Dwight Hottle

I haven't used either rod so I can't help you there. Call Trey & ask him. He will give you some good feedback.

Welcome to our bass community.

I use 12 & 15 lb mono leaders on Erie. I never felt that a lighter lb leader would get me more bites but I always appreciated the heavier line for abbrasion resistance in the rocks.

Go to Toho. It has been fishing better than the big O for the last month. Your chances for getting a double digit also increases as you go north. Talking with Capt Steve Daniel last week he said if they do lower to 10+ feet it will concentrate the fish once you locate them. Unfortunately it will require relearning where to fish. There is a lot of resistance not to lower it to that level that the governor is advocating.

In the G Loomis line the GLX, NRX & Conquest all stand out as winners. Another consideration would be Kistler KLX, Helium 3 or Z bone which are all built on Gary Loomis blanks from North Fork and very sensitive & light weight. If you stick with the G Loomis brand take a close look at the mag bass tapers as they are the most versatile for day to day use with different techniques including soft plastic applications.

Congrats on the wedding.

Megabsss vision 110+2 fish today on lake Okeechobie.

You deserve to brag all you want with that performance. Congrats on a killer day.

If you like round reels go with the conquest CTCNQ100 weighs 7.5oz compared to calais 200A at 9.3oz it's a classic The Bantam mgl 150 is the conquest of the low profile reels weighs 7.6oz The Antare 70AHG weighs 7.8oz Any of those three will serve you well and should please you with their awesomeness.

I use pointer 128's, osp rudra 130sp & deps balisong 130sp jerk baits which all weight 1oz for smallies.

Well maybe the commissioner Roger Goodell will come to his aid. The news broke the story about the massage parlors two days ago & said a list of johns would be forthcoming. You would think a man with his wealth would be a little more careful.

You have got my support. Modern medicine can work wonders.

I hear ya. I have caught 50+ smallies over six pounds but only one over 7 pounds. It's all about the fisherie, misspelled on purpose.

Forget the reel brand hype for the moment. You want a 2500 or 3000 series with a bigger spool for casting purposes. The bigger diameter spool will cast further & handle line flow better. Now if your just vertically drop shotting and want to keep the reel weight to a minimum you can go with a 1500 or 2000 series reel since your just flipping or dropping your bait. I have used both 1500 & 2000 series reels for vertical drop shotting and they work just fine. Now that you have the reel decision made you can wrestle with the reel brand choices.

Every sustain I ever picked up in anticipation of purchasing just didn't impress me at all. They always felt stiff when reeling & just didn't feel smooth. For the price I would look at anything else. You can get a jdm daiwa 16 certate 2500 series for $331.81.

Welcome to BR.

Save it as a loaner rod for people you don't like.

I’m talking about boat ownership.

I’m not privy to vermonts state laws requiring boating within their state but I can tell you as a resident of state ME with your boat registered in state ME you should be able to take your boat to any state and Canada to fish without worrying about conforming to their laws of residency. Usually their only requirements are safety related requiring USCG requirements. As long as your boat confirms to your state of residency requirements your are good to go.

Good to see you back posting some sweet NE fish.

Thanks for telling it like it is. Good videos.

X2 saved me from typing the same thing

Most guys take a while before they catch there first jig fish and you did it first fish ever. Congrats.

Check a lake map for a reef near where you launch. Smallies will be on the reefs starting in late March.

Big smallmouth love big jerk baits.