Trap-n-Fish

I tried a bunch of lures with no success but the one that annoyed me the most was the Jitterbug. The front treble hook would foul on my line 9 out of 10 casts.

One rod I've never seen anyone mention but always reach for when space limits me to one rod is a Diawa Crossfire.(Insert laugh track here.) It's probably the least expensive rod they make, $20 at Academy Sports. I picked up a 6'6" m/f for my girlfriend when she broke the tip on her Tournament Choice Lava combo rod and swapped the reel over. Together they make a lightweight, sensitive, perfectly balanced combo. She has since given up on fishing so now I use it when no one is looking (the reel is pink).

I hadn't thought of that. I'll give it a try.

I trap, trap, and then I trap some more.

I picked up a 7' MH spinning version a little while back and put a Shimano Sienna 2500 on it. The combo balances pretty well. I don't think the rod is totally junk but I do have a couple complaints. One I can live with, the other is a deal breaker for me. The handle is just a little short for me but I can deal with it. The deal breaker is the reel seat. I hate it. Every time I cast I can feel the reel move. I've tightened it down as far as I dare and can still feel it move. Perhaps a bit smaller and lighter reel would eliminate the movement but it would change the balance making it more tip heavy than I would like. It's not total junk but I'm gonna put her on the launching pad and send her away from here.

I only have 1 casting combo which I use for pitching jigs and creature baits. For everything else I use spinning gear.

I use 30# braid with a leader on mine.

On the weekends or anytime work takes me near a place where i can put a line in the water. I keep a rod in my work truck for "pop quizzes".

I fished a pond the other day where the bass were chasing minnows and had decent results with a super fluke.

I fish mostly shallow water. 3' or less on the flats and maybe 5 or 6' in the creek channel. On the flats a Cotton Cordell Ratella or a BPS super shallow squarebill work best. In the creek channel the Ratella or an H2O model S.

Hello Folks! My name is Steve and I just started bass fishing about a month ago. My prior fishing experience was a little nighttime catfishing and fishing for rainbows in a small stocked stream below a hatchery. You know the kind of place. People are lined up on the banks, practically shoulder to shoulder, catching tame trout that can clearly see every angler. I've been lurking around here for a month watching videos and reading articles and threads to learn as much as I can. This week I've been lucky enough to spend a couple of days fishing and the info I've found has helped tremendously, particularly the advice to throw a lipless crankbait when the bass are feeding on shad. I've fallen in love with the things. Anyway, this is me. I'll be around a lot. I kinda like it here.