RichF

It doesn't go to the 2nd place Open angler. It'll go to an Elite guy based on his AOY standings.

I don't think the OP is talking about 10 pounders in NY, just larger than the 1-2 and occasional 3 pounders he's catching out of Bear Lake. @WRB is correct in his assessment of 10 pounders in NY...they're rare...incredibly rare. I 100% agree with @ww2farmer though. His breakdown of the finger lakes are spot on. There are a lot more 6 to 7 lb largemouth than you'd think and most of them are coming from those lakes, not Champy. So to answer the OP's question, don't stop fishing because there are most definitely bass in Bear lake larger than 3 lbs. Maybe not 10, but 5 to 7 for sure.

I just ordered 4 but haven't gotten them yet. I have an older Mag, a KLX, and 2 Heliums. They're all incredible rods. I'm sure the Mag2s are great like the others.

I bought the Dobyns Champion 736 glass rod earlier this year for bladed jigs...it works great. Before that, I was using a 7ft Heavy glass Powell Max for bladed jigs...it worked great. Some people like glass, others don't. There's no right or wrong, just what works for you.

Definitely the senko. It obviously is one of the best fish catchers out there, I just can't bring myself to throw it.

Trokar tube hooks. I tried using regular EWG worm hooks and never like them.

I probably saw you at some point lol. Eventually, I'll get rigged properly to fish it a little better. I wish I had my Tracker down here...although I don't even think I'd be able to launch it there. I'm so not used to fishing the shad deal. The lakes I grew up fishing don't have those stupid things:) They're all natural lakes with tons of submergent vegetation. The bass eat mainly bullhead, bluegill, crappie, and crayfish. I don't expect a whole lot puttering around in a rental boat and a trolling motor haha. I should probably stop spending so much time going back to NY to fish and learn the water down here!

Ha. I've got some Snack Daddy baits floatin around. Their tubes are super nice. I rarely flip tubes for largemouth but I plan on doing it a little more.

Is it worth the extra $$ to go outta Bull Run? It looks like there are more options up that way (creeks, etc).

I think the braid will help offset the softness of the rod. If your hooks are sharp, you'll be fine. Test it out and see for sure.

Went outta Fountainhead Sunday. Man, it's tough fishing that place without a depthfinder. Not to mention the fact that it's very much a southern type reservoir, which this northerner is just not used to. I had the intention to practice dragging the bottom with a carolina rig...since it's a southern type reservoir and it's late summer. It's something i just never do. In fact, this might be the second time I've ever even rigged one up. I stayed off the shore, dropping it in front of the boat to check depths. I'm guessing I was fishing in 12 to 20ft most of the day. Never got bit with that or a football jig. Tried flipping the funky willow grass to no avail. Flipped wood...nada. I finally got a 13 incher on a squarebill after I saw the little fella busting shad. I kept seeing shad popping in the main channel and every now and again a bigger fish busting (not even sure those were bass). I decided to finish the day counting down a swimbait and slow rolling it in. Of course I only had 2 under 4 inches long with me. I got a 2lb cat out in the main channel then got a 4 pound largie a little closer in to shore. Fished from 645am to 4pm and that was it.

I love those rods. Kistler just got me again. Got 4 Mag2's bc they were 50% off... I only have 1 medium/fast rod...out of 30. I use it for jerkbaits and small cranks with 10lb fluoro. I just don't feel comfortable with medium action rods. They don't really fit my style of fishing. I used to use them for heavier tube jigs for Ontario smallmouth. That worked ok. I think they're good for weightless plastics but that's something I just don't use. Personally, the 1/2oz weight doesn't concern me, it's whether or not you'd be able to set the hook with a medium rod. If you were using finesse jigs, that's a different story. That rod would be fine for those.

I think that would be a little on the light side for those baits. With the braid, you could get away with tossing smaller spinner/buzz/chatterbaits but jigs that heavy would be iffy. Maybe lighter jigs with light wire hooks?

Yep. It just makes sense to buy 4...that's what I did..

If you're going to use it mostly for jigs, I would choose the 7'4 over the med heavy. But I also prefer to be over powered on just about everything.

I think Martin is just looking for that Classic berth. I would be surprised if he left the FLW. There are only like 20 - 30 REALLY good FLW pros on tour vs. about 80 in the Elites. He, and 10 other guys are basically making all the money in the FLW. Why leave that? I also imagine he might have some sponsorship deals that require him to stay FLW specific. I think Mark Rose qualified for the elites thru the 2016 Opens but declined. My guess is the former sentence had something to do with that.

I'm a big fan of glass for spinnerbaits and bladed jigs. However, I wouldn't necessarily throw cranks on the same glass rod I'd throw bladed jigs on. A medium heavy glass rod would be decent for both though.

They're quick, but not that quick. I'd actually call them and ask if they have the model you're looking for in their factory store. They have "B" class rods (blemished rods essentially) that they sell at quite a discount from what I hear. I would imagine they'd start trying to move their old LTB's since the new ones are due out in November. I'd imagine you'd have to pay expedited shipping so be ready for that.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a modern bass rod under 6 foot.

Gotta find a good team trail to fish! I've been fishing team events with my dad for 10 yrs and it's been the absolute best. They're my favorite events to fish.

The 7'4 heavy is more of a frog/swim jig rod. I have a 7'4 H Avid X and I actually like it a lot for 1/2 to 3/4oz jigs. I can tell it would be a very good frog rod too. Personally, I wouldn't punch with it. I also have a 7'6 med heavy moderate fast Rage. I tried a few things with it but never found a solid use for it. I briefly used it for 5" paddle tail swimbaits (keel weighted hooks). It worked ok for that. I tried swing heads with it and again, it was just ok. I also pitched t-rigged plastics with it. That was the best use but the rod was just a bit clunky for my liking. The extra give of the mod-fast taper will be good for bladed jigs. Personally, I don't mind a mod-fast taper for jigs. One of my favorite jig rods is my 7'6 Kistler heavy mod-fast Helium.

I love SK coffee tubes. Poor boys are good too and are pretty cheap. I rarely flip tubes. Most of the time, I'm using the tube jig heads in open water for smallies.

Another vote for Spro. Their popping frogs are fantastic walkers. Killer gill is my favorite color.

This is going on right now but I don't think it will last much longer...Kistler Mag2's are 50% off if you buy 4 or more direct from the their website. That's an insane deal!

I have no issues with fluoro. I've tried a ton of brands and only came across one that was 100% crap. I wanted to get into copoly just for the $$ savings but wasn't crazy about it. I might try a few more brands before I give up though.