the reel ess

If you have GPS at your disposal, you can make some structure. You need to be able to return to the exact spot. I knew a guy who used to take broken up cinder blocks and pile them strategically. He gave me one of these spots and I caught fish there.

If you're leaving today, it might be too late to get answers. But I'd definitely take a lot of Senkos or comparable stick worms. When I went to FL I fished a lot with a Super Spook and a flipping T rig. That's about all I needed that entire day. I'd probably pack some spinnerbaits as well.

Saw that. But the only 2 pc is a Hvy-Fast

I'll look there. Thanks.

No, actually the pond and canal are freshwater. And there are some good bass in it.

Well, I've been fishing with a couple of Lightning Rods for about 15 years. I'd replace them with better, but they refuse to stop working. There's cheap, then there's CHEAP. That one keeps popping up in my search.

My sister bought a place at the beach and there is a canal and pond on the property. I'm looking to get a 2-pc MH BC rod for bass on the $50 range. Something I can pack in the family car when we go. I already bought a cheap spinning rod. I was looking for the Lightning Rod Shock, but I don't see a MH 2-pc. 6-6 to 7' would suffice. What you got?

I got this PB 8.2 lb. on a War Eagle gold spinnerbait in gold shiner pattern. It actually looks smaller than the 7 pounder in my profile pic. That's why I keep that pic. I also got 2 bass in the 7's on a black/blue jig and craw. Aside from these, everything else was 5 lb. and below.

LOL. Fishing the way I want to sometimes yields poor results. I'm prepared to deal with that because I know it only takes one big fish to make my day and it will come along at some point. And, you're spot on about the flipping stick. I've caught more big bass on a jig in the last three years than all other techniques combined. But if I focused only on that technique I'd get skunked on the regular.

I want to catch BIG bass the way I WANT to catch BIG bass. So I'm in the 3-4 range. I wanted to help my daughter catch bass, but she has declared she's out of the fishing business. My dad took me fishing early. But he did not attempt to let me outfish him, nor did he help me out a whole lot. He wanted me to learn it myself so he could be busy catching. I'm a bit selfish like that. I go fishing alone a lot because I like my own company and I won't want competition. Maybe I'll mature someday. Probably not.

The lipless crank and spinnerbait seem to always work better for me on a fast retrieve vs a crawl, even in colder water. Mind you I don't live above the M-D Line.

I grew up fishing for bluegills, shellcrackers and crappie with cane poles, mainly. When I got into bass I enjoyed the pitching and winding of it. I really dislike fishing slowly. I know slow techniques work and I will employ them when absolutely necessary. But my idea of fishing slow means pausing the Pop R between pops or bumping the frog across the pads.

Oh, I'm not blaming the rig for anything. I've hardly tried it. It's also usually stained water where I fish. It's my understanding that dropshot is more of a clear water technique. Is that true?

That's another thing. It isn't deep at all where I mostly fish. Seldom do I ever catch a fish deeper than 8' or so even during the dog days. I'm kayak fishing and I currently don't even have a depth finder on it. I'm simply set up for shallow water fishing.

I'm sure it works. But it feels like targeting smaller fish although I'm sure some bigger fish get caught using that technique. Mind you, I'm not in tourneys and don't need to compete with anyone. I rarely fish any place that's really pressured.

Beer is good

I've done it but didn't use a bobber stop. I ran the line thru the weight and tied a weak knot where it entered so I could pull it off if needed. I have not dedicated myself to the dropshot as I should.

I haven't kept records, but most of my best bass have come from April to October. Most of those have been in summer months, the dog days early or late. That's just a function of fishing much more in those months. The one in my avatar came in December. But the weather had stayed warm right up until the night before. It was 38 that morning.

Every difference makes a difference. But I use a 6'8" pitching rod because I fish from a kayak and don't usually "flip" as much as sidearm cast. But my frog rod is a 7'3" XH-XF. I will use it for flipping T rigs when the water is too cold for frogs. Leverage means more when trying to lift fish to the surface. But Action and power mean more.

If it was that similar you'd see BASS circuit anglers using their 12 weight flyrods and flies to flip heavy cover. The added length would be useful. I use a 7' H-Fast rod for pitching/flipping and a 7'3" H-XF for frogs. I use 50# braid with the drag cinched down and winch the fish until I can grab it. They're currently the best tools for that job.

Maybe. But you're less likely to present a lure to a PB bass deep in a laydown with a fly rod and get that bass out. I don't even try that with a spinning rod. Now, I do understand the allure of the fly rod. It's just not my bag (yet).

War Eagle spinnerbaits are wire tied. They also have good quality replacement skirts you can put on any bait. Or you can just wire tie the ones you have before they get old and the band gets brittle.

There used to be one that was 8' long because there was a rod length limit rule in B.A.S.S. at the time, I believe. I think Sage made it. I hope I'm remembering that correctly. I feel the same way about fly fishing that I do about hunting. It looks like a really cool pursuit, but I'm too lazy to do it. I have an old Daiwa Apollo graphite composite flyrod with a Martin automatic reel spooled with dry line and a small assortment of bass and panfish poppers. It's barely used. I actually have had the rod since I was a teen. We used to put spinning reels on them and use them to jig under docks for crappie. This was before you could get longer jigging poles. So an 8' or 9' rod got you closer. I've always felt like bass fishing with a flyrod was like fishing with one hand tied behind your back. Basically, purposely putting yourself at a disadvantage for the sport of it.

I talk to myself quite a bit when I'm fishing alone. I say "we" a lot, like there's someone else in the kayak with me. I really only shut up when there are others around. I believe I say "There's one" or something like that. I don't have to try. That just naturally occurs when I take my wife or daughter. But neither have any interest in the sport now. Unless my daughter has a kid who like fishing I won't get to pass it down.

"Boobs" is always the answer.