drew4779

I have 3 daughters who all have been using spinning reels since they were 5. It took them around 20 minutes to figure out. I'd bet your 7 year old would figure it out quick. I took the two older girls (9 and 12) on a 3 day fishing trip this last weekend and they out fished their old man. My 12 year old kept reaching for my bait casters cause she says she's sick of line twists. The 9 and 12 year old tie their own knots, take off their own fish (except on trebles... My rule, not theirs), and t-rig their own plastics. These aspects took a lot of instruction and many days of me teaching class on the water instead of fishing myself but using a spinning reel took them 20 minutes of practice in the back yard.

I prefer a moderate action/heavy rod. I've tried MH/fast and H/fast and have had success but I think I've got too quick of a trigger on the blow up. A moderate action rod has greatly increased my hook up rate.

Seems like a nightmare to me...

T-rigged crazy legged chigger crawls are one of my go-to's and the claws tend to last for a number of fish. I don't use them for chatterbait trailers but I'd say that the fish are trying to tell you something. You're probably getting short strikes which would warrant a color change or bite off a 1/2" or so of the head of the crawl to shorten the trailer.

Check out the Fenwick methods rods. It offers different actions and weights all in one tube. I've owned one for a few years now with no complaints.

Awesome! Thanks

X2

My parents own a home in Naples. I always love fishing alligator alley when I visit. Plus, Lake Okeechobee isn't too far away. Not being a local, I don't have too much knowledge about the area as far as local lakes are concerned. However, the neighbors would always suggest the golden gate canal. I asked for some suggestions a number of years ago on this site for fishing Naples. You may still be able to dig up that thread?

Jigs and tubes.

x2

Shore: The closest lakes to fish are about 25 minutes away, and I hate those lakes. My main water is about 50 minutes away. Boating: It's about 35 minutes to the ramp on the Ohio and not my favorite place to fish. The closest reservoir is about 45 minutes away.

I wish I could find them on sale locally. I ended up buying a lot of 10 unpainted KO on ebay for $15 and painting them myself. Makes for a good winter project. However, I probably ended up paying more in the long run after buying hooks and split rings (already had an air bush and paint).

The past 3 years I've been telling myself that I need to carry less. I end up buying a deep 3700 tray and pull out just what I want for that particular trip. Fast forward two months and that box is over flowing, along with the box I bought the year prior, the seams on my back pack are pushed to limits, and I'm right back where I started. I justify this by telling myself I'm getting a work out carrying around all this tackle, when in reality I probably use about 1/10th of what I carry and my back is sore the next day.

I like them. I've done some real damage with magic swimmers and cranksters. Both are among my top producers each year. I wouldn't worry too much about what you hear or don't hear. Especially if you're catching fish with them.

I've had no issues with the 2.0. The Gen 1 on the other hand, snapped in half without abuse.

Yes... You'd be disappointed. Cat fishing can be very good but there aren't any top tier bass lakes around here. Muskies can be found but no where near as plentiful as you'll find up north. I know of one lake that stocked pike a number of years ago but have never met anyone who actually caught one and that lake eventually eroded into the river. Trout are stocked in the late winter/early spring at some park lakes but don't reproduce. There is one small river about 30 minutes into Indiana that does have a good trout population, but that is only because it's fed from a deep reservoir and the water comes out cold. Sauger run the river in late winter and that can be very good. A couple reservoirs have walleye and stripers. No salmon. No pickerel. Your best bet for "good" bass fishing around here is private ponds. I usually do most of my weekend fishing in Indiana or Kentucky. I also travel to places like eastern Ohio, Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Cave Run, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama, and Florida a number of times a year to get my fishing fix. Every time I fly into Minneapolis I'm blown away by all those awesome looking lakes out the window of the plane. If only I could talk my wife into moving to Minnesota...

I own and like them both. No issues with either. Both have caught plenty of fish for me. The only live target product I'll buy is the frog.

My mom's dog knows how to open doors. He let's himself out in the morning. All of her door knobs are dented in from him. Too bad he doesn't close the doors behind him.

I stopped by yesterday on my way home from work. It's not how I remember it. I ended up saving $2 on $65 worth of tackle. I didn't see any vendor booths (maybe that's only on weekends). It might be worth it if your looking for something very specific that happens to be one of their sale items. They had bins and bins of discounted rooster tails and everyone on the lake will seemingly be casting a new carbonlite combo.

Hard to beat St. Clair or Erie.

This is my new favorite thing!

I've always soaked the filets in salt water. It's suppose to help draw the blood out. It's how my dad did it, and how my his grandfather taught him. Seems to work.

Caught three 5 pounders this last year. Two on a black strike king football jig w/a Bps triple ripple craw trailer and one on a t-rigged crazy legs chigger crawl (bream) with a 4/0 ewg and 1/8 Oz. gold bullet weight. Also caught a quite a few in the 4+ range with a t-rigged venom tube (roadkill). All but one were prespawn. This past summer was rough.

The Gen 1 had some issues, but the Gen 2 has been good to me.

St. Clair > Erie... But both great.