Bluebasser86

NO! In fact that would be approximately a MH rod with those ratings, I could almost guarantee you WILL break that rod trying to deadlift a 15lb fish with it. Those ratings are just the line sizes that the rod performs the best with.

They can't figure it out here either. Seems like every other state draws lakes down for the winter, not Kansas, nope, we just have floods every spring and summer. It's like they forget that it snows every winter and rains every spring. My favorite smallmouth lake is 14' high right now. Supposed to have a tournament on another lake that is closed completely because the water has made it to vault toilets and deemed unsafe to the public. Now the lake I grew up by, which is nearly 50' high and threatening to go over the dam, is about to being heavy releasing and potentially cause more flooding down river. It's going to cause the state untold dollars lost in people who aren't going to be using the lakes because all the camping grounds are flooded for the holiday coming up. All could have been prevented if they'd just do winter drawdowns. Worse case, the lakes are lower than normal in the summer but at least they're usable and people aren't losing their homes. Some pictures from my favorite smallie lake. Campsite post, horse riding trail marker campgrounds

Berkley Big Game, 660 yards for around $7.

Seaguar Rippin Mono is really nice and seems to have low stretch (I've done no test so I can't confirm, just my observations from on the water).

Gah! I was just there and bought some stuff 2 days ago and didn't see anything about a discount ?

A majority of mine are caught with a slow, steady retrieve, just fast enough to get the blade "chattering".

War Eagle is my spinnerbait of choice if I'm buying them. For slow rolling I like a Colorado/Indiana tandem combo, skirt/blade color depends on water clarity mostly. The War Eagle Finesse is and excellent choice early in the year too.

15-20lb Big Game or Pline depending on the amount of cover.

Hiring a guide for a half or full day the first day of your trip can go a long ways to making your whole trip productive on some lakes. Lakes like Table Rock however, what you learn one day is likely no good the next day, or at the very least the locations won't be. If you hire a GOOD guide (not Billy Joe who has a boat and some free time), it's going to be worth it a vast majority of the time. If you're not afraid to go it alone and risk striking out though, it can be very rewarding to try to go out and figure out a lake and the bite on your own as well.

They're just growing fast. Sounds like you found a good body of water.

I fish a baby brush hog and pretend it's a lizard ?

YUM Tip Toad. Good action and durability, plus much more affordable than most others. Black and white are the only 2 colors I hardly ever fish. 7' H/F 7.3 reel, 50lb braid, 4/0 EWG Eagle Claw with a centering pin screwlock.

Flip the screen around and hold it arms length. Even with my short arms I can manage to get a pretty good sized fish in the shot.

Their paint is good, but I've broken bills on several baits, the Crush Flat 75X being the worst offender. It's weird though because I'll get one that breaks like it's made of glass, then I'll get one that's built like a tank. It hasn't been bad enough to keep me from buying them anyways. I'm liking their jerkbait too, but it's hard to get many colors because they always seem to be sold out. I did get a hold of one pretty one that caught me a couple dozen fish Friday and has barely and noticeable marks on the finish.

Welcome!

KISS, bobbers, worms, and somewhere with lots of bluegills. Take plenty of snacks and drinks. Make sure to keep plenty of sunblock on them. Don't plan on doing any fishing yourself, it's their trip, not your's. Throw rocks, play in the mud, catch bugs and crawdads. It's not a serious fishing trip, make it fun so they'll want to keep coming back. With time the fish catching will become more important if you keep the trips interesting.

This is the exact one I use and the one from the older post I copied above. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Electronic-Hanging-Fishing-Digital-Pocket-Weight-Hook-Scale-40kg-10g-/201182152447?hash=item2ed76406ff%3Ag%3AvxYAAOSwnDZUKd7b

I'd go to Wyco then Gardner. Olathe was extremely difficult Thursday with zero visibility and the water hadn't even hit 60 yet.

We take our boys to a few of these every year. Our kids love seeing the big trucks and machinery up close and getting to learn about it a little bit. The people volunteering usually seem to be having about as much fun as the kids are.

5.83lb in a small lake in Kansas.

That's a pretty solid starting line up. Only thing I'd add to it would be some kind of wake bait. I'm partial to the Slammer, but I understand with toothy bait thieves potentially in your waters, a bait that expensive might not be very appealing. In that case, I'd look at something like a Spro Rat 50 or Savage Gear 3D Snake. The 7.25" Savage Gear Shine Glide is another great bait that isn't expensive, my personal favorite glide bait.

Here's the 1 year follow up, which includes the original report, which is extremely detailed.

I took my boys to a Touch-a-Truck in town last weekend so momma could have some quiet time. It was a really nice day out, I think Lake probably could have taken a nap in the resting spot he found while he was eating his sucker.

You won't find anyone that cares less about fashion than me. I've become big on the sun protection clothing the last few years because of my disdain for wearing sunblock, and from knowing several people who have had to have chunks cut out of themselves due to sun exposure, most of them being fishermen. Most of what I have are grey or white, but I've got some pastel blues and one bright pink. I wear them, the fish don't care, I don't care, and I don't care what anyone that sees me wearing a bright pink shirt thinks about it either. Keeps me from getting sunburned and that's all I care about.

I have a few rods in the 6' 8" to 6' 10" range that I use for a variety of techniques from spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, buzzbaits, jerkbaits, walking baits, underspins, and close quarters pitching.