Hammer 4

May want to have a look at this re: gut hooked bass.

Hope your feeling better..Welcome back..

Yeah, I get that. As a contractor/ carpenter if guys were dragging their feet, they'd be gone, even getting paid by the hour, tradesmen were Expected to get things done in a timely fashion. BTW, even when I first started to frame, I always carried 2 skill saws, 2 sawzall's, basically 2 of everything, just in case.

I agree. Back when I was working, if anyone showed up with a cordless saw, they would have been either laughed at, or sent home. Time is money, especially if your doing piece work. Maybe guys nowaday are just lazy..?

I've had a bunch of skillsaws. The best one was one made in 1956, all metal. All the other saws I bought were the Magnum skillsaws, none of those would cut nearly as well as that old saw from 1956. I also see crews in all trades using cordless saws, which in some cases dumbfounds me.

Looks awesome...Very nice work..

I have sooooooooooooooooo many lead weights from 1/8 to 1/2 oz that I use them when I can. I also have tungsten weights, I use those sparingly..

I'd say 3 1/2 lbs, or close to it.

I use Seagar smackdown in stealth grey, also use it for flippin and punching, no leader..no problem..

Nice one..Is this a private lake..?

I don't know about some of you guys, but growing up in the 50's and 60's, and even into the 70's, things were pretty much priced so you didn't have to go into deep debt to buy a nice car, in fact a nice car would cost about 1/3 of your yearly salary. Gas when I began driving was .18 cents per gal, as a young 16 year old working in a gas station, I could afford to fill up once or twice a week. Put this into prospective re: the cost of items, and gas today. People are spending sometimes 1 to 1 1/2 their yearly salary on a car, hence why they have 6 year financing.. So, it's hard for older folks like me to justify the cost of some of today's items. Everyone deserves to make a decnt living, but in some cases what I would term ripping people off is hard for me to swallow.

The Fuego would be a good choice. As for rods, in the $99.99 to 119.99 range, check out the Diawa Tatula XT rods, I have a few, and they fish above the price point, pretty happy with mine.

This is also my DS set up almost to a tee, sans the Iovino baits..Must be a west coast thang..lol

If you decide on a tarp, get a Good Commercial grade tarp. The ones at home depot, and harbor freight will degrade within a year if exposed to the elements. When I was working in construction, I never left them on a roof for very long.

When you say "bigger baits " how big is big..? 3 oz. 5 oz. 8 oz..? Need to know this to give you a fair answer to your question. Also, do want to stay with a Dobyns rod or are you considering other brands..?

Also, it seems that a lot of the Pro's in bass fishing are using spinning rigs these days. They are especially good for whacky rigging..?

Nope..Been using spinning set ups for many years, and still do to this day. They are especially good for lighter weight presentations, and allow for lighter line, and usually better casting distance with lighter lures.

I throw both, but my first selection will be a spinnerbait every time. I've caught more fish on those vs a swimjig. Use what works best for you.

I have 7 lb sniper on one of my spinning reels, for sure a high quality line.

I'll second that. Blues family is very lucky to have such a great Dad, and Husband..

Suffix is good line, good choice..

I don't have the Magic Stick, but I do have the Irod Jr. Swimbait, and mh/f baitcasting rod. These are in my opinion great rods, they fish well above their price point, they are light, finish in very nice, and above all the customer service is next to none. Pretty hard to go wrong with any Irod imho.

Hmm, I agree, the Jeep platform doesn't cut it. Plus imho that thing is Fugly.

Baitcasters..7 Diawa's and 1 Shimano Spinning. 1 Diawa, and 1 Shimano..

Generally, but not always, most will frog on a longer rod, and will be a heavy with a fast tip. Line is normally 50 to 65 lb braid. The rod provides the power to both drag fish out of heavy cover, and to help insure good hook sets. The braid helps cuz it's strong and has little stretch..None of which helps if the hooks are not needle sharp. I would use the fluro for something else, stick with the braid, I would however think about getting a more powerful rod.