Bluebasser86

Palomar is what I use for them, but I fish mine on copolymer instead of braid. As long as the knot doesn't slip, it shouldn't really matter with braid.

Seriously though, one of the lakes I fish often produced a nearly 40lb 5 fish limit last spring with a nearly 10lb kicker and a couple of fishing buddies of mine had a low 30lb bag this spring with a 7.5lb kicker. Another one I fish a lot kicked out a 10lb 15oz bass one day and a 10lb 2oz bass the next day. But yeah, it really sucks here. Much better off driving to Oklahoma or Missouri instead

50 will work fine, but like was mentioned, you can use lighter if you're not fishing really heavy cover. I have 20 and 30 on a couple casting outfits and it works just fine.

Welcome!

Amazing pictures. I couldn't dive under the ice like that. Getting lost and trapped under the ice is a terrifying possibility to me.

I do what I can to help feed the bait monkey They're a big worm, the one in that picture was trimmed down because it was torn up from catching fish. Not only are they 11" long, but it's a pretty wide bait too. But I enjoy slinging the big worms during the summer months, and black seems to be a solid color for me.

I'm not sure exactly how that would work, but I know it's not open to the public.

Unless it's changed this year, it's invitation only.

Probably because I've been fishing them my whole life and caught a ton of big fish on them. They're pretty inexpensive, can go through about anything, and they catch big fish, plus they're easy to fish.

Pitched into a laydown and thought I'd hooked one of the DD bass that live in this lake for a minute, should have known.

Not that I know of. You can rent them at Lake Jacomo in MO, but I think they're just cheap sit inside ones. BPS in Olathe does some yak demos, you might call and ask when they're doing their next one.

Also a myth. Much better off going to Iowa or Nebraska for those.

Welcome!

FFO is where I've bought most of my Supreme XT baitcasters. They're usually $88, then I buy them during the buy 1 get one 50% sales. End up getting 2 Supreme XT's for less than the price of 1 normally. They're factory reconditioned, but I've never had any problems with any of them.

I like my Mojo "Big Crankster". Launches them out there a long ways and powerful enough to crank them in without being too much work. I don't fish any of the magnum deep cranks, but it handles up to a 6XD without any problems.

I've got lots of good reels. The best one is the one I'm using at the time. Never seen any of them catch a fish on their own.

And that is exactly why R2S offers both.

Do yourself a favor and splurge on a bag of Zmans for the Ned rig. It's the buoyancy and softness of those baits that gives it the very subtle action that works so well. The senkos will absolutely work, but the Zman baits just do it better and it's not like it's breaking the bank to buy a pack or ten. The 3 are very different presentations and rigs, at least the way I fish them. I can't hardly fish a shakyhead anymore, too many zebra mussels everywhere. Wacky rig and Ned rig are always rigged up and ready to go though.

I have lakes I fish a bunch where they kill a plopper but ignore a buzzbait and vice versa. No idea why, but I'm not wasting time throwing one when they're killing the other just because they should eat one if they're eating the other. I personally prefer the buzzbait, but I've got a couple dozen ploppers so I'm not against throwing them either.

I have the X-ray color.

Pretty excited about it personally. Couple of Zman soft baits I'm excited for too. For the guys to the north, They're coming out with an awesome looking new line thru perch bait.

I don't have a favorite, but I use a Big Bite Baits Yo Momma, Rage craw or Menace, Brush Hog, or a Havoc Pit Boss the most.

The flat, wide head is going to come through the rocks better, as well as making the bait ride better and be less prone to tipping over on it's side. The wire is poured into the head, so it's going to be more structurally sound than a snap with a weight clamped onto it. Not sure how good I'd feel about clamping something onto a snap? Seems like it would be easy to damage the snap and/or your line in the process. I pour my own swing heads because it's one of my favorite presentations, so I'm pretty biased towards it, but if you can make a weight crimped onto a snap work similar for you, nobody is going to stop you just because you're "supposed" to do it differently.

Cavitron and Crock-O-Gator Head Knocker.

I use the Netbait Cmac and Zoom Ol' Monster quite a bit during the summer months. Had some luck Thursday with an ISG Mongo Bass Intimidator ring worms on a homemade 1/8oz swinging football head with a 7/0 monster worm hook. It's a big, slow gliding bait with that light head. Almost looks like a huge leech in the water.