Dwight Hottle

Not to discourage you from building a custom rod on a NFC blank but have you considered just buying from Edge rods? If you get on their email list they have frequent sales. The last sale rod I purchased from them was $299 with tax & shipping included for a EFX Pro MBR 766-1C with micro guides & graphite handle.

@Peacedivision Congrats on the new PB.

You got pretty excited on that one. I even detected some back reeling.

Fluke or suspending jerk baits fished ultra slowly at first light or dusk if you don't like fishing at night. If the slow retrieve doesn't work try a really fast retrieve with the jerk baits. Also try a whopper plopper on the surface. As suggested by others you want long cast to present your baits without them seeing you.

I have heard of guys converting a trailer to a swing tongue. Get a quote from a welding shop or a trailer manufacturer.

@rangerjockey Gary Loomis is still alive & active in the Edge Rod business. He had a noncompete clause with Shimano after the sale.

@Koz I just talked to a guide friend that fished Orange lake recently. He said it was currently very choked out with weed growth. He also said that the adjacent lake Lochloosa connected by Cross Creek was also highly rated for quality bass. Might be worth your time to check it out.

Google Drews Guide Service. 786-342-5791. Tell Capt Drew I said hello. He fishes for both peas & LMB. He also specializes in fly fishing if that's your thing.

I never realized how many there are in lake Erie & they do attack jerk baits regularly.

I could give you a more accurate guess if you had not blocked out your identity but I’m guessing 6lb ish.

@MickD Casting for maximum distance.

I met Daniel down @ lake Baccarac in Mexico last trip. He builds swimbaits & is a very accomplished angler. His wife is a traveling nurse so he has fished all over including Alaska & Texas & Montana most recently. A truly nice guy.

I'm happy for you both. Nothing better than kicking cancer in the butt.

Katie get a small camera tripod & set it up in the front of the boat. You can put a camera on it or your phone. That is what I used on Erie when I fished by myself. You can either set the phone or camera to take a pic on a 15 or 30 second delay or buy a blue tooth hand held trigger that takes the pic for you. I used to use the delay method but switched to the blue tooth device & it was very slick. Total cost would be around $50. Take a look at my profile albums & you can see all the smallies pics I took by myself where I'm sitting in front of the big motor.

There are two things to consider in a budget. Hard costs the actual money spent offset by value in use. How much pleasure & self well being does your fishing provide to help offset the actual dollar cost? Think about it.

@road warrior Kent you are the best of Bass Resource for a lot of years. Enjoy your retirement but stay in touch.

Your learning curve is advancing quickly with all the new baits. The southern bass population is probably lucky you are confined to the NE.

Try stepping down to 30lb braid and see how it works. I personally would save the 20lb braid for spinning tackle. Dig in problems depend on the particular braid you chose to use & how open you snag or are in heavy weed cover. When fishing open water it is much less of a problem if at all.

I have several Diawa Certate spinning reels that have mag sealed parts. My advice is not to service them except for normal cleaning. The mag seal oil is made to stay intact or sealed unless the seal is broken. I have never serviced them & they are as smooth as the day I bought them. I think of magnetic oil like the oil bath wheel bearing on large trucks. Unless the seal is broken leave them alone. You shouldn't ever need to add mag oil just replace it when there is an intrusion. The whole idea behind mag seal parts is to eliminate regular servicing.

The serious musky guys all swear by the knipex tools & have them on the deck when landing a fish. There is nothing worst in fishing than to have a struggling fish hooked to your body & his at the same time.

Take a couple of old hooks with you when you go to buy them. Then you will know if they are adequate.

welcome to BR Ed & fire away with any questions.

Inspiring Koz. Thanks again.

That's your problem. The fluoroclear leader is problematic because fluoro line is much more difficult to achieve a good knot because it burns or weakens the knot when tightening it down unless your technique is flawless. And your using ten lb test instead of 15lb test main line. Frankly you would be better off just using the straight mono without the leader. The only time you need a leader is with braid when you want to add in a little stretch or need extra abrasion resistance. Or if you are paranoid about the fish seeing the braid & not biting. But for jigs & T-rigs just use straight braid & your hook sets with improve dramatically.

Are you using mono or braid? Braid will allow you to get much better hook sets because it does not stretch. I would recommend that use a medium heavy rod with fast action for jigs & T-rigs. If your fishing around heavy cover you should use a stiffer drag but not locked down. You want some slippage to prevent tackle break offs.