DogBone_384

I drove to my favorite little Plymouth kettle and checked off January ... Not a giant, but a pretty healthy 1 1/2 pounds.

I tossed my waders in the car and am planning out.

Welcome to BassResource.

Yeah, the only famous DD I have here is the original Dunkin' Donuts on Southern Artery .... I'd have to put 3 together, but I know a NH YouTuber that bagged 2 7# SMB in one trip in northern New England.

Does that mean you’re respooling, organizing, and waxing the boat?

Thankfully the Patriots’ season is over…. 🥲

Net Bait Tiny Paca Chunk for small/micro jigs. Strike King Twin Tail, Rage Tail Chunk, and Yamamoto Yama Craw for most applications. Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog and Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver for C O L D water.

Welcome to the BassResource family and Merry Christmas Mike, from Mike in Boston.

I'd choose a 7' ML/F and 6'8"-7' M/F spinning rods for finesse plastics, maybe substituting the M/F for a M/MF for light cranks. The three casting rigs would be 7'-7'3" M/F, MH/F, and MH/M for tubes, jigs/Keitechs, and the moderate action for 1/4 oz and up cranks/lipless.

I prefer fast or extra fast for tossing jigs, running a Kistler HE7045HMH (just like @Catt) and a HE704MH (7' MH/F). I have a 6'9" MH/F Kistler Magnesium TS that would be a great jig rod, but the Heliums replaced it. I also have a 7'3" KLX that would do the job, but works better for deeper cranks and chatterbaits. I'm adding two Douglas X-Matrix thanks to the Bait Monkey, ReelNorthernBass, and Douglas' Christmas sale... I'll add my opinion on them when they show up and I get a warm-ish day.

My biggest catch this year was a 4_8 LMB I pulled out of a tree in about 2' of water on December 3rd with a 3/8 oz @Siebert Outdoors jig in 40+ degree water. It was a textbook catch. Toss jig into tree, let cook, feel tick, set hook, and pull bass out of tree.

Merry Christmas to all of BassResource and their families!

Isn't that the case for most of us?

I bought a M/F spinning outfit when I got back into fishing 10-ish years ago… Thanks to YouTube and BassResource, mine gave grown VERY plentiful and VERY specific over the years.

I’ll wake up this old thread. I bought three ERA’s to try out, a 7’ M/F spinning, 7’ M/F and 7’1” MH/F casting rods. They’re well built and pretty sensitive for a $99 rod. The spinning rod is listed for crankbait/topwater, which is strange for a M/F in my book. I fished a wacky Senko on it and while the tip is fast, the bottom 2/3 feels a lot like an Abu Veritas Winch I have. I tried a few different treble hook lures and the rod works very well, transmitting a lot more vibration than I expected. The two casting rods behave like other fast action rods I have. The MH is good for stuff like T-rigged worms and 3.8” Keitechs but is a little light for setting the hook with a jig. The M fishes Senkos & tubes nicely. The Bait Monkey made me take advantage of Doulas’ 12 day sale and buy two X-Matrix jig rods. I currently use Kistler Heliums for jigs. They’re in the Helium’s price range. Douglas emailed me telling me they use Toray blanks, as does Kistler. It should be an interesting comparison since both are USA made.

It’s cold in Boston, but Cape Cod is still open. I’m planning a trip after Christmas. Fingers crossed!

About the same for me.... I'm lucky I live on the coast. It doesn't snow hardly as much as it used to and I've gone almost three years straight with open SMB water.

It’s unfortunate you had bad experiences with their newer rods. I have Kistlers going back 10 years and haven’t had any bad experiences. There are many good rod manufacturers out there. I like them and will support a small American company before any big corporation if I can. Everything is subjective. Merry Christmas.

And you know this car how? V8Buick.com, or you read EVERY thread on this forum?

BINGO, sans roof.

Isn't it great being a 10 YO in a grown man's body!

I've logged a lot of hours on @Fishing Rhino's Nitro over the last 10 years. I believe it's a 2007 with a Mercury 200 HP 2-stroke. He doesn't drive anymore so I've taken over getting him and his Nitro out on the water. It's a lot bigger than my RT178 and handles the waters we have up here quite well. Tom's always garaged it and is 100% on maintenance and repairs. I've been through it myself wiring a couple fish finders for him. It was easy to work on and good quality. I'd consider a Nitro if I wanted to pay more for it than I did my first house.

Firstly, WELCOME to the BassResource family. I have no experience with the new 3D/Live stuff. But your budget sure allows it. I have a 7" Lowrance Elite Ti2 on my kayak with a side scan transducer mounted on a RAM arm. I mounted my Ti2 on a removable mount on the right side rail on my kayak. It's within reach and out of the way of casting & landing fish. I find 7" plenty big for a kayak. I power it with a 12 Ah Dakota Lithium battery and get three full days from a charge. As far as Ford, GM (I'm a Buick guy), and Dodge, I have friends that have Garmin units and find their screens much better than my older Lowrance. The Lowrance, however, is easier to navigate/operate for me. Navionics mapping in Plymouth/Cape Cod is decent. Since you're in CT, I suggest calling the folks at Bass Fishin Electronics in NH. The owner is a true enthusiast and will take the time to answer your questions. I needed parts for my Ghost trolling motor and they were more than helpful. Their store is EXACTLY what you'd expect a bass fishing electronics shop to look like. Here's a link: https://www.bassfishinelectronics.com/ Good luck rigging your kayak. We New Englanders hope to see you posting a lot on the EASTERN MA & NEW ENGLAND AREA thread found in this forum.

It got here. You're generosity is 1000x too much. Thanks very much and MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family.

My most productive baits were jerkbaits and crankbaits. I have a Lure 11.5 w/Overdrive and troll either until I get bit. I spent more time throwing jigs this year. My biggest catches came on jigs, one of those 'duh' moments.