the reel ess

I'm a noob. Do you mean 5 wt 9 ft?

What's the right weight/length for a small waters/stream fly rod for trout and small panfish? Thanks.

Oh, I have some topwaters that work. I've lately become a believer in the supernatural powers of the stick worm. In fact, I've been pitching it instead of a jig lately. Saturday I fished 4 hours for 2 bites, both on a SK Ocho. Not my favorite technique, though I got an 8 pounder on it about a month ago.

I bought one of these after seeing someone on YouTube wearing bass out with it around spawn. I've caught a grand total of one fish and that was at a pond where you can catch them on Gummi Worms.

I had one good postspawn about 4 years ago with the Devil's Horse and nothing since.

I'm sure there was quite a bit less fishing pressure back then. 30+ years ago you'd hear about someone catching a DD Largemouth every few weeks or so. I haven't heard of one around here this year. Is it fishing pressure or the spots out competing Largemouth for forage? This is a complex question, maybe impossible to answer except on an individual lake basis. But with increased pressure comes an increase in people keeping all bass. A 5 pound bass simply will not become a DD bass if someone eats it or has it mounted. I know this happens. I've had someone ask me for a big bass I caught in front of them. I just said "nah" and let it go.

You used to see Pro Qualifiers on pros' decks. Now, maybe they were performance tuned. But still...

Topwaters, frogs, toads, bozzbaits, spinnerbait, stick worms, and, as with every season, jigs. If I can't buy a bite, I'll rig up a light Carolina rig and dust off the deep diving cranks. I usually go before sunrise and start out with a couple or a few topwaters tied on. Once the sun gets up I will change one to a lipless crank and maybe another to a spinnerbait.

Put it in the crate in the rear well of my kayak and throw it away when I get home. I'm a minimalist. I don't carry a cooler full of snacks, lunch, beer or drinks. I take one bottle of water, two if it's really hot or I'll be out a long time.

Lew's LFS Tournament MBs at $130. I had 3 of them. Like it so much I bought a plain LFS. Similarly good quality for $100. I bought a Fuego on the advice of people on this here site and it's disappointing. I can't complain much because it functions as it should, but it sounds like sandpaper rubbing when you're reeling. Guess the gears don't mesh perfectly. When I was 13, I got a Daiwa PMF100 Magforce reel for Christmas. I used that thing heavily for 30+ years. Most of those years, it was my only baitcaster. I did have to replace the levelwind pawl a couple of times, but they sent it to me for free, didn't even charge shipping. An Academy store brand Tac-40 reel was pretty decent for the money. I finally wore it out after 3 years or so of it being my jig reel with the drag cinched down. The anti-reverse is intermittent now. It would have lasted a lot longer for other techniques.

You can see one side of the bait has eyes, thought I doubt bass can see that. Anyway, I just rig it as I would a T rigged worm, eyes up. You can rig it on a plain, weedless jig hook if you wish. It catches the heck out of them. But the T rig is more weedless. Here's a tip: The Rage Bug skips a lot easier.

Preferably Tuesday-Friday

There are no 6" to12" worms in most waters, but bass sure do like them. I caught a bass on a Texas rigged Gummi Worm once just to show my buddy I could do it at his pond. I had a 10mm wrench rigged up with a hook and was planning on using it like a jigging spoon. But I needed the wrench for my Jeep.

I grew up fishing a lake that was developing. When I was a kid you could go on a weekday and be alone. That was the late 70s-80s. We sold the place after my dad died. It was simply not enjoyable anymore.

Well, weeds won't grow deeper than sunlight can penetrate around here. Thankfully, the water here is mostly at least a bit permanently stained, especially where cypresses are present. Thus, weeds won't grow much deeper than 7-8' deep. So anywhere that has some clear water.

I'm in SC. We don't have fall. Our summers run from May 1st to October 31st, often longer.

I only take pics of bass over 3 lbs or if it's some special circumstance, like I caught a minnow on a giant wakebait. Monday I went to a new place and only took pics of the lake. I did catch 5 dinks.

I fished a place yesterday that was about 85% vegetation at least to the surface. It was even hard to paddle in places. No one with a trolling motor in his right mind would want to fish it.

Why not a kayak?

Spook, Jr., Pop R, Plopper (or Choppo).

3/8 oz. Jig and Craw trailer. Black and blue.

Maybe big ones don't prefer the docks. They also don't tend to hang out with small bass.

That has all the marks of a lure I could throw for a straight month and never get the first bite. That's why I rarely go for gimmicky baits. I was about 5 years late on the Whopper Plopper.

nm

I'm guilty of stubbornly throwing a topwater when I should be doing something else. I'm also guilty of forgetting a lure that I really needed/wanted to use or a paddle or to charge a battery or to put a plug in. My dad used to call that the head-in-the-butt syndrome. You cast so long without a bite that you are on autopilot. I'm guilty of saying "we" when talking to myself while fishing alone.