Jay Ell Gee

Welcome sir! I'm from Denham Springs myself, right down the road from you. It's nice that you have your own little pond. Fish the crap out of it and keep its location a secret from everyone but myself (via PM!) Just kidding, but there are some great holes around BR if you look hard enough. Perhaps I'll run into you one day! Good luck fishing and welcome to the site! Joshua

Hey everyone. Finals snuck up on me and I didn't really get to thank everyone for their input yet, as I have been slammed studying. I visited my local Dick's Sporting Goods and ended up getting some pretty good deals. I had a $15.00 off coupon for a reel over 80.00, so I picked up a Sahara 2500 for $65.00. I also spent some time looking through the rods and ended up getting a St. Croix Mojo Bass model MBS68MXF. It is 6'8," Medium Action with an Extra Fast tip. I believe that the XF tip will really set the hook with authority with texas rigged plastics. It also came with a free St. Croix hoodie, which will be handy for the whopping two months of winter we get in south Louisiana. While I want to thank everyone for all of their help, I was hoping to pick your brains a tiny bit more. I am now tasked with choosing what kind of line to use for my new setup. I have really been wanting to try braid, so after a LOT of research, I believe that I am going to try my hand at PowerPro braid, in moss green. So... here come a few more questions! What weight test do I need to use? It is to my understanding that thin braid will cause issues in spinners, so should I be looking at 20 to 30 lb braid? Should I use a leader? Mono or fluoro? Any recommendations on decently priced leader line? How do I know what pound test is best to use as a leader? I have always been very simplistic in my fishing methods as a beginner, using stren mono with plenty of success. However, I believe that braid would help me squeeze out every bit of sensitivity and performance from my setup. Do you recommend braid for a first time spinning reel user? Should I just stick to light mono for now until I get used to it? Last question, I promise. I often find myself bank fishing with my girlfriend, and obviously, snags are a concern. Is braid a good idea for bank fishing? It would be nice if my leader wasn't super strong so that I could just break off and save my braid if I happen to get in a bit of a bind, but that reason alone makes me think that perhaps I should just start with mono. Again, thanks to everyone that contributed to my post so far. It was a big help in making my descision. I also want to thank everyone in advance for sharing their knowledge regarding the questions I asked about line. I can't wait to start landing bass on my new setup!

Hey there everyone. New guy here, and I was hoping to pick at the brains of some of you fishing guru's here on this very impressive forum. When I started bass fishing, I purchased two rods and reels from a family friend that purchased these particular rod/reels and never even used them. Suffice to say that I started bass fishing with two Shimano Citica's and Abu Garcia Conolon Premier (sp?) 6' medium action rods. While I know that they aren't the fanciest setups around, I got them for 75.00 a set so I was not complaining. They do just fine for my uses, but now that I am becoming more experienced in the bass fishing world, I am wanting to add a spinning rod to my setup. Here is the hard part... This rod needs to perform pretty much triple duty. It will have three main uses: 1.) A dedicated soft plastics (Texas Rigged/Shakey Head/Weightless Senko/Tubes) setup when in the bass boat. I will be using it to flip cover and go after missed largemouth bass. 2.) This rod will also be my new go-to rod for wading creeks and small rivers for spotted bass. These bass in my neck of the woods average 1lb or so, some upwards of 2lbs. They require a bit smaller bait selection than largemouths, as I am sure that you could imagine. 3.) Loaner rod for when I bring the little lady along. Currently she is using a Zebco 33, but she can certainly use the spinning setup when she tags along fishing with me. Now that I have that out of the way... with my budget I am between two reels, and I am pretty much set on one of these two: Shimano Sahara FD (2500) http://www.basspro.com/Shimano-Sahara-FD-Spinning-Reels/product/102801/89425 or the Shimano Spirex RG with rear drag (2500) http://www.basspro.com/Shimano-Spirex-RG-Rear-Drag-Spinning-Reels/product/104123/54695 I will be honest... I have never thrown a spinning reel in my life. The trigger concept of the Spirex seems pretty appealing, but due to its design, it will not have an instant anti-reverse, due to the trigger reset feature. The Sahara seems to be just a basic spinning reel, albeit a very smooth one. Any reccommendations between the two for a first outfit? Second of all: rod choices. I will take a look at brands when I figure out my price range, but I can promise you that it will be under 100.00. I am a low-budget fisherman due to grad school, and I will be plenty proud of whatever I own. However, I could really use a recommendation on rod length, action, and tip speed. I am considering either medium or medium-light, but I have a feeling that the ML may not work all too well on largemouth's when setting the hook on texas rigged plastics... Would a medium rod still cast decently and work well enough for the smaller spots as well? I know that was a lot to read over, so if you made it this far, I thank you in advance for any suggestions and for taking your time to do so. I appreciate any advice that anyone has to offer, and I hope to start posting around these parts very soon.