DTack

Basshunter nailed it...

Early Spring through Summer I would definitely have topwater on... Spook, wakebait, punker. I'd also have a ripbait ready, a jig, a dropshot, a tube, senko and a darthead. I would feel ready with that stuff. Possibly a swimbait as well for the Spring, but once it got into summer temps I would mostly have something on top.

I've never actually fished for them there. There is a local guide RJ Bennett from Xtreme-angling guide service... he may be able to give you an area to bank fish.

Chatterbait: Dobyns Champion 804cb 7:1 or 6.3:1 Tatula or citica 15 lb maxima mono or 20lb Sunline Sniper. Spinnerbait: Dobyns Champion Extreme 744dx 7:1 tatula or 6.3:1 citica 15 lb maxmia mono Swimjig: Don't throw it much but same as spinnerbait.

For me PERSONALLY money not an issue I like the extreme 744dx... I really only throw a 1/2 oz... Throwing the 3/8 into the mix I would go with the 734c champion the rod is just a bit slower overall And your casts would be a bit easier.

Spooks and the like - Dobyns 734c - daiwa tatula type r 8.0:1 with braid Poppers - Dobyns 704cb - daiwa tatula with braid

From what I know (have never been) it can be a great lake and it has huge potential but the fishing can be extremely tough overall. Not sure what type of info you're looking for.

For swimbait I would go with something at very least 6". A huddleston, an osprey bait or a boottail style like that, or a lunker punker that time of year. For jigs a 3/8 oz football head is always my starter on that type of lake... something in a green pumpkin hue with a twin tail trailer on the back would be what I would have on. My favorite is a 3/8oz California Reservoir Lures in Johnny's Magic. As far as tubes my favorite are the dry creek tubes and I also like the bass pro tubes. Feel free to ask any other questions... have fun!

The 765dx MAY possibly work really... I would think it may be just a bit too stiff unless you mainly throw the jig in 30+ feet of water.

That lake is pretty far up North, meaning it is a little behind as far as spawn and what not... When is your spring break? If it is March or April you will likely see early pre-spawn fish up there. Which should end up giving you a good bite to work with. Should be able to catch them on reaction baits like a ripbait, a swimbait, (if it is warm a spook might work) would be ready to go for me in the morning. After that point a light colored senko, a dropshot, a tube, a jig or a darthead would be a good bet. Let me know if you'd like more specifics!

In my opinion the 795dx would overpower things pretty badly. If you wanted something longer with more power the 765dx would be a little better but in my opinion still a bit too much power. The 745dx is probably the most popular for this size football jig. 784dx is also a wildly popular rod for the football jigs but just isn't my personal favorite for the jig. Actually the 744dx was the first Dobyns I ever purchased and completely hooked me on them. Happy to discuss anymore concerns you may have!

I personally use a 744dx. 745dx seems to be the more popular choice. I just finished a 2 day tournament catching 25-30 fish a day on a 3/4 oz jig on the 744dx, my favorite rod to have a football jig on. I mainly throw 3/8 and 3/4, they both go on that rod. Let me know if you have concerns.

Roboworm 6" MMIII or Morning dawn

California Resevoir Lures, arky head 3/8 oz Johnny's Magic.

I love too many... A big wakebait, a swimbait, a frog, a spook, a spinnerbait bite on the bank, and a heavy flip bite, catching a big one on light line. I could never decide!

I am biased because it covers us locally, but I listen to the UltimateBass "podcast" which is actually a long running radio show.

Matt Allen but if he is booked which could happen, try John Pearl!

A 7'6" flipping stick would be good for both I believe. If I wanted to do things in a very simple way (outside of your price range a bit so this rod is NOT a suggestion just what I would do if I were say re-starting) I would have a Dobyns Savvy 766 rigged with 70lb braid ready for a frog or a heavyflip/punch set up at all times. When I got a big bite there would be no doubt about losing the fish due to the wrong tackle on either bait. 7'6" heavy action flipping stick would be the best choice in my opinion and one with the right action could really be a great rod for both techniques.

What are you trying to imitate? I don't mean to be rude but I wouldn't spend anything on that bait. For that size I think there are a lot better options in baits period. Where are you trying to throw it around? I would be happy to give some other personal suggestions.

Because of this, I respect everything else you said!

I will just try to keep this directed at the OP and answer the question. Other people can comment on it all they want haha. Currently towing: 2000 Champion 181 single axle Mercury Optimax 150. Tow with a 2003 Tahoe Z71 5.3l 3.73 gears 4x4. I get between 10 and 12 overall towing so far. If I drive strictly in downtown Sacramento I get around 12-14 without the boat. If I'm "mixed" it's around 14.5-16, if I drive freeway I can get from 18-21. How you drive makes a world of difference is all I will say when it comes to "safety", mileage and wear on a vehicle. I hope you find a vehicle that you love to drive if you're going to be paying for it. I recently upgraded to mine and I love driving it.

I actually attach it to the line tie, plenty of room to still tie to the bait. So on the line tie, you end up with a split ring attached and laying flat against the top of the bait, with your hook buried into the head of the bait (same as Butch's rig) then your line tied in front of it towards the nose of the bait. Hope this makes sense.

For baits of that size I recently got my hands on the Daiwa Tatula HD. This reel is awesome in my hands so far. The drag is strong and smooth, has a good line capacity for a low profile reel and is comfortable in my hand being low profile. For this size I wouldn't want to deal with a round reel personally... it is just under what I would reserve those for. I like the little bit faster reel than what you can get with the 300 and 400 (Shimano size reference) round reels. These extra capacity low profile reels are great for the size baits you've listed. Hope this helps a bit I can give more detail if you'd like.

For me it comes down to efficiency. I don't really think that I feel much influence from "pros or magazines" when it comes to "needing" equipment. For every person that is convinced they need something, there are 50 people that are convinced that everyone else feels that way who has a lot of rods and reels. I choose to pick my battles. I own a boat I paid $10k dollars for. It has paid for itself. I could "afford" a payment for a $30k boat but I don't feel I need it or that it would drastically increase my efficiency. I have more rods than I do reels. I can use a reel on multiple rods and multiple situations and still feel that it is the best for what I'm doing. I'm somewhere around 16-18 rods at this point. Seems like a lot, but I didn't go out and buy 15 because I felt like I needed them all at once. I started with about 6 I think, and they grew from there as I realized what I wanted and realized what I wanted to have out and tied on at the same time in certain situations. I could make do with much less if I just fished say one or two lakes around here. One weekend I may be fishing 3' visibility in grass, or flipping a 7'-10' mat needing to be prepared for a 7-9lb bite... the next weekend I may be fishing 35-60 foot with 15' visibility in the afternoon just to get bit. There's a lot of situations that you can come across. Sure, I could make do with one or two rods absolutely. For me that wouldn't be quite as fun... I like using a lot of techniques and feeling like I'm doing things as well as possible! That is the fun of bass fishing for me. I appreciate where I live as I have the opportunity to do completely different things each time of year to catch fish and it's within say an hour and a half drive. I enjoy going into a situation and feeling fully prepared. Yes, I could definitely still catch a lot of fish on a frog with a 7' medium heavy rod with 15lb test mono on it... But when I've put $75 in gas into my trip (on the light side) and taken the time out of my life to go fishing I want to increase my odds when a 7lber eats a frog in a matt or on a row next to tullies... There are many situations I could go over in that way. I want to get the bite, I want to be able to put the bait where I want it to go within about a 6" circle most of the time and I want to be able to do that from as far away as possible and as quietly as possible. This comes down to my mechanics more than my equipment, but if I can learn better mechanics with specific equipment... I'm going to use it. As far as lures go... It may seem like I have a lot, but once again, it has to do with how many situations I face through the year. I fish 12 months a year, water clarity from 3 inches to 20 feet. Absolutely no cover to be broken off in, to the thickest grass and wood I can make a 1.5oz weight go through. This is the adversity that attracts me to fishing... I keep colors as simple as possible with so many different baits. Example: White buzzbait, black buzzbait. Plastic blade, and double blade metal. White frog, black frog, green frog, all I need. Spooks I have 2 colors in two baits. It is simple if you let it be. I just have to have so many lures for different situations, it even makes it EASIER to carry less colors. If this doesn't make sense I can rant a lot more on the subject haha.

That fish was actually caught on a bait rigged with a 2/0 owner on the belly. Since then I've really gotten away from that. That fish absolutely inhaled the bait. The "bump" from the fish eating the bait didn't even feel real... My method for hook now is simple, I use one head hook on the top of the bait VERY similar to the butch brown rig, the only thing I change is I actually use a split ring on the head instead of the cable and crimp. I was using that for a while and absolutely loved it, however I broke a fish off on that rig and it really didn't sit well since it was in a tournament. We ended up with 31.37 for that day and that fish would have put that weight a bit higher. I was REALLY not happy, so I just sick with a split ring instead. I use a size 1 gamakatsu round bend, years ago I would have said that is not stout enough but I haven't had problems with it so I am sticking to it. If you have more questions, please feel free to let me know. I wish the fish still ate them here the way they did 5-6 years ago, things were truly incredible.