BaitMonkey1984

I would have to agree with the majority of previous posts, a 7' MH/F action should be the way to go unless you are very short or plan on doing a lot of kayak fishing. In those cases, I would opt for a smaller rod 6'6. Get to the store and see what feels comfortable in your hand.

I fish mostly wacky, I want to change that. How do you retrieve a texas rigged worm (both a stick bait and a curly tail worm)? For whatever reason I have had success dragging craws and creatures but no success dragging a worm. Also, not much success popping a worm off the bottom. Thanks for the help

16lb bass pro flurocarbon xps. I went from cheap tribune monofilament to braid after a year or two of fishing. I just started paying more attention to my line, and have floor on my cranking and shaky head combos and haven't had any problems with this line, however some line conditioner helps with casting. Especially with those lighter cranks.

So your telling me it is not too late to trade my law degree in for the life of a tournament angler? congrats

Berkley Havoc, I love the uniqueness of these baits and they all catch fish. The cheap price is an added bonus. Storm Arashi square bills come in a very close second.

I just got these in from BPS. I was disappointed because I thought they would be a lot wider. I was expecting the width to be comparable to a 5" senko but they are much skinnier. Only benefit is that they may have more action on the fall. I guess I have to wait for soft water to see how they do with catching fish, but in any event they will present the fish with a presentation that they have not seen before on my waters, so they still have potential.

Start learning new knots, techniques, and look for a different lure to present a bait the fish have never seen. Also, I usually use winter to stock up on all terminal tackle, line, and all baits I am going to need for the next year. I have purchased four new combos already and dialed those in the backyard after the lake froze. I like to get everything clean and ready to go for spring. Spend time watching/reading about fishing online and going to as much sportsman expos as possible, because if you sit idly by in the house you will inevitably end up on TW with close to a 100 lbs of soft plastics. At least thats what happens to me, but after all I am the bait monkey reincarnated.

I generally fish mostly braid, so take this for what its worth, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am incorrect. That being said, I believe it goes something like this- mono for topwater, fluorocarbon for deeper cranking, and braid/flurocarbon for everything in between.

Welcome to the forums and the sport. In my opinion, one of the best ways to consistently catch fish is by dead sticking a wacky worm, especially a Gary Yamamoto Senko. They just wiggle better than any other bait on the market in my opinion. Give it a try and you will see what I mean! Enjoy.

Say goodbye to all your spare time and spare money- welcome to the madness that is bass fishing.

Welcome to the forums

Power Pro Slick 8 on all my rods and reels, with the exception of a few finesse presentations that I use a few 8lb fluorocarbons.

Gotta join the majority here and say boat. You would be able to get a nice setup for $25k. I would opt for a gently used fiberglass than opting for a new aluminum boat- unless you are subject to HP limitations in your area. It is a difficult choice, however I love hopping in the boat and exploring new waters. Also, the cost of maintaining the pond has got to be significant, both in time and money. I would rather be able to hop in my Ranger knowing I am going find fish , rather than playing biologist and trying to figure out why my pond isn't producing. I guess I am just not of a " pondmeister" mindset, yet.

I started throwing throwing cranks as one of my primary baits last year, mainly due to watching Randy Howell clobber them in the classic. Just getting into baitcasters and just could not resist getting this rod . I paired it up with an abu garcia orra 5:3:1 and absolutely love it, I think you will enjoy it too- it is comparable to many rods that I have in $150+ price point for sensitivity. For not more than the cost of an ugly stick- I think it is a no brainer. Also.On TW website, there is a quote by Skeet that says he uses each of these rods- so I trust this is the same rod he uses for cranks. I only wish that they came in a color besides yellow- the front of the deck is starting to look like a rainbow with the yellow rods, a few orange carrot sticks, some blue st croixs...

What is the red spot on the tail of the bass in the first picture- never seen that before.

I am going to rename my "Panic box" to the "Fast bag" , it sounds a lot less desperate. I agree with what the others said- downsize to what you will realistically throw. I like to bring a few of each style of bait- i.e. seance, crank bait, grubs, jigs, creatures but only a few, and only a few color selections if I have limited time/limited space. Very rarely do I find myself saying I wish i had this worm, or that crank bait and quite to you surprise instead of retying frequently you get more time in the strike zone = more fish.

I have had two of these rods. Kicked one over the side of boat while unhooking a fish, maybe I should tell people I just went Ike and make the story more interesting. Liked the rod so much I immediately bought the same setup the next day, and it is my go to wacky rigged senko rod. Sensitive tip but plenty of backbone. I never felt like I was underpowered with this rod or that it was built cheap, I think you got two bad rods. I would return it and try one last time because it has been a great rod for me and everyone that I know that has used it. I would check the serial numbers on the rod you got, and try to get a new rod far from your number, or even from a different store location, in order to avoid some of the bad batch of rods you seem to have run into. Just my two cents.

Congrats and nice small to start the year. Our lakes are frozen here, and got out a few feet on the ice but def. not safe enough for ice fishing. I didn't let that keep me from really dialing in some of my new bait cater setups in the backyard...only four more short months.

Organization is key. I am one of the guys who believes I need as much lure selections as the guys fishing the Elites. However, I have everything organized and know exactly what I have, in what size, and what colors- so If I want something I know what I have to fit the bill, and where to get it. If you can't find it/forget it you have too much. However, I would never admit this to the female population.

Good Morning NE'sters. I just purchased the 4th new rod and reel combo since taking the boat of the lake late October (start of my hunting season). Also, several trips to BPS and orders online added somewhere around 20 new jigs, 20 new crank baits, and approximately 40 new bags of soft plastics. Just wondering if everyone else is already going stir crazy like me already, as it usually takes me till February to start buying in bulk. If so what are you buying.

Welcome to the Forum. I live on the NH/Mass border- shoot me a PM we may be able to help each other with local knowledge if we fish the same water. I have an older Ranger too (04 R81vs).

Why does the bait monkey always get a bad name...

I am the BaitMonkey.

I change my line at the beginning of each year, yet some of my go to rods start to show line wear in the middle of the season. I have not had any issues with the line weakening, as I use Power Pro 10 lb test and have reeled in plenty of lunkers with the line in this worn condition. However, after begin curious as to line conditioner, not only did it revive the color, as mentioned above, but it improved casting distance greatly. I will never not use this product again. Well worth the couple of bucks.

I started using soft plastics two years ago, and now it is my go to. I would estimate that I have over 500 bags of soft plastics. I keep them in 3700 boxes base upon color, size, technique. If they are hitting black/brown worms I grab one 3700 and have 16+ types of worms to choose for. However, if I am going out after work, or not taking the boat out, I want to downsize my lures. I therefore keep a 3700 box of my "go to" lures. That includes only a few of each soft plastic, but everything I could want to use on a short trip.