Bluebasser86

I bought a huge bulk pack from someone on one of the FB groups that has lasted me several years now. Some pull off the wires, but they were so cheap to buy the way I did that it's not an issue.

I carry them around in my boat and never fish them and then wonder why I never catch fish on them.

You could buy a pretty decent kayak for what that Chaser cost ? I'm looking for some bass that size for my kayak tournament I'm in right now, haven't caught any quite that big yet since it started ? Okay I'm done.

It's the universe trying to tell you to quit ?

They make small glow sticks that slip on the top of stick bobbers to make seeing them at night very easy. They also make small, battery powered light up bobbers.

Man I'd love to catch a monster like that some day but that would destroy our state record and DD walleye are only slightly more common than DD bass here.

Don't know how it works there, but here we're required to dump bait out when done fishing unless saving them for later trips (no releasing into the body of water you're fishing). To me, it looks like a dried up common shiner you buy at a bait store and would in no way influence my bait selection.

Let it sink until you feel it's close to the bottom, watch your line and count it down if necessary so if it hits bottom you can start reeling sooner the next cast. When you start moving the bait, you never fully stop it. It's a slow turn of the reel handle and gentle shaking of the rod tip, also known as the "swim-shake-glide" Midwest Finesse retrieve. It's no more difficult to do from shore than a boat, my 7 year old was doing it last year by himself from shore and catching smallmouth and never lost a bait in a couple hours we bank fished.

We've got a BPS and Cabela's, as well as several smaller shops in Kansas, but none carrying them ?

A lot of people at my work getting the shot and getting sick. The side effects have put some otherwise healthy people out of commission for 2 weeks each now. Haven't had a positive Covid test in our facility for almost 2 months prior to the shots being given.

Same, the fouling issue is way overblown. It happens occasionally, but the pros outweigh the cons in the solid hookups at distance and long casting ability.

I use a lot of St. Croix rods, but the Avid is not one I've been high on. I don't like full handles, and the Avid X guides were not great. Most of mine are LTBs and I agree the tip heavy thing is overblown but if it bothers you, that's the great thing about so many options being out there. The new Victory lineup from St. Croix might be something you should checkout though, since it does fit right into your requirements. https://stcroixrods.com/pages/victory?utm_source=BassResource&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=banner&utm_campaign=VictoryLaunch

Not a jackhammer, or a Zako, but yeah they work.

Riprap is predominately what I fish mine around. If you're snagging on rocks, you're letting it sink too long. It's not a bottom dragging bait like a shakyhead in the rocks. This is last spring and how I fish them on riprap. Let them do the initial fall to get close to the bottom, and then it never stops moving, unless a fish makes it stop like this one did. This is a 1/16oz head with a #2 hook and a 10,000 Fish Sukoshi bug, which is way bulkier than a TRD. Still had no issues hooking up.

I've got a box of old wiggle warts, no idea exactly how old but over 20 years anyways. I've got a wire hanging on my shop wall of old, retired baits. I'll have to take a picture of it sometime.

It's like guys that jam their rods into the rocks trying to knock a snagged T-rigged worm loose ?‍♂️ Really going to try to damage your rod to save a dollar or two worth of tackle? Does it suck? Yeah, but it can be replaced. I had someone snag a plopper on a fountain once and thought about swimming after it, but after second thought it wasn't that important to me and I had plenty more.

I'd be really surprised if that 14lb fish hit DD weight on a certified scale. I thought it was just a picture of the author with one of his better catches or something until it mentioned it as the 14.2lb fish ? Maybe just a really bad angle or something, but when you start getting those crazy numbers thrown out there (anyone that knows much at all about bass measurements knows that 30" fish just don't happen, AND a 28" girth?), makes it pretty hard to believe. I remember reading about the 15lb fish though. It was incredible then and still is now. Biggest bass ever through the ice. Beats our state record by 3.5 pounds despite being much further north. One of those records that will likely never be broken.

The hook I pour mine on is a #2, and I have some on #6s for certain baits. The pro shroomz is a 2/0 hook, that's a huge difference. I haven't used the Zman heads, but a good head with a good hook will hold any bass you hook with the proper equipment and fighting technique. I've landed flathead catfish over 20lbs with mine. I don't use a head heavier than 1/16oz except for very rare situations either.

Straight braid for everything except buzzbaits and baits with a front prop. I fish buzzbaits and baits with front props on mono.

Grunt: one who does routine unglamorous work. It's a 7' 1" MH/F jack of all trades rod. So the one that does all the routine, albeit maybe unglamorous work. Marshall is an arrangement of troops drawn up for battle. A 7' 3" MH/F rod certainly sounds like one that's ready for battle. Just a couple thoughts, but is the name of the rod really important? My Ned rig rod is actually a drop shot rod but it doesn't seem to matter despite what it says on the rod.

I use 20lb straight braid

I use blue sapphire pitbosses and devil's spears a lot (both discontinued), as well as the Rage Menace. I never use a black and blue trailer on the back of my black and blue bladed jigs.

Prey animals don't make themselves easier for the bass to find just because the water is dirty and bass still manage to find them. That is a massive hook on that Ned rig too. That's the kind of head I imagine most people are using that complain about Ned rig getting snagged up all the time. A lighter head and smaller hook will snag less and get you more bites, especially in a pond fishing situation.

Rage Menace or Bug are both really good. A brush hog or baby brush hog are good as well as a Gene Larew HooDaddy.

bladed jigs, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, traps