Choporoz

Swimmer: Rage Tail Cut R Curly tail: Rage Tail Anaconda Shakey: Reins Swamp Mover I use lots of others, but those 3 are far and above the rest.

What's the concern? Rod 'ratings' are far more important than rod length. What hook and weight are you planning to use?

I use a leader for all braid fishing. I don't want the knot on the reel for either baitcasting, nor spinning. Don't want line catching knot or tag ends on the way out, and I dont' like to feel it with my thumb. I have never concerned myself much with bass caring about seeing line. I use leader for other reasons: -so I can cut/retie without losing braid, unless there's 'damage' -so I can break off if plug knockers fail me -so that I can have better abrasion resistance in those final few feet of line

Same here. If I ever got to a point where'd I'd be asking the OP question....well, I'd probably go fishing for catfish or bluegill. Just doesn't seem like bass fishing. Even trying to fish a jerkbait with 10 second pauses seems like a lifetime. Related.... I was on a fly-in walleye trip to northewet Ontario last summer, where we troll 95% of the time, very limited casting the other 5%. There was a new camp caretaker there last year and he kept telling us about how he was averaging 8 or 9 inches bigger than ours any day, every day. So, one evening, I went out with him. He dropped anchor in a narrows and put leeches on and sat...and sat....and sat.....sure enough, the big 'eyes came through for a couple hours and they bit. Even though I caught the 5 biggest fish of my week there....I hated it.

I don't keep stats, but I would bet that 80+% of my bass over five pounds have been pulled off of/out of wood. If you have laydowns, and/or timber on the bottom, spend a lot of time picking it all apart meticulously. The other 20% is such a mixed bag of everything else, it'd be hard to draw specific conclusions, other than some sort of vegetation was nearly always close.

Got out there for about 3 hours in the rain yesterday for first time in a couple months. Don't think I've ever seen it higher. All but a couple feet of the concrete ramp at Fountainhead was submerged. Not even a nibble shallow. One bite all day off of bottom wood in about 8 FOW.

I grew up with Mitchell 300's and didn't know any better until reading here about manual closing a few years ago. After a long time retraining myself, its mostly second nature. It kind of upset me because it was such an integral design element to spinning reels. Manually flipping the bail doesn't reduce twist. But it does reduce likelihood of introducing loops on your spool (from twisted line)....which is where the reel trouble starts.

Lots of ways....but three of the best conditions for me are pads, laydowns and submergent grass. Bringing over the top and bumping a submerged trunk of horizontal tree is money. If theres grass within 3 feet of the surface....perfect. And, into, around, and ,through pad fields. One more thing...if you aren't getting bit on a particular day, try mixing up the retrieve a bit before putting it away. Slight kills, (with reel or rod, or both) on a relatively fast retrieve can trigger strikes. Rare days require dramatic kills: quick retrieve with sudden stop/drops of as much as 5 feet. And one memorable day boated biggest fish by just hopping them off the bottom.

IMO you only need two chatterbait colors; mostly dark and mostly white....I have different variations of each, some white-ish ones with chartreuse or lavender....and dark ones that are mostly black, or mostly blue. I've thrown green ones, but don't any more. The light baits get white Rage Tail Structure Bugs and the dark ones get dark Structure Bugs. Except for occassionally working heavier ones deep, it's that simple. I've tried other trailers and nothing works like the Structure Bugs. I start with white-ish -- if they don't hit that, I try dark. If they don't hit either, I move or start throwing something really slow and tedious. There just isn't anything as consistent, easy to throw, versatile, etc. There's lots of good chatterbaits out there, but if I had to go with one forever, I'd get them all from @Bluebasser86 . Aside from great hooks, excellent start-up action, etc...his are really hard to hang up. You can throw them deep into the pads or pull them right through most laydowns. The only negative thing I have to say about chatterbaits is that some days it is nearly impossible to keep the snakeheads off of them.

Hiding behind their beds?

Having trouble telling much from the tackle.com website...at least on my phone screen. Looks like a plastic worm....with a hook?

I use DR. Slick (from TW.)

Between 2 and 12. Maybe 3 ....maybe even 4.....or....could be ????? No amount of guesses is here is going to help much, I'm afraid. Without a scale, at least provide length and girth and we may get into the ballpark

Nice. I haven't been on the Rez but once or twice this year, I think. Most springs, that body of water is way too dirty to see beds....or so I assumed...so I've just stopped looking for them.

Same here. You have to be willing to bang wood and rocks. That is a much more appealing proposition from a boat....with a plug knocker. The floating Rapala is a great suggestion: One of the few treble lures that I did throw from shore that was pretty successful was floating minnow baits like the Rapala. BPS has (had?) a cheap one with a wide wobble that only dove to about 8 inches. It worked well without hitting stuff and didn't crush my spirits when I did lose one. They were around $4. The hooks were crap, though, so I don't recommend BPS branded, unless they've upgraded hooks. Bomber and Smithwick had good floater minnow baits that come ready to fish and should allow you to throw with a bit more confidence from shore, than, say, a crankbait or $16 jerkbait. Poppers at dawn/dusk should work for you, also.

Probably the one that gets used the most

Bait Monkey says 'don't get just one'. I throw 3/8 on Helium3 and 1/2 on Dobyns DX744C.....cannot recommend either rod high enough

Looking at it a little differently, my most expensive lures are blade baits; silver buddies, Vaults, Vibes, etc. I lose so many, that the lure-cost to fish-caught ratio far exceeds anything else I use. I get many more fish per cast out of Pointers, Visions, Huds, etc.

I've been fishing for bass for almost ten years. I have NEVER seen a bass on a bed. In a way, I'm sort of glad. I watch vids of pros who spend an hour just trying to tick off a fish enough to pick up (and move) a bait...and just shake my head...I get it...but I don't ever want to be tempted to do it...just doesn't seem like 'fishing' to me

Yesterday was one of those rare days when lure meant little, but location was everything. Caught fish on anything...once I figured out where they'd be: downstream from lay down, but only if in shadow...all at same depths.

I fish both, though I admit that if I'm going with finesse-y plastics, I'm more likely to have it on a shakey head. The determining factor for me has to do with how I plan to present. I use t-rig (and slider heads...and Owner Ultrahead Finesse) much more in woods and weeds; and I rarely dead-stick t-rig....for me, it is a dropping, hopping, moving presentation. I will tie on a shakey head if I intend to move extremely slowly while maintaining contact with the bottom.

Sometimes, it might just be a little 'professional overrun' housekeeping....or, so I've heard

The second one isn't a problem....I only answer if the caller is my wife or a tourny judge Some of us are 'fortunate' enough to be able to use a plain old water bottle

I think a yak paddling past OUTSIDE of where you're working at 30' was absolutely fine....how was it rude? Did it affect where you could cast? The speed or direction at which you could troll? Did he scare your fish? -good luck with the last part...try some deep breathing exercises That's just it....this isn't really about fishing at all. Either I'm getting old, or much of the people that I come across don't share the same ideas regarding respect, golden rules, personal space, etc. If only common sense were more common.....

I think you're off to a great start. You've done your homework. I have no issues with your starting line up. I haven't used those rods, but I've heard enough to know they should suit you just fine. As to used gear recommendations...I suggest steering clear for now. I just don't think the potential value of the rare 'steal' is worth the risk. Buy new for now...unless you can handle 'like-new' in person