the reel ess

There aren't.

Crappie, bluegill and shellcrackers (redear sunfish) are the common ones. There are no stripers, white bass, perch or toothy critters where I usually fish. I have only seen one small catfish caught there in about 8 years fishing it. One of the landowners told me he put 200 blue cats in this 30 or 35 acre lake. I don't know why he would do such a thing and sincerely hope they die out. Maybe the bass will eat all of them before they get too big.

Whopper Plopper 110, bone color. 7.93 lbs. I also caught a 5.75 that day in the same spot. I caught the bigger one and came back after a couple hours and caught the other. My runner up was a 7.25 on a Johnson Silver Minnow/chunk trailer dragged over lilies.

I haven't bought a rod or reel based on who endorses the company since I was 13. And that was actually a Christmas gift. I asked for a Daiwa Procaster Magforce PMF100 because I saw Bill using one on his show. Turns out it was a very good model. I permanently retired it about 5 years ago. I'm 51. But imagine my dismay when I saw him endorsing a different brand a few years later. I do consider the opinions of people on this here forum though.

I have proceeded with one claw or no claws with no success. But that sample size is small. I'm sure bass would bite a crawfish whose claws were gone. I'll bet I could catch a bass on a shrimp imitation.

In that case, it's the jig for me and the frog as soon as it warms enough.

Yeah, people in my region catch some big bass while trolling for crappie in winter. But we're talking winter time.

One thing I will do this year is fish through winter, barring miserable conditions. If you aren't fishing by February here you're missing a chance at some good fish.

I know I'll get arguments. But to me downsizing and finesse fishing is just targeting smaller fish. I'm old enough that I don't need to catch a lot of 1 pounders. @A-JayGlide baits also have not worked for me.

Which Spook do you prefer? Super, regular, junior? I caught a 5 pounder this year on the Super Spook Jr. But they've completely ignored my full-size regular Spook (no rattles).

I dislike fluoro and don't really need it. It's braid to mono or straight braid for me.

All the usual winter stuff. The blade bait has been the ticket.

Well, the boater can be a bank angler, the bank-bound angler can't be a boater.

If you can get a hook to every spot on a body of water, you could be right. If not, then advantage boater. Then there are different levels of "boaters". There's the tourney bassboat type, Bass Tracker type and the Canoe/kayak type. Different types of fishing, but they're all related. Now, do I think the bassboat guy who runs and guns the local lake catches more or bigger fish than the kayak guy who seeks out smaller, remote waters? No, because I've done both. I've also been the bank fisherman. Whatever works for you and gives you enjoyment is what you should do.

We had a guy on our home lake when I was growing up who was a dedicated structure disciple. He had a 16' V bottom Tracker boat with a 60 HP motor and trolling motor. I never saw him use the electric motor. I never even saw him standing to fish. I only saw him anchored near structure and usually casting away from shore. He only used T rigged worms and deep diving cranks as most of us did back then. It seemed he won about half the tourneys on that lake in the era when big, fast boats and electronics were becoming the standard. I guess his opinion was there should almost always be bigger bass offshore. I suspect he sweetened those structure spots. He was rumored to sink old appliances at night.

I know you said mono or fluoro. But you can get away with a much higher lb. test braid as your main line. I use 20 lb. braid on that size reel. You can simply use a leader of mono or fluoro in whatever size you like because it won't be on the reel. Fish aren't smart enough to look 5' up the line to see the braid. Braid also has the major advantage of almost eliminating twisted line problems. To cut down on the cost you can fill the reel halfway with the cheapest mono you can find, then fill it the rest of the way with braid. Just my $0.02. I did it and never looked back. I have serious doubts bass in my waters even care about straight braid, no leader.

Whatever the reel says the upper size is.

I am subscribed to about 20 YouTube channels related to bass fishing. I watch videos as often as I can when I can't actually be fishing. When I see a technique that looks useful to me I'm likely to give it a try. If it's successful, it gets added to the arsenal.

Have you caught anything on them? I've tried them with no success. Try them prespawn this year in water that's colder than you think a topwater should work. The strikes are vicious and the bass are usually big. I got 3 over 5 lbs. on one this year. A 7.93 and a 5.75 same day, same spot.

Here's what I use. The 6'10" pitching stick. Everything you need in a jig/pitching rod, nothing you don't need. It skips baits and even handles lighter lures pretty well. A big part of skipping the bait is in the bait you use. The Trashmaster jig skips better than conventional jigs. The "bug" style trailers, like the Rage Bug skip better than the more classic craw-style trailers. https://www.falconrods.com/product/bucoo-sr

Apparently, I go fishing on the latter days.

Jigs, T rigs or spinnerbaits near shallow wood cover. In very muddy water they have a tendency to hang on to a piece of wood. If you can add sound, do so. On the T rig I like a bead between the hook and weight. I have a "nighttime" spinnerbait. It's heavy and black with a big black Colorado blade that works sometimes. You can reel it so slow it's barely moving. Bump it off the wood cover. edit: I just looked at your 10 day forecast. I would find another hobby for a couple weeks. I'm still fishing here in SC, but eagerly awaiting late winter/early spring/prespawn.

Fast whenever the water temp allows. I'm a total junk fisherman so the quicker I fish, the better I do. But I have to do what the fish want.

The only ones I see anymore are the monster sized. I would have no reservations about using them. Caught a ton on them back in the day. A grape one was all my dad would use at one time. He would say if they're there and hungry, they'll eat that worm. He was usually right.

As far as most of this board is concerned, I'm a cheapskate. My rods range from $50-130 new. Though my $130 rod is more than a decade old and I actually bought it used for $50. I have 3 rods worth $100 or more. Can I tell the difference between $50 and $130 rods? Sure. Do I need extreme sensitivity to throw a spinnerbait or buzzbait? Nah. So, for me, returns become diminished when the sensitivity is not required. It would seem a waste for me to be throwing that lure on a $300 ultrasensitive and brittle rod. I have a buddy who routinely outfishes me and he didn't even own a BC combo until a couple years ago.