Ersteman

We'll, for me and my preferences, I prefer longer rods than other people in like situations. I associated it with height; I guess it could just be preference, so to each his own. Also, I fully understand your point about varying rod heights to a particular situation. I recently got a 6'6" rod for kayak jig fishing. We'll see how that goes.

Get an Abu Garcia Veritas, which is on sale right now for $80 at TW and DSG, and use the rest of the money to buy gear. You could also go with a Dobyns Fury 734C, which is labeled as Heavy, but isn't going to be stiff like most heavy rods. They look really sweet if you like matt black with green trim. Also, if you're taller like I am, go with a rod over 7', you'll thank me later. If you're average/shorter person, you might be fine with a 7'. Haven't fished a Mojo, so no comment there.

Be Smart, Buy Sieberts.

Incredible Fish and great release. Class act!

Interesting. I'm using 30lb and 40lb braid and yes, it's bedding into the spool.

I use Berkley Professional Grade Braid when flipping and pitching jigs. After a handful of uses, the coating on the braid wears off and the braid looks thicker and not as smooth. The line doesn't come off the reel smooth and it gets caught in the reel sometimes or pinches on itself, preventing a smooth pitch or flip. My reel is set properly because I can pitch and flip just fine when the coating on the braid is there. Do you have any thoughts on what the issue could be? Is it the line? Is there something I'm not aware of? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks

I was in high school and I went out fishing with my brother and his friend. We rented a boat and rowed across the lake. At dusk, we were fishing medium running orance rapala crankbaits. I threw mine to the shore and a 5 pound catfish crushed it. I saw another fish cruising with him so my brother's friend threw his lure there and hooked into another 5 pound catfish. Mine got off or broke the line. My brother's friend landed his and it was the biggest fish I had ever seen at that time and I swore it was 10 pounds. I realized at that point I needed stronger rods and had to upgrade from my closed face zebco reels. And by the way, the fish was just over 5 pounds, not 10. A real eye opener.

I've also lost some fish on frogs, even after reading these forums. If you are determined to frog fish, then go for it. But another presentation might be just as satisfying. I'd rather spend my time with presentations that work better for me. I have just as much fun seeing topwater blowups on other topwater baits and my hookup rates are 95%+.

I went with the Veritas ML 6' 9" rod and the Pflueger Supreme 30 size reel. Extremely light and sensitive. The guide I use when I go on vacation turned me onto this combo and I couldn't be happier. I got the rod from a camping site and the reel from ebay. Combo cost me $152.

Perfect Al, thanks! Can't believe you are so close to where we'll be! haha. I'll touch base with you as the time gets near. In the meantime, stay cool. And thanks for your service. -Mike

Agreed Blue. Yah, Oregon, I need to shake the 'being stuck on a plan' thing, but I get torn at times, when I'm trying to increase confidence in a weakness I have, but if the fish don't like that particular presentation, then how am I supposed to gain confidence in it. It's quite a conundrum.

Hi, I'm going to Douglas Lake over Thanksgiving and my brother is bringing his boat, so we're going to go out fishing a few times. We're staying just southeast of Dandridge close to here: 1750 Breezie Point Lane Dandridge, TN 37725 Would you mind helping a few newbies out on the lake on how to locate fish at that time of year and maybe even PM me a spot or area to try. We're catch and release fisherman, who rarely get time to get together and fish, so if we could catch a few, it would really make our day. Based on what I've researched, it seems there's a rock ledge by the 92 Bridge. And Indian Creek is close by, would it be worth a try? Or is it better to search coves for busting shad? We're trying to find areas that are relatively close to the address I posted above, as my brother's boat doesn't go very fast so we don't have the whole lake at our disposal. I was also going to talk to the guy at the bait shop, but wanted to ask you guys first, as Bass Resource members have always been really helpful and very knowledgeable. Thank you for whatever you can offer me. -Mike

What does confident fishing mean to you? What are things you've done to increase confidence?

Good stuff. Thanks.

Thanks. Other than the Niagara River event, how do anglers qualify for the classic now? Points?

I searched a bit, but don't have time to do more digging. I read that KVD gets a Classic berth with his win this past weekend on Niagara. Why didn't any of his prior wins this year qualify him for the Classic in 2017? An answer or link to an article would with the answers are both fine. Thanks.

Thanks guys. I have a few Keitechs I will try.

I want to add a large soft plastic swimbait on the Bubba Shot and wanted to fish it deep on Douglas Lake with a vertical presentation. Can you recommend a soft plastic swimbait(that doesn't break the bank) to put on my beefier drop shot rig? I don't want it to float too high or sink too low. I was thinking giving the magnum fluke a try, but I don't want to buy a bunch of baits to have them not work. Have you guys tried this before? The reason for doing the Bubba Drop shot instead of fishing a regular swimbait set up is because I wanted a more vertical presentation. Does anyone see any problems with attempting this technique? I was going to go with something like 40lb braid with a 8 or 10lb fluoro leader.

It's awesome isn't it. Sounds like the first of many adventures. I choose to fish early mornings to beat the wind as much as I can. I haven't tried a wind sock yet. Glad to hear your first day was a success.

Tendinitis of any kind sucks. Due to tendons healing slower than muscles, you have to give yourself plenty of rest to recover. I'm talking 3 weeks to 2 months of rest to fully recover. Tendons can trick you too. You'll feel good but they are not able to sustain casting, and you'll hurt the 2nd day after casting. But once youre fully healed, you have to ease into muscle strengthening exercises on a regular basis; increasing the reps/weight as you feel stringer. Then once you're conditioned, you can ease back into it, continuing to rest and also muscle train. Only then will you fully recover. I've had tendonitis playing tennis, rock climbing, and fishing. When you get older you have to take more action. And it really sucks to put down the rod for a long period of time but sometimes it's the best thing to do.

Just curious as to the reasons why you would use this technique over standard pitching and flipping? Thanks

What a great day. What river were you on and what section of it? Is it the 'chucky?

Agreed. It's a must have for me as well. Works like a dream on mono, especially spraying the reel the night before fishing. It really lets it sit in and relaxes the mono.

I took my 20 month old daughter fishing for the first time and she loved it. I went to a small pond. She touched her first bass with both hands. She spent most of the time throwing rocks in the pond, but it was really great having her their with me. When it was time to leave, she threw the biggest fit crying at the top of her lungs. I guess I have a new fishing buddy now. Cheers!

I was in the same spot you were in 2 years ago. I bought the Simms gloves and thought they were a bit pricy, but they really have been worth it. I don't fish all that much, but I still have them and use them almost everytime I go out. They are thin and flexable and prevent me from getting burned. 100% worth it and highly recommend them.