Mike2841

The only times I've caught fish on a buzzbait is right as the sun is going down. Also I fish it just fast enough to keep it on the surface

Haha mine is getting close to 200k, she needs a little love but she gets the job done

It's kind of like buying a car. A corolla and a Mercedes are gonna get you to the same place, one is just more comfortable to drive.

Abu veritas 7' m, I've got one that I use for all the baits you listed.

As long as it is within the law I don't see a problem. Another thing to consider is it could be a cultural thing. I'm half Chinese and every time I tell someone in my family (Chinese side) that I release the fish after I catch it they get mad at me. We by no means need the fish to survive, but they still think it's odd to let it go. Also that being said LMB is pretty tasty, I catch and release 95% of the time but every now and then it's nice to eat something that you catch

I use google maps a lot too. Another handy app I found is called fishing spots, it's pretty much a map app where people can tag spots and show pictures of what they caught

I second this. In my area pickerel are my favorite fish to catch because they put up the best fight. Also I have pulled bass and pickerel out of the same spot in an outing. And as far as dealing with their teeth just get a firm grip on them with one hand and use some pliers to get the hook out with the other

I've never kept a LMB but I have kept an array of South America cichlids and other predatory fish. The largest tank I had was 6'x2'x2' (180 gal I think). As far as a filter goes for a tank that large google DIY wet dry filters. Also double check in your state if it's legal to keep native fish in a fish tank. Some other cool fish to look into are some of the larger cichlids like dovi or jaguars. People also keep peacock bass in large tanks. If you haven't managed a tank before try out something like a 75g first. It's big enough to house some cool fish and get you into the hobby, I would not get a 350 gallon tank as a starter.

I don't know the exact name but it's a neon green and yellow laminate senko

Best casting is my revo elite, but I like the way the retrieve on my chronarch feels better. I'm still looking for "the one"

I have an avid 68mxf and I use it for weightless senkos, flukes, and I've used with with 1/8 oz jig head and tube. It's a great rod, very sensitive and casts these light baits very easily.

I use an improved clinch knot with mono and berkley braid knot with braid for spinners and buzzbaits. Also booyah offers spinners with the loops in them, I've seen them a lot at my local dicks sporting goods.

I use a 7 ft mh abu vendetta, or a 7 ft mh st croix premier. Use any reel you want as long as it is spooled with braid

Caught this guy off the spooky shad color in open water.

I haven't had that problem with the frogs, but the spro bronze eye shad I noticed takes on more water. Not really a big problem for me though, they still float and still catch fish I just squeeze them out when I need to

Not really racy, more racist, but I think the worst one is the Zara spook. One time I was fishing a small pond near my house and there were 3 kids about 9 or 10 also fishing. They saw me pull in a bass and asked me what I was using. Telling a 10 year old black kid that I was using a spook was really awkward.

I agree with the higher gear ratio, it allows you to pick up slack quick to make a solid hook set especially on a longer cast

Hit bhr this afternoon. Looks like they dredged the place, no weeds and they took out all the trees. The water looked a lot lower than the last time I went there too. Had no luck today, I threw buzzbaits, spooks, craws, tubes, poppers and got nothing.

Even on a slack line it doesn't walk well. Do you think it could be my line. I'm using suffix 832 which seems to sink

How do you guys get it to walk, I try to work it like a spook but most of the time it just jerks forward

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the premier, i find it heavy and i think there are better rods for the money. If i were you i would gamble on the ***, it gets great reviews here and its cheaper.

Thanks for all of the input everybody, i think I'm going to get the champion. I'm going to be throwing a lot of senkos, zoom super flukes, rage craws, etc, and 3/8 jigs. I'm looking at either the 733 or 734. For anyone who uses the dobyns rods what are the "sweet spots" in terms of lure weights for these two powers?

I've never gone fishing that far south, I do the majority of my fishing in the Framingham area. Also do you have a boat or just shore fishing

How much of a difference is there between the champion and extreme

I'm In the market for a new rod for plastics and light jigs. I'm looking for rods around 200-250. Right now I'm looking at: Phenix M1 Phenix bass recon 2 Dobyns champion 13 *** St croix ltb Does anyone have any input on these rods, pros/cons.