MarkH024

Lee's Bait and Tackle in Elk Grove Village, IL and The Salmon Shop in Palatine, IL are the only two I visit on a rare occasion. I have a Cabelas in less than a 10 minute drive and a Bass Pro 30 minutes away. Even DSG and Wally World doesn't have much offerings because of the competition. I am turning more to an online guy anyway including a few of our sponsors. More offerings with low rate shipping. It's just easier I guess. I'd love to support more of the mom&pop shops but they seem to be dying out around here.

Try fishing something that displaces a lot of water in the same areas you catch fish in the day hours. Spinner baits, wide wobble swimbaits, chatterbaits or plastics with erratic moving appendages. Also dark colors are best as they will produces the best silhouette to the fish.

Nice fish! Way to go!

Medium is the power of the rod. F= Fast action XF= Extra Fast Action (rod taper)

Ditto except I'm a 50 kinda guy. I also use this as a hard jerkbait and topwater set up. Gets used allllll season. One of my favorite setups.

I use a 6'8" M/XF. MedHeavy is a bit stout for my liking on a weightless fluke.

Seaguar red label is probably one of the better cheap end fluoros. Dont skimp on your line though. It'll cost you fish and more than likely respooling more often then you'll like. You want cheap? Then prepare for "cheap" results. My .02

I love tungsten weights, I just don't love it when I lose one. They definitely transmit bottom feel better and they're far superior in punching applications in my eyes. The cost of them sucks, but I always try to capitalize when I see a deal.

All your answers are right here. Once you fish them, you'll never go to brand name jigs again.

How about a shot of the internals? You can make anything look beautiful on the outside with a little cosmetic mastering. I'm curious to know the guts on this thing.

Ever seen Step Brothers? rofl........

I was going to say the same about lay in his bed until he's asleep instead of the other way around. Make sure you're on the edge so you can creep out when he's down. But my little guys are only 15 months and I have yet to experience something like this. It's probably a phase and he'll eventually get over it. Stay strong brother. Single parenting can't be easy so i applaud you for that, and I am thankful my fiance is such a loving mother to our boys. There is no feeling in the world to describe when your child is hurt/scared/angry and nothing you do can seem to soothe them. I hope you find the answer you're looking for. J Francho's spraying idea is clever and I will remember that too.

If you're in 6 fow or less...you should be in the 1/4oz to 3/8 range in my opinion. I think if you produce a slower falling jig, you're going to get more luck. Just my $.02

No it's not your line. You should be just fine using braid as that is what I use. If i'm in some heavy rock, I'll put a fluoro leader on. You can color your braid with black sharpie if you're worried about visibility but to be honest, the tantalizing craw arms and skirts puffed out in the water are far more distracting than a line. Keep at it. One day it will just click for you. You may want to try a lighter weight to produce a slower fall rate. That would be a good start.

If we were to conduct a blind fold test, I would put a hefty wager that 9 out of 10 guys blind folded and handed a Curado E and G wouldn't know the difference just by casting it out. Yes, there are probably a select few that might be able to tell but not your average angler. They are both fine reels and either would serve you well. Don't fall for the negative comments towards G's, you can still haul in plenty of trophy bass. As long as you take care of your stuff, it should last you many years of fishing.

My strongest jig is swim jig style. My weakest jig is a football jig. I have a hard time with "slow" fishing overall, therefore making jig fishing a challenge at times for me. I do love to jig fish, and I need to do so more often because they do produce quality fish. I prefer 3/8oz as my all around, but will get into the 1/2 or 3/4oz occasionally. I mainly will throw jigs on a 7' MH/F action rod. Some guys like big stout rods and some like a little more give. To elaborate more, what is your preferred rod size and action. Leave brands out of it so this doesn't turn into a turd fest.

10" Rage tail anaconda is a nice worm. It doesn't have a straight black with colored tail option though. Junebug or blue fleck might be an option. The action on these is pretty awesome. http://www.ragetail.com/news/color-charts/rage-anaconda-color-selection/

Are those gumballs or eyeballs?! WOW! Jeff, do you know weights on those fish?

I've gotten to the point that I don't even like resting a rod against the wall. but yes, I know where you're coming from.

I have this rod but in the fast tip. I love it so I think you will be pleased. I got the fast because it has a higher weight rating of up to 1 oz.

Stanley's makes a good compact and Siebert Outdoors has a compact in all or most skirt options.

Yea. The chain can be very dangerous. Too many boats in general with too much drinking. I used to go there back in my early 20's for the party life. It gets out of hand. I feel bad for the kid who passed but people have no common sense. I don't go there anymore. I just don't like being there with all the partiers. They have 0 respect for anyone else's well being. But like everything the place is a gold mine. Just another sad attempt of IL tick poor law decisions.

The ratings are for line capacity not necessarily what should or has to be on there. If you want great casting distance with light lures try 15 or 20lb braid on a 2500 size reel. I can launch lures further than I want them to be. Nanofil is supposed to be great too but have no experience with it.

7' or bigger. Mh/f rod of your liking. I also use braid but fluoro would be my second choice. I'd never throw on mono because of the severe stretch but that's just me.You can always add a treble on the under side of the hook to help hook up ratio. I never have a problem really. Plus I fish very weedy lakes and a treble would be a headache.

Nice job! That's a beauty!