Senko lover

Yup, that's the Big Bite Baits Chunk. I dunno what brand the jig is.

I like a good looking combo. I don't prefer white rods, but I like them if they have the right reel on them. Just personal preference.

My brother and I normally throw something different. Like he'll throw worms, I'll throw topwater, or I'll throw worms, he'll throw a jerkbait. It helps us decide what the fish want.

He said spincast, not spinning. Like a zebco 33. I mainly see those used by live bait fisherman, but some people do use them for lures. I don't prefer them.

In my ponds, I could fish finesse, curly tail, and senko worms all day long and get tons of bites. That's what I mainly did last season. This season, I'm trying to broaden my horizon and pick up baits I haven't caught fish on.

Seriously?

I've watched all of Scott Martin's videos, whose home lake is the Big O. Man, that guy uses his heavy rods, and he strains them so much. You can hear the rod straining on the hookset. I would get a heavy rod and spool it w/ 65 pound braid if you're doing the mat/grass/pads approach. No local experience, but I'd bring spinnerbaits, flippin' and swim jigs, worms, frogs, and craws, to start off with.

I'd suggest alternating back and forth from a hop to a pause; the fish will tell you whether or not they want it hopped more or paused more. If you're fishing cover, I'd add dragging into the mix. Drag it on the bottom until you feel a log or a rock, hop it over the obstruction, then pause it. Good luck.

This, but I would wacky rig it.

Forget the chocolates, I want this: http://www.amazon.com/Valentines-Jack-Links-Beef-Jerky/dp/B00HT1A5FI

If you haven't tried the KVD 1.5s, something's missing in your life. Try them if you haven't! I really focused on jigs in the latter part of this last season, really going to fish them more this next season, as well as flukes, lizards, and craws. I mainly caught bass on worms last year, looking to change that. That's my game plan.

That is a truly fat bass. Probably stuffed itself so full of Louisiana crawdads that if it exhaled, it'd lose 5 pounds .

Kind of a lame 500th post, I should have done a long and detailed "Joe S" type of deal .

The tip is heavy when you can swing a 10 pound cement block. P.S. Yipee, I made the 500 mark!

Holy cow, that thing is gorgeous! This is one hobby where "made in Japan" isn't always a bad thing.

Dream: I spend a ton on fishing, but it pays for itself every year when I win the Forrest Wood Cup and Angler of the Year. Plus, my sponsorships get me upwards of $70,000 dollars, so fishing essentially gives me my income. Reality: HA.......I spend too much and don't get any of it back.

We'll need a pic for that one lol . I've dreamed about fishing a couple times, and I've been up at night losing sleep over the next morning's fishing so many times.

M/H should work, I've heard the Ghost is a great all round rod.

Well, I love senkos.

It'd be pretty cool to see one of these come out: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Apple-patents-GoPro-like-wearable-camera/articleshow/45881577.cms

Sounds like you have a reel problem there.

That's a rather loaded question! I've heard that the Tatula is a fantastic reel for the price, but you can't go wrong with any of them.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/why-we-fish.html

Been wondering about this myself, as my rod is MH/f, so thanks for the help.

A small popper, when I say small I mean not a fly bug, but probably 1/2 the size of a Rebel Pop'r. Those things will get hit from bluegill as well as small bass, and they're a lot of fun to use when you know there's bream hanging around but the bass won't bite.