Will touching my line ruin it? Also, what baits/lures do you hate to use?

Touching line doesn't make a difference. Fishing saltwater with conventional reels I level the line with my thumb as I retrieve, which means with every cast I touch basically the full length of the line. And as everyone else has pointed out, tying knots involves lots of touching, so if there were any cooties on your fingers they would be concentrated in the last few inches, closest to your bait, where they would bother the fish the most.

If your fingers aren't caked with motor oil or the like, touching the line won't make any difference.

If touching the line ruined it, how would we tie knots?

Let's see... as far as hated lures go, I can't stand the ones that are advertised on TV. Y'know, the ones with the half-hour or hour-long infomercials.

Hated baits... how does one hate a live bait? How do you hate a threadfin shad? I don't really hate the bait itself, per se, but I hate the people that use 'em. I'm talking about "professional guides". One of the assholes that guides on my local lake claims to be an "expert" on his website with using live shad.

HOW IN THE HELL IS A PERSON AN EXPERT WITH LIVE SHAD??

What's so f*cking difficult about 'em that you're either a novice or an expert!? You put one on a hook and wait! People actually pay to fish with live bait!? F*ck that! And this guy charges $300 for a half-day of fishing... with f*cking shad!!!

1.)Nothing a lil water cant solve at home. Run it under the sink it works wonders. Hoses work to. Any water just not a lake.

2.)Strange question but do you mean bass/pickerel? Pickerel arnt pike. Anyway I hate mostly super fluks and spinnerbaits.