drew4779

My brother fishes both and although he really likes his PQ, he loves his lews.

2x

I don't think you can beat it for the price. It remains in my regular rotation which include reels many would consider far superior.

Keep fighting Dwight.

St. Croix and G Loomis

Stanley's catch fish but are not durable. The blades are always flying off. I switched to venom hidden heads and love them. I just bought some pepper spinners but have only thrown them on one trip...so far so good.

I own many reels by many brands. My first choices are always my shimano chronarchs or my daiwa 105 sv. No question. For your first bait caster, I'd go with a shimano. These are the easiest to dial in and are the most forgiving.

Do any manufacturers still make pistol grip casting rods? I'm trying to find one for my father but can only find them by BPS and St. Croix (and for some unknown reason my dad doesn't like St. Croix rods...no idea why?...I think they're great).

I use cedar and would just find it on hikes to lake.

I've have nothing to offer...just ordered one myself and been racking my brain to find a good rod to pair with it too. I've been looking at a phenix recon or a cumara.

I wouldn't.

Nice reel for the price.

I had the same problem with Stanley wedge spinner baits. They caught a ton of fish but were too fragile. I love venom Lures hidden head. Been fishing the same one all year. These seem to balance better than any other brand I've tried for a slow roll approach (can still burn like any other spinner). Full disclosure: I've never tried this ever popular war eagle. I'm gonna grab a couple to try myself.

I have a browning fishing backpack that I used for years, but now I only use it a hand full of times a year. It's durable and really nice but it holds too much stuff. I end up packing it full with stuff I really use. I've since moved to the standard book bag to limit what I bring.

I toss them to the raccoons. I've heard of people adding a couple hybrid tiger musky to thin them out but that would depend on if you own the pond, how big it is, and what climate you live in.

I have nothing to offer...I just think I need to post something in order to follow this. I have two nice rods that need new inserts.

Flukes and rattle traps for me.

Hey guys, I know I ask this every few months buy I'm in Naples again and would be forever grateful for some spots to hook up with some bass. Last november I was down here and made the trip to okeechobee and was not disappointed. I hear golden gate canal can produce some peacocks which would be a first for me. I've also heard of a lake within a 45 minute drive that can produce some trophies but for the life of me, can't rember the name. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I can go from the shore or rent a boat, kayak, canoe, etc. Don't be shy...I will happily return the favor if any of guys find yourself in south western ohio.

I used a 7' 2 piece "in shore" ugly stick for cranks for years back in college. I even fish rubber worms and jigs with it in a pinch. That being said, if you end up really getting into bass fishing (beware of the bait monkey), you'll end up investing in setups that better suit your needs. If you only bass fish a couple times a year...I wouldn't worry too much. But I wouldn't try it with a surf rod or anything like that. As for the kids...my kids use 5'-6" ultra-light setups like I did as child. Nothing like pulling in a bass on an ultra-light. Beware though, the kids can get frustrated if they start losing too many fish. I started putting 10# braid on my 6 year old daughter's rod after she broke off two 5 #'s at shore. She was devestated.

I'm heading down to Florida this week and hoping to find some of those. Any advice?

Starting out my day, I usually use a heavier weight in clear water to trigger a reaction strike and a lighter weight in low visibility to keep it in the strike zone longer. Although, this is just my preference and not a rule. All this changes based on current and cover as well.

Always been a tough lake for me. Too many recreational boaters. There's a flat with a sharp drop heading towards the dam on your left (best I can describe it). You could see it on Google maps a few years ago but I don't know if they've updated it since. Found a school of smallies there. Other than that, its always been slim pickings. Good luck, I hear it can be a great lake once you figure it out.

I have a couple of these but don't remember the exact name but they are made by bps.

I haven't fished there since I was a kid but I heard there was some type of contamination some years back and the fishing was horrible if not, non-existent. I remember it as shallow with a lot of lilly pads. Not a lot of help I know.