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I use one of those red practice plugs in my hall - it's wintertime ya know... The dog loves to chase it. Also - heavier line helps...

I'm looking for a new jig/trig rod for primarily 1/4 to 3/8 with an occassional 1/2 oz jig. I like the G Loomis mbr IMX series rods quite a bit but need some advice on exact models. Not too heavy cover - just some laydowns and rocks, no weeds/grass to speak of. What power (3 or 4) and what length is my quandry... I'd love a GLX but can't afford the divorce... Thanks, Bryan

I used 12# ultrasoft on all my baitcasters last year and it worked out real well. Gonna try some 14# BPS fluorcarbon this year for worms and jigs but the rest will be ultrasoft. KVD line conditioner helps out quite a bit as well although for most applications you won't need it. Just maybe for the bottom draggin stuff.

My fishing weaknesses: - deep water - electronics - I hear they do more than depth and temp? - trying new techniques with patience - fishing in wind - buzzbaits - most topwater - intend to try sammy this year... - fishing cold water - fishing clear water - fishing hot water maybe I should work on my golf game...

change of clothes fish for fun fish for food

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Welcome from western Cincinnati!

Welcome! This is a great place to learn...

If I were in your spot I'd wait a few weeks for the Bass Pro classic sale and pickup either a ProQualifier or Extreme casting combo (7' medium-heavy fast rod) and spend the rest on jigs, trailers, 3/8, 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits, plastics, good hooks, at least one Rapala xRap. Pick up 600 yards of 12# yozuri hybrid ultrasoft from cabelas. But that's just me - do your own shopping...

1) 5" Senko watermelon 2) Spinnerbait double willow blade shad 3) Rapala XRap 4) Jig with Paca Chunk 5) Rapala ShadRap or chrome crank

BPS runs pretty good deals from time to time (Spring Classic maybe?) on their Pro Qualifier combos. I picked one up three years ago for $70 - it was marketed as a Pro Qualifier Limited. The reel is smooth and the (7'MH) rod light enough for general purposes. BPS Extreme rods and reels are decent as well. I'd avoid the Browning stuff myself in favor of BPS or better. I bought a Browning spinning combo and was under-impressed with the quality.

Thanks for the replies. I've got some research to do. I like what I see on the Falcon Lowriders so far... Now to make a stop at BPS to get my hands on one...

I have been fishing exclusively with BC reels for the last couple years but struggle throwing the light stuff (light tubes, trick worms, light cranks...). I'm looking for one spinning outfit to cover these bases. I'd like to spend $150 or so on the rod and $100 or so on the reel. Any suggestions out there? I'll probably take RW advice on 6# Yozuri Hybrid as the 12# works great on the baitcasters (BTW - 15# works fine for the cats too but that's a different topic...)...

The Mounds at Brookvile Lake...

A couple weeks ago I was surf fishing in the Gulf with bubble rigs and tore up teh fish. The bubble is a 2" clear plastic bubble that you can fill part way with water. Following this is a 24" leader with a bait (3" McDonald's straw over a treble was very good here). You pop the bubble to simulate feeding fish. I was wondering if such a rig would work for surface feeding bass - I expect it would for white bass... I'm probably gonna try this today and will let you knw how it went. I expect the relatively rough water in the Gulf makes it more effective there. I'll probably experiment with other following baits. Any thoughts?

I have never done any bass jig fishing at all but this year I planned to do much more. Finally yesterday I was throwing a 1/2 oz football head jig (black and blue) with a baby paca craw (matching color). I had felt a couple ticks prior but missed the fish. Next I moved to a muddy bank with a fair number of laydowns. First cast on this bank I felt a few ticks. I reeled up and felt the pressure of the fish and I set the hook pretty hard. Not a monster but a nice 17" bass. I was pumped and now I intend to do a lot more jig fishing!

I have one and keep it handy for two reasons: Big, poorly hooked bass and foul hooked carp. Way too often have I accidentally hooked big carp that are a pain to get in the boat without a boat - and I might lose an expensive lure to boot...

Mostly Brookville Lake across the border in Indiana...

Nice fish!

I notice line memory mostly when fishing light plastics and senkos where I need to keep a close eye on the line. Other techniques I agree it's fine without it.

For a week or 2 in the Spring and then again in the fall I hit the crappie for the skillet and maybe a trip or two for catfish but mainly Bass. I'll try for some walleye every once in a while but I haven't got them figured out quite yet. If the Bass bite is not dead I'm chasing them normally...

First of all I really like this combination but I find I have to re-apply almost weekly or suffer significant line memory. I tried applying thoroughly to the last 100 ft and it still seemed to wear off. Is this normal? The KVD stuff really does a good job on the line but I don't like re-applying so often.

Yeah it's a Premier 7MF - I like that rod a lot. I had an Avid ready to purchase but I liked the feel of the premier almost as much.

Thank you sir. Heading out to Brookville again in a few minutes. Rainy and cool here following some pretty erratic weather so not sure how fishing will be. I figure if I can't get on the bass I might get a few crappie.

Finally got some nice bass out of Brookville lake (Ind). Took off work a bit early last Thursday and hit the lake by 2:30PM. I had picked up some X-Rap jerkbaits (#10 Silver) and was itching to try them out. The water was 55 degrees and it was sunny. Water was stained with 2-3ft visibility up in the north half of the lake. The third cast I caught a small keeper smallmouth so I was pumped. I found a pattern that worked (5-8 ft sandy flats near deep water) that really worked well. I snaked 6 keepers and a couple other dinks. The biggest was 3 lb 7 oz. Three of the others were over 3 lbs and that's good for me for here.