SoFlaBassAddict

How thats thing fit over something like a Camelback, b.Lee? Nice looking bag.

x2 I'm curious to see how well Shimano made that reel.

True, my only problem is that the shoulder ain 't what it used to be, the elbow is afu, the left hand wrist is fubar .... man I 'm gettin ' old ! Twenty years ago I could chunk and wind all day long, now I 'm becoming a soft plastics man and not preciselly because I like them, can 't do much with the machinery I 've got. There should be something like the blue pill for them arms. HGH or Roids is about it. Not sure I wan't to deal with the side effects to be able to deep crank. Come to think of it, I wonder when thats going to make it's way into professional fishing if it already hasn't....

It was fun, but I would have liked to had some larger fish bite. Having stuff break kind of stinks. My TM is in the garage with the epoxy curing. I mean I don't "need" it. But it makes it far easier to launch the boat and bring it back with a motor in the back. Could have been worse, the boat didn't sink or anything.

40 casts fine for me. You're probably fine with 65 to be totally honest. It's still a super thin diameter. I wouldn't go any lower than 30 on a casting reel though. It does dig in a hair.

Spinning: 20lb braid w/8lb to 12lb fluoro or co-poly leader Worm/Jig rod: 30lb braid w/12lb to 14lb fluoro leader Flippin/Froggin: 40lb braid (I'll put a 14lb fluoro leader on if the cover is thinner) General use: 40lb braid w/12lb to 14lb fluoro leader I don't think you ever need anything heavier than that unless you are in some seriously nasty stuff. Once I break down and buy a rod thats Heavy or Extra heavy, I'll probably stick 50-65 on that one. I learned my lesson at Okeechobee about needing at least one really stout rod.

Heres where, and what I used today: My mini Everglades canal system: Tackle I had with me: These just happen to be three of my favorite hard baits:

Those dead ringers are pretty good also, eh Eric? airborne_angler, The 10" ol monster and 8" dead ringer are my two worm fishing staples. I'll have a pack of each on the deck with me when fishing worms. The dead ringer has a larger profile with ridges. It displaces more water and has a slower sink rate. The ol monster has a sleeker profile and a faster sink rate. I let the fish tell me which one they prefer, but between those two I can usually get something going. I'd say half the fish I've got over 4lbs this year have been on the ol monster. I've gone through about three packs since you kicked my butt that day at Lox.

Went out about a month ago. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1280431619/0

Nice lookin rig. 7'11" at the wheels? Hrmm, that will fit into my doors with no problem. Whats your address? I want to come....look...yeah..

Went out this morning and crushed them. Caught probably 50 or 60 fish in about four and a half hours. Only got one strike on a frog. I got out just after sunrise unfortunately. Most of the fish I found on a big flat using a t-rigged worm. Had to work it pretty quickly to get a strike. Picked up a few more on a Houdini Dipper weightless and pulled out of some grass. Once the sun got up, I started flipping some pads, mats, and bullrush. Larger fish all came flipping a Sprayed Grass Sweet Beaver. Half ounce tungsten with a 5/0 snelled Octopus hook. Had a few threes and one that was probably close to four. Nothing to really write home about. I left once the heat started getting pretty bad. There was no wind in the areas I was fishing and it got unbearable. I actually ended up with a mild case of heat stroke, my head is killing me right now. Was not fun dragging my Jon back across the street into my lake to get home when my little dolly decided to break. That was after I snapped my transom mounted TM bracket. Hopefully some good epoxy and tie wraps will fix that....

Man, what I wouldn't give to still have Tricare.

Fluorocarbon. It's a material some lines are made out of. You've got Mono, Co-Polymer, Fluorocarbon, and Braid.

I'm hopefully heading out to one of the mostly unfished areas around here in the morning. Heres to hoping. It's been dink city lately.

Porky fish right there. Nice catch. You're well on the road to a frog addiction.

I really need to start throwin hard swimbaits. That thing is purdy lookin'

Oh hell, Pines? You're right in my neighborhood. Theres another member here that lives right in Pines also. Welcome to the site.

I haven't caught anything huge this year. I'd say I'm doing about average compared to years past. For some reason, I've always caught all of my larger fish at the end of the year down here. The water finally cools down, and night fishing gets grossly fun.

If you fish soft plastic craws on a t-rig, this will help. Soft Plastic Craw Fishing That has got to be one of the best reads on the forums. You can apply a lot of that to any standard Texas rig. Catt basically gave you a step by step starting point. My advice, don't overthink the bait. Toss it out there, let it hit the bottom and start your retrieve. You'll catch fish....if they're there. Catching bass is easy; finding them and what they want to eat is the hard part.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with cork that looks like it gets used regularly. I really need to clean mine up somehow. Some of the fillers have come out.

The 7'6" that I have is incredibly light. I'll probably buy another one or two from the lineup when they come out.

That looks very similar to the lake I'm on. Lots of very sharp drops. You've got lots of options there. You can run a c-rig up and down some of the drops. Do the same with a t-rig or a jig. Put the boat shallow and cast deep. Gently work it back to you so you don't get hung on some of the outcroppings. Try to key in on the irregularities on the shoreline. Most of the time, the contour under the water will follow the shoreline. A lot will also depend on the weather that day. If you've got some wind, fish the windblown side of the lake. Bait will usually congregate in the windy areas. Plankton gets blown up, little fish eat the plankton, etc etc. I'd toss a spinnerbait or a swim jig in that situation. That could also be a productive lake for a drop shot or a split shot rig. Make sure you've got a decent understanding of your electronics to pinpoint bass holding structure in the deeper areas. If some of those spots are covered in milfoil, look for those spots that have milfoil and another type of grass mixed in with it. Bass will key in on different bottom types and intersections. Usually if you've got two different types of grass, the bottom underneath is may have a subtle difference.

Half of it is the gear you're using. The other half is building up the proper muscles and stamina to do it easily.

Wow, I'm honored. Much obliged my good man. Anytime you find yourself down here in my area I'll put you on some fish that rarely see hooks.

I can honestly say that I'm jealous. Hope they work out good for you. God I would I could convince myself to drop that kind of money for a rod or two.