Logan S

15 or 17 lb flourocarbon depending on cover....Most of the time it's 15 lb.

Both are paired with Scorpion DC's. Casting distance is fine for me, but I'm not usually looking for extra long distances when I fish spinnerbaits. Low rod angles and low trajectory casts are pretty normal when I fish both baits so the shorter rod is preferable. It's a lightweight rod, probably not the lightest rod out there but its definitely not heavy...Especially considering it's a MH powered rod. If extra long casting distance is your top priority I'd probably go with a longer rod, but the SS is excellent for most normal spinnerbait fishing - at least for me. I don't throw the swimbaits as much, but the same thing applies.

My tackle room is usually pretty empty since a lot of my gear stays in the boat, but I had a fair amount of stuff inside today getting ready for Gaston this weekend. All of my awards live down here too...Since according to my wife, a living room full of fishing awards is not fashionable . I like to telework from down here when I can so I can tinker with tackle during the work day (and surf BR). It also doubles as my storage area for dive gear and gun stuff, which are not pictured...

I'm a huge fan of the XX Spinnerbait Special (I have 2), it's true to it's name and is perfect for the task. I've thrown 3/4oz line-thru swimbaits on it as well and it handles them just fine. I also use it for squarebills and buzzbaits...There's not much it can't do. I'm sure the DSR would be great too, but I like a little bit of a shorter rod for spinnerbaits since I'm usually casting in/around/under stuff. Only downside to your plan is that MB products never go on sale, even for Black Friday .

If you want to exactly match each different baitfish you'll likely need a few different colors, although I don't think that's necessary. Pro Blue and French Pearl are sort of the 'safe' colors in that they are proven time and again, which is why I recommended them at first. You certainly don't have to limit yourself to those . Crystal Shad is very similar to Pro Blue but with green replacing blue on the back, it does have a little more of the 'illusion' type finish than Pro Blue does - There is also GP Pro Green which is extremely similar to both of those colors. You might also consider GP Skeleton Tennessee, which is another variation on the same overall pattern but with faint chartreuse markings on the bottom of the tail........I could probably continue this paragraph for pages, but you get the idea . There's a lot of choices, I think you'd be best served by picking the one that appeals to you the most based on what you see on your waters. I have a bunch of 110's in many colors, but if I'm ever unsure of what to throw I come back to Pro Blue and French Pearl...

So many good MB colors! I always tell people to start with GP Pro Blue and French Pearl...Can't go wrong with those and they will work anywhere bass live. With what you described I'd go with Pro Blue first. There are literally hundreds of MB 110 colors so if you really want to go down that rabbit hole it can get expensive, but fun. I'd stick with the two I mentioned above to start with and expand from there if you want to.

I find Sniper to be lacking when it comes to abrasion resistance....And since you'd be using it for a leader, all the good qualities of Sniper aren't really in play. Would not be my choice for leaders. If you set on spending the $$$, I'd pick AbrasX over either of those....But my real recommendation would be to just get a spool of leader FC or use leftovers from your main line FC's (this is what I do, Red Label mostly).

Fished with @Zach P and @BrianinMD, both in the same club as me...I know there's several other FOBA members here too that I've fished with, I just can't recall their screen names and I don't think they post much. @Dypsis, just reach out man . I know you're also in a club so schedules probably overlap during the season...But I fish all winter long so except for some winter team events I'm usually flying solo.

Best value in FC in my opinion...I actually prefer it over some other more expensive and popular lines..

At some of the locations we visit it's not uncommon for nearly every angler, boater and co-angler, to weigh a limit. Some places it can be the opposite and there will only be a few limits weighed. Depends on the conditions, time of year, and the fishery. You also have to understand that in many tournaments a lot of guys will simply dump their fish. Happens all the time at big events, guys will come in and see/hear the weights being weighed in just dump what they have if it wouldn't be competitive...If there's no points or other year-long goals it's common practice. Even with points and/or similar goals, not everyone will be in the running and those guys are apt to dump before weighing. The tournament you described and Catt's examples might fall into this category since they seem to be much much larger than any typical club event. Tournament results are a good resource in general, but they don't always tell the full story .

I've had some interesting encounters on Anna for sure. My last tournament there I had a guy jump me so badly that I actually called him out on it, which I never do...Karma go the best of him though, he lost a fish and I caught a nice one from behind him so it worked out OK for me . I plan on making that AA tournament next year...I fished a tournament there the weekend before and then had other commitments keep me off the water this past weekend. I won't be at the veterans day tournament though, daughters birthday so I'll be home. That one will be tough for me to make most years, but I do want to fish it with my dad one day since he's a veteran...Was actually supposed to fish it last year, but my daughter was born a few days early .

I wanted to fish that one too, but too many schedule conflicts . Anna can get really small with that many boats and the cutoffs can get frustrating...For some reason that kind of stuff happens more frequently on Anna, which sucks. Shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stuff, but it's part of fishing there in bigger tournaments unfortunately. You'll get em in the next event .

Recently scored what I think was an amazing deal on an unused MB Black Jungle - Deep Cranking and Slow Rolling (F5-71XBJ). Matches up great with my D5 and is an impressive rod, as you'd expect from MB . Wasn't really planning on picking up a cranking rod, but some deals are too good to pass up!

Last official tournament on my schedule was the FOBA Classic on Lake Anna this past weekend. Had crazy changing conditions, 85 degrees with no wind on my only practice day...Front moving though with rain on the first tournament day...And sunny skies with 20-30mph winds on the second tournament day. Swing-head, spinnerbait, and skipping docks produced my fish both days. Weighed in 10-11 on day 1 and 12-5 on day 2 which was good enough for the win . It sucks that the season is over, but it's always good to close it out with style! May get down to Gaston for team event in November also, so we'll see if I can keep the momentum rolling...

Any reel can be a good skipping reel if you do your part...I'll be the first to tell you that your gear isn't making or breaking you when skipping with a baitcaster. Having said that, the Shimano Exsence DC and Scorpion DC are pretty awesome for this technique. They won't take you from splashing to skipping without practice, but once you know what you're doing both of these reels are pretty amazing. The 'F' mode on both reels is pretty forgiving so it may actually help you learn a little bit, but it sacrifices distance. On the lower settings, the distance and 'carry' you can get is impressive. If you want to go all out, look for one of these...They are great for everything else too so it wouldn't be a waste .

17 or 20 lb flouro for most casting/pitching duties. Flipping, pitching, or punching in heavier grass I'll use 65lb braid. Seaguar Red Label and AbrasX for flouro and original Power Pro for braid.

MD/VA area checking in here.... Catching-wise, dead of winter can be pretty tough, January and the first half of February usually...Basically after the water temp has bottomed out and before it starts to slowly warm up. This is also the time of year we deal with ice, the last few years we've had much more ice than normal so it's been tougher. In 'normal' years, the Potomac stays mostly ice-free as does most of Lake Anna so there are options all winter in normal years. The one nice thing about this time of year is that the fish are fairly predictable, it's possible to have some pretty good days if you can deal with the cold. The tides on the Potomac and the nuke-plant influence on the temperature and circulation on Anna are big positives for winter fishing. There's some other viable locations for winter fishing around here too, but I fish the Potomac and Anna most often this time of year. Pattern-wise, September is the toughest month of the year to figure them out consistently for me. It's usually a month of junk fishing and scrambling around. The average day is usually still better than the dead of winter, but there are very few 'great' days. It usually means a lot of burnt gas and a lot of rods on the deck .

Another vote for DOMO, I get my XD100 from them as well...Even with the shipping cost it's cheaper than buying it locally.

You're missing the point. You need to practice with FC if you want to use it effectively. The question wasn't about which line is easier to use, it was about how to use/learn FC. Not trying to argue with you here at all, either use FC or don't - But don't expect to learn how to use it without actually spooling it up and putting some time in to learn it's characteristics.

Practice. Just like you'd expect when learning how to use a baitcaster or any other skill. FC is different than mono and/or braid, so using mono/braid isn't really going to help you with learning FC (assuming you already have the basic casting skills down). You'd be surprised how something simple like short pitches in your living room, garage, or back yard will help. I think too many guys spool up with FC for the first time and try to 'practice' on a fishing trip...Which inevitably leads to headaches, frustration, and ruined line.

They are handles to help you get back in the boat if you happen to end up in the water (intentionally or unintentionally ). Whether you decide to have the boarding ladder or not, the bars do make it easier to get back in. Getting back into a bass boat from the water isn't the easiest thing in the world.

Some shots from the last couple days on the water and my last regular tournament of the season. Started out chasing smallies in practice, but the sunny/breezy conditions went away and we had rain and calm winds for the tournament day so I leaned more on largemouth. It was sort of a grind since the dams weren't moving any water at all, which is usually the kiss of death on this lake/river. Managed to put together a 12lb limit (3 LM, 2 SM) and take 2nd place . This is probably the coolest fishery I get to fish...You've got 'traditional' largemouth fishing - flipping, grass, wood, etc...Then there's great smallmouth fishing on the main lake/river...Then, if you're brave enough, you can run far up river and get into true river smallmouth fishing. Add in the great scenery and the fact that there's quality sized fish of both species and it makes for an awesome place.

FLW hasn't ever had a length restriction and 8'+ rods haven't really made news on their tour, at least that I can remember reading anyway. I'm sure we'll see some 8' to 10' rods now that they're allowed for B.A.S.S. but I'd be surprised if it was 'revolutionary'. I think the extra length would be beneficial for the 10XD sized crankbaits...That's the biggest thing that jumped out to me. I bet the first places we see the longer rods show up in force is the offshore cranking events. FWIW, I doubt boats would change much...I can fit 8' rods in my locker with significant space to spare, I bet I could fit up to a 9' rod in there if I owned one that long. My boat is just a 20 footer too. I don't think it's 'about the money' either, the market for 8' rods is already pretty small...Over 8' is going to be even smaller.

I use Microsoft OneNote (it's free) on my computer, it also has a phone app that is synced to your computer so it can be used on the water if needed. I don't enter every trip or every detail...I use it more for tournament prep. I have a page for every tournament where I put notes/plans/etc and then I put in my results after the the event. I can go back and look at the conditions and results from previous tournaments to prepare for the next one. I also keep pages for things like dam/lock phone numbers, water level gauges, tide charts, etc...Anything that might be useful. Mine aren't really a true log, but you could certainly use it that way if you wanted. Example from an event this year...

I love watching the old Bassmaster shows... Check this one out, KVD and Ike fishing in the same boat.