Missourifishin

I've never had an improved clinch knot fail, and I use mono 90% of the time.

6.4:1

Same here actually. I don't really use deep divers fishing from the bank anyway. So my cranking setup has a 6.4 ratio.

Yes, they're for crankbaits. Generally it refers to a moderate action rod. Some people prefer glass rods for this, but not everyone. As for the reel, different people have different preferences, but often a lower gear ratio reel is used. The moderate action rod helps you keep the fish hooked on and not rip the treble hooks out of its mouth. The low ratio reels some people prefer are, I believe, to keep the crankbait at the desired depth longer. I'm sure someone can correct me if I misspoke on any of that. Edit: And I forgot to specify that a baitcast combo is much more commonly used for this than spinning.

Thanks guys. Fishes in trees, that's correct. And you hit the nail on the head with everything you said. If I was fishing for food I would have already caught dinner every time I've fished the pits back in the woods. I was only fishing for bass, but I caught a lot of big, fat, aggressive bluegill too, mostly on small cranks. And a few crappie too. I've also caught plenty of bass back there, but not any very big ones. I have caught quite a few bass between 2-4 pounds on the big lake. But I have heard from people who I consider reliable that there are good bass in someof those other pits. So that's what I'm after. I'm definitely going to try letting a senko drift down just past the wall of weeds. I've thought about dragging a kayak back there, but I'd have to buy or borrow one first. Do you have any suggestions of other places to bass fish from the bank in Boone county? I've been living here less than a year, so I'm still figuring it out.

Chart black back is the one I've done the best with too.

I would add 20 bucks to that 100 and get a Lews Tournament (not the mg). It has dual breaking systems.

They should make a crawfish scented sunscreen

I hadn't thought of that. The areas I'm going to try to cast to are out past the weeds. But there very well could be heavy vegetation a little bit deeper out there too. I guess I'll have to figure that out when I start throwing these bottom contact presentations.

Great ideas guys. Thanks.

I own both. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter to me, because I like both equally and I can switch back and forth between the two with no problems.

The conservation area I go to often has a big lake that is heavily pressured. But it also has a lot of smaller lakes and ponds that you have to walk back in the woods to find. And I've heard rumors that there are some hogs back there. I've found one that seems promising, that rarely gets fished. It is a strip probably over half a mile long, and 100-150 feet wide. The problem is that the banks are mostly sheer cliffs. There is really only one spot on the bank I can get to, to fish. And it is right next to a beaver dam. I haven't figured out how deep it is yet, but it seems to drop off quickly. Visibility is 3-4'. Another problem with it though, is very thick weeds near the bank. I cast out past them, but always end up pulling in a lure covered with vegetation as I drag it through the last 20 feet or so close to the shore. I threw crankbaits, spinnerbaits and crappie jigs for about 2 hours last night. The fish are pretty aggressive, possibly due to low pressure, and I ended up catching large bluegill and some crappie on crankbaits, and also several bass including one hard fighting little 2-3 pounder. I didn't catch anything on the spinnerbaits. I believe there are probably some really nice bass in there, and I'm just trying to figure out how to catch them. Soft plastics aren't really big confidence baits for me. But I'm thinking of lobbing some texas rigged with a 1/8th ounce weight, or some wacky weightless senkos out past the weeds hoping the fall slowly into the deeper area. Most of the fish I caught on cranks bit as soon as I started cranking it down. So I'm thinking maybe my chances of having them hit a soft plastic on the fall are pretty good. Wow. Sorry for writing a small book about it. It came out longer than I expected. Anyway, thoughts?

My favorite squarebills are Strike Kind KVD 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5. The size is up to you. I like them all, but 1.5 is my favorite.

I'll show just about anyone what I'm using. As far as giving stuff away, I usually only do that for family, friends or kids. But I'd be willing to give anyone something small like a couple soft plastics, hooks or sinkers. Recently I had a foreign guy speaking broken englsih strike up a conversation with me. He was very curious about the way I was fishing. He had no concept of doing anything other than casting out live bait and sitting and waiting. But he said he was fishing for bass. So I spent several minutes teaching him about a few different bass lures.

Back in March I was catching some really nice bass. But as soon as I took a pic of one and bragged and showed it off to my friends I began a long drought of nothing but dinks.

I agree about the carp, as well as about trying live bait. I almost never use it. But this is a situation where I might try it, out of curiosity.

I also use the 12 lb, but it doesn't seem bad to me. Like MCS said, it's much better than a lot of other brands.

The Lews reels at the $160 price point have both magnetic and centrifugal breaks as well.

I primarily use mono. And so far I have been very happy with Suffix Siege.

My last reel purchase was a Lews Tournament Speed Spool that I found for about $110. It has magnetic and centrifugal breaks. And I love it! With your budget, you should be able to get the Tournament PRO, which I think is basically the same thing but lighter. I'm not 100% sure on that though. What I do know though, is that however much you decide to spend, you'll get a lot of bang for your buck from Lews. I can't really speak about the other companies from experience though.

Nice! Congrats!

Are you sure they're breaking the law? People where I fish load up their buckets with small bluegill and crappie all the time, but it's perfectly legal here as long as they don't go over their limit, which I know is 30 when it comes to crappie.

Casting: St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass 6'10" M/M with a Lews Tournament Speed Spool 6.4:1 Spinning: St. Croix Avid 7'0" M/F with a Pflueger Patriarch

If I were taking 3 rods on a kayak, these are exactly the 3 I would take. Fast action on #1

For your purposes, I'd get something in the mid range like a 6.4:1. A slower reel would be more beneficial for keeping the bait in the strike zone longer for DEEP cranking. But it sounds like you're looking for a more general purpose/shallow crank reel.