Horrible day on pines today

I found fish yesterday, got there about 4 this morning. They started hitting shad on top in 6-8 fow. Threw everything in the books at them. These fish were jumping clear out of the water and were big. Any way, I was going through my tackle trying to figure out what to throw. I have never thrown a jerk bait until today. “I had two”. Throw 3 times and boom. Hooked up for a second or two and broke off. I tied the other one on. Cast a few times and boom. Broke off AGAIN! So I said I’m going to go buy some and come right back. On the way to ramp my motor decided to blow a gasket on me. So I packed camp up and left.. atleast I gained a little confidence in a bait I’ve always put off. Hope everyone had a good time

... maybe pick up some new line too and go get ‘em.

Had fresh 10 lb big game. The first break was due to nicked and scraped line. I cut the bad spots off.. maybe I should have put them on a setup with heavier Line? I figured I’d get better action on lighter line. Oh well.. you catch some and loose some. It’s part of the game

Had that day last weekend. Not one...BUT TWO new trailer hubs in one day. Same side. Then two new tires. Caught a good limit in a tourney and didn’t get a penny for it. Broke another lid pull on my boat.

Those days come and go. I’m happy when it’s a REALLY REALLY bad day. Where everything goes wrong at once. It would suck to have two hubs in two days, then lose a tourney on day 4, then break boat parts on day 5, etc. a bad day is better than a bad week.

I try to use the lightest line possible. The line I settled on is 12lb. The break offs were exponentially more with anything less.

Fresh line is great, but always adjust your drag each trip. I use 12 lb BG on Rayburn and Toledo and never break off. The key is to cut off the last 2 ft of line and retie ever so often and make sure the drag is adjusted properly.

I’m a light liner. I enjoy the challenge...

Betting drag settings cause just as many break offs as frayed line, I’ve got into the habit of checking them on the first cast with each rod/reel of the day! Very wise comment Mr. Jimfishes!

This for sure. I do a lot of finesse fishing with 8 pound line on spinning tackle. I always make sure the reel will strip line. I've caught a lot of little fish but I have also caught some hosses too. I just let them run until they give out. Even on my bait casters I grab that line and make sure it will pull out on not a whole lot of load. I'll have 3 pounders strip a foot or two or so on my bait casters on a hook set but that's when I know it's right. Another one that I get into that I heard a Lake Fork guide talking about is resisting the urge to put your thumb on the spool. He sees clients break off because of that as well. That's one of my weaknesses.

My drag slipped on hookset. With mentioning the thumb on the spool I honestly don’t know if I do that or not. Could be my problem if so

One of the first things to do before making that first cast is check the drag and spool control. If your reel has been sitting for more than a few hours you should test the drag again as the drag washers can set up again. Jerkbaitin usually requires a good drag setting especially if you're using a lighter line setup with small hooks on your bait. A big fish will pull those small hooks out if the drag is set up too tight. Wishing you the best in your quest

Thanks for the info.. I’m excited to have a new line of arsenal. My wallet will is not so excited though. Lol

Put it on 25-30 pound fluoro, wrench down the drag, turn their heads and put them in the boat.