Christian M

I agree, why limit yourself, each rig has its time & place for use. Do you do much drop shotting? I've caught some really nice Bass in 10'-30' of clear water on 4-6lb line that I know I wouldn't have been able to catch using a casting rig. When u get a bite in 20' of water & set the hook & reel up a good 10 ' to realize theres nothing on the end of you line, its essential to be able to open that bail & let that bait drop right back down into that school of bass, into the strike zine, where more often than not you will hook either that same fish or another one. Whereas with casting gear you just wouldn't be able to do the same thing with the half the ease or speed. I started bass fishing with spinning gear then when I got my first casting setup I never wanted to put it down or buy another spinning rig, but as my knowledge & experience expanded, I realized that it really is another tool in the arsenal that is going to help you catch more fish.

I agree with minnow, the Smoke reel is everything you could ask for and more. I have the Smoke PT SL100 in a 7.0:1 gear ratio which I use primarily for burning spinnerbaits, flip/pitching senkos, and finesse jigs. For cranking you're going to want a much slower gear ratio, something in the 5.3:1 range, basically the slower the better. You want to be able to slow you're crankbait down to a crawl so that you can feel everything when fishing through cover or dragging along rocky bottoms. Also rod choice is crucial when using crankbaits. You're gonna want something with an extra fast action tip so that you give the fish a chance to take the lure, and yourself a chance to set those treble hooks without ripping the lure out of the fish's mouth. Good luck!

If I were you I would just get online & google "Richmond VA bass fishing", you'll find sites that will give you maps of local hot spots on lakes, streams & rivers, and theres also always google earth, but I'm sure there are pleanty of fisherman on here that can hook you up with local knowledge, good luck!

When the Veritas rods first hit the market out I read a lot about them breaking easily too. From what I gather between the reviews on Abu Garcias website and other online reviews, it seems like the first batch of rods that shipped out to retail stores were bad. This could have been a manufacturing or shipping issue, but since then it seems as though they have resolved whatever the issue was. I was hesitant to buy mine at first because of this, but I read how helpful Abu Garcia was with customers who had this issue, and spoke to the manager @ Dicks who told me that there hadn't been any returns or issues with their batch. Also almost every review that I read about a rod breaking was basically before or during the first or second time using it. I figured it was worth the risk & decided to buy one, I guess I got one of the good ones because I used mine all season and caught some hawgs on it without any problems. Definitely one of my favorite rods

I Own the 7'6" MH, its an awesome rod, light, sensitive, durable, and it looks really cool too. I definitely agree w/NKY tho, if you're looking for an all around rod go w/the 7'Med because the MH is underrated. For $99 you just can't go wrong, GO FOR IT!!

USE IT!!

Thank you so much, I can't imagine what you're going through man. Family is the most important thing in life, you're blessed to have them, and we're blessed to have you and everyone like you. Stay safe, ur in our prayers.

A few friends and I fish a small private pond (about 6 acres) which is stocked by the DNR but the stocking is paid for by the folks who live around the pond, its added to their property tax (about 8 homes). It holds Largemouth, Chain Pickeril, Channel Cats, Bluegill, Black Crappy, Perch, Sun Fish ect. Lucky for us the homeowners are kind enough to let us fish the pond. The biggest bass we've caught & released so far was 6lbs! Those of us that know about this spot generally keep it to ourselves and protect it. We keep it as clean as possible by hanging garbage bags on trees & picking up garbage left behind by morons, there's also the occasional chasing out "bucket fisherman" which is always fun. Well two seasons ago we pulled up bright and early to fish our spot and there was a guy standing knee deep in the water, with his dress slacks rolled up, using live bait, with a big cooler hidden in the bushes. Needless to say we approached and asked what he was doing with the cooler and where his fishing license was?? In a really hard accent he replied something along the lines of "I have license" then he tells us that he owns a sushi/hibachi restaurant right up the road!! So we got on the horn and called the local game warden who had approached us once and after a few minutes of friendly conversation gave us her direct cell number. Next thing u know our friend was dumping his cooler and hightailing it off the property fines in hand! The part that really bugged me was thinking about how many times he probably caught the "Fresh Seared Panfish" special out of this industrial runoff pond??!! Thank God I never ate there.

I have the Veritas 7'6" Medium-Heavy and its power is definitely under-rated, its a heavy power rod IMO. I have several other Med-Hvy Quantum, Shimano, and Field & Stream rods, both casting and spinning and none of them have the same power/action of my Veritas. I use it for jigging & Flip&Pitching heavy cover, throwing frogs, and even big swimbaits. I would suggest going to the store and handling the Veritas 7'6" MH then comparing it to some other MH rods before you make a decision.

Definitely have a good boat mechanic give the engine, hull, & electrical wiring a good once over. Will the seller let you take the boat for a test ride? What is the trolling motor's power rating as far as thrust & volts? Is the Humminbird unit on the deck a GPS/Fishfinder or Fishfinder only? If all is well I agree with everyone else, jump on it. Do you plan on insuring the boat? Maybe a stupid question but out of curiousity do any of you guys know if there is a kind of "carfax" for boats?

At the end of August 2011 I was torn between buying the Rage or a second Veritas rod. I was buying the Quantum Smoke reel as a birthday present to myself and I wanted to pair it up to the right rod for fishing Senkos. The Veritas was a few ounces lighter, and I already loved the flippin stick I had purchased earlier the same year, but I really admired the overall thought St. Croix put into the design and craftsmanship of the Rage lineup. (Not to mention how tired I was of hearing my fishing buddies boast about how "theres just nothing like fighting a fish on a St. Croix" whenever they landed a Hawg on their Legend or Mojo rods). Well imagine their *** when I showed up with not only the new 7'1"MH Rage Casting Rod, but a Smoke reel sitting on it to boot! Now with that being said, all showmanship aside, this rod is AWESOME!! I can feel every little tick, bump, and thump when reeling my lure through water. It's got great backbone and just enough play at the tip to keep me feeling in control with a big fish on the end of my line. I can land my Senko right where I want to 9 out of 10 times and, with the micro-guides reducing line friction, I can outcast my buddies by 20% while making it look easy.

I used Nanofil on a Med spinning outfit fishing 6lb to an 8lb berkley 100% flouro leader w/a #6 swivel using a standard improved clench knot (I made it a point to leave a longer tag end since the line is so smooth). I really liked the castability and control with lighter lures as well as the high transfer of vibration and sensitivity when dragging the bottom. I did notice some pretty bad fraying but I just stripped off a few yards til I got to some fresh line and re-tied, problem solved. It's starting to grow on me but I haven't had enough experience on the water with it to say im making a switch from power-pro which I've used for years and have tons of confidence in. First impression was good though.

Shouldn't be too hard, just re-wire what was already there. U might want to think about adding an I/O switch with an inline fuse if it doesn't already have something like that installed.It is pretty bad *** if the thing has an 8 track player in it tho lol

I built a stereo system into my boat, but I very rarely use it when I'm om the water. Like most of u guys I use my boat to get away from everyday noise pollution. I also listen constantly for fish hitting the surface, movement in cover, or anything else that generally indicates they're fish nearby. I'll turn on a favorite song or radio station while I'm eating lunch and just drifting along, but when it comes time to get back to business I go back to listening to the water. I think I use the boat stereo mostly when its in the driveway and I'm either cleaning or working on it.

I think its really important to have a proper overview of the properties, pros, & cons of all the different types of line on the market and how they apply to different techniques and types of fishing. Flourocarbon is very abrasion resistant, sensitive, & hard for fish to see, which makes it great for crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, & plastics, but it sinks so you never want to use it for topwater applications. Braided line is really strong and has an extremely thin line diameter, which makes it great for packing heavy test line onto a reel & tossing a lure like a frog or creature bait into the thickest cover you can find, but braided line floats so you might have a tough time using it with certain lures like diving crankbaits which require you to keep the lure in the strike zone for as long as possible. Mono is great for topwater lures like Spooks, Sammys, Poppers, Chuggers, etc because it floats and unlike braided line it wont get tangled up in the hooks. I also find that mono helps keep the nose of the bait up & you get a more life-like action out of walk the dog lures since it has a certain amount of stretch. However, with all that being said I think you just need to go out and experiment to find out what works best for you. I find myself using 10lb Power Pro to a 12lb Berkley 100% flouro leader a lot of the time because I like to fish soft plastics & spinnerbaits a lot, SpiderWire makes great Mono, Berkley makes great Flouro, PowerPro for braided. Good Luck!!

I have the veritas 7'6" MH which I use for flip & pitching, I absolutely love this rod but I wouldn't consider it good for all around use. I've heard really good things about the Mojo rods from two good friends who own them and swear by them. If you can swing the couple extra bucks I would recommend the new Rage rods from St. Croix. I have the 7'1" MH casting rod and its great for worms, spinnerbaits, & crankbaits. Its kinda hard to suggest 1 rod for "all around use" but there are definitely some that are more versitile than others. It really depends on how, where, and what style of fishing you do most often. If you can narrow that down then it will make your search a lot easier. Good Luck Jimbo!

This past summer I purchased a Smoke reel and paired it up to a 7'1" St. Croix Rage rod. I had waited a while for the price to come down but just couldn't wait another season. Its hands down the best combo I've ever used. I fished with it pretty hard through the end of the summer & fall without a single problem. It's super light, comfortable, & durable. The drag system is smooth as silk & I can easily outcast anyone on the lake most days by at least 20-30 feet. I use it mostly for Senkos & texas rigged worms because of the casting accuracy and consistancy, but it really does well with anything I throw on the end of the line. It was well worth the investment & I plan to buy the spinning combo next season. My advice is go for it! You wont be disappointed. Good Luck!

Hi Tank, I do a whole lot of bass fishing & I always use a leader for braided line. As far as topwater fishing, I think you'll find that you will have much more success just using mono as your main line, especially for walk the dog lures and poppers. In my opinion the stretch from the mono gives much better action to these types of baits and gives the fish more time to properly take the bait in before you set the hook without ripping it out of the fish's mouth. For throwing frogs you really don't have to worry about using a leader. You're throwing the lure into the thickest cover you can find which makes visibility of the line a non issue. Also you're usually using very heavy braided test line that floats anyway. Aside from that, I would recommend using a leader at all times, if you're using 10lb braided, go with 12lb flouro for crainkbaits, jerkbaits, rattletraps, and soft plastics (this is just my preference but its a good rule of thumb to go a couple pounds heavier with your leader when using braided line). I also always use a barrel swivel, Tsunami & Lazer make some really nice swivels that come in a variety of styles, sizes, and strength ratings. For example, when I fish 10lb power pro, I like to use a #6 - #10 swivel, to 12lb pure flouro (depending on the situation). Just remember flouro sinks so you don't want to use it for any top water applications, as it will impede the action of the bait, and braided line has no stretch so you may run into the same issue. I also find that mono helps keep the nose of the topwater bait up and tends to get tangled up in the hooks much less than braided line does....Thats just my opinion from my own personal experience, either way FISH ON!!! hope this helps, CM

Hey Dink, which veritas rod did u get? I have the 7'6" MH flippin stick & I absolutely love it...

Hey Mike, Im a CNJ resident too. My spots are Manasquan Res, Assunpink, and some lakes down in Manahawkin. I haven't made it out to Farrington yet but its on my list for the upcoming season. Welcome & good luck

This past year I purchased one of the new Abu Garcia Veritas rods. Its a 7'6" MH, but I think its really under-rated, feels much more like a Heavy. I absolutely love this rod for flippin & pitchin jigs & weighted creature baits. Its extremely light, well balanced & super sensitive. One of my favorite features is the exposed reel seat. Abu Garcia uses aluminum instead of plastic for the piece that you screw down onto the reel. I like this feature for jig fishing because i can really put some muscle behind my hook sets & not worry about the reel seat cracking. Most of my rods are 7' but with this one the extra 6" really comes in handy for close quarters fishing in heavy cover. I have read some reviews about these rods breaking when they first came out, but Ive fished mine a full season and haven't had any issues. Plus it was $99.99. In my humble opinion you cant beat this rod. CM

I know, when we weighed it we had our fingers crossed that it would break double digits, close but no cigar, he's got the pic up on his FB, ill ask him if its cool if I post the pic up here or even a link to his FB. Btw this past October I caught a 6.5 with a mouth & head that looked like it should have been 8-9 easily. The strange thing about it was the fish had no belly at all, actually the belly was indented. Im not sure if the fish was sick, if there wasnt enough forage, or if the fish was ust old & on its way out but I had never seen anything like it before, any ideas on what would cause something like that?

Hey guys, I'm new to this site but I've been fishing NJ waters since I was a kid. The past 4 years I've really been honing my freshwater bass fishing techniques and tackle. I live in Ocean County so I spend a lot of time on Manasquan Reservoir, Assunpink, & other local lakes/ponds, but at least once a month I try to take a trip out to a new lake or reservoir. I've found a few local spots that regularly produce healthy Largemouth Bass in the 4-6 pound range. Last summer one of my fishing buddies pulled a 9.14 monster out of one of our favorite holes. I have yet to break his record but I did land a 6.5 this past October. If any of u guys Bassin in NJ would like any tips or advice I'm always happy to share some knowledge and I'm always up to wet a line. CM