the reel ess

May I introduce you to the 6-bass rod system? And then there are other species and specialties like dedicated hollow body frog and swimbait rods.

My buddy caught an 8 lb bass one winter while trolling jigs for crappie. It's not uncommon. In fact, it's essentially the float/fly method. He also uses a crappie trolling crankbait in spring for bass with some success. I have a combo that's "old school medium" spinning rod and a light reel. It has 6 lb test mono on it. I use it for Rooster Tails and Beetle Spins. I'll take it down to the creek sometimes or to my buddy's pond that's full of stunted bass. It's a hoot because that combo catches anything in the water. 8 lb. would probably work better for targeting bass though. I miss the hookset a bit with the whippy rod and light line even with those light wire hooks.

A lighter jighead and a bigger trailer helps.

Yes. Bluegill got really big and are competing with bass for the same minnows. You're right. They aren't growing because they're eating very little. If it's public, there's not much you can do. You can only take your legal limit. That minimum size is exactly the opposite of what they should encourage people to do. They need to persecute the dinks and always leave the big gals. If it's managed by the state, you can probably speak with a DNR biologist about them doing a shock study. They might remove some. My buddy's pond is like this, and we keep everything there. The fish bellies are concaved sometimes. The fish are desperate and will bite just about anything. They're starving. I've caught 50 in a couple hours there before. And the bluegill have shoulders.

I don't fish from a big boat much. And when I do, I'm on the back deck, so skipping is not easy. But from the kayak, I've learned to skip under things reasonably well. there's a touch to it. It helps to tighten the cast control a tad. I'm in a kayak, so I can usually get closer than I would with a fishing boat. I caught one 6.0 lbs. out of a pine tree laydown so close i was almost flipping, not pitching. Skipping with a spinning rods is a good skill. There definitely are times you want to do it with a Senko or fluke But you don't pitch your jig with a spinning rod, so eventually, you just have to practice getting under brush and docks with a BC reel. The underhand pitch is easier to get down from a boat than the sidearm skip. From a kayak, you can get under most things with a sidearm pitch. From the kayak, you only need to skip when you're getting waaaay back in gnarly stuff (which is exactly where you want to get to).

I have one of the smaller ones in bluegill. Some swear by them. I haven't even gotten a bite on mine. It sinks fast and swims nose-up, which looks unnatural to me. But I see people on YT catching them with it.

I saw this tip by Roland Martin on his YT channel. I tried it but didn't have the right size swivels on hand. Matter of fact, your swivel looks a little short for it as well.

I finally got good enough weather to go out for a few hours yesterday afternoon. My buddy caught two 7-pounders last week on the Whopper Plopper of all things. The air temp was in the low 70s, but water temp is still around 50. It was windy (whitecapping in the commode as my dad would say). I was confined about 1/4 of the reservoir in my kayak. I didn't get a bite on the WP, but I got two on the @cadman custom black/blue jig. The first was the 6.0 you see in these pics. I caught her out of a laydown pine tree and had to wrestle her out of the heavy cover. The second was a dink. It only takes one to make a trip worthwhile. Notice the red spot she has under her gills. I may recognize it if I catch her again.

30# PowerPro with a 15# Big Game mono no longer than 5'. That allows me to pitch or flip without the knot being in the rod guides. But most of the time I probably don't need the mono. It's a mental thing. It also allows me to break the jig off if necessary. I use this same combo for my T rigs, though I've basically replaced the T rig with the jig.

Yes, it's Char-Broil model463242516 Commercial 3-Burner

What the literature that came with it said was to reduce the heat by 20% from what you're used to with a gas grill. I grilled chicken breasts last night. I preheated the grill to about 300 and cooked with the lid up. That did the trick. I used a meat thermometer to be sure they were heated to 165. They were actually a little overdone, but that was my fault. I can subtract 10 degrees for chicken. A cool thing about grilling with the lid open is you can stand the cold temps. It's like standing around a fire.

Notice how often the shows that feature touring pros are really 30 minute infomercials for the latest innovative new bait? The same bait that will be on clearance at Dick's at the end of the season.

I cooked burgers this evening. One thing I can tell is you need to cook on lower heat than a conventional gas grill. They were well seared and appeared done, but were still a little raw in the middle. Had to microwave them, which really isn't the idea with any grill.

I just bought a new Char Broil gas infrared grill. These two words sound like an oxymoron to me. I lit it today just to see how it all works. I turned all burners on high to see how hot it gets. About 520 degrees. Then I turned off two burners and left one on low. It didn't get much lower. Are you supposed to cook everything on a high temp with an infrared grill? I've read that IR is good for putting a sear on beef and not overcooking but not as good with chicken. Does anyone have one that can give me tips? Thanks.

Gama4Life But you can't go wrong with any of the premium brand hooks. I have some Eagle Claw Razor Sharp spinnerbait trailer hooks I've been using and reusing for years and they're still sharper than the baits I'm putting them on. LOL Rattamahatta

I just can't get my left hand to cooperate. It's stronger than my right due to years of clicking a mouse for a living. But it's plain dumb. I can't cast or pitch with it, but it's also not very good at reeling. I'm a tad handicapped with a spinning rod as well, but I force my hand, literally.

I've always been partial to the Carolina Skiff for an all around fishing boat. Big enough for some chop, shallow enough draft for getting in the weeds for bass or inshore. No carpet or fancy furniture for time to destroy. It has lots of room inside to walk around, hold coolers, baitwell, etc. Maybe one day.

I really have no idea because I've been fishing longer than my memory. So probably on a minnow or worm on a cane pole. That was my first rod. We mostly crappie fished when I was coming up. Later I got a Zebco 33 and an assortment of Mepp's Comets, Rooster Tails and "Shysters". I caught a good many bass on those that I remember as well as crappie and white bass.

A crappie jig under a float. The original float n fly. And you might get some action from panfish or catfish too.

Take at least 4 (sometimes I take as many as 7) combos and try them all every trip. In general, read up and watch videos for the type baits to use in each season, then try a few. You can't fish everything you own in one trip. If you did, you'd never gain confidence with any.

I will eat bass from time to time. I fish one place where they're stunted. The average is under a lb. I keep everything there. But I'll usually leave all of them in my buddy's basket. It's a private pond and the water source is a spring that comes right out of the ground. It's clean. The bass from it taste better than crappie from most public lakes.

Going to work instead of fishing.

My dad had a pontoon boat we used to crappie fishing. After losing a few anchors to the brushpiles, we took to using cinder blocks. If you lose one, you're out less than a buck. We got ready to leave a spot and took off, but the pontoon just didn't seem to have any power. My dad said he was worried something was wrong so we chugged back to the dock to check it out. Got close and felt the anchor dragging along. We forgot to pull it up. My dad and I were out in my F&S and got ready to move to another spot. Turned the key and nothing. Not even a click. I checked the battery connections and they seemed fine. There was a guy near enough to see what was happening and gave us a tow back to the dock. I worried over the boat for about 6 months and was just about to take it to a mechanic. My dad called me up one night and asked me if I'd checked the kill switch. ? That's what it was. I didn't suspect it because I wasn't wearing the cord and it had never happened before.

I got a gift card to Lowe's several Christmases ago. When I went to spend it they didn't have anything I wanted (go figure). So I put some money with it and bought my daughter a kayak and surprised her. She was 9, I think. So we go out a few times and she says I fish too hard and long. Last time we went, we launch and I'm slowly paddling along trying to fish when she starts beating the inside of her kayak with the paddle. I said, "Are you trying to ensure I don't catch a single fish?" She said, "But there's a spider in my kayak." I've told this story many times on here. My dad, his buddy and I were trolling along the bank and came across a guy in a bass boat. He told us to leave this particular spot alone because he had a tourney the next day and it was a good one. He left and we caught all we could off it. We came back later and did it again. My best friend isn't much into fishing but he's incredibly competitive. We went once and he caught a nice 4 pounder about halfway around the reservoir. He sat down in my back seat and talked smack to me the rest of the way, texting pics of it to everybody he knows and drinking beer. He was satisfied just to beat me. I caught one bigger right at the boat ramp. I told him to let that be a lesson. You can't outfish me without a hook in the water.

This was going to be my answer. The CC Super Spot is the best lipless where I fish. Soft plastics is a good way to keep it cheap. Zoom and Berkley have me covered on most plastics. A jig is a very cheap bait that catches big bass. Get a wire tied one and it might last you a season or more. Maybe the all-time underrated lure is the Rooster Tail. I find Big Bite stick baits to be a more durable alternative to the Senko, so it's cheaper. If you're one of those guys that doesn't buy into colors, there are almost always some oddball colors on clearance at the local Academy. I used to buy off the bottom shelf at WalMart when i was a broke newly-married guy. Now the most expensive lure I own is the SPRO Rat. Most people have an upper limit pain threshold for baits. If I have a hard time justifying a bait purchase, I usually won't make it. Or I could go to Dick's in the winter time and buy the ducks, beetles and bats off their clearance rack while they start pushing the next season's fad.