Bluebasser86

I have 3 Mettles, they're great reels for the money but I didn't pay more than $40 for any of them.

I have 7 or 8 LTBs from the older, full grip models to the current model. I really like them and must lot have sensitive enough hands to notice how tip heavy they're claimed to be. I use both the 7' 1" MH and the 7' 6" MH for jig fishing and like them both very well.

Had an interesting day this last Thursday. For starters, my mom who was laid off from her job and hasn't fished for over 10 years asked me to take her fishing because she hadn't been in my new boat yet. So we loaded up the boat and headed to one of my favorite lakes I knew she'd catch some fish. We managed to get her on several fish including a couple smallmouth in the 3 pound range (she'd never caught a smallmouth and was shocked how hard they fight). I was also targeting smallies, but as per usual I had a couple fish that didn't get that memo.

You won't be disappointed, they're an awesome bait and they are more durable than most sticks.

From my understanding they were changing the name and package but nothing more. Doesn't matter to me for awhile, I've got 2 dozen of them in my favorite colors hanging in the garage and a couple dozen more that were already in rotation in my boat

Not for me, I've got 1 frog rod, 4 jigs rods, and 3 topwater rods, all different lengths and actions for different uses. I use a 7' 3" H/F Ethos micro guide rod from Academy for frogging, best frog rod I've ever owned. Lots of power but it loads well to really launch a frog and the length helps get their head up and keep it up and moving. Got mine for $60 on sale. It does double as a jig/pitching rod pretty well also.

My 150 doesn't like going trolling speeds

I thought it looked like a tiger muskie as well. Beautiful fish regardless!

I prefer the clip on type provided I'm not fishing really deep and not needing a really accurate cast.

Without knowing what the bodies of water you're fishing are like, it's hard to make too many suggestions. I promise you could buy a bag of green pumpkin trick worms and use them rigged about a dozen different ways and catch fish on them in about any situation.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

I don't care that Bill does his fishing shows on his private ponds, it's just not exciting for me to watch knowing he's catching fish from a private, closely managed pond. I'm saying this purely for the viewing pleasure of it for me. The fish I fish for are highly pressured and would never fall for a lot of the novelty baits or techniques that he uses to help his sponsors sell more baits. He's done a ton for the sport and I'm not taking anything away from him as a fisherman as he was obviously a top tournament pro in his prime and could probably still mop the floor with a lot of guys. That said, I'd fish the heck out of his ponds and blast pictures all over of the big fish I was catching and if I caught a new PB I'd be just as excited as if I'd caught it out of one of our local lakes.

Used to fish in a bass club with a guy that used nothing but spinning gear. He had a custom rod built to flip and pitch with and would probably be your best bet. Tough to find a spinning rod heavy enough to do the job.

I would put the 7.1 reel on the Fenwick 7' MH and put 50lb braid on it for frogs and fishing around grass. You could also use it for T rigs and jigs or topwater. The 6.2 on the 7' MH Shimano somewhere around 12-15 pound either copolymer or fluorocarbon. You could use this one for T rigs and jigs along with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits. The spinning rod I'd spool with 20lb braid and add about a 3-4' leader of 8-10 pound fluorocarbon leader to fish shakyheads, grubs, tubes, wacky rigs, or weightless plastics.

Welcome to the nut house! All the ramps at Cedar are on the west side of the lake. It's a little tough this time of year but dragging a jig will always catch a few.

I think a shakyhead is more of a fancy Ned rig.

He is a ham whenever the camera gets turned on. Can barely talk but he already says "Cheese!"

Areas that have deeper water near the bank are usually prime areas. Bass will hold in the deep water during the heat of the day, then hop up into the shallower water when it gets dark to feed.

Fixed it for you I'm sure Bill is a great guy, but I can't stand to watch anything other than his bloopers. Obviously he was a great tournament fisherman in his prime, I just don't get anything out of watching a guy fish his private ponds week after week.

Man every time my favorite plastics go on sale I buy a bunch of bags. BPS had a dump bin with their brand baits in colors you can't find (or that I've never seen anyways), like their 7" Stick O in solid black. I just can't help myself in that situation.