deep

We missed you.

That's funny right there.

Don, tell us your thoughts on the top hook ROF5. Are you happy?

Where is he, and does he still fish?

Sweet setups you got there!

Could someone explain why swimbaits need a special knot? No snaps or swivels, I tie direct. If the bait comes with a split ring, I tie to that. If it doesn't come with one, well, I don't use a split ring then!

If we're talking about baitcasters: Step 1. Buy a good used reel for around $80. Step 2. Wait till the Black Friday sales, and buy a nice shiny new rod. Step 3. Enjoy your new $300 combo. Step 4. Post the fish you catch. For spinning combo, I'd go $50 for an used reel, and spend the rest on the rod.

Just wanted to see how many black & blue fans there are. If you fish more than one color (we all do), please choose the one you'd fish first on a new-to-you lake. P.S. Tom, I know the colors you fish, and you need not reply

I have one question. How did Ike unhook the.. uh.. thing?

Just make sure the power/ action you're getting in a particular model is what you're looking for. I once had a ML/F St. Croix Triumph. Decent rod, but definitely not a fast action. IMO, it was close to moderate actually. Plenty of folks here fish Croixes, ask for their opinions on the particular rod before buying it. Good luck!

Try some Booyah Baby Boos. My favorite ones? I tie my own.

For the 13" Deadtwitch you probably want the 908 or a similar powered rod. The 10" Deadtwitch should be fine on the 867, but I don't have a 10" Deadtwitch. The 867 is great for 4-6 oz baits. Should be great for baits upto 8 or even 10 ozs I guess, but I don't have any baits in the 6-10 oz range. I haven't tried fishing a Deadtwitch all day, so I don't know. But it's not really a cast-and-retrieve bait (I'm sure you know that, just stressing). It does a sick walk-the-dog too, especially if you can get a little creative with the weighing. Fishing a 401A Cardiff on the 867. Hope that helps.

Ok, finally got it, thanks to C&G. I'm slow.

Also, the 400 size Cardiff has a non-disengaging levelwind and it is a pretty wide reel. A 300 size might cast a little better for smalller baits and lighter line.

I'm curious, what did the topic title originally state for it to be censored?

You know, the stick you mount your fishing reel on; do you call it a rod or a pole? Or does it vary from state to state?

Haha it's 10# here. Which is crazy, since the lakes I fish have NLMBs, and a DD NLMB is a huge fish. Comparable to a teener FLMB I'd say. Now I don't doubt for a second that there are a few DDs swimming in the lakes I fish; heck, that's why I fish those particular lakes. At the very least, the 8's and 9's I have caught (and weighed) over the years would be DDs now, unless someone caught and ate them that is. My contention is that a small 50 or 100 acre lake, even a very healthy one, can support only so many really big fish. Not enough for everyone and their brother to catch (and keep) one. Or maybe we all like our egos stoked. Here I am, spending long hours on the water with big fish baits, working real hard and catching only nice fish, and some yahoo throws out a nightcrawler, cracks open a 40 oz, and catches a DD after a while lol. Actually I'm really interested in learning something. How many DD NLMBs can a healthy small fishery (say 100 acres) with zero fishing pressure (to idealize conditions) in VA support?

You can find a new 100SP in chartreuse shad (good color too) for exactly $10 shipped on another board. Either the 100SP or the 112MR would be a good choice for all-around largemouth fishing.

Most people don't know how big a 6# bass really is (you're in MD right)? Do what I do and ask them 6 pounds and how many ounces that bass was lol (and you'll likely find the fish wasn't weighed).

Try A-Jay's punch-ish rig. Given a choice, I prefer to have a skirt on my plastics. Also, brush jig is the wrong kind of jighead for grass. Plus, the sort of hook that brush jigs usually comes with is a poor choice for casting situations. Using a lighter jig might have helped too (I didn't get your logic).

8" baits I assume? I'll actually recommend a different Dobyns rod, the 867. It has enough tip to cast even 2 oz class baits (don't do that a whole lot, but definitely works), and can go up all the way to lob casting Matt's OG deadstick- the 13" one. Huge range of baits it can handle. Balances well with a Cardiff 401 (I fish leftys, and all my reels are budget-priced). Most everyone starts out with small baits and then finds out he'll like to fish bigger baits lol. If one rod is what you plan to buy, the 867 is a good choice. The handle length actually falls just between the ML and the regular SB rods handle lengths, good compromise. If you're talking about 6" baits, forget everything I said, and pick up a 5 power (medium-heavy) rod. Haven't fished the 795, but from what I read, it'd shine for small baits, and can work with light 8" baits. P.S. 867 handle length.

Tom, short of talking with a fisheries biologist, is there a way to determine if a reservoir has a good crawdad population? Maybe I can use a crawfish trap (I don't even know if that's legal here- need to find that out). Thanks,

Kinda broad questions; what baits do you plan to fish?

Even KVD will probably have a hard time pushing Quantums over here on this forum lol. Shimanos work well for me. Daiwas are a not so distant second.