NJBasstard

I always trim the legs back. Length of the body is about as long as I keep them but sometimes go a little shorter. Helps with walking and seam to get less short strikes that way. Also always bend the hooks out about 1-2mm from the body so the frog doesn't have to compress so much when setting the hook.

I've experimented with this a couple years ago with cranks so yes you could. For the same reasons you said I always put the EWG in the front and kept the round bend in the back. Caught many fish that way but can't say if it was better than having two of the same hook.

No it just holds more line. The reel itself is almost the exact same size. The DC is a hair wider on the handle/gear side probably to fit the DC mechanism. The K is only about .3oz lighter so the balance will be the same. If you like the feel of the Curado DC than the K is what you want. If you want DC than the SLX DC can be found for the same price you can get a K for. The advantage to the SLX DC over the K is obviously that it has DC. The disadvantage is it lacks X-Ship and the micro module gears that the K has. They're both nice reels but palm differently.

Curado K. Biggest difference besides DC is the 200 size spool on the K VS the 150 on the DC. Shop around and you can find the K for $150 or less.

No not at all. I have one tied on a setup all summer long.

The squarebill is my favorite thing to fish and I too use them all spring, summer & fall. I'm no expert but their are different ones I choose for different reasons. The main two though would be the flat sided squarebill and what I would call the traditional squarebill. -Flat sided squarebills. These seam to have a much tighter action, meaning they don't search or hunt side to side as much as most regular squarebills would. From what I can tell most of the movement is in the body which I can only describe as a side to side wobble or twist. The biggest advantage to the flat sides is how slow you can retrieve them and still reach the desired depth. That reason combined with the slow floating most of them have make the flat sided squarebill a go-to in colder water for me. -'Traditional' sqaurebills. The action on these seams to vary from bait to bait moreso than most flatsides. For the most part these squarebills put off a lot of vibration. A good squarebill to me has two things... a wide side to side action and a fast float. The downside to most of these compared to the flat sided ones are that the only way to get them to the desired depth is by fishing them fast or faster. If I do fish them slow I'll choose one with a depth range deeper than I'm fishing to make up for it. The upside (other than their often erratic action) is the fast float which allows me to cover water faster. Then you you rattles VS no rattles. Theres no rules here but for me it's almost always.. Rattles - Dirty water, in current & choppy water. No rattles - Everything else. Theres also wood VS plastic but I wont get into that. As far as fishing them.. I throw them at & around rock, laydowns, docks and even in open shallow water with hard or clear sandy bottoms. How I target those objects and how I retrieve varies from object to object and day to day depending on what the fish want at the time. Like Hook2Jaw posted above it all comes down to deflection. I want my bait to hit or the bill to drag on whatever I'm targeting. In shallow water with hard/sandy bottoms I'll run my 5ft squarebill in 4 FOW making contact with the bottom the entire time. Just cast & reel or burn-pause-burn retrieval dragging through the hard/rock/pebble & sandy bottom creates streaks and creates a lot of commission that can really trigger bites. Their are a lot of ways to tackle tree laydowns and this is where I personally prefer a fast floating crankbait. Sometimes I throw in gaps between limbs and by pausing to go around branches and whatever other obstacles I might not even touch anything. Most times I try deflecting off of everything in my path. Depending on the tree, another thing I like to do when it's possible is casting straight up the laydown and dragging/bouncing the bait straight down the trunk. For rock it really depends on what kind of rock I'm fishing. If we're talking large river rock than I fish it much like I would in open water and keep my bait on on the bottom. If we're talking large rock I try to find sections where theirs gaps or holes, throwing past the it and running straight into it, pulling or allowing it to float over and then dragging/bumping it across the top. For all squarebill fishing you'd be suprised how much control you can have over the bait not just with retrieval speed but with your rod tip. I don't mean holding the rod tip up or down but small twitches and things like working the tip how you'd normally walk a frog can make a big difference in the baits action. I couldn't tell you how many days I've had where I'm catching nothing and a small thing like that changed things. Another thing with squarebills is that more than half my bites come on the pause after hitting the object. Sometimes they just bump it and other times they inhale the bait. When you pause wether it's after hitting something or letting the bait float it's important not to let slack in the line. I only say this because you mentioned a float tube and if it's anything like being in a kayak then sometimes slack line is hard to control while drifting in windy conditions. Most baits now don't have this problem but another thing to watch for is hook size. Even though the squarebills are meant to be used in cover their are some that come stock with too large of a hook that'll cause more snags than they should. Sometimes I like to downsize the front treble or I've even cut off the forward-facing hook on the front treble to reduce hangups. That's about all the advice I have. The rest you'll have to learn for yourself. Don't be afraid to throw into sketchy areas and be prepared for a lot of hangups for a little while. Once you get the feel for it you'll know if you picked up grass, what type of structure you hit and what your baits doing down there. I won't get into rod/reel/line stuff because we all have our preferences and what I like might not be right for you. Just go out and throw them as much as you can and find out if it's something you like. For me it's something I have confidence in and it's been a go-to bait for a long time.

Spinning gear I'll run as long as 10ft of leader. Casting I keep it around the rod length just so I don't have to feel the knot in the spool. One of the main reasons I use braid mainline besides sensitivity is that it's easy to manage. It last me a lot longer then just running straight mono or flouro. The more knots I get from the leader the less braid mainline I'm using up. I get 2 seasons from one spool of braid VS 1 season with flouro. I buy 2 spools of flouro (1 6-8lb spinning & 1 12-14lb casting) and it last me a long time when just used for leader material. Another reason I run a flouro leader is because of visibility and abrasion resistance. Keeping it long allows me to retie multiple times and it's still more sensitive and seams to have less stretch than running straight flouro.

The Yamamotos are great but with a $50 budget I'd opt for the Yum Dingers too like stated above. Strike King Bitsy Bug jigs ($2 each) with Netbait Paca Chunk ($3 for 6 pack) would be on my list. They're versatile and just flat out catch fish.

Dobyns Sierra can be had for $150 w/o sale if you know where to look. The St Croix Avid's are right around the $200 mark. Also they don't get mentioned much and not sure how you feel about the handles but the Cashion Elites are a super sensitive rod for under $200.

i carry my pocket knife every day. As far as what I keep in my tackle bag.. -The Fish Grip -Hemostat pliers -Scissors (Ideal 35-088 Electrician Scissors) -Multi-tool -Little pocket sized first aid kit

If your knot didn't fail then theirs a good chance the line was damaged somehow. No way 65lb test should break on a cast. The diameter might be 15lb but the breaking strength is 65lb or higher with a good knot.

Kistler, Cashion, G Loomis, Edge, St Croix, Lamiglass, Hammer and I'm sure theirs others. I try to buy the best product for my applications at a specific price point..sometimes it's American made and sometimes it's not. If only we had more American companies manufacturing low-profile reels. The only one I know of is Ardent.

This is what I did years ago and still do on occasion. Take 2-5 rods each rigged with a bait you want to learn, leave the confidence baits at home & go to a body of water you're already familiar with. After a few trips the stuff I like goes in with my regular tackle and the stuff I don't goes in a separate box or is given to someone who wants it. I have a much better idea of what does or doesn't work for me now then I did years ago. I still try new things but I'm much more selective and rarely end up with tackle I won't use anymore.

I've used backing with braid on all my casting reels for years. Not just to keep the line from slipping but because I know only half the line on the spool will ever get used. A big spool of cheap mono (<$10) is all I and last me years. I've used 8lb-14lb test. Either an FG knot or a double uni with only 2 wraps per line is all I've use and have never had an issue or felt the knot in the spool. The amount I put on depends on what lb test and the size of the spool. The tape helps when your learning. Pull out 15-20 yards of line and put a piece of electric or painters tape on to stop backlashes from getting too deep. Once your comfortable pull the tape and put it deeper if you want or take it off for good.

I'm gonna say it depends on the rod. I have a medium spinning rod rated 1/4-5/8oz that does great with a 1/10 ned but almost feels overpowered throwing a weightless 5" senko. I also have a med-hvy casting rod rated 1/4-1oz that doesn't load up with anything under 1/2oz and I've comfortably gone to 1-1/4oz with.

I don't think one necessarily outshines the other at the same price points and feel like you can't go wrong either way. I've used both, but almost always like the Shimano's ergonomics better. It comes down to what feels better in your hands.

Since this is your first baitcaster I'd get a spool of something like Berkley Big Game Mono (<$10) to start with. Your bound to have the same issues others have at first and it's cheaper to replace a spool of mono then it is with braid or flouro. Once your past that learning curve then put on whatever line you want.

I know it's not on your list but I'd rather get a Curado or Tatula over both of those reels. The Tatula 100 & 150's are on sale at Sportsman Outfitters for $110 which would leave a good budget for whatever rod or just pair it with a Tatula rod from there and have a killer combo for less than your budget.

What's your budget for a rod? The most common cause of braid digging in that I see is from people not applying enough pressure when spooling. Basically the braid isn't as tight to the spool as it should be and the first time you apply enough pressure when catching fish or getting snagged the top of your line buries itself. I've had it happen and have always been able to pull it out, but their have been times I didn't notice until I go to cast and no line comes off the spool. As far as what pound test to use I always recommend 30lb minimum just because anything less can be hard to manage. Add backing to prevent the line from slipping on the spool.

I've used reels with both the SV spool and DC and agree it would make the learning curve a lot easier. What I experienced is that both are more forgiving and that neither one required the same level of control as any of my other reels while skipping. If they did than they wouldn't come up all the time in conversations like this one. I have nothing against people who go that route. I made it a goal not to do things that way because I didn't want to be limited to one or two specific reels everytime I skip something when with enough practice I can do it with whatevers in my hand at the time. It was a painful learning experience but it's eventually paid off.. I'm happy I chose to do it the way I did and feel like it would benefit anyone else to do the same. If anyone chooses not to that's fine.

My experience has been the same as yours. I have nothing against reels like the DC's or the people who use them, but in this case it's really just a way past learning good technique. I practiced a ton before I started getting the hang of it, but it's paid off in the long run. I'm not picking up a certain reel just to skip baits when I can get the same results from all of them with practice. My learning curve would've been a lot easier if I got the advice that me and others gave in this thread.

That's basically the same all purpose set-up I use except I run 12-14lb flouro for leader. I use it for pretty much anything with a single hook. Even when I have multiple setups I have that power rod matched with a 6.?:1 reel for single hook moving baits like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits & swim jigs.

I know many aren't fond of it but the Livetarget Frog Popper is a favorite of mine. It cast a mile and the way it sits in the water I can walk it quite well.

Theirs plenty of water that's not in state and county parks. I'm in Gloucester County and a mile from two different creeks running off the Delaware so that's where I've been fishing recently. Black & blue, red craw & junebug are my three go-to's fishing anything attached to the river.

Everyone has their preferences but with one setup I really like having braid with a leader. I keep 15-20lb braid on my spinning rod and a spool of 6-8lb flouro. Most the time I have leader attached but it's nice being able to run straight braid when I want to throw smaller top water. Not dealing with line memory would probably be easier on a kid that age too.