gulfcaptain

If you like the feeling of the Carbonlite, then by all means go for it. It's a BPS brand. It's not gonna cost as much as some other name brands but still is a quality rod. Don't let price dictate how good you think a rod is. The most expensive rod I have is about $150, but must run in the $100-130 range. And one of my favorite rods I have purchased this year was a BPS Crankin stick to fish umbrella rigs on....$79.00 and the rod is spot on for what I'm wanting out of it. You can use the extra savings and match it with one of the Carbonlite reels, yes have 3 of those and one of them is on that Crankin Stick.

you could also look into some of the tungsten jigs...Keitech makes a few different styles but you can get a heavier head, different styles, and still fish a small profile bait.

Creature baits also work better in weedy areas as they don't hang up as much and are a bit more compact but still have a big profile to them.

spinning pros: lighter lures, lighter line applications. Cons:larger reels vs bait casters. heavier reels, less line capacity, less control(flipping/pitching), line twist. Baitcaster pros: less weight, more line capacity, better control (flip/pitch), heavier drag, more options(gear ratio), less line twist, manages heavier lines better, handles heavy lures with a smaller sized reel vs spinning. Cons: Doesn't handle lighter lures very well, not very good with light lines (under 6lb test), harder to learn to cast, Those are my lists of pros and cons, but feel both have a place and time and often have both set ups with me when I'm fishing.

hey we can't always catch them every day, but we can learn and enjoy our times fishing. When I don't catch fish, I look back at what might have been different from the day before or last time and see what I can do to change up my strategy and try it the next day. Some days you're on fire, other days well we have a lot of time to think about what's not working.

Honestly, only plant them if you can legally without getting into trouble.

Well if it's your lake, wade out with the planters and place them....if it's a public pond, well wait till dark, get a friend, wade out and place them. But you can buy or find the pads, plant them in clay pots and they will produce runners on their own as they grow over time. Make sure you use a good clay base to your planters.

I use 20lb backing on mine. Takes less line to fill up to where I want it. Normally tie a blood knot to my backing if it's mono to Flouro, but have almost gone straight braid to topshots so use an albright on almost all my braid to mono/flouro connections.

Academy has a store brand called H20. I have 3 of them, they are light, nice hardware, IM-8, and run right at $59.99. Gander Mountain has their store brands as well for the same price and are nice as well. Think it's their guide series and are IM-8 also. And my H2O's are a nicer rod then the Vendetta rod I have that was closer to $80.

Yeah, sunny days do better for me. The ponds I fish are public parks, the fish get hammered in the evenings and mornings by other anglers, middle of the day when it's bright, sunny, and nice and hot I may be the only person fishing. Think this helps me as well since they aren't getting as much pressure around that time of day too

Big bass eat little bass. I've seen a 7+lb fish try and eat a 12" bass off a hook. Seen a 3lb bass eat 1lb trout (think all bass in S. Cal realized trout are great food). But go on your states fish and game website and read the rules. Any fish listed as a gamefish in CA are illegal to fish with including all panfish so bluegill would be covered and have quite the fine to go with it although I have seen many people fish with them. CAL-TIP does wonders when you call and turn them in, as most that do this don't have a license nor follow any laws that our sport has to cover our sport. Think the only live baits allowed fish wise are shad caught in a dip net from the waters you're fishing only except where stated in the rules. Do yourself a favor and read you state fish and game laws as "I didn't know" rarely will get you out of a ticket.

If it was from shore, well try and find a deeper hole and a bit more cover if it was a river, if it was a lake and in a boat, I'd slide out and fish deeper looking for a break of some sort....rock/grass/depth. Or try another technique, dropshot them. Normally can get a bite dropshotting when nothing else will work.

3/4 to 1oz tungsten weight or punch jig, a beaver/creature bait, bobber stopper, 30-50lb braid. Pitch in grass at will. The frog works too, but when the grass is thick and the fish aren't wanting to come up, dropping this rig in their face will produce some nice fish that others aren't targeting especially on a pond.

I fly back and forth from work, buy fishing equipment in TX to bring back to CA and vice versa as I work the Gulf. Only thing they have ever made me check was a pair of wire crimpers.....they had to be under 6" and they were 8". I have had them re-xray an 8oz torpedo sinker because they couldn't see what was inside it....umm it was lead...duh. But hook wise, they haven't said a word about any bass or freshwater tackle nor anything about reels being carried on. I have had a few that wanted to check them out though that were fellow outdoorsman(TX) but you shouldn't have any problems with the tackle you're looking to carry.

If you have grass/heavy weeds, those are area's you should be keying in on. Especially if they have deep water close by. And bigger baits normally produce fewer fish, but bigger. You also didn't state how much pressure the lake gets. If it does get a bunch, those bigger fish have learned to stay out of those areas, feed at different times, and also become very spooky especially if it's clear water. If you're fishing in the heat of the day, look into learning how to punch the grass/weeds. The fish will normally sit right in them and with the sun high, well you can eliminate a lot of water. And if you're getting small fish in the evening on a topwater, fish a bigger topwater plug, or if the bass are in the 6-8" range, fish a 6-8" swimbait on the edges close to deeper water. May find the larger fish waiting to ambush one of the smaller bass that stray too far away.

Small and skinny fish equal one thing.....over crowded and not enough forage base. Have a pond by my house like that....problem is everyone keeps putting more bass in there thinking that will solve the problem.....problem is there isn't enough food to sustain the fish that are there.

So the few bites you got, where were the fish? What were they relating to? Without a bit more details it's hard to give any kind of idea other then the above "that's why they call it fishing".

Planters and pads would be good, depending on where you live, water clarity, depth, I would look for something native around your area first. If it's a shallow water pond, well pads would be good, they can be controlled an extent, reeds and other emergents in that class will have to be kept controlled as well or they will take over. There are seasonal grasses that can be used but I would suggest hiring someone to come in and advise you so you. And xmas trees in small ponds aren't a great idea, I'd sink Willows before those. And if it's your private pond, you can look into the preformed fish attractors you can get at BPS or one of the other outdoor stores or look to make your own out of PVC filled with concrete. Once growth starts to attach themselves to it they become good cover and hooks are pretty hard to hang in them as well.

Tom's post(both of them) state it all. Look at the shore, you can get a good idea of the bottom from the terrain around the bank. But a crankbait or something you can use to feel the bottom when looking for underwater structure are good tools. But Tom pretty much summed it all up in those two posts.

First, start with a seasonal pattern. Where are the fish likely to be, what forage base is in the lake, what kind of cover is available. What has worked for you in the past there. Start out there, when you get a fish, what did it bite, where was it, what kind of structure. You get another fish and on the same bait, was it in the same area or cover as the last. Then you start to see the pattern develop. What the fish are keying in on....could be timber next to broken rock on a deep point, Thing is to always be observant to your surroundings and never put blinders on. Always be willing to alter you game plan if needed and change on the fly. Start with your strongest techniques that you have confidence in. But always read the conditions and understand how fish relate to whatever conditions are at hand by reading as much information as you can as well as each time you catch a fish review in your head all the conditions and area that fish was in. Put the pieces together and you will start to see the pattern that you can duplicate on areas that have the same conditions or structure.

What time were they fishing, water temps, season....etc. All of those will drop off a crankbait bite if the fish move or change forage and patterns. But I do believe you can overfish a smaller population of fish and cause them to become fickle. Fishing local city ponds in S. Cal well they get lots of pressure and being small you have to think outside the box to be productive. A new lure or pattern different from everyone else will work for a few days and quickly dry up due to the smaller population of fish in that body of water. 27 acres isn't very big, so you could quickly run out of fish that are willing to follow a quicker rattle-trap style bait. Only thing this shows is if you fish slow you will catch more fish. Ummm, yeah we all already new that. But yes if you find something new they haven't seen or fish outside the box from other people you may catch fish that some missed with lures they have seen all the time.

First off, if you're looking to fish 6-8lb line, you're looking to fish clear water. Most would say fish a spinning reel. Being from S.Cal, well it's not out of the norm to fish 6-8lb on a baitcaster. If you're looking to go that light, I would suggest a Carbonlite reel in the 6:1 ratio for all around use, and look for a 7ft M Fast action rod. I like fishing 10 to 12lb on mine, but use 20lb braid which is about a 6lb dia or even 30lb braid and then topshots of either 10 or 12lb flouro or mono depending on what I'm fishing and then would bump up to a 7'MH.

Pin it when I flip or pitch any kind of grass, weeds, timber....just want it all to fall together. Pin it when I fish a senko with a willow blade screwed into the tale when swimming it through grass. Other then that I don't pin the sinker.

Spray on's if I need it, SPF 50 and like stated above, use sun protective clothing, and a full brimmed hat to cover my head/ears where my neck where the buff doesn't cover. Yes, it may be a bit warmer, but no sun burns and no need to re-apply sun screen makes it all worth it. Besides, they cool pretty well if you get them damp. My only thing is I wish Simms made sun gear in small sizes that would fit my 9yr old son.

Being new to the baitcasting world, I would go with a BPS either a Pro Qualifier or a Carbonlite. Have 3 of the Carbonlite reels and they are one of my favorites. Very simple to use. And being a BPS brand, if you have an issue, take it back and exchange it for something else. Rod wise, well look around and you can find a decent IM-7 or IM-8 rod at BPS as well. If you're familiar with Academy, they have the H20 brand there and they are pretty good rods for under $60. The 7'MH IM-8 is a good start and still a nicer rod then some that are in the $100 range.