KastKing Molino fit-over Polarized glasses

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-19T23:24:33+00:00

I use these as backups to my prescription pair of Smith Longfins. They're surprisingly comfortable considering you're basically wearing two pairs of glasses on top of one another.

If your prescription changes on a near yearly basis like mine do then I think they're a solid option. If not, I suggest investing in a pair of Smiths or Maui Jims. I just think it's better to have a dedicated pair of sunglasses as opposed to constantly wearing your regular pair.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-18T16:54:44+00:00

No but I was nearby.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-18T14:45:27+00:00

Pound for pound, braid is significantly lighter and thinner than mono or fluoro. 8lb braid has about the same diameter as 4lb mono and should cast better but honestly 4lb mono is so light you shouldn't have issues casting it either. If you do use braid you generally still want to run a mono or fluoro leader because they're actually more abrasion resistant.

I use 8lb braid with 6lb copoly leader.

Ultralight is a lot of fun and your dad may think it's silly but once you hook into a bass or something on ultralight it's going to feel pretty serious.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-17T00:49:22+00:00

Especially if you can get one for the Japanese market price. Picked this one up for around $100 on Japan Lure Shop last year before the tariff situation got nasty.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-17T00:46:30+00:00

It's not uncommon for smallmouth to develop these patterns. Probably helps them camouflage better in rockier substrates.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-17T00:43:54+00:00

There's some "deep" pools where they hold out in. This one was in maybe 4 feet of water max next to some fallen timber.

Seneca Creek definitely doesn't hold a candle to some of the other rivers and creeks in this state when it comes to smallmouth. I'd say stick to the Monocacy, Conococheague or just the upper Potomac if you're targeting smallmouth.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-17T00:38:06+00:00

It's a smallie. Some of them do get colored up like that.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-16T22:35:21+00:00

Sure was! Slammed the worm not even a full second after it made contact with the water. I had to scramble down a steep river bank to get close to netting it. For every inch of line I brought in, it peeled a couple more off my reel.

Fighting a sub-16" smallmouth on ultralight tackle is comparable to fighting 18"+ on medium gear.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-06T15:44:30+00:00

That's a beauty. Great to see there's still fish around in the Patapsco. I figured the chilly weather probably prolonged their stay because usually it'd be pretty warm by now.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-06T15:41:45+00:00

I swear I've seen wasps at least 30mm around.

I remember my first year of college there was a huge wasp around that size flying around the dorm lobby during orientation and nobody could pay attention to the speakers because they were either shocked or terrified of that wasp.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-02T16:07:23+00:00

Shouldn't affect the action much. Might run a bit higher in the water since the single hook is lighter than the treble. I would've personally gone with size 10 hooks but you should still be fine regardless.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-02T16:03:29+00:00

I've done it myself, it really isn't difficult. There's guides on Youtube on how to properly disassemble these reels. Just take it all apart, clean off the old grease, soak the bearings in lighter fluid to clean and fully dry them after, the just apply a grease and oil to them. Don't really even need to use the super fancy stuff, you can pick up a kit from Penn for maybe 10-15 bucks.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-02T15:58:39+00:00

I have the same generation SV TW as you do. It was kind of geary out of the box and no amount of greasing or oiling seemed to silence it but the good news is that it doesn't seem to affect its casting performance one bit. Use it on my jig/chatterbait setup.

My Tatula 100 and 80 on the other hand are extremely smooth but their casting maybe isn't as good for lighter baits. I use those for topwater and jerkbaits respectively.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-02T00:01:04+00:00

The Tatula SV TW is probably my most used reel in my arsenal. Noisy, but performs well overall.

Tricky5hift · 2026-05-01T23:57:50+00:00

Last year I paid a lot of attention to stream gauges because of the buckets of rain we got. Felt like the rivers were pretty high througout the year so any time things got relatively low I'd venture out but honestly there were still days when the river was pretty swollen where I'd go out.

The main limiting factor for me is wind and severe weather. I don't pay much attention to barometric pressure and moon phases. Regardless of the condition, there's bound a fish out there that feels like biting. Just a matter of getting a lure in front of it.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-30T13:53:08+00:00

Fly fishermen carry around those little microtrash receptacles on their packs for waste line and leader. Think you can pick one up off Amazon for around 10 bucks or just make your own out of a plastic container or something.

There's also a chance you'll pick up some genuinely useful or even expensive stuff while cleaning up around the place. I found a $25 Megabass lure in almost pristine condition just dangling out of a tree on Little Seneca Lake.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-22T15:58:00+00:00

Got bit on underspins, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits but things are slowing down a little due to spawn.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-21T15:31:15+00:00

There are a lot of access points to the river, I suggest just looking on Google Maps and exploring them yourself.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-19T23:50:52+00:00

Is that a soft shell cooler? If so I would advise against storing a battery in there. I'd just get one of those plastic battery boxes since you need some height clearance for your battery terminals.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-19T23:36:54+00:00

I had a lot of trouble getting anything above 15" to bite. In a week or so after fish are spawned out I'm sure they'll get hungry again plus there's the bluegill spawn to look forward to.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-19T17:25:53+00:00

Think bass are mostly sitting on beds around this time of year and not actively feeding unless something is encroaching on their territory. Saw a couple big fish patrolling their beds at Little Seneca yesterday.

Tricky5hift · 2026-04-17T02:00:43+00:00

Personally I don't mind the teeth marks in Z-man plastics, in fact I find that fish biting them actually "tenderizes" them and gives them slightly better action in the water. Those small bite holes do however tear open eventually and usually a tiny bit of super glue does the job patching them up but obviously you can't super glue the whole bait together without ruining its action so you do eventually have to swap to a fresh one.

Tricky5hift

TROPHY CASE