NOVA Angler

I decided I wanted to get into brewing my own beer so for Christmas I'm going to ask for a brewing kit. Anyone have suggestions on what I need or what I should get? Do I really need the kit or can I buy the supplies from a hardware store and make the kit myself much cheaper. I'd like to keep my expenses under $100 so let me know what I can get for that price. Thanks!

I have the Crucial 7'11" Flipping Stick and I've been very happy with it. It has plenty of power to pull fish from thick cover. I'm sure the Powell is great as well. You should try to handle both to see which one you like better.

For techniques that require casting I highly recommend Fireline Braid. I switched to it from Power Pro and haven't looked back. The Power Pro dug in way too much leading to backlashes. For flipping plastics, you would be fine with Power Pro.

A Rage Toad is different than a Spro Frog. Even still, your nuts if you think that's a good setup.

It sounds like they're eating the bait, your are just having trouble driving the hook home. Like some others have said, I think you need a medium heavy rod and a preferably a rod that's 7'. I can't really say that I always wait to set the hook, but I don't rush it either. By the time I react, the fish has engulfed the frog and turned to swim away. I guess it's worth a try to see if waiting works for you, but for me either they eat it or they don't. If they eat it, my hookups with the Spro Jr. are very good.

I don't think that fish see the braid and I haven't had any problems catching fish on braid with soft plastics on the Potomac. With that said, here's what I use on my setups: Frogs/Buzzbaits - 50lb Power Pro Swim Jigs - 50lb Berkley Fireline Braid (casts lighter baits better than Power Pro IMO) Flipping #1 - 20lb Berkley Pro Flouro (moderate to heavy cover) Flipping #2 - 65lb Power Pro (nasty stuff) Spinnerbaits - 12lb Izorline XXX Copoly Senkos - 15lb Izorline XXX Copoly Shallow Cranks - 12lb Berkley Big Game Lipless Cranks - 12lb Izorline XXX Copoly

X2 Right on the head for me. I've caught fish on every color frog I own and have not found one to be better than the other. I throw them into the nastiest stuff I can find and the fish probably just feels the commotion and sees the trail. I use Snagproof Bobby's Perfect in the heavy stuff and ScumFrog Trophy in lighter stuff. I feel Spro's are too stiff. JMHO. Scumfrogs are a great alternative and cost $3.00 less. Very soft though and will snag up if you are fishing in reeds or other emergent vegetation. Give the Spro Jr. a try. I haven't noticed any difference in the quality of fish I catch and the body is much softer making hookups much better. A buddy of mine gave me another tip for increasing hookups....upgrade the size of the hooks. I think the standards Spros have 4/0 hooks that you can upgrade to 6/0 Owners and the Jrs have 3/0 that you can upgrade to 4/0. I ordered some 6/0 to try out so I'll report back after I've had the chance to use them. Honestly, I don't see the point of paying more for a bait and then taking the time and expense to change out the hooks. JMHO. To each his own. I do own and use Spro's, I just prefer the Snagproof and Scumfrog. Most of the guys in here change out the treble hooks on their crankbaits. If the hookups are better, that's plenty enough reason for me. I don't lose many fish on the Spro Jr so I'm not sure that it's necessary, but I don't think it will hurt anything either. The regular size Spro is a different story, the plastic is too stiff IMO. I have also fished the Snagproof Bobby's Perfect Frog and still prefer the standard size Spro over it. The Snagproof sank on every cast, but who knows, maybe I got a bad one.

I tried gorilla glue the other day and it came out with the first fish I caught. I usually just squeeze every couple casts. For whatever reason some Spro frogs are worse than other about filling up with water. I actually use Megastrike on the frog and put a little in the hole...seems to help for a while.

X2 Right on the head for me. I've caught fish on every color frog I own and have not found one to be better than the other. I throw them into the nastiest stuff I can find and the fish probably just feels the commotion and sees the trail. I use Snagproof Bobby's Perfect in the heavy stuff and ScumFrog Trophy in lighter stuff. I feel Spro's are too stiff. JMHO. Scumfrogs are a great alternative and cost $3.00 less. Very soft though and will snag up if you are fishing in reeds or other emergent vegetation. Give the Spro Jr. a try. I haven't noticed any difference in the quality of fish I catch and the body is much softer making hookups much better. A buddy of mine gave me another tip for increasing hookups....upgrade the size of the hooks. I think the standards Spros have 4/0 hooks that you can upgrade to 6/0 Owners and the Jrs have 3/0 that you can upgrade to 4/0. I ordered some 6/0 to try out so I'll report back after I've had the chance to use them.

Great job! Pohick?

Vegetation isn't the only reason to use braid. It doesn't stretch like mono and flouro so hooksets are much better, especially on long casts. With that said, I'm usually tossing frogs over milfoil, hydrilla, and pads so I use 50lb. Power Pro. I would also recommend Berkley Fireline Braid.

I have had good success with White/Black. It's black on the bottom and white on top with white and black strands. I prefer the Spo Jr. as the plastic seems softer and my hookups are better. I would think that whtie and black would be the two main colors you would want to have.

My guess is tree to tree fiddy as well. x tree

Awesome story man! Congrats! Is that your first bass boat?

I would start with local businesses. In this economy it may be tough but persistance will pay off. Get creative and ask companies that others might not think of. Think of ways to help them that doesn't cost you money. The best way to get something you want is to help someone else get something they want.

The Virginia Tech team won the national championship a couple years ago. I graduated from there in 2004 before they had the team. Here is a link... http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/news/story?id=3072091

I will say, with my frog rod I can cast the SPRO Jr. Frogs far without much problem with Power Pro. However with my swim jig rod, the Fireline has served me much better. I'm sure part of it has to do with your setup and what your casting.

Regardless off who was singing or what song it was or if it's my type of music or not, it was pretty darn cool. It looked like a lot of fun.

Nice fish! Do you weigh them with a scale or just guess?

Depending on how thick the mats are I would recommend using your trolling motor as little as possible. Since you fish the Potomac and most of the grass mats you are fishing are in the 3-6' range, the trolling motor moving through that slop tends to spook a lot of the fish IMO. Try to use the wind to your advantage and drift through/over the mats. I would start on the outside edge before working your way in. Some people even use push poles, though I think it's a pain in the rear. When the grass gets heavily matted on top, sometimes you have to drag your rig across the top to find a hole for it to drop in. I've heard other say that they slam the bait down into the mat to get it to penetrate. I haven't really experimented much with that technique. Like other have said, use a compact bait with fewer appendages. The Sweet Beaver usually works well for this technique. Since it's a reaction strike, don't worry too much about rate of fall. The bass have plenty of time to grab your bait before it hits the bottom, even with a 1.5oz sinker. Good luck!

I have both and prefer the STX for flipping and pitching. Both of my flipping sticks have STX's. I have an E7 on my senko rod and love that reel as well. I would say that I have an easier time casting the E7 but changing the braking on a STX is not complicated at all. I chose the STX's for flipping because I guess I'm a sucker for the increasted drag. I have had the drag slip setting the hook with one of my Curado 200's (these reels are now on my frog rod and swim jig rod). For the price, I think the STX would be hard to beat, but either way I don't think you'll regret your decision. Afterall, you can always upgrade the drag on the Curados for minimal cost.

x2

Thanks guys! We're both very excited about the new addition. This particular imaging clinic gave you the 4-D Ultrasound for free if you used them for your 20 week ultrasound. Definetly worth it. They gave us 21 still images and 4 videos that are 15-20 seconds each. Everyone at work that I've shown them to is amazed at how much the technology has progressed since they had kids. It really is amazing.

My wife is 30 weeks pregnant with our first child and I just wanted to share a couple pictures from our 4-D Ultrasound this morning. The new technology is absolutely amazing. I hope she likes fishing!

I own two of the 844's in IMX. I really like these rods a lot. I use them for jigs, texas rigs, weightless senkos, and even frogs. I have not fished the BCR854 but my understanding is that this rod is a little stiffer (some say a half power heavier) which might make casting lighter lures more difficult. Another vote for the MBR844c.