Darren.

Welcome to the forums!

Yup. @WRB should probably take this one

Write back after your first few beasts caught Do beware, the tail can attract nibblers...

Welcome aboard! Yup! Pre-spawn cruisers. Almost impossible to catch by my experience.

I've had fantastic success with the Yamamoto Shad Shaped Minnow. Excellent bait for drop shot, wacky, texas, etc.

Congrats. No guess, as others, too hard to tell from a pic. I'd suggest *purposely* bringing a scale with you on non-tourney situations

Assume by "spires" you mean "Spirex"? I've got two Shimano Spirex reels and they've stood the test of time, 4 boys, fresh and salt water and a ton of fish. Though, I should admit, one is in need of some service... Solid reels the Spirex, but you have to like the lack of anti-reverse and the trigger system. I don't mind either, though I fish with higher end Shimano Stradics now.

First cast/bass has happened to me a few times, once I caught nothing until I came back in to go home...so a couple/few hours after the one fish and nada until nearing the launch... Another time I was a great day all around.

Nope. Been wondering if @SirSnookalot will ever return, too. Hope both are doing well.

Heck yeah it was worth it!!! You open up 99% of the REST of the water you dock fish. It is a *major* upgrade, IMHO! After going the kayak route, I found that I wanted to stand and fish, so I upgraded to a kayak that allowed me to do just that. Another "worth the price" upgrade, if you ask me.

Have owned a Pelican, not the Catch, but a 10' model. Solid boat, if a little on the tippy side. Catch probably a good choice.

No more Walmart bargain posts, ok!? Please, Virginia Walmarts completely ignore all other states. In FAAACT, I bet they even check this site for deals elsewhere and decide NOT to follow suit. Please!!!

Welcome aboard!

A light ugly stik? That's got a lot of noodle to it, so I'd probably pick it for pannies. But you could do bass with it, though might be fun keeping them buttoned up

Welcome aboard!

We've got a few of these threads already, FWIW. Have you done a search? 7.5 is mine. Thick slop/salad, 6' Casting rod, 10lb braid 10lb leader. Happiness ensued.

Welcome aboard!

Good luck with your surgery. The PT sounds rough, though. Never fun.

This is not the first time I've said the following, and it won't be the last. You are fine to go straight braid. There, I said it! I used to do so. But these years I've tied a leader on every setup because I tend to retie hooks/techniques often. I don't use a ton of rods, so multiple techniques on a few. So a leader allows me multiple reties before cutting into my braided mainline, thus preserving my braid investment. Take it or leave it. This is what I do, and it's not always a reason many state (like leader for abrasion resistance and so on). I have 100% confidence in my leader knots, and I've not had one fail me in a very long time. Always give a good test of the leader knot before and after cutting the tag ends... FWIW...

Used a bunch of different ones, like the Buckeye Flick-It the best. For some reason the football jighead just gives me a confidence Have also crimped lead on, but haven't liked the action as much as the jig head where the weight is a bit further out from the hook point.

Welcome aboard! Definitely need one for VA.

May he RIP, and his fingers on the fretboard live forever!

Welcome aboard! All the above! But beware the Bait Monkey who is particularly good at getting fishermen to "find new baits" every season.

Nice trip, man!

It'll pass. And then it'll happen again...and again. Tis part of fishing. Had this happen to me this past week on my first day of Ned Rigging.