bassr95

I have used my friend's 7' MH TFO tactical series, and was not very impressed. I did not like how tip heavy it was, especially at that price point. My *** *** black, or even my st croix triumph feel better to me, and cost a lot less.

Unlike the a lot of the fishermen on this forum, I actually enjoy ice season. Here is what I would get at a minimum: Hand auger- 5 or 6 inch (a gas auger is convenient, but a sharp hand auger will work) Flasher- any flasher should work, but as others have said, you MUST have a flasher to be successful. panfish setup: Light or ultralight graphite rod with a spring bobber (my favorite is the frabill titanium one), 2-3 lb test mono, small jigs (I like 4mm tungsten jigs) and Ice plastics in a variety of sizes and colors. . I start with just the plastic but will switch to wax worms if the fish are biting lightly. With this setup, I catch tons of bluegill, crappie, perch, and bass. I like to move around a lot until i locate the fish. If you are jigging in a hole for a few minutes without marking any fish on your flasher, drill another one. You can also set a couple of tip-ups with large minnows to catch game fish while you are jigging for panfish.

Here in northern IL, i've been on the ice since thanksgiving! Mostly chasing panfish, but some days you cant keep the smaller bass off your jig!

X2. I found that the plastic weedguard doesn't impede the hookset like those metal weedguards seem to. Wacky rigging a senko is probably my most versatile and productive technique when fishing from shore.

I usually get impatient trying to feed the line around, and just take the spool out.

Alright, i guess that answers my question. Thanks guys

I finally got a good set up for frogging, and have been enjoying the top water action. The problem is, i keep having the same issues with my frogs. After a few fish, the frog is no longer water-proof and will start to sink toward the end of a cast, requiring me to squeeze the water out. Very annoying. It seems like the opening in the bottom of the frog where the hooks come out is leaking. I have had this same problem with the original Scum Frog, the SK KVD frog and the Booyah Pad Crasher. Has anyone else had this problem? Any soloutions?

I have found anything under 12lb a bit to fragile for my t-rigs. On the other hand, I hate retying, so you could probably get away with 8 or 10 by retying occasionally.

Ops, it was 14 lb. Thanks for the correction.

Bass will eat at any water temperature. A couple of days ago I was out on the ice chasing 'gills, and caught 5 small bass from 7-12". They ate the same small (1/100 oz) jig and plastic tail that I was using for the bluegills.

I used their fused line in 15 lb test and hated it. It did not cast as far as powerpro braided line, which I love. I have heard some good things about fireline's braid, but have not tried it myself.

My friend has the 7'3 MH in the tactical series. I am not really that impressed with it. It is pretty tip heavy and just doesn't seem to be a worth $150.

Braid to flouro is the bomb! I mostly like it because on a lighter(Medium) rod you can still get the hook in the fish at the end of a looooong cast. Oh, and i can cast quite a bit farther with this setup than with mono or flouro, which is super important when fishing from the bank . 20 lb pp to 12 lb flouro.

Are you sure? It's not a shimano lol

From what i've seen and heard, most spinning reels around $50 will work just fine. I've had a couple cheaper shimanos, and a pfluger president (current favorite of mine), and they all would work for what you want to do with them.

Some times I go old-school and throw a 4 or 6 inch slug-go.

Yeah, I kind of suspected that might be the problem. I might have to give it another try next season.

I haven't had a great experience with YZ hybrid either. I put 12 lb. on my jig rod and broke off twice the first (and last) day I used it. I got the spool off fleabay, maybe it was old or somthing? Anyway, 14lb Stren original mono has never let me down like YZ did. I hate retying, and if a line won't hold up to 5 or 10 fish without fraying, I don't like it. So maybe you just can't treat YZ that way, who knows. End Rant.

Silver

Bone color has been good when the bass are chasing bait fish in dingier water. 1/4 oz RES are great in ponds.

Nice one!

When you always get in trouble for casting in the house...I hate winter haha

You're starting to sound like big O

hmm bass fishing is just ending where i live...maybe i should move to florida

I would second the yellow braid to flouro or mono leader setup. I really like being able to see exactly what my line is doing.