BassinLou

I just picked up a couple 5/16oz swim jigs at DSG couple of days ago, and I did notice the shank of the hook was very short.

To the OP. If you have the accessibility handle the rods and reels that have been recommended. Then purchase the one that feels right to you.

Best of luck Fly. I remember when I was is in the homestretch for my Master's. It was a great accomplishment. Hang in there.

Based on the majority of the lures listed as examples my go to would be a b/c. I will only use a spinner for a F7 Rapala jerkbait and small weightless flukes. Everything else will cast just fine on a b/c for me.

7ft MH BPS Carbonlite and a Lews Speed spool.

I re-read your post. The hooks have been removed already. The only thing you have is just an empty frog lying around? Use a sewing needle. Place your line on the needle and run the needle through the nose opening of the frog. Run it gently through the cavity. Now the tag end will be protruding through the bottom of the frog. Tie on the new hook and now you can slide the frog back down onto the new hook. Done!

Here are pics to describe what i am saying. Hope this helps. Here is the bottom of the frog. In my case its an old Live Target Here is how it looks when you slide the hook down. Note how you can easily replace the hook this way. When finished just carefully slide the frog back down in its place.

I just looked at frog you are describing. The technique i mentioned is exactly what you need. Tie the frog on like if you were going to use it, and apply the technique i mentioned. It will work like a charm. Good luck

I hope they work out for you. Enjoy your new rods!!

3x.... time on the water fishing is the greatest practice of all.

Feeding off what Trippy Jai said. Give it a little while. Purchasing 5 rods you have never handled is risky. One rod i can understand. Give the rods a chance. They are great rods. If you decide to unload them people will gladly take it off your hands.

Just limiting yourself to one bait, regardless of its versatility will limit the amount fish you will catch. There is no doubt, that on any given outing the spinnerbait will work. But what about the day it isn't, and another common lure is the "hot lure" of the day. Why limit yourself?

No your not stuck using #40 braid. You can use 65lb braid if that's what you need because #65 is 15lb mono equivalent.

I am self taught. My parents til this day wonder who i got the fishing bug from....LOL.

Yeah... i should have mentioned the hook. Gami's red hooks are gold when they chip, at least they were when i last used them.

That's great tip. Never would have thought of that.

Eh... Stick with nickle. They don't chip like the red hooks. when they do they turn gold.

That's unfortunate. It only takes a handful of people to really mess up a good thing. Best of luck finding another spot.

If those are hollow body frogs its quite easy. With your frog still tied on, hold on to the frog, and gently pull the hook down through the frogs cavity. You will find that the hook is attached to a swivel of sorts. Now that the frog is out of the way. You can work the old hook of of the swivel and replace it with a new frog hook. Once you do that, gently pull the hook back up through the cavity of the frog. If you do this gently, your frog should not tear and/or be damaged.

Nice George!! Glad you found them. Any size to the bass?

Bass are incredible hunters. I fished a pond once where I kept hearing blowups. I stopped fishing for a while to see if it was school of bass chasing bait fish, until i noticed a good amount of dragon flies, buzzing around. Several were flying right above of the water line. Then I saw it. Bass were hitting and chasing at times the low flying dragonflies!! They would jump out and attempt to catch these insects. My observation was reinforced some months later when I fishing in the glades. I caught a decent 4lb bass, and it began to spit up dragonfly parts. Crazy!!

Your issue with your braid digging in, is not limited to brands. Any brand you would have used in this situation would dig in. Lighter braids are very, very thin. Once you catch a decent fish or get hung up on something and you really load the reel up, the braid will dig into itself. I have pretty much settled on fishing with 40lb braid and higher for this reason. Others have had success fishing 20lb braid on B/C's but I suspect the incidence of line digging is higher than what's said.

Awesome find!! Enjoy!!

Nice fish, good work.

Dobyns are great rods. I own couple a Savvy and Champion.