EmersonFish

As far as specific rods/reels go, you'll get a million different answers, based on preference. As far as the characteristics of the rod (or reel for that matter), that's not set in stone either. I won't get too detailed, but "do-it-all", although you would think it is self-explanatory, means different things to different people. A "do-it-all" rod in Florida is a lot different than a "do-it-all" rod here in the deep, clear, lakes I primarily fish in Missouri. You should let people know what kind of water you fish most of the time. Will this "do-it-all" be expected to throw crankbaits? Some people don't put those under the "do-it-all" rod umbrella. That's asking a lot of a rod. But if you can only afford one rod, I guess you do what you can. My early advice if you are going to spend between $150-200 on a combo is: - Just settle on closer to $200. - Try to find a rod that meets the specifications you like on clearance. If you are not going to buy an entire set of a certain model, you will be able to find amazing deals on rods that they are restyling or closing out somewhere online. - Look at the many threads regarding reels in the $100 range. There are a ton of them. I think a Lew's LFS at the at price range is hard to beat, but I'm not going to pretend like I've owned every reel. I'm sure some people will give some input here as well.

Before you even get in the truck to head toward the lake, consider every negative that is outside of your control, plan for it the best you can, give yourself one sentence to cuss about it to your partner if you absolutely must vent, and then don't complain about it for the rest of the day. Is it going to be particularly windy that day? Okay. You can't change that. You know it's coming. Why let it bug you all day? A big cold front has moved in? Dress appropriately. Think about how the front will impact the fish. Try some tactics you've learned about bassresource.com. Are there going to be a lot of jet skis and ski boats running back and forth all day? Alright. You don't own the lake. That comes with the territory. Focus on getting better at fishing in conditions that are less than ideal. If you can't possibly enjoy the experience in those conditions, stay home.

I'm like a lot of people. Boredom; particularly related to bad weather. Videos on Facebook that certain sites put out catch my attention. Every time I get a new rod I have to get some new baits that I will use on that rod to give that rod a fighting chance at success.

I'll be at Table Rock in May, Lord willing. That's a long way from Florida, in more ways than one. Maybe somebody else will pop up on here that plans on hitting Table Rock. If I really like it, can afford it, and can get another day off of work, I might hit Grand Lake (OK) a couple of weeks later.

I just looked at my Plano 3707 (medium crankbait). It has 11 slots and easily holds 22 jerks. That's two per compartment, but they are narrow and they don't get hung on each other. Less than $15.

The Okuma Avenger baitfeeder mentioned by a couple of people is a fine, affordable spinning reel that is easy to find and will suit your needs just fine along with that Ugly Stik Catfish.

I use a Plano Elite Medium Crankbait organizer. The slots are about perfect to put two jerkbaits in each one end-to-end. They don't cost much and, not seeing one in front of me, I think one will hold 16 typical jerks. I could be wrong, but it's at least 16.

Good for Andy. Luckily, if the early reviews are accurate, this is an affordable rod that is worthy of the Loomis name; so I could buy one with my own money and see what I think. Still, I'd rather be Andy. Curious to know which E6X model he chooses.

2014 was an 'D'. Injury in my left foot has had me in a cast or boot much of the year. I bought a project boat that took up more of my free time than I would have liked it to, and I still just have a crumby boat to show for it. I'm about as broke as I can remember being. Did not fish a single tournament all year. Family health issues have taken priority over leisure. I am not going to miss 2014 at all. Only thing that kept it from being an 'F' was a trip to Lake Palestine in Texas early in the year where I was pounding them for 5 days straight. It was pretty much downhill from there.

I only eat 8 pounders. I'm kidding of course. Bass taste good when prepared well. Not as good as other fish, but everything can't be the best. There are some fisheries where I wish they would encourage people to keep more bass. Put a reasonable slot limit up along with some recipe ideas. Thin the herd a little.

I bought one as a lower price temporary reel to use on a rod I got free at a tournament. It was the only cheap 'lefty' I could find at the time. I know everyone assumes that it's operator error on your part, but in fairness I will say: I had been using baitcasters for years without issue before that Black Max, and have used them for years without issue since; and that thing was a pain in the backside. To be fair to the reel, mine was a previous version, and more than likely, mine was a lemon. But I'll just put it out there that it's not beyond the realm of possibility that you are doing things just fine and your reel is a lemon too. If that's the case, get rid of it. It isn't worth the hassle.

As for the date, I don't see why the Classic needs to be a set time of year for the rest of history. It could be moved around the calendar a bit in order to open up more water. I know that from a marketing standpoint, they'd love to have a weekend to point to every year, but I think they'll find that the bass fishing community will eventually be more demanding about them spreading the wealth a bit. As for the tournament being a grind? Look at golf. They set the "Majors" up so that often only one or two players even break par. They don't have their premiere events on courses where you have to shoot 63 or 64 every day to have a chance. I like for the Classic to be that way to a degree. Tournaments where there are a lot of different techniques in play as guys try to solve the puzzle.

Ott Defoe caught a really nice Striper on Day 1 of the Classic. I bet for a moment there his heart was racing, but he probably realized pretty quick he wasn't dealing with a black bass.

A good way to get your feet wet is a local club where they have relatively small field "buddy" tournaments. I was like you. Had my own boat, and wasn't interested in being a co-angler. At the same time I was new to the game and didn't want the pressure of tournaments where I was assigned a co-angler. Of course, you have to have a "buddy." Luckily, I could fish with my dad, and we knew where each other stood. The only downside I see in that in hindsight is getting a little too comfortable. I wish I would have pushed myself more, and fishing with my dad didn't accomplish that as much as if I would have gone in another direction. But now that I've got more confidence, and that my dad has retired from the game, I can start to take on new challenges. I'm just way behind schedule. As for the boat, I fish out of a Tracker Pro Team 185. Have since 2000. There have been more than a few tourneys where we were the only ones in the field in an aluminum ride, and I never really thought anything of it. When you are in line with the weigh-in bags, it don't matter what boat the fish rode in on. Not saying there haven't been times I wished I had a nice, wide, glass boat; but that will come. In most club tournaments I've seen, slightly older glass boats were a lot more common than the brand new, high dollar rides. You'd probably get more negative attention if you had a $50,000.00 boat and came to the weigh-in with an empty bag.

That's a pretty wide range of applications for one rod. People who catfish a lot are just like bass fisherman; they have a variety of rods/reels for different techniques and situations. If I were going to sell someone on a versatile setup that could be used from shore with j-hooks, a boat with circles, smaller channels to fairly big blues, I'd lean toward a Tangling With Catfish Whisker Whip with an Abu Garcia 6500 C3.

I'm behind the times too. Just mindlessly do it while I'm watching something on TV. I don't have a pit crew mentality about that particular project. But it's interesting to see what other people are up to.

This is true. For my part, when I do weigh fish, which isn't terribly frequently, it's more of a "competing against myself/personal satisfaction" thing. I assume most guys are this way. Aside from people never believing anyone or caring, when it comes to bragging about fish on the internet and such; it's also not a fair fight. Some people live in Florida, I live in Missouri, others live in Montana. All very different playing fields. Even within a state, what qualifies as a significant catch is quite different. But I know when I've caught something relatively noteworthy, and I might want to remember it for future reference, and be able to give an accurate account to others who can appreciate it.

Like you, I was very curious about this reel. Wanted the 100 size. Couldn't believe it would have 14 lb max drag, weigh less than 6 oz., and be so cheap. I would stop by the only Academy around me hoping to see one in person, but they never have them. Finally they had a 300 size for me to look at. It seemed awfully nice. Way too big for my purposes; but super smooth and seemed well built. Only thing I didn't like was the handle knob. I should have just ordered the 100 right then, but I hate buying something I've never seen in person. Ended up buying a Pflueger. I do have the cheaper H2O Maxim that I bought on sale for $30 (regular $60) to temporarily put on a spinning rod. I ended up putting it on a rod in place of a Shimano Sedona because I like the Maxim a lot better than the Sedona. Not sure any of that helps, other than to say that although I have never owned the reel, the one I handled seemed very nice for the money, and my cheaper H2O spinning reel has performed much better than I would have expected it to. Unfortunately, I found the same thing you have; that there is not a lot of info out there from real fishermen about this reel. Maybe you'll have to be the guinea pig and report back.

I don't remember the amount, but I remember thinking my gas was paid for that weekend. I've had a few of those. My goal in the next few years is to win one these Big Bass Bash style tournaments where I can win enough money for a good used truck and an upgraded used boat (dream big, right?). My wife will be using that money for siding and/or a new deck, by the way; but it would have been enough for the stuff I want.

My dad and I fished the USA Bassin, Table Rock Division, a few years ago. They ran the tournaments just fine. Pretty laid back. You won't get rich out there, but guys are competitive enough. Kicked our butts. There was one tournament where I would have bet anything a couple of short fish were weighed. They at least should have been put on the board. Two of my fish at that very same tournament did meet the board. Wasn't worth complaining about at the time, but kind it reeked of the good old boy stuff you'll run into no matter where you go. We would have kept fishing it but my dad's arthritis has gotten to the point where those tournaments are just too much for him. He only had a rod in his hand about 1/3 of the time as it was. I need to find a new partner and a trail to fish this Spring pretty quick.

Did not see his remarks about equipment, but I know he was relying heavily on electronics, searching for fish to target in deep water with a drop shot. Not that everyone else isn't relying on electronics. If it were a rod issue, he would never admit it, under the circumstances. Those things could be falling apart out there and he wouldn't draw attention to it. Not sure if it was brought up, but his father passed away last night as well. That alone, never mind the weather and equipment issues, would make it hard to be as focused as you need to be to compete at this level.

I wrote a tweet along those lines where I asked what was more hyped, the '50 Shades of Grey' movie or the Rapala Shadow Rap? It is all over the place for sure. I will admit that they have my attention. At $9, it's worth a shot, versus what we pay for some of the other jerkbaits on the market.

The bottom line is, you may have found a great spot on your local lake, but not because it is indicative of some universal truth that you can apply to lakes in general, or even your own lake all the time, for that matter. I'm not saying look a gift horse in the mouth. Fish that area and catch 'em; but don't lean on it to the exclusion of learning as much as you can about your body of water. You might find a rock pile where a creek channel meets the main channel where you smash 'em. But you're not going to find it pounding that weed bed for the rest of your life. Most of us who have a home lake have a little "honey hole" we can count on certain times of the year. I try not to be seen fishing mine too much. It will end up being some other cats honey hole before you know it.

First of all, you are right, and we are lucky that we never have to choose between cover and structure. They go hand in hand. The "slowly sloping bank" you referenced with the weeds on it is structure. The fact that it had weeds (cover) on it distinguished it from other slowly sloping banks, and makes it effective. You are probably less confident on the other structure you mentioned because those areas probably do hold fish that are more transient, as the baitfish are. But once you locate fish in those areas, you can find some tremendous fishing. And even in those areas, you want to look for rock piles, sunken trees, and others features to concentrate on if you can. Whether cover with very little structure, which I assume, for the purposes of this discussion, the closest example would be a piece of cover in the middle of a flat or slowly sloping bank; versus structure with no cover, which could be a manmade wall or a long, clean ledge or bluff I guess, is more effective? There are a lot of variables of course. Time of year, recent weather, smallmouth or spots vs. largemouth, type of body of water, etc... Being a Missouri guy, fishing deep, clear water reservoirs as I do, I'd lean toward the structure to produce more consistently throughout the year.

There are a lot of variables when it comes to pitching, in particular (distance, weight of the bait, action of the rod, line type, obstructions in the way, etc...). The bottom line is, you want to get your bait to your target and enter the water as quietly as possible. The simple answer is, learn the basic pitching technique that I assume is demonstrated in many videos (I haven't looked myself), and practice with a number of different lures at a number of different distance and angles. What you'll find over time as you target fish this way more and more is that you are making a number of different casts to get the job done without even thinking about it. It becomes second nature to roll cast a bait to a more distant target one cast, then turn around and almost backhand swing your bait in behind the low hanging branches of a tree the very next cast. None of this stuff may look textbook, but it gets the job done. You just need time with a rod in your hand. You may flick your wrist more than the next guy. As long as you are hitting your targets, not spooking fish, and not picking line out of your spool every third cast, you are doing just fine. Then you can start skipping baits. That's for another thread.