BassinLou

Thanks PZ3, I have been extremely lucky to meet and fish with 4 BR Florida members, and I can proudly call them my friends. It was an absolute joy to show MCS the ropes and teach him how to fish our waters. From what MCS described to me its a night and day difference. I had blast MCS, til next year.

I had a great day fishing today. It was month's in the making and today was the day we were able to pull it off. I had the great fortune to finally meet and fish with our very own MCS. He was a trooper, and made the drive down from Jax early this morning to meet up with me and fish in Everglades. We met at the ramp around 730am and fished til about 3pm. Although windy, we were able to boat 38-40 fish and lost as many. The two biggest fished landed were 5lbs and 4.5lbs. It was absolute treat to meet up with MCS and fish the glades with him. Thanks MCS!! Here is a pic of the 5lbr caught on a frog!!

Went out to the glades today and fished MM35 - MM41. I was fortunate to have a special guest with me. I finally was able to meet up with MCS, and we had very good time catching some nice fish today. We boated 38-40 fish, biggest came in at 5lbs and 4.5lbs. I lost one that was 6+ and another one close to 4lb. It was bit windy, however that did not slow us down. Overall it was great day with great company. This one came in at 5lbs and its length was 20" caught on a hollow body frog.

What's makes the stick bait so attractive to bass, is there horizontal fall. Drop shotting a stickbait will definitely effect this. Lizards different story. With stickbaits you can rig them wacky which really accentuates the horizontal fall or texas rig it with little to no weight. Just my .02

Cool!! Enjoy.

What scale did you get?

I have been using mine straight out of the box, for a little while now and it's a great reel. I see myself keeping this reel for a long while.

I have broken 3 rods. 2 were St. croix Rage rods and 1 one was Carbonlite. The first rage, I broke on my 3rd cast of just getting it. I was bank fishing and went to do a low cast and the rod tip clipped the ground breaking off 4 inches. Second Rage, a little gator got really close to the boat, so to scare him off I tapped him on top of the head and it explosively snapped up at my rod. I quickly reacted, to soon find out that the gator snapped my rod tip. The carbonlite, broke after I set the hook on a nice bass in thick pads. The bait got hung up in the pads and I placed excessive pressure on the rod causing it to snap in half. I have learned my lessons since then.

In this case "your welcome" LOL....

Doyle thanks again for the heads up. I went to the Dick's at Pines. Got 4 packages of various soft plastics and a SK jig for $5. I had to walk away. LOL... too much good stuff was marked down.

Yes, bass eyesight is very good according to the Bass professor. I don't know if what you witnessed was a bass going after the bird, however I have seen bass time the landing of my bait to strike as it hits the water. It's a cool thing to witness.

You left me scratching my head on your braid issue. If you tested your equipment and noticed that no guides were cracked or inserts missing, and your reel was also working properly. Then we know its not that. Fading occurs but not that fast. Strands being caked up is also a new one for me. I have never used Mccoy's braid, maybe there is something wrong with the batch you have. Buy another spool if you really like that braid, or try another braid and see if the issue continues. If it does, then you missed something in your equipment check. Good luck.

I bank fish the majority of the time and I am really streamlined. I carry a small/midsize Columbia waist pack with my essential baits and tackle, a bottled water and pair of sneakers and off I go. I used to carry a fishing box eons ago, but I learned over the year, to really pay attention to what baits work in my area, and just carry that. It has made my life and fishing experience so much easier and enjoyable. Looking at my avatar, you will see what I carry with me. The pack has been shifted to my back so that it does interfere with my fishing. I carry a rag, and some pliers, and I am good.

I fish my soft frogs with a 5/0 Gami. I buzz it right along the surface around any sort of cover that I may see. I throw this rig on a 7ft M/H Xfast Avid, using a Lews Tournament MG, on 40lb Power Pro braid.

Chatillon scales are IGFA compliant. They have the "IN" series of scales that are for fishing enthusiasts.

The top one looks like a 2 lbr and the bottom pic looks a 4.5-5.5lb

I have a couple of Lews and a Curado I. I almost pulled the trigger on a Chronarch a couple of years back but i didn't. Great reel, but i did'nt like the way it palmed. The Lews TP palms well for me, which led me to get the Curado I, it's a great reel.

Cool to see you guys picked up where you left off. This competition is fun and you will make plenty of new friends. We ran this competition for 7 months down in FL. It was alot fun. I am not surprised seeing Maine leading form the front and its only a May 6. LOL... Enjoy guys!! Best of luck!!

Happy hunting!! Good luck, hope you find what your looking for.

Given the question, now that I have many years of experience under belt, I would have to say both are equally as important to me. The entire set up is a tool. The perfect combo of rod and reel makes for a tool that can be light and efficient but at the same time strong and powerful. It's challenging chucking baits all day on a heavy set up. Your arm feels like it wants to fall off at the end of the day. Now use a very nice rod with today's materials and a nice reel that are lighter today than previous reels of the past , and your arm will not feel has tired and beat up. Also take into the account the technology going into both pieces of equipment. There are several rods and reels out there that are great pieces of equipment for a lesser price point.

Inflatables? Like someone mentioned above, save a little bit more $$ and get a yak or if you have a small truck or mid-size truck for that matter, get a small 8ft aluminum tin and trick it out however you like. An inflatable seems to be a solution to get on the water cheaply, but its an inflatable. First thing that comes to mind are punctures. Multiple ones. If you decide to get one, so be it and enjoy... Being on the water is different from being on the bank, that's for sure.

Congrats!! Bass fishing will never be the same way again for you.

I will be out there on Saturday. I will post a report then. But I can tell you that the fishing has been great. Yes, some days have been better than others but overall its been good for the last few months. I have been averaging with my brother-in-law 35-50 catches per trip. Range 1-5lbs for us.

Thanks.. Pines is much closer to me than Miami. I will check it out this week. I have glades trip coming up.

The LTB's and the avid can be tip heavy but they do not bother me one bit. I can fish all day with any of those rods without noticing a difference. I don't see what the big deal is really.