the reel ess

Haha! Most people do. That's why everyone's recommending a spinning combo. I have a M 7' rod with the aforementioned Trion reel. I use this combo mostly for smaller treble lures. The rod is a lightning rod. If I were using it a lot for dropshots and other techniques that require sensitivity, I'd upgrade the rod. The reel is a good deal for $40, but for a little more you can step up the Pfleuger line and get lighter reels with a few more bells and whistles.

I'm in my later 40's but that doesn't mean parts don't ache. They ache just from normal fishing. Heck, I hurt my hip turning in the bed the other night! I have a truck. I just love using the Jeep as much as I can. It makes me feel close to my dad. The Jeep is a lot narrower than a truck. When I get into the truck it feels cavernous by comparison. I'm thinking of a light bar in front (without lights) and one of these in the back https://www.google.com/search?q=jeep+hitch+kayak+extensions&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=kfG55VS_RIo5IM%3A%2CL8Ey927I2-WpGM%2C_&usg=__YfJdfdIFeuUczGOWmfPupoqIBmE%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj43dnm8qDZAhURw1kKHWDCDcEQ9QEI_QEwAg#imgrc=kfG55VS_RIo5IM:

Saltwater if anything. But usually I just fillet them, wash them well and cook them within a day. I only cook crappie and small bass that i catch from the local drinking water reservoir near town or my buddy's small pond. I know that water is relatively clean and free of PCBs and mercury. And the bass from clean water taste better than crappie from polluted lakes.

Yes, 2-door.

I inherited my dad's 2013 Jeep Wrangler with soft top. And, of course, I like to fish. But the interior is so small it's hard to even put rods in without dropping the top or zipping out the windows, which is not always an option. I use a kayak mostly. If you've done something or bought something to make a Jeep more fishing friendly, show me. Pics would be even better. Thanks.

That's hard to read. My daughter's 13 and our only child.

There's nothing wrong with the Lightning line of rods. I have three of the base LR rods. Two are more than a decade old. They've whooped a lot of bass.

Lew's PowerPro Zoom Gamakatsu

My first experiences catching bass were with a Zebco 33 on a medium 5-6 casting rod throwing Mepps Comets, Rooster Tails, Rebel Wee R's and crappie grubs. Then came the T rig. The medium sized cranks, or even a Shad rap, were the easiest things for me to get a hook into bass.

They could have an identity issue since they've merged with BPS. They have Tracker boats in the Spring catalog that came yesterday.

I have the Crickhopper and the Tiny Craw. I've caught a few small bass and some bream on both in a creek near the house. I'll say the Crickhopper doesn't sit level in the water. It leans one way or the other. I also have the Cicada, but haven't caught a thing on it. They don't seem to get any bites on larger waters. I don't have the ones with single hooks and the trebles are too tiny for fish of any size. I find the inline spinner to be the best smallish bass bait of all time. JMO.

I see. Edited my response. I understand that. The Academy H2O Xpress Tac-40 has a shallow spool. It claims to hold 100 yds of 12 lb mono, but I spooled the whole reel with the 30# braid that was on half of the reel I replaced. I mean that reel had backing with braid on top.

I only use 7.1:1 and faster BC reels anymore. My opinion on reel speed is you can always slow a fast reel down, but there's only so fast you can go with a slow reel. And why crank more times in a day than you have to? Hell, anymore 7.1:1 is about average.

I use a Lews LFS Tournament MB with 7.5:1 retrieve and a Berkley Lightning Rod, 6-6, MH for spinnerbaits and similar single hook reaction baits. I can't say enough about how much I love this reel. I love it so much I own three. I also use it on my frog combo and my big trebles (lipless cranks) combo. It's a lot of reel for $130. As for the rod, well it's a $40 rod. But it's durable (I've had it a decade) and casts well and sensitivity isn't an issue with this type of bait. I'll upgrade the rod one of these days.

All I do is send pics from my phone to my email, then download them to the computer, then drag them over here.

As a rule I check the line. But I'll admit there have been times when the bite was so good I forgot and a bass swam off with my best Spook. It happened last fall and I found the bait floating in the pond a few weeks ago. I changed the hooks and cleaned it and it's good as new.

I bought a few skirted jigs from him in late fall including some swim jigs as well as some other items. I have caught one bass on his skirted jig, but I've caught a bunch on a plain weedless Arky head with a plastic craw. His jigs are hand tied to your order with wire ties. The options are infinite and he'll ask you exactly what you'd like. ie: head color, eye color, different skirt combos, even weedguard color. He also has other tackle and his catalog is a downloadable pdf document. I highly recommend his products. And he's a nice guy to boot. I know you know this, but I'm putting a plug in for him to the rest of the board.

A hand line can be used to catch bass too. A cane pole for that matter. But time passed them by. If all I had was a Zebco I'd still fish.

I don't own a baitcaster slower than 7.1:1 anymore. Well, I own one, but I just retired it. I just see no reason to crank more than necessary. Especially if they cost the same as slower reels.

Don't skimp too much on a BC combo. You may end up regretting it so much that you don't use it. I like to steer clear of graphite framed reels. Machined aluminum will usually give you much longer service. I really would be afraid of reels that cost less than $70 at a bare minimum. As for rods, I can second the Cabela's Tourney ZX. I have the frog model and it's very light, sensitive and durable. It's a killer deal at that sale price. I paid the full $100 and still think it's a deal.

CADMAN's Jigs.

I don't have a BC reel under 7:1 that I use anymore. I think it's easier to slow down than speed up. Why crank more when you could crank less? That's how I see it.And you'll really like a fast reel for the frog.

I kayak fish and have the capacity for 7. I usually take 6 as follows: 7'3" Frog BC rod 7' MH BC for jigs/T rigs 6'6" MH BC for spinnerbaits, etc. 6'6" M BC for topwaters, lipless cranks & all big trebles 7' MH Spin for T rigs. Usually has a weightless Trick Worm tied on. 7' M Spin for smaller treble lures like jerkbaits/Shad Rap or a wacky rig. Then i sometimes carry a light or UL combo if I think panfish might be the ticket. I keep them all in the truck so I can paddle back and swap out lures or get a combo i didn't think I'd need. Usually, I could have taken only 2 combos and caught the same amount of fish. But those 2 combos vary.

They all know what you mean. I have a Trion, which is a big step down. I gave it a favorable review on this site. Someone told me that they have a problem with braid wearing into the line roller (that's what my exploded view drawing calls it) on the bail. I've been using it for 3 seasons, always with 20# braid, so they must have gotten that worked out. Reviews for Pfleuger spinning reels are usually very favorable.

Got ya back