Steveo-1969

I saw these just yesterday on TW. Are these basically a Shroomz head with a skirt? Same hook or different?

Welcome to Bass Resource Brian from a fellow Bears fan. 12 more wins and we finish the season at 13-3. BEAR DOWN!!!!!!

I fish them t-rigged on a 3/0 Owner Twistlock Light hook and a 3/16 ounce bullet weight, M/F baitcaster with 10# fluoro. No problems hooking up.

The Subwoofer is in the Berkley Havoc line.

Wind is the biggest variable for me too. There are days I won't backlash at all, and other days when I leave the river with only half the line on my reel that I started with because I had to cut a big one out. Overall, I'd say if I get a bad one it's because I wasn't paying attention or get cocky and try to cast harder than necessary. The reel I use most often has magnetic brakes only. When the wind is giving me fits I turn the magnetic brakes up until I can cast without worrying about backlashing, sacrificing some (mostly unnecessary) casting distance.

And on your way to Virginia can you guys stop in West Virginia first?

Welcome from a fellow West Virginian!

I've never seen or caught a Northern Pike in the Upper Potomac River, but I have caught Muskies while fishing for smallmouth bass. Last Sunday I hooked into a 10-inch smallmouth and after it jumped twice a 40+ inch Muskie tried to grab it twice! First time that's happened to me!!! So here's my tip: Go smallmouth fishing and just play them a little longer than normal...

Isn't the "Arashi" line of hardbaits made by Storm? (which is part of Rapala?) Not sure how Arashi is related to GYCB?

When I think GYCB I think "Senko". I bought a couple bags, burned through them very quickly, and then switched to YUM Dingers and BPS Stik-Os. Works for me, way cheaper and they last longer. But to each his own. Your poll only had two choices: SK or GYCB. Because the SK catalog is so much bigger it's a no-brainer to pick SK. Not only plastics, but crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, etc. So IMO, if your hypothetical poll became reality I don't think many people would pick GYCB because the bait choices would be too limited.

I don't use GYCB because they are too expensive and fragile so I voted for Strike King.

I loved and miss that show! Very cool!!!!

Sounds like a blast! I'm very lucky that my local river is full of smallmouth and I have to travel to catch largemouth... Just curious. You listed your location as "America's Dairyland" which I'm assuming is Wisconsin. Why haven't you caught a smallmouth in four years?

Great fishing report. And I see you are a student at the @*HootieSchool of Bass Photos. You must be at the top of your class! Your wife will get better, as you said she is still learning.

YES!!!

I've been wearing Strike King S11 glasses the last couple years. I had a gray lens and then bought an amber lens. I preferred the amber. Only thing I didn't like was the coating started to wear off the lens after a year, but maybe that's normal for this price range?

Hmmmm, not my experience but I will bow to your expertise. YOLO_Fishing - VMC Spinshot...

Threading the tag end back through the eye will make the hook stand out better, but it won't turn an upside down hook right-side up.

I had this same problem when I first started tying up dropshots, half the time the hook would end up upside down. I figured out that if I started the palomar knot by putting the line through the hook eye on the hook point side of the eye, when I finished the knot the hook would be right-side up every time. Just like the diagram posted above.

Wisconsin, Maryland, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, West "By God" Virginia, and I just added Arizona to the list this spring!!

The Whopper is one of my favorite fast food burgers and I enjoy wraps more than buns so I thought the Whopperito would be the best of both worlds when I ordered one the other night. Short story shorter - I didn't like it either.

Were you wading or fishing from the bank? I have a hard time catching fish from shore at Dam 4 in the summertime. But if I wade out I can catch smallmouth pretty regularly. Especially downriver by the power lines. Hmmmm, I'm going to assume that patred WAS wading at Dam 4 and still didn't have much luck.

I almost have fishing experience with a couple of the rods you are looking at. I have a G. Loomis WPJR 821s GLX from their walleye series. The 821 is the jig pitching rod, the 751 you are looking at is the vertical jigging rod. Regardless of labels the specs on the rods are the same except the length. I have no problem casting a 1/16 ounce ball head jig + plastic. I could write a book on how much I love this rod... My son has a One_Three Fishing O.M.E.N. Gen 1 6'7" MLXF spinning rod that I've fished with and I had no trouble casting a 1/16 ounce jig with that either. But for sensitivity and overall fishing experience the Loomis GLX rod wins all day, every day. May I ask where you found one for $250? I'd buy another one at full price without hesitation. At $250 it's already shipped and on the way to my house!

I don't know if Loomis is revamping their walleye series, but I have the WPJR 821s GLX (6'10" Mag-Light) Walleye rod and it is absolutely the most sensitive spinning rod I have ever used!!!

When I bank fish I carry one spinning rod and one baitcasting rod. All my tackle, baits, tools, scents, etc. go into a very small tackle bag (think smaller than a loaf of bread). If I'm wading then it's only one rod and the same tackle bag.