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Another tip for stowing a dropshot while not in use is to attach a small crankbait clip to the eyelet of the sinker. When you're finished using the bait, open up the clip and attach it to the hook-keeper on the rod. This has been my routine this year and last, and I see no disadvantage to it. The sinker doesn't get lodged in the rocks any more than it would without the clip.

In-Fisherman is my favorite fishing magazine. It's very well-written and focuses on a multitude of species. What really make it attractive is how relatable it is to upper midwestern anglers and the natural lakes and rivers that we fish, seeing as its founders (the Lindners) live an hour north of me in the Brainerd, MN area.

I've been a subscriber of Bassmaster magazine for many years. It's not going to turn you into KVD, but there's worse things you can read on the toilet.

More and more, I'm thinking we give bass way too much credit. Truthfully, it seems they're pretty d**n dumb, just creatures of habit and instinct.

I'm not a big fan of it, as far as sensitivity goes. However, the balance is still great, like with all Dobyns's rods. The Savvy line is a bit of a dud given the great line-up around it, and I cannot recommend them. I think the quality-to-cost ratio is disproportionately low in the Savvy line. They're only a hair better than the Fury, quite a bit worse than the Sierra, and one about half as good as the Champion. My dad had a 703S Savvy that I bought for him and later sold and replaced with a 703S Fury. The Fury is a better rod, IMO. I also own a Sierra 734 SF that is head and shoulders better than the 703 SF Savvy, which is supposedly built using nearly the same blank. Doesn't feel like it at all.

He could have very well "dropped" the phone in the lake, and there's nothing anyone could do about it. I would never hand an expensive piece of electronics to someone who has a bone to pick with me, especially while standing on a lake. Just asking for trouble.

Snag Proof Ish's Phat Frog. Large profile. Most splash and widest walking action of any frog I've seen. You can easily get it to walk 12" from side to side.

I tried that last week with a Keitech swimsuit, and it still whacked fish. Another trick is to bite a half-inch off the nose of the bait, trim it somewhat into a pointy nose, and save it for a drop-shotting bait. Some of the best drop-shotting I've ever had has been with a chewed up Keitech that couldn't be Texas rigged or threaded on a jig anymore.

I haven't touched the 734 Sierra, but I have two Champ 734 and my dad has two Savvy 734. We have two each because they're workhorse rods, like fishnkamp said.

Next time you break down a reel, take a close-up picture (with flash) of every step and save it to your computer. They'll come in handy, year after year. A computer desk with a bright light is a great place to clean reels in the offseason, and your pics will right at your fingertips if you need them.

Mille Lacs locals may want to focus on the red-hot walleye bite for the time being and let the bass take a backseat. Best trip of my life today for any species in the wind, mist, and rolling clouds. I was fishing for bass with small swimbaits, specifically 1/4oz VMC Mooneye Jigs and Keitech Easy Shiners in Pearl Ayu color, and ended up with no less than 50 walleyes over 16" along with 8 bass in the 1.5-2lb range. At least 6 walleyes over 24". They all came from the edges of rocky seams in 6-9' of water. I cast the swimmers out, let them fall to the bottom, and slowly reeled them back, bumping along the bottom. Good luck guys. I know this is Bass Resource, but good fishing is good fishing.

What's the purpose of rinsing the bearings in alcohol after the acetone soak, if you don't mind me asking? I always use acetone but I've never used alcohol afterwards. I just let them dry. Does it work better?

The fishing was pretty slow, numbers-wise, but the size was nice. Caught 11 fish total. Top 5 weighed about 21 lbs., all on a deep diving LC Staycee jerkbait. Crawdad imitations didn't get bit once. Fish on the south end of the lake were starting to arrive on the beds. Some were very active. On the east side, they were deeper and inactive, staging suspended off the breaks I believe. Couldn't get them to bite. Here is my dad with our biggest, a stubby 5-pounder. Doing that to 10-15 bass on a lake that 20 x 30 miles wide is really ignorant, even more so than the guy who tosses a carp in the bushes of a local park for everyone to smell for the next two months.

I think that's mostly a myth. I've never seen a floater.

Mille Lacs is going to be a zoo, but I'm going to try and stay away from the crowds. There's plenty of room to play out there. Last year at this time, there were smallies as big as footballs roaming the shallows in 2 FOW.

Checking in

I'm right-handed and prefer using lefty reels so I don't have to switch hands. As for the reel, a good set of aftermarket spool bearing would be one of the best upgrades you can make to a pitching reel. The better the bearings, the less effort it takes to get the bait to where it needs to be. Less effort = lower trajectories and less splash = fewer spooked fish.

I picked up the Sierra 704SF as a dock skipping rod. Feels great. It's a perfect medium-heavy/fast action rod, as advertised. I bought it to replace an Avid 7' MH/F that feels like a tip-heavy broomstick by comparison. I own about 15 Dobyns rods from the high-end to the low-end, and these Sierras offer good bang for the buck!

So it sounds like we're all over the place! I clean the blank and guides with Bass Boat Saver or Pledge at the beginning of every season, but that's about it.

There are hundreds of topics on here about cleaning reels, but I rarely ever hear anyone mention cleaning their rods, namely the rod guides, of crust, deposits, or dried lake slime.

That means a week from now. Better use them up.

Try threading them on a buzzbait with the skirt removed. It makes a ton of racket!

The rod sold easily on this forum. I basically gave it away.

Overall, they're my favorite line of plastics. Add some JJ's Magic to the bags and they're pretty hard to beat in regards to price, action, colors, scent, durability, and availability.

1st generation St. Croix Mojo Bass 7' 11" flippin' stick, the most unbalanced, tip-heavy rod I've ever owned. Berkeley Nanofil. TroKar hooks.