Jazzybass

More time throwing jigs, shaky heads, swim baits. Generally fishing deeper, getting comfortable in 20-30 feet of water or more. Learning my new Garmin sonar unit.

With the gift card, I and $20 trade-in sale, I'm locked in with BPS. Wish I had seen the TW sale before I got the Fury. I will look at St. Croix and Fenwick too. Thanks for taking time to respond, SCbassin.

Holiday Greetings, fellow anglers- I'm trying to decide on a course of action. With a Bass Pro Shops gift card, I want to take advantage of the annual Feb. trade-in sale and purchase a new rod. I'll probably trade in an Ugly Stick. Here's the situation: Among my equipment collection are 2 MH Veritas rods and a ML Berkley Lightning rod. I just bought a M, fast tip Dobyns Fury. Used it once for about an hour in a pond and it seems like a very good choice. Targeted fish are spotted and LM bass. What I want to know from my learned peers is the following: Should I replace one of the Veritas rods or the Berkley rod? I will use the ML for drop shotting/shaky head and the MH for Texas rigs and skirted/non-skirted jigs. I never see the Berkley rods listed among the better equipment, but the Veritas seems to be popular in its price range. I'm looking in the $100-$150 range and it seems like the better choices are 1) another Fury, 2) St. Croix Mojo Bass rod or a Fenwick HMG or Fenwick Elite Tech. Thanks in advance for your help. Here's to a great year of fishing for all of us!

Thanks again on behalf of my fishing buddy to all my fellow members for your wisdom and time. Tight lines!

Thanks for your research- when you say 2006 and later, do you mean before 2006?

A fishing buddy is looking at a Triton boat with a Johnson motor. It's about 5 years old. He has never owned a Johnson, and prefers Yamahas and Mercs. Any opinions of the 100+ hp Johnsons? Thanks for your iinput!

A fluke, a Texas rigged worm or a Heddon Tiny torpedo will all work. They have for me in the past week when seeing bass cruise the banks.

I never dragged the spoon on the bottom, but pulled it slowly over pads or heavy weeds. In open water around weeds and pads, retrieve it fast enough to keep the wobble going on the spoon. I used a swivel to reduce line twist.

With heavy vegetation, fish weedless. Try a Johnson Silver Minnow with a white grub trailer. Bring the spoon slowly over the weeds/pads, hitting the spaces in between and then let it fall off into the water when you get to an edge. You can also try a Texas rig worm, both weighted and unwieghted..

Additional recommendations: Some plastic worms (black,junebug, maybe chartreuse for SMB) bullet sinkers, #2 offset worm hooks, a small sharpening stone, small o rings for your Senko baits to help them last longer. For many years I had a Radisson Sportspal canoe. It weighs 48 lbs or so and can be carried on top of the car using foam blocks. Very easy to paddle or add a trolling motor. Good fishing!

The Bandit crankbait in Baby Bass has worked for SMB and LMB. Depth can be 8-9 feet and the one I used most was more shallow diving than that.

Guides recommend fish head spins, senko-type baits, drop shot, shaky head worms and certain crankbaits. I found Texas rig worms productive in spring. Spots seem to like the color chartreuse Buy topo maps to find launches, depths, points, etc. Have only fished on Lanier for one season, so cannot be more help. Check Ryan Coleman's website for fishing reports. He is a top guide here.

Wacky rigging- several ways. Some like to use an o ring to keep the bait longer. Put the ring around the middle of the senko, run the hook through the senko and inside the o ring. Use an extra wide gap hook, like a 2/0. Use a finishing nail in one end for extra weight or just a piece of lead shot on the line. Use no added weight at all. Count down the senko as it sinks, twitching it slightly as it falls. Watch how quickly it falls to estimate depth you want it to go.

Latest update - My fishing pal cleaned off the original grease and re-lubed the reel. He recommended I add more line to the spool, as I had minimal yardage, to avoid backlashes. The rod is actually 6 1/2' and is a cranking rod by Skeete Reese, so the equipment is right for what I use it for. I added more line, tried a few casts in the yard found I was getting bad backlashes, so I removed about 30' of line, dialed up the knob from 4 to nearly 6 and things were a bit better. Conclusion: no need to buy a new rig. More practice is needed to minimize backlash and work on accuracy & distance. Since temps will be in the 20's-30's this week, I may wait a while to get back out, butmy goal is to be able to grab the rig when I want and not fear a backlash will keep me from wetting lines. Thanks once more to fellow members for all your suggestions and help. Will spend lots of time on this site as I did today, watching videos, reading articles and learning more about this pasttime we all enjoy. Prespawn is only a few weeks away.

Years ago, in my Sportspal canoe, I caught my own lure, lost about 2 hours before in the Mohawk River. It was a Big O.

I've hade some luck vs spotted bass using a white/chartreuse bait with either a 3 1/2 inch white fluke with sparkles or a plain white 3 inch grub.

I believe I followed the instructions, which I still have. Maybe I should take them with me tomorrow when my fishing buddy cleans the reel. I'm not offended,Jaderose. When it comes to bass fishing, and most other things, I greatly accept suggestions and input. Though I have fished for a while, that was in the northeast (NY), not in the south and I always had spinning tackle, even when fishing the pads and milfoil. I'm constantly on the lookout for ideas on lures and techniques that will work here on the artificial impoundments of my new state of GA. Not looking to get into tournaments, but catching is always better than fishing, though any day on the water is a good one, as long as I stay in the boat.

Again, thanks to all who took time out of their day to provide counsel on this topic. I have used only mono on this reel- 12 lb test so far. I can downsize to 10, as most of my catches are under 2 lbs. on Lake Lanier (new to me). A friend who fishes tourneys has offered to clean my reel and allow me to try one of his 6'6" rods in combination with the PQ. I will see what kind of distance I get after this and some practice, holding off on a new purchase. Looking forward to reading lots of posts on all the topics and will see especially if there are tips on fishing Lanier, without expensive electronics. Most days were not productive for me after the spring. I do not use crankbaits as frequently as soft plastics like flukes and worms and love topwater, of course. I'm told brush hogs are a good bet here. Lots of homework to do before I get on the water..... Like I used to say in meetings and committees: none of us is as smart as all of us.

I believe I have 4 or 5 of the six pins disabled and the spool is very loose, so maybe re-lubing and trying the reel on a 6'6" or 7' rod will give me a better idea of what I should do. Thanks very much for your input, guys. I'll be reading up on previous posts to educate myself on baitcasters. Tight lines in 2015!

I use it for crank baits or topwater only, getting accustomed to baitcast gear after using spinning tackle for decades. It probably goes 60 feet or so. I need more distance, as I want it mostly for deeper cranking on a clear lake and short casts will not get the bait down where it should be for any length of time. I fish off of a 165 Bass Tracker, and have ample room to cast.

Yes, Pfleuger President- I have two and use them for spots. No problems after the first season. They're very smooth.

New to the forum....looking to change out a new reel used about 6 times- a BPS Pro Qualifier. I put it on a Skeete Reese 6' M baitcast rod and do not get much distance on my casts, no matter how much weight on the line or power I put into it. I'm thinking about an Abu Garcia Orra 2 SX, which seems to receive good reviews. I'd appreciate some help from other members in selecting the best reel for about $100. Should I also change rods to a 6'6" M for better distance, or will a better reel provide the extra distance I'm looking for when tossing crankbaits? Thanks in advance for your help.