MIbassyaker

Fished four small new-to-me bodies of water, one three-hour visit to each. Here's how I did: #1: 16 largemouth #2: 3 largemouth #3: 5 largemouth and a rock bass #4: skunked, but got bitten off by something large (pike most likely)

It seems I have...(counts rods)...12 baitcasting rods. The ones I seem to use the most are: 6'4" M-XF 6'6" M-F 6'8" MH-F 6'10" MH-MF 7'5 MH-F 7'1" H-F

There is a lot of overlap between what you can do with a Medium vs. Medium-light. but the differences should be obvious -- an ML makes it easier to use lighter baits, while a M makes it easier to use heavier baits. Any small (4" or less) plastic I fish on a weighted hook with a 1/8oz or less head (ned rigs, keitechs, grubs, tubes, sliders) goes on a ML spinning rod, especially if it has an open hook. Drop shots in that weight as well. An ML just casts that weight better than a Medium, and I can feel what the bait is doing much better. I step up to medium for 3/16oz weights, bigger plastic bodies, and most most weedless presentations where the hook is buried and I need more power to set it through the plastic (unless the weight is really light).

YES. ? ??

Senko inefficient? I can't even comprehend that phrase. The Senko is about the most efficent bait I can think of. Can be fished vertically or horizontally, weedless, jerked across the surface like a topwater, under the surface as a jerkbait, dragged on the bottom, can be made to fall fast or slow, or somewhere in between depending on added weight... And very often when I'm fishing a senko, I'll get strikes--including topwater blowups-- while just reeling it in fast to make the next cast. Nothing inefficient about that.

I also think walleye are overrated. But you must understand, northerners who live away from the coasts are......um, how to put this? Not exactly known for our epicurean taste in food...

That's how I've been doing it. I threw a hula jig a lot this last summer rigged weedless on a 1/4oz Title Shot jig. It was effective pretty much anywhere I threw it.

Congrats to Pexari32! Looking up last year's top 10, conveniently summarized here for posterity by @fishballer06: 1. BamaBass 2. Ubfishy 3. xclaya 4. dirtyeggroll 5. Gundog179 6. blckshirt98 7. worminken 8. Shovelmouth83 9. nascar2428 10. yotone We have two repeat top 10 performers in Gundog197 and blckshirt98.

Lester, Crews, Menendez, Paquette, Wendlandt

Hold on -- this does not compute. With both ring and pinkie behind the trigger, there should be more rod mass in front of your hand than if just your pinkie is behind the trigger. To move your ring finger from behind the trigger to the front means you move your hand forward, no? So if anything, the rod should feel more tip-heavy with both fingers behind, and less tip-heavy with them in front....

Two advantages that I notice, both situational: 1. The greater vibration of a bladed jigs give additional and valuable feedback when fishing around certain kinds of vegetation... I can tell better when I'm starting to hang and need to rip, and I can tell better when I get a subtle strike. 2. People often talk about preferring bladed jigs in murky water because of the vibration, but I prefer them in clear, calm water over spinnerbaits, where flashing blades may just be too much. I also seem to be able to fish them slower than spinnerbaits.

Managed to get out for the first time in a month, squeezing in 3 hours before work at a lake I have only previously fished a handful of times April-June. Caught 8, all but one on a black Cavitron buzzbait, and the other on a Revenge bluegill skirted gold double willow spinnerbait. Best two, an 18" 3.5lber, and a 16" 2lber:

Take any color paddletail, cast to where there are bluegills, and it will be a bluegill imitator.

I don't know the 6'0", model, but the St. Croix Premier 6'6" Medium-fast is an excellent multi-purpose rod -- it's rated 1/4-3/4oz, and can fish all of those presentations competently.

It depends on where I'm fishing, but if you gave me nothing but a bucket of minnows or a can of crawlers to use, I probably would probably catch more fish than if you only let me use artificials. But if you let me use only artificials, I probably would catch more bass.

No, not the same. Mono is more elastic when stretched and, up to a point, will return to its original shape, fluoro will deform and weaken. Fluoro seems incredibly overrated to me. I get the benefits of greater density for increased sensitivity, to not absorb water, and for the tendency to sink rather than float, creating less belly in the line and a more direct connection to the bait...but in practice, when I have tried flouro, I have not found these advantages anywhere near dramatic enough to outweigh problems I had with breakoffs and general manageability, not to mention the cost. If it were less expensive, that would be one thing. But at several times the cost per length than a mono like big game, a Flouro would need to be proportionally superior to be worth it to me.

The bait monkey can only be defeated by another, greater obsession....and even then only temporarily, as he never truly goes away, but lurks in the shadows for the right moment to strike again...

I have only used the regular size of both. I'm sure the magnum and jr have their place, but the original size seems just right most of the time.

Yes, and I use 1/2 oz more than 1/4 oz. The blade makes the bait lift on the retrieve, so more weight is often needed to keep it down at the desired retrieve speed.

You "recently" got into bass fishing, and you have "so many" BPS pro qualifier 2 rods already? Without knowing what you already have (wouldn't it be better to just get some power/action/lengths you don't have??), I would look at the following BPS PQ2 models: Shaky/ned: 6'8" ML-fast spinning Floating worm (or other weightless/lightly-weighted plastics): 6'6" or 7' M-fast spinning (choose a length depending on taste/preference) Topwater: 6'6" M-fast or MH-fast casting (M for baits around 1/2oz and less, MH for heavier) Jig: 7' MH-Fast casting

There's still time...

Been using Sufix braid for frogs, Big Game Mono for everything else.

The lower Grand River, Spring Lake, and most of the bayous are all well-mapped with good resolution on the Navionics app when you select the "sonarChart" from the button on the lower right (red arrow). Not sure exactly what you're looking for in terms of structure (deep holes?), but my understanding is that the area of the river around the mouth of spring lake and the US 31 bridge is a good catfish haunt. If you're looking at an area that doesn't have contours, chances are it's pretty shallow or featureless. Upriver of Bur Oak Landing, where the dredged channel stops, its mostly a gently-sloping 5-10 ft deep trough, and there isn't a lot that's super-useful to map.

They give out a first place prize for each individual event too, so you always have a shot at that even if you've missed the other events: http://bassmasterfantasy.com/Prizes.aspx

The need for winter reading is substantial up here. So I have acquired a modest collection: