MIbassyaker

Green Pumpkin Magic. It was the first fluke color I bought and tried and it worked. And it never stopped working. So, if it ain't broke....

I don't know of any better all-purpose bait than a single-tail grub, and I don't think there's a better all-purpose color than black. Swim it, hop it, drag it, flip it, weedless, on a jighead, as a trailer on a jig, spinnerbait, buzzbait, chatterbait.....do whatever you want, they will eat it.

What about two spinning rods instead? one MLXF for drop shot, one MXF for wacky rigs, weightless t-rig plastics (e.g., flukes, ribbontails, etc.), shakeyhead, both under 7' Take one of your 7'2" MLFs and use it for mojo/spitshot rigs instead, or backup weightless/wacky/shaky

Yup -- right there. That's my baby too.

Barlow's Tackle has a ton of tackle components you can buy in bulk at good prices, including several kinds of split rings.

FYI, here's a set of 5 that I got in a random jig pack last summer: Clockwise from top left: 3/8oz Grid Iron Football, Green Craw 1/4oz Brush, Caldwell Special 1/2oz Swim, Sapphire Shad 1/2oz Dredge Brush, Falcon Craw 1/4oz Bullet, Pumpkin Orange

Awesome! Heh, I have that exact spinnerbait.

One of my very favorites, especially for deep weeds in the summer. I like to let the weight slide freely in front of a bobber stop. I think I feel strikes better than when the weight is completely pegged, because the line can pull through the weight when the fish picks it up. It also seems to cut down on how often the fish gets deep-hooked. Yes, I do exactly that.

Looks pretty bassy indeed!

Well, it looks like I'm still short one rod compared to your haul......for now... But not for long: I still have $150 left on a TW gift card I'll be putting toward an Avid X spinning rod during the Memorial day sale.

I had initially planned to get a new casting setup for 2016 this winter. Somehow, that turned into four: 7'2" M-M St. Croix Rage + Abu Silver Max 6'4" M-XF Fenwick Aetos + Lews LFS Speed Spool 6'10" MH-MF Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth + Lew's Tournament MB 6'9" MH-F Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth + *** *** In my defense, they were all discounted somehow, on closeout, discontinued, a sale, or I got some other kind of deal somewhere. Special thanks to TW, Cabela's, the St. Croix Bargain room, ManVenture Outpost, and MTB for making it all happen.

I think this is one of those things where your mileage may vary. Some people like longer rods to help cast farther so close to the water, or for reaching over the bow when fighting fish. But I Iike shorter rods for the same reason Darren says -- close quarters casting and pitching. I also find it easier to land fish with a shorter rod. And I definitely prefer rods with a short butt. My shortest rod is 5"6", and I have only one over 7'; most are within a few inches of 6'6".

If I'm fishing waters that I know have a lot of pike, I don't throw anything with a blade on it unless I'm targeting them specifically. Still, I always catch a few little pike on wacky rigs and texas-rigged creatures every year. The only way I know to target Bass and not catch Pike is with worms fished slowly on or near the bottom; even that is not necessarily pike-proof, but I think it's the best you can do, aside from just finding a different spot. If the pike are reasonably sized, say 24" or more (fun-size, that is), you definitely want to find a new location if that's not what you're after -- the bass are probably elsewhere.

I have two Pflueger Presidents and one Pflueger Supreme. I'm going to buy another supreme with the rebate offer (tried to find one at BPS this weekend to do a reel trade-in credit, and they were out! grrr....). I love both of these reels at their price. I posted this on another thread recently, but if you compare the size 30 President, President LE and Supreme according to the specs on Pflueger's site, you do get a clear reduction in weight and an increase in line recovery if you go above the president to either of the other two: President 30: 8.3oz, 25.2 inches per turn President LE 30: 7.7oz, 31 inches per turn Supreme 30: 7.5 oz, 31.8 inches per turn http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/pflueger-reels-spinning-reels/pflueger-president-spinning-reel/1280293.html http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/pflueger-reels-spinning-reels/pflueger-president-limited-edition/1371884.html http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/pflueger-reels-spinning-reels/pflueger-supreme-spinning-reel/1347902.html I think the president's weight is already pretty decent, but if you think weight and line recovery are really important, it might be worth spending a little more on one of the other two. And given the current rebate on the Supreme, that makes it the same price as the LE ($80) until the end of may, which is $20 more than the regular president ($60).

I don't know if there "should" be a forum specifically for ponds and banks. But I'm another who doesn't understand why it should be a contentious issue. And I'm unimpressed by the argument that bank and boat fishing tactics are the same, therefore no forum of narrow bank/pond interest would be of value -- that only makes sense from the perspective of somebody who has not actually tried searching for practical bank fishing advice, and had to wade through post after post describing tactics that assume on-the-water mobility and positioning, deep water access, electronics, etc. Edt: And yes, of course, you can search for thread topics, but that's true of every other topic too, including those that already have a forum dedicated to them. A straightforward compromise might be to identify a forum or two that would benefit from a dedicated pond/bank thread, create one and sticky it.

How would you feel about going 2 inches shorter than 6'6"? 6'4" M-XF Fenwick Aetos, $75: That was a $180 model before it was discontinued! There's also the 6'9" M-XF Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth caster for basically the same price

I bought one from the Bargain Room on the St. Croix website at that price a few months ago too, but then saw somewhere that you can get an even better deal on multiple rods if you call.

You and me both. In principle, a drop shot should should be right up my alley. The tackle I like to use and the places I fish should be perfect for it. In practice, I might as well not have a line in the water at all. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong; maybe nothing, just luck...but at some point, you just have to cut your losses and pull out the dang texas rig again.

There is very little information on the internet or anywhere else about some of the small, out-of-the-way, sometimes hard-to-access places I like to fish. For some of those places, locals are the only reason I know about them.

OK, I now have a mental image of the following scene, in which you sneak surgical tools out of the hospital to use on fish: "Ah, this one will be perfect for removing a deep-hooked 4/0 EWG!" "What's that, doctor?" "Erm, nothing, never mind..." (discreetly pockets the Finochietto 10+ inch surgical needle holder) "Hmm...now where did I put that? Could have sworn I had it a moment ago....can you get another for me? Thanks."

I bring a max of 5 combos with me on a kayak, chosen from among 10 depending on where I'm fishing. Every year I fish about 10 different lakes or rivers, and every year I try a few new ones from among the several hundred within an hour and a half or so of my house. My 3 current favorites, all pretty small, but different characteristics and different forage that seem to demand tying on different things: Lake 1: 50 acres, mostly undeveloped, 10-12 feet of visibility, submerged vegetation over almost all of it. Lots of sunfish --shakey head --propbait or popper --texas rigged lizard, craw or ribbontail worm --wacky rigged stick worm --Keitech fat impact on an underspin. Lake 2: 100 acres, almost all shoreline residential development, 1-2 feet of visibility, not much vegetation, but some shallow pads, lots of docks, lots of gizzard shad, sunfish. --jig & craw trailer --buzzbait --wacky rigged stick worm --shallow crankbait (squarebill or minnow, preferably rattling) --spinnerbait Lake 3: 30 acres, developed on one side with a few docks, completely wild and marshy on other side. About 5-6 feet of visibility, lots of vegetation, huge fields of shallow lily pads surrounding a drop to 25 feet. sunfish, perch, lots of activity by terrestrial critters. --Hollow-bodied frog --shallow crankbait, or sometimes a lipless --buzzbait --mojo-rigged creature or worm --weightless t-rigged fluke

Throw it near some weeds or wood in the evening! Don't be afraid to let it sit for 20 seconds or more in-between pops. Sometimes they attack right away, sometimes they watch it for awhile first.

I have been using those do-it bags in the 6x4 and 7x4 size. Not as cheap as a ziplock but they are nicely fileable in softside tackle bags and bins. They're durable and seal well.

Please, please, please do not tell my wife that "Snakes climb in the boat" is a thing that happens...

Any Rapala at least deserves a good-faith tryout, in my book.