Ersteman

If it goes on sale for $60 or less, it's a good deal. I use mine as a worm rod and I love it. I've caught a decent number of fish on it, but none over 3 pounds. I rip the hook set too and the rod's handled great. The rod isn't the most sensative if that's what you're after, but I still like the power behind it. The reel is pretty good. No issues so far. Drag works good. Reel is smooth. Sometimes Dick's has them on sale.

Thanks for your post Gimp. When you fish, where do you catch them on south holston? ie. shorline, points, islands, deep water? I've looked at google earth and targeted some spots, but that's just on a wing and a prayer.

South Holston / Watauga / Boone What's your lake preference and what has worked for you guys in the fall? I was thinking about jerkbaits/square bills/various topwater. I'm going there late Oct/early Nov and want to catch some bass, but don't know much about these clear/rocky lakes. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

Good answers guys. Very informative. I was thinking I needed to present more variety sooner when fishing. I'm very stubborn, so I need to force myself to vary it up, not so much color or retrieve because I do that naturally, but mostly varing different lures to hit different depths in the water column. I've been limited in my lure techniques prior to this year, so I'm branching out and experimenting with lures I've never used before. Sometimes it's hard to break away from old faithful, but with a new lure or technique you never know until you try. Thanks, Erst

How long does it take before you abandon your lure and fish a different presentation? I'm probably at about 45-60 mins. If I don't get bit, I'm switching. What about you guys?

lol. ok. Can you find one that has most of those features under $500? Or at least recommend one that works well under $500. Just want to get quality that lasts for under $500. That's the main goal.

Could you guys please recommend the best Fish Finder under $500. I'm looking for best (in order) functionality, features, best chrp technology, side imaging, gps, ease of use and ease of installation. I've never bought one before. I need a fish finder to use recreationally where I won't have to get another one for 5-7 years. I'll be doing the installation myself, so it has to be so the common man can do it and not some engineer. ; ) I also like to take advantage of sales, so if there's a few that fit the bill, please list multiple and I'll look for the deals. I have an iphone 6c so if it's iphone compatible, thats cool too. Thanks in advance!

Thanks Clack, I'll look for those weeds on points. Can you see the actual weeds or is it merely a color change that you're looking for? I like to go with my confidence lures and familiar lake spots, but that usually involves fishing the shoreline and structure. If the fish aren't shallow, I will have to step out of my comfort zone. Thanks Gang. Going to fish some shallow, but also want to try hitting deeper points and deeper spots. Is there a lure and color you guys have used that have caught more smallies than any other lure?

Thanks for the response Chris. Any colors that you are partial to?

I could use some help guys. I'm headed to South Holston lake and Watauga lake in Eastern Tennessee to do some fall smallmouth fishing with my brother Oct 31st, Nov 1st, and Nov 2nd. I've read up on smallmouth lures and techniques and there sure are a lot out there. I'm pretty good at catching them in small creeks, but I am a little amateurish when it comes to bigger lakes. Some say shad patterns and shallows. Some say lipless cranks. Others jigs, tubes, and crankbaits. What fall smallie lures/patters has worked for you guys? Also, where is a good spot to look for smallies on unknown lakes? (I was going to buy topo maps to check the points/drop offs/ledges and go from there). We don't have a fish finder, so it makes it interesting. Thanks for your replies! -Mike

Well, I was excited about the Zeles, until I arrived at the Gander Mtn store to pick it up. There was a large visable scratch on top of the reel and the top rod eyelet was cracked and pieces of the eyelet were broken off, so I was awarded store credit. With the store credit plus some extra cash, I grabbed the GSX Elite Baitcaster for about $75 on sale and the GSX Tourney rod for $40 on clearance. Both totalled around $115, but I like the combo a lot. So sorry, no Zeles review from me. I haven't used my new combo yet either, so I can't even tell you how that one is. Have a good one.

I'd rather catch 1 topwater fish to 2 fish caught any other way. I've missed a lot on frog fishing though, so I haven't figured that out yet. I don't miss many on Pop-R or XRap type Poppers. I use mono so it stretches and use a Medium flex rod so that when the fish takes it there's minimal resistance. I try to wait 2 seconds before setting the hook, which is a hard thing to do sometimes, but the more patient I am, the better. There's nothing like the topwater strike either. Sometimes, when the pond is quiet and there's no wind, a loud topwater strike will scares the #@!* out of you if you're not ready for it.

I have the black max combo. I love it. It's my worm rod. Great value for the money. could it cast further? probably, but it does the trick for me. I also have the silver max reel paired up with a Berkley lightning. Can't tell the difference between silver max reel and black max reel to be honest. both work great. I recently bought a spinning combo. I got a daiwa triforce 7' rod for $20 on amazon. (unbelievable value rod) with a Pflueger President spinning reel for about $50 on sale or after a rebate. The reel is a dream and it has a ton of very high reviews. Got both my brothers turned on to the president and we all love them. My brother landed a 6lb bass on it yesterday matter of fact. And I'm a firm believer that you don't have to spend a lot to get a good set up. Lots of hype out there. My $20 daiwa triforce does just fine. I've caught plenty of fish on it and I love the rod's sensitivity. Wait for labor day sales or check out gander mountain's current sale. I never buy full price and you can find great deals if you spend time looking. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for the review on the Shimano Zeles Baitcaster combo. I purchased the Zeles combo from Gander Mtn for $64 after tax and will be picking it up next week from the store. I hope it works out well! I'll post my review as well. Are you familiar with the Black Max combo? I have that one now currently. How would you compare the Black Max to the Shimano Zeles? Thanks, Mike