DogBone_384

The original. I was about 10 YO and on a family vacation in Cooperstown NY. It was raining too hard to play outside so my parents took us to see Star Wars. My 15 YO daughter loves the whole series. We occasionally watch at least one episode together, between work, swimming, dance, homework, work, etc....

My first $99 rod was a Veritas. I now own three different sizes/actions. They're light as a feather, sensitive, and hold up to everything except my truck's tailgate... where Abu sold me a replacement for a fraction of retail. I dropped by Dick's today and discovered they had a few on clearance (I'm going to buy my 1st micro-guide rod tomorrow, as a result). My next favorite rod is 13's *** Black, for the same reasons as the Veritas. I might give the *** a slight advantage in sensitivity. There IS a SUBJECTIVE aspect to buying rods, so try to handle as many of the models you're interested in prior to plunking down your cash. Bring a reel with you and ask if you can mount it (put tape on the reel's feet so you don't mark the rod if that matters to the store owner/clerk). Best of luck finding a rod.

I've never taught a woman to use baitcast reels but have taught a few to shoot. I found they were more relaxed after the first couple rounds and do quite well. As long as you're good at fixing her backlashes, you should be good to go. Like others already said, start her with a good reel like a Shimano, so if she ends up liking it, you can give her your current arsenal and upgrade yours... Good luck with it!

Where do you launch from, the school ?

What is a RI Swamp Donkey? Nevermind, Google found it for me.

There's a dirt road circling the pond with some shore access. You can get to it via the car top boat lot off Randolph Street.

Any thoughts on whether or not this cold snap will shut the bass down for the season? Water temps were in the mid - high 60's last time I went out. Next week's forecast calls for 40s - 50s @ night, upper 60s during the day.

Welcome to the forum. Since you can't fish right handed, have you started practicing left handed casting? As a retired pro, you should never give up fishing... Good luck.

I've been using B/C for a short 4 seasons but find I'm more accurate with B/C and get better distance with spinner/ heavier baits with spinning gear. I always bring a spinning rig with me so I have something to go with when windy and/or dark. I don't see as well as I used to @ night and have difficulty udoing bird's nests in the dark.

Been back to my new 'favorite' pond (Ponkapog)a couple times in the last few days. The numbers aren't great but the average bass is 2+ pounds and a best pickerel of 2 pounds 10 oz. I went right after shift this morning with the intention of staying until I had to return to work, but as luck would have it, I got called back in after an hour and a half of tossing a LiveTarget mouse along the lili pads and weeds next to the boat launch. Had a bunch of little fish attack it, but nothing big enough to hook up with.... If time and weather cooperates I'll be back there as much as possible this week. Though heading south is a possibility.

X2, except I have 1 Supreme & 2 Supreme XT's

I've worked in mobile electronics for 25+ years and recommend a manual circuit breaker. Your electronics would be properly protected and you won't need to carry extra fuses in case of a short. Here's an example of what I use when wiring high current electronics: http://m.delcity.net/store/Hi!Amp-Surface-Mount-!-%3Cbr%3EManual-Reset/p_808823

If so, I hope he fried it up with a little butter & garlic.....

So HOW did you get that crankbait out of it's mouth?​

Head out to your local tackle shops and handle as many models you're interested in. Bring your reel with you and ask if you can mount it so you can get a feel for your potential set up. Once you narrow it down​ to one or two rods, try the Flea Market found here and save a couple bucks. ​ Good luck.​

If you can't find what you're looking for in this forum, try NHfishfinder.com

That can't be good....

Got to Ponkapog today after lunch, paddled out to the NE corner and continued with the 5" swim-Senko I had luck with the other day. Nothing happening with Mr. Senko so I switched to a chartreuse spinner bait. My reward was a decent pickerel and a bass between 2 - 3 pounds, though I can't count the bass because he spit me as I reached for it to bring into the kayak. Note to self: work on hook-set... Hoping to stay until sundown didn't pan out - got the call back to reality, so I packed up and back to the world. I noticed the weeds dying off quickly. For you guys with a lot of experience with Ponkie, is it time to work closer to shore with topwaters & spinnerbaits? The place is pretty flat with a depth between 4 - 5' deep. Thanks, in advance, for your help.

Spend some time at Ponkapog. It was pickerel day today. Caught 5 picks with one being 2 pounds 10 oz. 3 bass made it to the kayak. Two measured 1-8 and 2-7 (though #3 felt much bigger). I checked my scale with a 3 # dumbbell and it weighed 3.17, so I'll go with my scale. The pickerel liked white/silver flake, red/flake 4" Senkos and a chartreuse spinner bait. All my bass were caught on watermelon red/green flake 5" swim Senkos. Nobody liked 4" Cinnamon Senkos today. I'll be back tomorrow. Working one job is great...

Grampa Casey always said, "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see."

Thanks. I sped up my retrieve this Summer and it's working. I might hit Long Pond in Plymouth and try for some Smallies.

Pflueger President and any ML spinning rod that might be on clearance from on-line retailers... You might get a very nice setup for under your $150 target.

Anyone here fish Oldham Pond in Pembroke/Kingston? I've got Tuesday & Wednesday to fish/explore and want to try some new waters?

I use Plano. Most of them are made here in USA... I replaced the ones that came with my fishing backpack. 5 Plano slim height boxes take the place of 4 Spiderwire boxes.

I own all the brands you mention and all but my T3 Ballistics have been tuned by DVT. My Revo SX casts as well as my Chronarch CI4+ and isn't far behind my T3 Ballistic. My .02