Knightiac

I went through phases myself. When I first started fishing I learned on spinning of course and thought casting was ridiculous. Once I finally taught myself how to use casting reels I only used them for a period of time and thought spinning reels were a waste of time... LOL. It took me a couple years to truly appreciate the differences and stop trying to cast light lures on casting setups. There are times where I want to flip/pitch and want an incredibly slow fall so I go to spinning, and can get a heck of a cast out of it. Just about preference I guess.

Was gonna post in @paul.'s thread but didn't want to steal his thunder, that thing was a beauty. I was at a lake where I literally always have to downsize because in my experience it's the only thing that does the trick and the bass are tiny there. Walking up, I spotted some new lily pad growth so of course I wandered over there and got skunked after 40 minutes or so. On my way back around the lake to head home I spot some weed movement next to some pads, and sure enough there's a nice bass sitting there. I drop my chigger craw just beyond it and the bass darts after it, I set the hook and nothing. I was able to keep the craw fairly close and again I missed on the exact same cast. So I reel in, walked away quietly and decide to completely change my bait up. I switched from my small downsized EWG to a larger Trokar flippin hook, dipped a claw in a chartreuse dye since the bass had already seen it twice and gave it another go. I dropped it just inside the weedline and dragged it right in front of her, boom, easy hookset with the more appropriate hook. It was pretty exciting being that I was able to sightfish a d**n nice fish in a lake that I have only caught 1.5LBers out of at most. She was just under 3 lbs 4 oz

Came here to post this exact same thing. The Berkley Havoc worm lineup is my go to. Their tails have great action and as @papajoe222 said, the tail floats right on up.

I absolutely love the St Croix Mojo Bass rods... Very sensitive, incredibly comfortable, and a little below your price range.

I typically use an EWG as much as possible... but when I have days where I miss one or two I typically switch to a straight shank and that fixes things for the day. Straight shanks are just a little more difficult to keep your bait on if fishing more horizontally through brush rather than vertically like flipping. Like another poster said, EWG are tremendous at staying in a fishes mouth for a long time if you set the hook, with a straight shank you'd typically want to keep a little more pressure on the fish and get him in quicker. One time I really prefer a straight shank over a EWG is when the fish are hardly biting. They sort of swipe at it but don't really take it, that's when a straight shank is really nice cause you can set the hook a little easier. I like switching to a straight shank when using a fluke when the bass are just swiping at it, cause a lot of the times the bass will straight hook itself.

Gonna be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the one fishing shirt I got from them. The size ran a little small and it also seemed transparent, it was so thin. Their hats are nice, and I love their hoodies. They are on the thin side so they're perfect for those fishing mornings where you're a little chilly but will be warmer as the day goes on. They value their buffs at $15-20, I can't remember, but they are constantly running deals where you can get them for $3-4 if you have them on social media. I've got about ten buffs from them and they're awesome.

I pretty much always rig them through the bottom lip and up through a nostril, so the hook is pointing up and out of vegetation.

Thanks for the help everybody. Special thanks to @IndianaFinesse for alerting me of the FFO deal. I went and played around with a few reels and the Revo S definitely hit home with me. I saw the awesome deal on FFO and decided to check locally just to see if anybody else offered the deal and it turns out Dick's Sporting Goods had the exact same deal. I decided to go pick one up only to find out the online inventory was wrong for two stores and they didn't actually have it in stock, other than one sample reel that the handle was stolen off of. It turns out the deal was for the older generation and only in size 30. That ended up being a no go for me since I love the smaller size 20's for bass fishing so I bit the bullet and ordered the brand new Revo S20 from Bass Pro's website.

Hey guys, I have been fishing for quite some time but have never really invested too much money into spinning reels. I always spent more on baitcasters, I own two Lew's Tourney Pros and love them. I currently have a couple Abu Garcia's, Cardinal SX's to be exact. Decent reels, a steal at $40 but I'm ready to step up. I willing to spend $130 or so and was debating on getting the Abu Garcia Revo S and possible the Lew's Tourney Pro. I would like to stay in the 8.2oz or lighter range if possible. Do y'all have any suggestions for me? Any insight on the two I mentioned? I'm really liking the Revo S.

17 LB Sufix Invisaline Floro for me

I'm a big fan of texas rigging senkos, but not wacky rigging them. They're great on these hooks linked below. Admittedly, I don't use them enough anymore but the jig stands right up and being that senkos are thicker they stick right up in the bass' face. http://www.yumbaits.com/yum-pumpkin-head-jig

Appreciate it!

Gotcha makes since. Clearer the water the more natural the presentation, thanks.

Hope I didn't miss it cause I skimmed the thread, but what brand jighead is that? Ive been having trouble finding jigheads I like recently.

Literally have the exact same pair and love them. Being on the bank definitely limits visibility. To the OP, I have gone through multiple shades and while Green Mirror IS best for the situation you described, it is a d**n good all around choice. The only time I end up not using them is when the sun is covered by dark clouds in which case no pair of sunglasses really does you any good.

If you're losing that many mid cast you might wanna start checking your knots/line more often bud, I've been there before too. As soon as I hear any "grit" noise going through my rod, I cut the line and retie. I haven't lost anything yet this year (which now means I'm about to) but I did put a lipless crank right into a tree a few days back. I just climbed the tree and cut the line, got my red eye shad back.

Nothing bad about it. I literally just started a thread regarding a certain lure that I forced myself to use. The first 30 minutes, I was thinking "I really need to change this up so I can fish those pads over there" but I stuck to it, and once I found the fish I got on quite a few in a pretty short span. If I had switched to the bait I wanted to I never would have got on that incredible bite and I wouldn't have been enlightened as to the possibilities of the new-to-me lure.

Hey guys, I used to post a good amount a few years ago but got busy and the fishing slowed down for me unfortunately. This last fall I got back into it and I've been on the water nearly every weekend this year it seems. I've always been a huge fan of soft plastics, worms, craws, flukes, and the list goes on - so my tackle bag pretty much consisted of soft plastics and a ton of terminal tackle to rig it differently. Years back, I bought a ton of lipless cranks that I never used much, and literally only caught one fish on them after only giving it a good three hours. I just recently forced myself to use them, and I am a believer. In a span of about thirty minutes, once I found the fish, I got on an incredible bite and want to devote even more time to mastering them. I've got the basic color ideas, size, and when/how down, but I haven't seen a ton regarding rattle/silent. When do y'all switch it up between using a rattle or a silent lipless crank? I must admit, when I bought them a couple years ago, I got a few colors, each color in two sizes, and they all have one rattle (red eye shads).

Not close enough to be able to help you but Google Maps is your friend. You'll find many lakes and ponds that you never knew about or even drive right by everyday.

Welcome and go Knights!

Yep, I love using berkley chigger craws or even strike king rage tails on them. Obviously the smaller versions of both baits, but both work well and are great for downsizing when the bite is tough.

I too, was left with this decision, so naturally I went fishing. Went out and caught a couple hogs, went home, cleaned up and went out to our dinner reservations. It was a fantastic day.

Another Chromecast user here. The new Chromecast app allows you to cast your entire screen so it doesn't even matter if you have applicable apps now - everything works. It is fantastic. Somebody mentioned most fishing series are bad, while that may be true I love watching Addictive Fishing with Blair Wiggins. Its 99% saltwater but its good stuff. He has a channel on YouTube and I believe they have five seasons on episodes on there right now. Just watched him catch reds and trout in Vero Beach, FL.

Welcome!

Welcome!