blckshirt98

Phenix M1 series, I'd go with the MXS78M

The 100's and 200's are $2.99 online. Remember to buy gift cards to save an extra 10% off!

I saw a couple of dudes fishing last night and one dude kept throwing a ball into the water for his dog to retrieve. I'm assuming when a large chocolate brown lab jumps into the water to fetch a ball, the fish scatter. Don't think I saw them catch anything the whole time.

I like to use salmon/steelhead rods for surf/inshore saltwater. The 8'6" Shimano Scimitar and Clarus rods are my go-to rods for that since they're relatively affordable and work perfectly. The extra rod length put into salmon/steelhead rods really help with getting some extra casting distance, and they're designed for salmon/steelhead so they handle the larger inshore fish with no problems. It looks like Shimano discontinued the Scimitar line but the Convergence line should work fine. Salt/corrosion is just the name of the game and it's pretty caustic stuff, which is why I use cheap spinning reels for the salt. Shimano Sienna reels for only $30 and I've caught tons of fish with my current 2500 size reel. If it ever gets ruined I won't feel bad about tossing it and replacing it since a new one is only $30. It's also why I use spinning gear, since casting gear would cost more to replace.

Boomerang here as well, normal size. I replace mine every 1-2 seasons as it will dull out, but it's the best money I spend on fishing. I have a small carabiner that I attach to my belt loop and then hook the Boomerang to it via the ring it comes with. Makes changing/cutting lines a breeze.

After seeing videos of bass eating a wrench and a twizzler, I'm convinced every lure out there will work at some point, it's just a matter of using it and timing.

That might be him but he's totally lurking in the shadows on his O.G. account! Ztrain was created 5 hours ago!

Awesome, nice job getting a couple on your first trip out!

Pink plastic on a dropshot works fantastic!

I usually try to throw something new every couple of outings just for the fun of it but I'm a creature of habit and I'm usually pretty slow to try new techniques when I have something that works. I'll also phase out techniques that may have worked for me but I found something better that I have more confidence in. Last season I found confidence in throwing chatterbaits and topwater rats, this year I'm going to try to start throwing swimbaits but man it is hard to wait for those swimbait bites.

The Bandit 100 and 200's are on sale at Cabela's online for $2.99 each. Buy some Cabela's giftcards from one of those gift card re-sale sites and save an extra 10% off or so.

I think it would depend on the friend. If it's someone just starting out and doesn't have a lot of tackle or doesn't have a focus on what they like/want to throw, i can see them rummaging through your tackle to see what you have. Now if it's a seasoned angler and they're just being a cheap-ass...you should try to find a way where they're no longer on your boat.

I like how Shimano's new casting reels are going more towards a streamlined sportscar look with smooth lines as opposed to the steampunk gear-and-dials most reels look like nowadays.

One thing I want to add is that try to get comfortable and confident with 1-2 finesse and 1-2 power techniques. If you try 12 different techniques for 20 minutes each over the course of a 4 hour fishing session it'll take forever to feel confident in a few techniques. For me it took many sessions of texas rig vs carolina rig vs wacky vs dropshot vs shaky head to get to the point where dropshot is my highest confidence finesse technique, followed by a shaky head. For reaction baits I have that confidence when throwing squarebills, followed by chatterbaits. I'll branch out and try different techniques to mix things up but those are the ones where I always feel like I can catch something in any body of water anywhere.

Garage shelving is a must, then just get clear cheap Sterlite containers(http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProduct.html?id=587&ProductCategory=179&section=1) from Target. Make sure the shelves are adjusted and sized right to fit the Sterlites (esp the largest ones) with minimal waste of space. Stick your Sterlites with "used often" tackle at waist/chest height, stick the Sterlites with backup/rarely used stuff on the very top or bottom shelf. As for the Sterlites themselves, put tackle into Gallon Zip Loc Freezer bags by type so they're neatly organized.

I think the most important things are finding the bass and knowing behavior, "Think like the fish" so to speak, to put the odds in your favor. If you're in an area with no fish, you can throw everything under the sun and you won't catch anything. Dusk/dawn are probably the best times, and coves and points are probably the best locations, so start out by fishing at those times/locations. I think these factors are universal in any body of water in the world. Keep a notebook or spreadsheet and write a quick summary of where you fished, what you used, the conditions, and the results. Also, nothing you read online can replace the knowledge you gain from actual time fishing your local lakes. Every cast you make will give you another piece of a lake's puzzle to help you the next cast. I'd start out with something that lets you have bottom contact (dropshot!) so you can get a feel for what the lake bottom is like - sandy, rocky, gravelly, muddy, etc. Keep fishing and pretty soon you'll know where the structure is like boulders/stumps/dropoffs/transitions/etc all of which fish favor. When you pull your line in and there's vegetation on your hook/lure, see what kind of vegetation it is (grass, milfoil, etc) and do some research on how to approach it. It's gonna take some legwork and you will run into a few skunk days as you find out which parts of the lake are productive and which are not, but soon you'll be able to pull up to lake and you'll have a nice visual in your head and a handful of spots that were productive for you, and which parts to avoid. Don't get to caught up in the different kinds of baits/colors. There's threads about favorite technique/lure/color and every person's post is different than the rest. Hungry bass are kind of dumb and will eat ANYTHING.

PowerBait Honey Worms!

Trigger X baits have always felt really firm in the bag to me, with very little of the pliability I look for in plastics! But let us know how they work out for you!

Fluoro leader on a drop shot all the way. Also don't be scared to use a small swivel to connect your braid to fluoro. I know using a swivel is sometimes seen as shooting freethrows underhand but it'll save you a lot of headache.

I'm wondering if it's the 5'6" length of the rod making it feel light and awkward. Try to throw it on a longer 7 foot rod and it might be better balanced.

I've seen people post that good old fashioned Ande mono is the best, and it's cheap enough to replace every season.

I use a Phenix XG3 glass rod for heavier crankbaits and chatterbaits. It never did well with lighter baits so I recently got an Orochi XX Swingfire and a Powell Max3D 6'10" Mod-Fast Crankbait to try using with lighter cranks. The Orochi XX Swingfire was chucking KVD 1.5 and 6th Sense Crush 50X squarebills a country mile. It's a hybrid rod with a soft tip and I think I've found the *perfect* rod for those size baits. The Max3D is one of the lightest rods I've held and to be honest I'm not sure if I like it all that much. It was almost too light, the rod butt was a bit too short, and the reel seat is kind of odd where I can't really palm the reel the way I like. It also felt like if a big fish hit the crankbait the rod would go flying out of my hands. I didn't find either rod was able to cast a 1.0 size KVD farther than I can with a spinning setup. So as it stands, I'm using an XG3 for beefier cranks, the Swingfire for cranks on the lower end of the scale, and still using a spinning rod for the smallest and lightest cranks.

Is it snapping at the knot?

Whatever brand you pick I'd recommend a Medium/Extra Fast rod for dropshotting.

Any small size mouse type of bait with a tail, joint optional!