JDJ

My 10-yr old son wants to go slam some bream. I'm familair with most of the local public bass holes, but are any of them hotspots for hungry panfish?

In good condition and at $120 or less -- go for it. It's a great multi-purpose stick!

From personal experience (I own both M and MH Avids) the MF will handle a 3/8 oz jig with trailer perfectly fine. I prefer it over the MH for that weight setup.

There were numerous yellow temporary signs up posted around each of the ponds. Probably put there this afternoon. Makes sense that there's a special event in the works.

[quote name="MFBAB" post="1784892" timestamp="1433446727". I think there is a Johnson Park in C-Ville and one in G-Town, I was at the one in G-Town near Johnson Rd @ Poplar. There are 2 ponds there and both seemed to fish equally. I haven't fished the one in C-Ville before.

Which ponds at Johnson hold fish? There's a large pond behind the baseball fields and close to the Wolf River that I fished once. It's relatively isolated, but there's a paved pathway that leads to it. You just have to scramble down to the water. I hear the snakes can be bad there this time of year -- but I think that's the norm for the ponds located along the river. The grass at Daycare can get high, but the water is easily accessible.

My best day at Grove occurred last Summer fishing a black Senko. I was lucky to find a pocket of hefty, hungry bass ... but you just never know over there. I'm tempted to try a bit of finesse that the fish maybe don't see much. Ned rig anyone?

I fished Grove early this morning for a couple of hours. Caught one small one on a Rage-rigged Structure Bug. Didn't get any attention to a buzzbait or worm. If any of you guys get 'em figured out over there, let me know! I haven't had much success there this Spring.

Your choice between a M or MH for throwing both cranks and plastics will largely depend on the "stoutness" of the rod. I don't have a ton of experience with different rod makes, but I enjoy using my MF St. Croix Avid for square bills, lipless crankbaits and also t-rigged and weightless plastics. It's a great multi-purpose rod, in part because it has a bit more backbone than your average M-weight rod. But, for example, when I throw a bulky buzzbait or frog my MHF Avid gets the nod.

Yep!

I called Lews with this same question, as they seemed almost identical on paper. The rep said the MB had a different handle composition and a slightly smaller, lighter frame.

I fished Grove for 2 hrs this morning at daybreak throwing a buzzbait and Spook. Didn't get even a sniff from anything but a turtle! And so it goes at Grove.

Nice going! That's a pretty good return for your time spent at Grove.

MFBAB - what time of day were they hitting the buzzbait at Grove?

Where exactly did you apply oil?

Never been there. Did you take a boat, rent a boat or beat the bank?

Fished Neshoba this morning during the rain hoping to find some hungry ones around the culvert inflows. Tried buzzbait, craw and lipless crank. Got skunked.

Thanks Glenn. Great job on your Ned Rig video also!

Threw a Rage-Rigged Structure Bug yesterday in a local pond, hopping it along the bottom and swimming it on a 3/32 oz swimbait hook. Not getting much action, I started fishing it as a buzzbait and found that the bass liked that presentation much better. It skimmed the surface as good as the Rage Toad does. I'm probably very late to the game, but I'd never buzzed a Rage Rig until yesterday. Now I have another "bow in my quiver".

In that case, I definitely would recommend the M/F if you go the Avid route. I own Avids in both M/F and MH/F, but have only handled the E6Xs in stores. My two takeaways on the E6X were that the handle was slim and the balance point (without reel) was about 3-4 inches further down the blank (toward tip) than a similiar Avid. But I think either rod would be a fine choice.

What weight baits do you plan to throw on either rod? If you choose Avid, 1/4 to 1/2 oz is the sweet spot range for the M. Above that, I'd go MH. As has been said many times on this forum, the MH Avid is more stout than average.

Whichever handle feels better - they are different. I prefer the Avid handle, but that's purely personal preference.