ItsTig

Don't give up looking around some more. There are a fair amount of medium and medium heavy spinning rods that are rated up to 3/4oz. To me St Croix rods are pretty stiff and they have a 7' medium heavy triumph. Might find one of those locally to try out. I don't have personal experience with one, but the Abu Vendetta comes in a 6'6" medium heavy. The Shimano Clarus comes in a 6'6" & 7'7" medium heavy also. I like my Clarus, but not sure I would say it leans toward broomstick. Daiwa has the Laguna & Aird-X which both have rods rated to 3/4oz, they are 2 piece though. I thought the Aird-X felt pretty stout, but only held it in the store abit. These are just a few options, and ones that might be easier to sample locally. Hopefully you won't have to sacrifice, and can find what suits you best.

The rage for $60 sounds like a pretty hard to beat deal. Have you been able to get your hands on all these rods and see what feels best to you? Take into account what is most important for you, sensitivity, power, feel, etc. I've been looking around at medium light & light rods abit lately. I was impressed with the new Lew's TP-1 Speed Sticks. The blank felt light and sensitive, and I was surprised how much I liked the Winn grip handle. They are $100, top of your budget, but worth a look.

I forgot the Zoom Magnum Shakey Head Worm. I think the pro senko might be abit fatter, and it is abit shorter. The zoom worm is 7" and comes in a 15 pack for a little over $4.

It is probably slower sinking than a senko, so not sure if it will work for you, but the Mister Twister Poc'it Shake'R worm is 6.5 inches long and a very similar shape. Again, not sure how much you need it to be like the pro senko, but I think a bass pro magnum cut tail worm is similar. It is a 16pk of worms for 4.99, and if you want just a tapered end you can always remove the little cut tail portion. A couple ideas, hope you find something that works for you, good luck!

I have been using straight 8# Suffix Invisiline Fluoro on my President 6930 for about a month now without any issues so far.

I picked some up on clearance at Dick's this spring. I don't feel like I see it talked about too much compared to many other lines. I have been loving it this year, and it has worked great for me. I have been using the 8# test fluorocoated co-poly. I really love that it does not nick and fray as easily as plain fluorocarbon. I never worry about a weak spot in the line or breaking off. Multiple times with snags on 8# test line I have pulled the line and been able to bend a 3/0 mustad hook out of snags and not lose lures. I am looking forward to trying the 6# test when i need to respool. I was definitely skeptical in the beginning, but it has worked great, and has a fan in me now. Also, the plain 100% fluorocarbon was used by Casey Ashley & Cliff Pace in their classic victories, so it seems they make some quality line all around.

Welcome! I think the Pflueger President 6930 and a 6'6" or 6'8" Medium Shimano Sellus would be a good setup for your budget. As mentioned, it does come down to personal preference, so going to a store and trying some of the display models is nice. You might find/feel something you do or don't like about a particular reel with a hands on experience. The different reel models indicate the size of the reel. A 6930 size has a line capacity of 145 yards of 6lb line or 130 yards of 8lb line. A larger model like the 6935 has a different capacity, 6/230, 8/185 and weighs 1.6 ounces more than the smaller 6930. ​A two piece pole is definitely not as strong as a 1 piece. I had a 2 piece Sellus actually and snapped it at the joint setting the hook on what I believe was a good log. :] Luckily it was not very old and I was able to return it to Dick's and replace it. I ended up spending abit more money and getting a 1 piece St. Croix. However, I liked the Sellus while I had it, and wouldn't hesitate to get a 1 piece one in the future. Whatever you get, you will catch fish, you don't need anything crazy. Have fun, and good luck!

I have never tried. I have always used flurocarbon or flurocarbon coated co-polymer.

I also enjoy watching The Informative Fisherman, but he is not strictly about bass fishing

My current first choice to put on a shakey head is a zoom big critter craw, black w/blue claws. I like Creme scoundrels too, they are cheap, durable, and have good colors. I like the live color a lot. They stand up great on shakey heads. A 4" stick worm works well.(Yum, Yamamoto, BPS, etc) Rage Tail Anaconda worm has worked well. Harder to come by locally for me, abit pricey, not too durable. They look great & work great, fun bait. You can put anything on a shakey head so I like to have a little bit of everything to cycle through if needed. Many sizes of trick worms, ribbon tail worms, stick worms, craws, creatures, grubs, etc... I am a sucker for plastics so I really like fishing a shakey head.

I used a BPS extreme spincast reel all last year. I was pretty happy with it initially, but by the end of the season it was pretty beat. What happened, and I think is a problem with all spincast reels, was that the line started to wear grooves around the line pick up pin and it was no longer smooth. The small nics/grooves in the metal then wear on the line and damage it as you reel in causing the line to get chewed up. I was wondering if I might have caused some of the problems by throwing baits that were too large for a spincast reel, I used it for everything. But I think it is just part of the design on them that the line will eventually wear into the reel and then it is pretty much just junk.

I have never fished with a weight before, but this B.A.S.S. article by Aaron Martens might give you some information on this particular problem. http://www.bassmaster.com/blog/how-add-insert-tungsten-weights

He said poke the weight through the worm, I said do not poke the weight through the worm, different? Maybe just confusion in general on how exactly it is supposed to work. I think the eye is supposed to be in the middle of the senko and then you hook it through the senko and eye, which seem like maybe it should save some wear and tear on the worm. However, I was thinking the worm sat on top of the weight and the eye actually went all the way through it and then you hooked just the eye of the weight, and not through the senko. Hope this explains my confused thought process.

It doesn't look like you're supposed to poke the weight through the worm. I am sure that would really tear them up real quick. The worm looks like it is supposed to sit on the weight, held in place by the pegs, and then only the eye of the weight should be put through the worm and then you put your hook through that eye sticking out of the worm. Just my impression from looking at them and reading the description, I have not ever seen or used them. I have only used a wacky jig for weighted presentations. I prefer fishing a wacky rig weightless, and have not put much time in with the wacky jigs.

I went to YouTube and typed in Zoom Ol Monster video and there is a video of one in a fish tank, it sinks. I was thinking maybe the Creme 10" ribbontail would be good, because their scoundrels stand up great on a shakey head, but I have not used them and could not find a video of one in a tank. I did watch a couple other tank videos, and you might want to look into the Kicker Fish Hightail ribbontail worm, it is an 11" inch worm with air pockets in the tail that make it stay up, very cool looking. I will probably have to try them myself after seeing them now!

I have not used the Ol Monster yet but I use a MegaStrike finesse shakey head with a 2/0 hook and many large worms. I have not noticed a problem with hooking up with fish, even with just a 2/0 hook. I have had good luck with a Rage Tail Anaconda worm, Rage Tail Cutr worm, Zoom G Tail Ringer(Salted), Havoc Juice worms, Culprit Ribbontails, and more. MegaStrike also makes an EWG 4/0 shakey head for larger plastics. When I have the salted zoom g tail ringer on I usually toss it, hop it around abit, maybe swim it back, just fish it abit faster/keep it moving more so it doesn't just sit on bottom.

I've been using the Hi Seas Grand Slam Fluoro coated co-poly 8# for a few months and really like it. It is really strong and abrasion resistant compared to plain fluorocarbon. The breaking strength is definitely more than 8 lbs, i just picked up some 6# to try next. I am getting pretty low on the spool and feel like I am noticing more line memory/twist now. It has been on there for a few months though, and I don't use line conditioner.

The most interesting to me is Midwest Outdoors. I also get Bassmaster, B.A.S.S. Times and In-Fisherman. I get the most use out of this forum and youtube tho really. Midwest Outdoors is like a newspaper and the May issue had 3 sections totaling 100 pages. It is not just bass fishing, but it's regional information that is interesting/useful to me.

Not the same as the bait in the OP picture. The original has one round fin on top and one small one on the bottom side. The Lucky Craft has a round fin that tapers on top and no bottom fin. Interesting lure.

Very strange. I have been using the Anaconda worm and the Cut-r tail worm that came in some MTBs without problems. I have always put them on a MegaStrike finesse shakey head, which has a 2/0 hook, and I have not had any hookup problems. Bluegill do love to nip at the ends of these baits if they're around, but since you said you saw bass with your lure it's hard telling. The only thing I can really think of is give them more time to actually eat the bait if they're short striking/playing with it. If you normally go for an immediate hookset try waiting twice as long, which may be hard to do, but if they're spitting it so quick it's hard to get them on the first strike unless you can watch em eat it. Once you feel 2,3,4 strikes/tugs then whack em. It's a strange dilemma, and hope you are able to increase your hookups.

The Gander Mountain in Champaign is definitely lacking any real bargains. I don't know if it is because they are a newer store or what. I think there were some trigger X plastics for like 2.97 instead of 4.99, that was probably the best bargain bin item. The "bargain" cranks that are like 6 bucks were on sale for $3. I think one kinda caught my eye, but didn't get my money. I overheard one of the associates telling another customer they sent a bunch of stuff back instead of marking it down. Not sure if that's a store decision or not. The Springfield one has been much better the few times I've been there, as far as real bargain bins. Finding 7" YUM Dingers in there once was like Christmas. Anyways, I kind of missed the topic with all that. I am looking forward to the Field & Stream. Always good to have options, if it sucks, natural selection will take care of it. As mentioned, doesn't seem like Gander can afford to lose any customers around here, place is lucky to have 4 cars in the lot, ever.

Loaded question. You can use the forum search and find a lot of things that way. Under fishing articles it also has a long list of good information for beginners http://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish/ Edit: Also, I have only been fishing for a year and a half. I have managed with a BPS Extreme Spincaster and a Zebco 33 Spincaster on a 6'6 medium Ugly Stik Lite and a 6'6 medium St. Croix Triumph so far. This winter I bought my first baitcaster and spinning rod/reel. Now that I am obsessed and a little more educated it's time to learn some new things. Good luck!

Sold! Very cool, that video is great. Short, sweet, doesn't even feel like a commercial. The bait just looks so neat and super easy to use. I'm sure it will be on shelves before I can fish again, and I will pick some up. Go away winter. Go away.

I just bought a LFS in December. Can't wait for the winter to give us a break here so I can give it a try. I have mine paired with a 6'6 medium St. Croix Triumph. If I'm lucky I can report back in a few months. :] I am sure it will do well with whatever you choose, goodluck!