georgeyew

You can try Lake Mercer. I used to catch carp at Huntsman, but they just drained it this spring. A lot of the fish were moved to Mercer, so there should be a good number of carp there. Try starting at the dam. I've had good luck with corn and bread balls. So you are off to a good start.

Nice one. I would like to pull one in someday.

How old is the reel? Maybe the drag disks need to be cleaned.

I have used Militec 1 in the past. It should work with bearings but it may not have the fusing effect that you are looking for. Militec will only fuse with the metal under high temperatures. That is why it works so well with guns. I don't think that the bearing generate enough heat for the lubricant to fuse.

I like the idea to use rice. I will have to try that out.

Basspro has a similar worm: http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Shimmy-X2-Worms/product/10217613/

I am not sure about the bead. But using a jig that has a pointed head would allow it to slide through the weeds. A lot of swim jigs would be good for that.

Awesome fish. I had a change to fish it late June....and it was a blast!

You can try the Abu Garcia Vendetta or Veritas. You can find them on sale for below your price point at Walmart (Vendetta) or Dicks (Veritas). The medium rods are close to MH compared to other manufacturers. They are nice rods for the price.

You should try Lake Braddock and Lake Royal. They are close to each other. And there are some nice sized fish in both.

I bought a pack of the 12" jelly worms and I got the 6/0 heavy duty hooks to go with it. Looking at the weight of the worm and the meaty hook, I was not comfortable throwing that with less than my MH rod. It would take a solid tug to set that hook through the worm. What hook are you using with your worm? I didn't weigh it, but the 12" worm feels like at least 5/8 oz if not 3/4 oz.

I think the OP was talking about putting 2 hooks on the line, not a jig replacing a weight on the bottom. I have 2 hooks tied on one of my drop shot rigs, but have not had any luck yet.

I've also caught a catfish on an inline spinnerbait. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

I had the same pain in my pinky. I fixed it by moving all my fingers in front of the trigger. I do that with my spinning rods too. Haven't had finger pain since.

Got a few buzzbait bites, but it is not "on fire" here in NOVA yet....at least not on my ponds. I am waiting patiently. I love hits on buzzbaits.

As for the length, it depends on the trees and access to the water. If there is a lot of crap in the way, you may want lean toward the 6'6. If not then the 7' M or MH would be a good choice.

We can't tell that's actually you....just kidding. That's an awesome catch!

Nice looking fish that you hooked there!

I just came back from a guided trip on Okeechobee. Our guide had some Gloomis heavy action spinning rods with 50 lb braid. That would be sufficient for frog fishing.

I just got back from a 3 day trip from Okeechobee. It was fantastic. We had the best guide and he put us on some nice fish. I ended up with 3 biggest ones at 7.5 and 6.75 and 6.25 lbs. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I am planning on heading back down there in January when the 10 lb mama's come out to play.

I am a huge fan of inline spinners. I started out with the 1/4 sizes but now I am throwing bigger ones 1/2 and 5/8 ones because the large and little fish will still hit those sizes. I mainly use Panther Martin and the Blue Fox. The other day I just caught a 5lb snakehead on one.

Yeah, at $50 it is almost stupid not to get one.

I think that will be perfect for your application. It is not overly stiff despite the MH rating. It has a nice bend.

I normally use a left handed reel. I tried a right handed reel a couple of days ago, and I realized that I cannot control a fish with the rod in my left hand. So back to the normal left handed reel for me.

Basically don't spinning the handle when the line is not being reeled in.