Marty

No.

That was my first superline. The only thing I didn't care for was that I couldn't get the casting distance with my spinning reel that I thought I should. The line just didn't flow off the spool as smoothly as I thought it should. Otherwise, it was fine. Never had any breakage and it was great at abrasion resistance.

I'll add my opinion that it should do fine with crankbaiting. You can get the Lite if you want but the original will also do the job.

Braided lines are not alone as far as offering fishermen a daunting choice. I'm not aware of reviews of the type you're looking for. Most braids share some properties, such as small diameter, little to no stretch, great abrasion resistance to wood and weeds and little to no twist. And, of course, you can do price comparisons on any retailer's site that handles numerous brands. I'd advise you to search or scan this sub-forum for braid threads, see what people are saying and buy something that generates mostly positive comments. In the end the choice will be somewhat arbitrary, as, unfortunately, Consumer Reports doesn't do fishing products. I use Power Pro. That was an arbitrary choice, but I've stuck with it because it does what I want it to do. The only other one I've tried is Tuf-Line XP and that handled terribly on my spinning equipment.

If it's any consolation, I make rookie mistakes after 40 years of fishing.

I think your first sentence is correct. If you find lots of bass, there are loads of baits that will catch them. I've fished a lot of ponds and have caught fish on a wide variety of lures, basically the same variety that catches them in larger water. My bottom line is to choose a lure that you think is right for the conditions.

First let me say after spending $50 bucks, you'll have room left over in that 3700 box. I'd probably get two lipless and the rest lipped. I don't know what depths you need to cover, but I'd get something for 1-2', 3-5' or 4-6', 6-8' and whatever your depth needs are. My personal beliefs are that color isn't a big deal. I generally use a muted color and a bright color, such as firetiger. There's a lot of so-called conventional wisdom, but most of these colors will work in a variety of conditions, such as water clarity. There are any number of good brands. Two that come to mind that are modestly priced are Norman and Bomber.

I would very strongly advise that you weigh a few things on a certified scale at your supermarket, then weigh them on your scale. Knowing the items' exact weight, that should tell you what your scale is saying.

I've used backing on my reels (spinning) for years. Regardless of what line I've used, there's enough backing such that 50-60 yards of the good line will fill the spool adequately. You get 5-6 re-spools with a typical reel filler spool of 300 yards, at least that's the old amount for mono.

There's a contradiction if your scale says it reads in pounds and ounces and then gives a reading like 5:96. I don't suppose you still have the owner's manual? And even if it reads in decimals, why a colon rather than a period?

Nope, but if you don't get your answer, I'd give a boat dealer or boating store a call.

In theory, too light a line could break before the rod loads up and too heavy could break the rod. I'm not aware of diameter being a factor. At any rate, when using a line that much heavier than the rating, ease up on the drag to protect the rod.

I seriously doubt that it would spook a bass and doubt it would make the bait run erratically to any meaningful degree unless it was a heavy leader attached to a small crankbait. Other people have claimed success with various lines, but based on my personal experiences and observations, I would not trust any filament.

I use 2/0, which is an arbitrary choice, but it seems "right" for me. My spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and Chatterbait-style lures all have trailer hooks on them. The majority of fish on these lures have the main hook in them, but there are just enough on the trailer hook only that I don't want to fish without them.

I'm not big on specific colors and I think you're doing the right thing by going with just two colors. That should do you fine. As to Norman and Strike King, they're both fine. There are countless good brands, making the selection process very daunting. Sometimes we just have to make arbitrary decisions. Any well-known brand (and not so well known too) should serve you well. Just buy baits that match what you want in terms of size, depth, action, etc.

I've used Daiwas for years. The Twist Buster reels instruct to spool like a baitcaster, as has been mentioned. That method has worked for me, but the old method has worked as well.

I agree, it's a good topwater soft plastic buzzbait and a good subsurface worm. It's versatile because you can buzz it, say, over a lily pad bed looking for that topwater strike, but you can also drop it into holes or at the edges. It's like having two lures on at the same time.

I have one of those Cabela's bags and I like it very much. However, I'd have been willing to buy any brand. The most important consideration is how closely the bag matches my needs. If it doesn't match my needs, then the highest quality bag on the market isn't of much use to me.

I've fished crankbaits for years in a portion of the Erie Canal where the water is extremely murky. A huge variety of baits were successful. In fact, one of the best is a non-rattling Shad Rap, the opposite of the type of crank that is often recommended for this kind of water. Don't drive yourself crazy overthinking this. Take a variety of baits and see what works.

I think the sequence of your purchase and question is reversed. I have a 6'6" HMG medium. It's 12 years old, but I've been very pleased with it on all counts.

I fish small ponds too, some with some relatively large bass. It's just been my personal opinion and experience that almost any lure can be a big bass lure if it's fished where there's a big bass. In the weedy ponds you describe, there's often very little lure choice in much of the pond, i.e., topwaters and soft plastics. I think you should fish whatever lure you feel is right for the conditions and your big fish will come if you're fishing the right spots at the right times.

A higher gear ratio reel is harder to crank. But also take into consideration the total number of inches that come in with each turn of the handle. The gear ratio principle is similar to a bicycle: the higher the gear, the harder it is to pedal but you go farther per pedal revolution. But like everything else, there's personal preference. Some like 7:1, others prefer 5:1 or whatever.

I've tried three and use mostly the Gambler Swim Blade. The Chatterbait doesn't seem to be a lure with quality components and lacks a barb to hold a trailer. As to the Booyah, I lost confidence in the flexible hook. If it had a rigid hook it would be my lure of choice. The Gambler is pretty good but needs to be worked slower because it has a lot of lift and can pop out of the water if retrieved too fast. It seems to have a wilder, more erratic action that the other two. But I've never been able to detect a difference among the three in their ability to draw strikes. I use a standard spinnerbait trailer and use it mostly in shallow, weedy water. I also use trailer hooks.

I decided to try and embrace winter instead of fighting it and bought a pair of snowshoes a year ago. Since I did that, our snow has been below average. Try it, it works!!

99% of my topwater fishing is done with three lures: Jitterbug, buzzbait and a soft plastic buzzer like an Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm. They all catch fish under all the conditions you mentioned and I choose based on surface cover. I fish topwaters more than anything else and fish them spring through fall when the water is in the mid-50s or up. One other point is if you want your lure to stay in one area for a relatively long time, as opposed to covering water, then use something like a floating frog or popper which can be worked with short jerks and paused.