rod that will load and throw well with a light jig, but be sensitive enough to detect the bites. As you preparing your jigs, consider making the overall profile smaller when the head weight is smaller. The 1/80 th jigs IMO should be a smaller profile than the 1/8 oz jigs. Generally, the less flow on Taney, the smaller the jig likely to be successful. The trout get a long time to look at it and a smaller profile seems to work better.

That's a nice looking bait!

I really think it is just a clear cold water LMB. The glare and haste of the camera operator (me) lead to odd effects all day long. The eyes on that fish didn't catch my attention when I was unhooking and releasing it at all

Hey TFR, I use 6 lb for trout/panfish. I use 8 and 10 lb for smallies. I Throw my Ned stuff on the 8 lb usually. I use the White Nano and I would also feel good about the chartreuse. I will not buy the low Vis green. I want to see the line to help with visual strike detection when dead sticking. I use a leader.

The Crossfire really throws the jigs well. It is a light Rod not a UL. I've caught some real nice fish on it. A Second generation Crossfire Rod is in the works. They are working to shave a little weight off of it with a crisper blank as well. The Brown/ Orange , Triple Olive, Olive/orange, and Olive/ginger have been my best smallie colors. I've never tried the Chart/White. You may already have a perfect Rod for the Zig Jig. I can say with the utmost confidence that you won't go wrong buying some Zig jigs.

The Zig Jig is a very under rated cool water Smallie jig. They are considering offering the Zig Jig with a heavier hook. This will make it and even better smallmouth offering.

I can't remember a time where I ever used the spare spool. Ever. I take great efforts too get the mono on correctly and trail it out behind the boat to get it on tight and twist free. Of course, I'm a Nano Man now so I don't ever need a spare spool.