iceintheveins

Any 7' medium heavy glass or composite cranking rod.

Bomber Square A

Great jerkbait, one of my absolute favorites. I don't use jerkbaits much when the water is over 60, but they will work all year, especially on smallies. Largemouth love them too though.

Gets sinking or crankbaits deeper easier, plus it's virtually invisible for clear water. I only use it for deep cranking though.

I have never used line thinner than 10 pound test on a baitcaster. But I don't think 8 would present a huge problem. Maybe you got a bad batch of line, but I'm not sure.

I rig them with a pegged sinker and pitch it around cover, rip rap, and weedlines.

I use an EWG for everything except slender worms or punching the weeds. Slender worms call for a regular offset and punching a straight shank. My hookup rate on all three is about the same, pretty good.

Full sized brush hog or a bigger mad paca. Rage lobster is good too but it's not that big.

I will use a texas rigged plastic when the bass want a smaller offering than a jig, or I use a pegged texas rig when in heavy grass, it comes through better than a jig.

Been tougher so far this year. Have been out three times and have caught 15, my biggest only about 2 pounds. First trip was the best with 6, it's gotten worse each time as the water has got warmer which is STRANGE. I think the past two times it was just the erratic weather.

You don't defeat him, you just shut him up for a while by giving in!

OUCH that stinks

Tackle warehouse always has it.

Pepperjigs original pepper jig. I prefer the 1/4 or 3/8 ounce in green pumpkin, blue black, or clear water special (a brown orange). I tip with a matching rage or paca chunk.

Thirty is fine. When fishing thick vegetation though 50 or 65 is the way to go, but that's mostly a flipping/pitching/punching type of thing, or for frogs. That said, hard jerkbaits, punching, and frogs are the only things I use braid for, and for those it is the ONLY way to go IMO.

Koppers 55t in green yellow/tan.

I rig the hooks and stuff up and put the plastics in my top drawer to rig on the water. That way I don't leave them rigged on the hook keeper, that starts to tear a hole in them.

Definitely agree with jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and lipless cranks. If the water is fairly clear, try some shad raps or other tight wiggle cranks as well. And don't overlook a swimjig.

I use a trailer hook only where there aren't many weeds or grass around.

Pflueger president.

Truly tragic. Bass, pike, walleye, catfish, and others are often killed in Colorado, all in the name of, get this, suckers, chubs, and SQUAWFISH. They won't manage or stock bass in most of our lakes for fear they will harm the above named trash fish. All the while, it hasn't helped their numbers to kill sport fish. It is the habitat alteration, just like in Washington, NOT nonnative fish. I'm REAL tired of this native fish only, kill the nonnatives mentality that is spreading across the west like a cancer. It is for this reason I do not trust and downright DESPISE many fishery managers and biologists. It's not about facts and science, and to hell with what the sportsmen and public want. It's all politics.

The KVD L and L is worth every penny.

I rig it weightless on one end, catch a couple fish, then rig it weightless on the opposite end, and catch a couple more fish. Then I repair them with mend it, send it back into the bag with a couple sprays of fish attractant, and keep using it till it is to ripped to repair.

Get a Pflueger President for $60 and spend the rest of the money on lures.

Curious Glenn, which lake did they put a single barbless reg on?