Steveo-1969

^^^ Best answer!

I have DirecTV which doesn't offer WFN. Last year I downgraded my DirecTV package and lost the Outdoor Channel (and a lot of my favorite fishing shows). So I started subscribing to MOTV and now I have more fishing shows than I can possibly watch. And you get to pick a free magazine subscription from a list so now I also get In-Fisherman magazine.

You could subscribe to My Outdoor TV (MOTV) for $10/month. You get more fishing shows than you can shake a dropshot rod at.......

I fish a clear river and have found this to be true as well. With that said, I normally fish Ayu, Smallmouth Magic and K's Magic (either Keitech SI FAT or BPS Speed Shad).

My nickname is Steve-O and I was born in 1969. And because there is not one creative bone in my body...

Welcome to Bass Resource Dustin from a fellow West Virginian.

Welcome to Bass Resource Max! I hope you come back and visit your thread because you have lots of good advice already. Just wanted to welcome you. I lived in Ripon about a million years ago and fished Green Lake quite often with a buddy. Unfortunately we were more interested in drinking beer than catching fish so I have no fishing advice for you.

I prefer mid-range reels because in my mind the rod is more important. Just personal preference here folks, no need to throw darts! My price cap for a reel is about $200, but my price cap for a rod is ???? (So far it's $500+...)

I have a small Plano tackle bag that I can wear over my shoulder. I think it's actually considered a "crappie" tackle bag and is the size of half a loaf of bread. Everything I need fits in it and because it's over my shoulder and at my side at all times I don't need to carry it or walk back to it if I need something. I also use it while wade fishing.

When I was a teenager I backreeled all the time when fighting a fish because the drag on my POS spinning reel didn't work. My only choice was to backreel. Today I rely 100% on the drag.

I don't build custom rods and was just poking around in here when I saw this thread. Question - are you looking to build just ONE rod that could be used with a casting reel OR a spinning reel? If that's the case I don't think you could find guide sizes/placements that would work well for both......

And here I always thought you could never have enough rods and reels.......

I haven't used a lot of BPS items, but I like their Speed Shads, Stik-O's and curly-tail grubs. I've caught lots of fish on all three and will continue to use them.

Neither. With where and how I fish, I can (and do) get by with minimal rods and minimal tackle.

Good reply Sam, we've all had our share of losing nice fish and that sickening feeling in our stomach. But on the flipside, if we were guaranteed to catch EVERY SINGLE fish that bit it would be fun for awhile but eventually the thrill would be gone and we'd start playing golf instead......

I've only been using baitcasters for a couple years and am still learning about them. So to that end, I have a couple questions about the above thread entry. 1) Mr. TOXIC mentions backing off the drag to get maximum casting distance. I didn't realize the drag setting had any affect on casting distance, I've only been adjusting the brakes and spool tension? 2) He also mentions the brake will help stop an over run at the end of the cast. But this is only with magnetic brakes, correct? Magnetic brakes help slow the spool down at the end of the cast, while centrifugal brakes help slow down the spool at the beginning of the cast?

Also check out "Fishing with Johnny Johnson". He is a fishing pro with a TV show and a Youtube channel and all of his shows are in AZ.

I started slowly working my way through this show on Hulu about 6 months ago and this was the latest episode I watched last weekend. Love it!!

My closest Bass Pro Shop is 90 minutes away so no shopping trip for me. But I had a couple gift cards from Xmas that I hadn't used so I made an online order instead. I bought SK Bitsy Bug jigs, SK Menace Grubs, SK Baby Rage Craws and some Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (BOGO). Everything I bought was on sale, I saved over $60 from normal retail, and only paid $5 out-of-pocket. Win!

Beautiful jigs! They look similar to Strike King Bitsy Bug jigs, but with better hook, skirt and weed guard. Does your friend use them for smallies in the Upper Potomac? 3/16 ounce is my go to weight for the river in 6 feet of water or less.

Sorry I'm late to the party, I just saw this thread. I agree with RW. I have an NRX MBR 842C that I use for bottom contact jigs and t-rigs and I don't like the soft tip. DVT is building me a custom right now for jigs and my MBR will be repurposed for small swimbaits, spinnerbaits, etc.

3 or 4 summers ago the 3" YUM Mighty Bug was my best river smallmouth producer. Either T-rigged or on a jig head. I have a couple bags of larger Bugs but I haven't fished one in a couple years. Loved that 3" bait though!

IMO you shouldn't keep a fish if you don't know what kind of fish it is. In this case there probably isn't a bag limit/size limit/closed season on freshwater drum (sheepshead) but the next unknown fish you catch might be illegal to keep.

I just borrow my pothead brother-in-law's scale.

Welcome to Bass Resource Mark! Another Upper Potomac fisherman here. I'm usually wade fishing when the water level is low/safe enough. Bank fishing the rest of the time.