gulfcaptain

Gonna have to stick with the ***. TCS is a nice blank....but the butt section is too long for my liking. Ducketts are probably nice too, but again butt section too long and can not stand that trigger grip style on any rod. Just too uncomfortable for me. I'll fish a Falcon Bucco over the TCS, Duckett, and Tatula, but not before the ***.

Alberto. I use it on all my connections. Once you learn to tie this knot which isn't very hard, it's the only braid to mono/FC you will every use.

your 6-8" of vis isn't that bad. Muddy to me is 3-4", chocolate milk water. The bass that there more then likely live shallow, I wouldn't rule out shallow cranks and rattle traps. Have several ponds with that visability and they have no problem finding the baits. Fish darker color jigs.....black and blue would be a great choice. You can swim or drag them.

I would probably purchase a BPS reel and would spend a bit more and get an Extreme, PQ, or Carbonlite instead. Never had an issue with any of BPS brand reels.

It will take a few years for it to balance. They should have planted forage, then bluegill, then bass only after the bluegill started spawning. Hence the food chain. Have a small pond close to my home, lots of small fish, used to have a ton of bluegill. Now you see no bluegill, no baitfish, most only catch small bass between 10-12", but there are larger fish in there and surviving quite nicely. But it had to balance itself out.

Your thoughts would work on the topwater and wakebaits with trebles, but the frog, the action of the rod would hamper your hooksets. You need to train yourself to wait till you feel the pressure of the bass before you swing. Doesn't matter what rod you have, if you swing too soon you aren't going to hook them period. I would look for something in the 7' or 7'3 range in a MH, but realize a rod good for a half ounce popper may not be what you need for a frog in the slop. You are going to have to find something in the middle and loose a bit on both ends if you're looking for one rod to do it all. With that said, look into Falcon's Bucco 7'3" H Mico......$149. Has a fast action, but can be soft enough for your topwaters, but has enough for a frog if needed.

Very true, so go out and have a great time. Your attitude can have a big effect on the guy in the front of the boat especially if conditions are tough. He is going to fish his waters so keep an open mind and communicate. Fish your tournament and your way, and I would also say if he hooks one be ready with the net and hope he will show you the same when you do. Good luck and have a great time. Oh, and I would wear your rain gear that morning during take off. Helps keep you warm as well as dry on those cool mornings.

They aren't feeding, they are chasing off the bluegill. You can put anything in front of them. Above baits mentioned are great ideas, can also fish a dropshot worm and shake it in the middle of the bed. Myself, I find plenty of fish just outside the bedding ones to catch and let them do their business. They don't all spawn at once so there are always other fish that are easier to catch then the ones you see on beds.

Is this a team weight tournament or boaters fishing against boaters, co-anglers against co-anglers?

You have a huge market in that price point. Go in, handle lots of them, see which one you find the best or feels the best to you. Have lots of choices under $250. Myself, I would probably pice up a 13 *** or C.

I didn't throw it much last year as I didn't find the conditions I wanted. But when I do, it gets bit really well. They sit a little lower in the water then most hollow frogs so sinking can be an issue. And I only use the smallest one they have. Good weed matts that aren't too thick, high pressured areas or spooky fish, and when they refuse to hit bigger baits is when the small field mouse works great. I look at it as a finesse frog. Lily pads it tends to role, but weedbeds that are just emerging and that aren't too dense I have had my best success.

The series I fish, we are supposed to have a culling system onboard. Just incase of breakdown we can tell who's fish are who's. And found out they furnish a bag, but I came prepared. Honestly though, just go out and fish. Have fun, relax, and don't overthink things. Offer to help your boater out anyway you can where you feel comfortable like during launching the boat.

Can find a Quantum Tour Tactical 7'6" on Ebay anywhere from 49.99-80.00. Not to bad for a $130 rod and they have nice components.

When the water hits the high 50's and see the fish cruising the shallows. Caught fish all times of the day, spring I would say afternoons are going to be better due to sun warming the water IMO. Throw 3 frogs, Spro Brozeye Shad, and then both Ish's Phatt and Poppin frog. Colors, well the bronzeye more baitfish colors, and the others black, clear, Platnuim, and a white bellied frog. Also have a couple of the LT Field Mouse hollow bodied frogs that work well at certain times. I fish a little lighter braid then most and fish 30 and 40lb braid. Haven't had any issues loosing fish and prefer a MH-H action fast to xfast action rod in the 7'3" to 7'6" range and a reel with a IPT in the range of 30" or better.

I have found the better fisherman you become and more techniques you learn, the more chances of you catching larger fish increase as you learn to read the water, the conditions, and past experiences which you can fall back on. Certain bodies of water I fish have lots of big bass in them. Dropshotting and wacky rigged Senko's will catch a few, but mostly fish in the 1-2lb range which a lot of people are happy catching. Swimbaits, jigs, umbrella rigs, and frogs fished at the right times consitantly produce fish in the 3-9lb range although there are fish over 10lbs, just going by my catch size. Now if I didn't learn new techniques, be able to read the conditions, and use them at proper times and locations then my average fish size would be in the 1-2lb range and could say that there aren't that many big fish in there. But knowing how to eliminate unproductive water and fishing a bait that will catch bigger fish greatly increase the odds of catching larger bass more frequently. But then to catch big bass you need to fish where they are and if the body of water is overpopulated with smaller fish then the odds of bigger fish are decreased by the lack of food and only way to get bigger fish is to remove lots of the little guys.

Go to your local carpet store. When I worked at one a while back we had boat carpet in the back in both 6ft and 12ft roles. See what they have and the cost per square foot. I know you can find it at several outdoors stores as well as home improvement stores, but I would price shop it and the people at the carpet store will steer you to the proper adhesive to install your deck carpet.

Culling System, weigh bag, something to drink. Just keep your gear organized and have a good time.

Have one of their Evercasts(Armed Forces Model). Not a bad reel but did have to change the handle after about 3 months because it had a bit of play in it and was bothering me. Overall it has preformed well and wouldn't consider it a bad purchase considering it was on sale when I purchased it for I believe around the $60 mark. Had the same problem with a handle on a more expesive Ardent which I wanted to like but just couldn't, so it went to the BPS reel trade in bin last year.

I have to agree with A-Jay, kill them with kindness, get them on their way and out of everyone elses hair by taking one for the groups well being at the boat ramp. One thing I've learned in the years of operating boats of various sizes, you can medicate and treat just about everything, but you just can't fix stupid no matter how hard you try.

I waited for 3 months to get a pair of Triple Trout "floaters" only to find they didn't float. Waited another 2 months to get them back. Needless to say I recieved them in Sept. when I ordered them in May. Waiting another week for the Hudd Gill, I can handle that after what I went through to get the two TT baits I wanted.

I've only have had one rod break bass fishing, actually had the same rod break twice. Both the H2O 7'6"XH using it to flip. Had the tip break first outing about 8" down, then got it replaced, and had the other one for about a year before lifting a 1lb bass and a bit of grass up out of the water and the rod shattered into 3 pieces all breaking at the first 12" of the rod. Like the H2O's, just won't fish this rod again. Two breaking in the same area it wasn't worth shipping back the second time.

The 7'11" Black *** is very nice....have one paired with an EXO 100. But primary punch rod I use is a 7'11" Quantum Tour Tactical with the *** 8:1. Prefe the moderate action of the Quantum for heavier punching needs, but both will work, just two different actions. The 7'6"MH *** is a great flipping/ligher punch rod as well.

Odds are they stock trout there and the baits you saw were either a Dep's 250 glide bait, or the 10" Triple Trout. Not sure about a seagull taking a 12-15" bass, but odds are it was an Osprey with a newly stocked rainbow trout. Big baits are nothing out of the norm in CA. City park ponds of less then 3 acres harbor lots of bass in the 4-12lb range that are more then willing to eat a large swimbait as well as several smaller 2-3lb fish that will also take a swipe at the bigger baits.

#1 you need to know when they stock. Fish generally somehow have an idea of when they are going to show up especially if it's a regular occurance. Depending on the size of the lake and the amount planted can have an effect on the bite. Smaller bodies of water, normally the week before a plant and the day of the plant are good days. The day after and the week that follows, well not so much as the fish have eaten their fill and are now digesting so aren't really in a feeding mood. If it's a big lake this isn't going to be an issue. I wouldn't fish right were they stocked if it was a couple days prior to your arrival and would start outside that area of the lake, fishing swimbaits on points and likely prespawn staging areas. Just because the fish eat trout doesn't make them a sure bet. And if you are going to fish a swimbait, I would look into a Line Thru as well. Sometimes the boot tail 3D trout baits aren't what they want earlier in the season and the more suttle action of a Hudd or Line Thru may produce better.

Sometimes it's good to have an EX wife. No explaining there or for me to explain all those boxes that keep showing up on the front porch.