Team9nine

Probably won't work, but contact MinnKota to verify. I converted mine and it was easy enough, but it was a 2015.

Very cool ? The two comments go hand in hand. Marketing and popularity has killed the understanding of the original system by using the term "Ned rig," a term Ned initially despised and refused to use himself. I believe even he has relented somewhat in this regard as there is no getting away from it anymore.

The Alan Hawke comment is in reference to saltwater and a practice by some. Since the weave of braid will trap water, when the water dries, salt particles/crystals are left residing on your braid. Some believe those salt crystals could prematurely damage or weaken your braided line, so they rinse or even remove and clean the braid. Additionally, there is the possibility of corrosion to the spool or other reel parts if the saltwater trapped on the line stays in contact with certain components. The Daiwa BG reel spools have a weep hole built into them to allow excess water to drain off the spool. None of this should be an issue if using in freshwater.

Let's hear it I've heard the theory mentioned by some, and there is enough science that I can see where the argument for it comes from. Curious to hear opinions on it one way or the other.

Just to throw this into the mix for discussion, the one semi-valid argument I've heard for spinning being more sensitive, is that the weight of the reel naturally sits underneath the rod allowing you to lightly hold the rod more with your fingers and fingertips, as opposed to a bait caster, where keeping the reel on top requires either palming or more of a hand held "clamp" that uses larger muscles that aren't as sensitive. Just a theory, but I have to admit I have a spinning outfit that I can just about feel fish fart on my line as it's passing near them ?

Ned rig specific - go with a 4'-6' leader.

CrankFate nailed it - stiffness and weight. Carbon fiber offers a superior stiffness to weight ratio compared to metal, which results in better sensitivity.

Go with the young gun - since the young guys don't have the established professional track record and name recognition yet, you can work deals for considerably less money ? ? ? - Lol

Some years I track, some years I don't. This year I'm not, but based on some past records, an average year for me would be about 1,000 bass, another 1,000 crappie, and 500 misc. fish (2500 total). My recent best year was 2011 when I landed 2,305 bass along with another ~2500 non-bass for close to 5,000 fish total. That 2011 bass total was 82 trips totaling 260 hrs. The only stat I know for this year is having caught multiple open water bass so far in every month, including Jan and Feb, which often isn't a possibility being this far north.

For the past 13 years I lived just 3 miles from the boat ramp of a local reservoir. In 10 minutes I could be there and launched, and it made fishing for even just an hour or two after dinner an easy thing, not to mention weekends. But last fall we moved, and the nearest reservoirs are between 25-45 miles away. With traffic, I have to plan on an hour out and another hour back, then fishing time on top of it. Makes all the weekday trips a thing of the past, and weekend trips have been hit or miss. Fortunately, having a bunch of small water within walking distance has become the substitute for the boat, and still getting out and fishing several times a week.

Two issues of In-Fisherman...the very first issue from 1975, and the most recent one from July 2018, 43 years between them. Pretty cool reading through both of them this weekend

A few from the weekend. Still able to sight fish several of these fish in the ponds which is always interesting...and fun. Got to watch a big bass corral and annihilate a bluegill just 10 feet from me today - it was pretty awesome to watch. You can learn a heck of a lot about bass behavior by just sitting in one good area for a while, being quiet and just watching.

All the time - works great!

THIS ^^ Often refereed to as "weighing your jig" by some. Fish with the same outfit long enough, and eventually you develop a keen feel for how much tension ("weight") should be on your line at all times. When what you expect to feel doesn't happen, you set the hook. Other things like line watching, and timing your drops, etc. will also come into play. Just takes time to develop this sense.

You'll always miss the occasional fish. Sometimes they only get the end of the worm. Sometimes they're either not bass or too small. But by and large, you should hook and land more than you miss. I lost/missed 2 definite bass tonight but landed 13. Get enough bites and you'll figure out hook setting technique. Oftentimes I'll double set depending. Too stiff a rod can cost you fish and casting distance, too, so it's a trade-off. The jighead in the pic is 1/16 oz with a No. 1 hook

Caught over a dozen tonight on that rig with a ML rod, 10 lb. braid with 8 lb fluoro leader...hundreds on it over the past couple months. It will work fine.

@Paul Roberts has pretty much covered it above. One comment I'd add is that water temps around 88-90 degrees seems to be at or just over the temperature at which bass feed most (the higher temp/higher metabolism thing). Above that, several studies suggest that feeding slows down or even ceases as you approach maximum temps at which bass can survive, generally pinned to the 98-102 deg range. This ties with the behavior mitigation Paul mentioned. Short term survival is more important than feeding in extreme cases. Likewise, it has been noted that it is possible for bass to move down into or even below the thermocline to cooler temperatures but with low oxygen levels on a temporary basis, both of which likely curtail feeding in exchange for energy conservation.

This ^^ Use whatever you want for backing, then straight fluoro the rest of the way (no leaders). On shallow spools you can go all fluoro if you want...using backing on larger spools is simply for cost efficiency.

Isn't that a George Thorogood song? "I fish alone. Yeah, with nobody else. I fish alone. Yeah, with nobody else. Yeah, you know when I fish alone I prefer to be by myself." ?

@Paul Roberts and I have had some pretty in-depth discussions on this very subject over the years, and it largely boils down to adequate food supply and longevity. These ponds have to produce enough food of various size classes, and it has to be available to the bass at the right time/age Plus, the fish have to live long enough in them to be able to grow big. However, such conditions don’t exist very often in these man-made systems as there is little ecological stability. Many are borderline insufficient depth for survival or protection during severe winters or summer die-offs. They are rarely stocked intelligently/intentionally, and then managed afterward. They frequently receive excess nutrients from adjacent farm fields or home owners yards, then get treated by HOAs for excess weeds/algae, etc. due to this over-fertilization. Plus they tend to get a lot of foot traffic from anglers which likely crop off many of the few big ones that do make it against the odds. It seems like 3 pounds (give or take) seems to be the natural limit before fish start getting skinny and succumb to either insufficient forage (of appropriate size), harsh environmental conditions, old age or fishing pressure. Anything above that size is kind of a special fish in these little waters. Those waters that regularly produce a lot of bigger than normal bass, or have really good overall bass size structure, can probably attribute it to one of the above factors (or more likely several of them) falling into the basses favor (against the odds).

Same law on the books here in Indiana (wanton waste). Depending on the size, number and species involved, you could also get hammered for poaching. Simply call F&G next time. Here in Indiana, they also have a 1-800 TIP line to report violations while out on the water (TIP = Turn in a poacher).

Life in the shallow subdivision ponds around here can be a pretty tough living due to a variety of factors. Kind of rare to find one with a real good size structure of bass in it. As such, we get a lot of smaller fish that top out around 3-4 pounds before dying off. Managed one this weekend that was probably around as big as they get in this particular pond...at least it's up there with the biggest I've ever caught there.

If kept right (cool, dark place) then years and years. I've always kept my spools hanging on a pegboard in a garage, but had a serious tourney friend who once bought a refrigerator that he put in his basement and kept all his line spools in it. In any case, I've got some spools I've been using that I know are close to 20 years old (nylon). I think my oldest fluoro spools are closer to 10 though.