MidwestF1sh

Actually I'll change mine instead of the soft plastic rod which you could use your jig rod for I'd put a crank bait rod. They have a unique action so you can't really get away fishing a rod that isn't designed for it.

Drop shot -spinning Light frog/top water - casting Heavy football jig/heavy cover - casting Spinnerbait/chatterbait - casting Soft plastics(t-rig) - casting

I would say if there's doubt to you there's always going to be doubt so don't count it. If it was my fish no doubt it'd count. Just like a crank bait theres so many times you land a fish on a hook that got in them during the fight outside the mouth. Thefish went for it and had it in its mouth.

Shadow raps have been AWESOME for me. This spring it was out fishing anything else by a ton. Even caught some really nice smallies on them. I have a few deep and shallow in different colors but 95% of the time shallow pearch was the ticket. I was the same with brush hogs but mid summer hot blue bird day I put a one ounce weight and just flipped milfoil in 15ft of water and lit em up. A bait for me would probably be a pit boss. And maybe even a d bomb. Just somethin about em I can't get on good fish with them.

The extra fast action is probably what makes you think it feels heavier. The action (slow or fast) is how far down the blank the rod bends. So it might be a power of a med but with the extra fast the rods really only going to bend near the tip. Its hard to explain but there's tons of diagrams that shows you a visual of what I am trying to say.

Just got in from fishing. The wind was too much but I lasted for quiet a while. It was some of my best fishing this year. Caught a few over 20" and a ton of 18"-20" bass. I couldn't believe how great it was. Gonna have to give it a go tomorrow morning too.

Welcome! I joined this site not too long ago and the guys on here are awesome! Good to see more guys from MN joining.

Glass boat for sure! If you're fishing with a partner or co angler you might want to think about a 19 or even 20 foot boat and with 15k, like stated already, you should be able to get a heck of a used boat. Let us know what you pick! Either way you're gonna love it!

I used a denali mh rod for light frog fishing but after fishing full days with only a frog I bought a Powell 736. I just needed something lighter and more balanced. The one thing I don't like, or haven't gotten used to is the mag heavy vs the med heavy. I wouldn't say you need to go expensive but light weight rods are always nice but tend to run some more money.

I would think about a longer rod like some have stated. I fish a Powell 775 and the 7'7" length is awesome when one hits it at the end of a cast or in heavy cover. I've heard the dobyns champion are some of the best rods out there but all I fish are powells so I can't help much just wanted to mention the length.

Thanks! Its gonna make things interesting fishing and driving the boat. Life jackets are on for driving the boat for sure. It'll be cool to hear how everybody does.

Powell max 3d in either a 3 or if you Want a little heavier rod a 4 power rating. Its out of your price range but they might gonon sale labor day. Or an old endurance or max but those are getting hard to find.

Earlier this summer I was catching 20" small mouth left and right on 3.5" tubes with a quarter ounce tube hook. You can fish those somewhat fast and you can really get em fired up.

Oh sorry I must of read your post before mine wrong. Just keep experimenting and youll learn your boat pretty soon.

X2 on the veritas fishing like a heavy but I loved it. Mine was not the new version but the original was great. I used it for football jigs. It was relitivly light for being a 7'6" rod. Handled awesome but only lasted a year before a couple of the ceramic inserts for the guides fell out. Still a heck of a rod for what I paid (50 bucks). I've held a few omens and have heard great things but I just can't get used to such a short handle. Nothing against the rod, I'm sure its awesome I just prefer a longer handle.

Lol ain't that the truth. that's why my mind makes the best scale for fishing stories! Either way that's an awesome fish!

Fished another tourney on Saturday and caught most of my fish around 20ft on a drop shot. Then switched to flipping some milfoil in 15ft with a 1 ounce weight and culled 4 out. Less bites but bigger bites. I believe it was won out in 25ft.

With everybody on the rear it should take longer to plane out... The more weight up front(bow) you have the easier it is for the bow to settle down(plane out). With more weight in the back it will take longer to plane out because youll be pushing more water but the front will be so light it will stay up longer.

I'm 18 as well and purchased a boat of my own this spring. I tookout a loan just so I could afford a "decent" first bass boat. I got it paid off now and love it. one tip is make sure the trailer and wheel bearings are solid. Also don't fall in love with a boat before you look at it in person and have something to compare it too.

Sounds like a good time! Bummer on the walleye though. Are you sure that 21" only weighed 4lbs. I'd say with that long of a fish that should easily be a 5 pounder

I run my #7 sniper on a shimano 2500. First year I had no coiling issue. I'm trying to get two years out of it so I keep spraying it with conditioner and its manageable but for one year it works great. I always switch all my line out at the beginning of the year but forgot to order more sunline this year....

I really like just a basic trick worm for an all around worm. Ive started to use ring worms for lake fork lures and I like those too. In the pads weightless it is going to be hard to beat a senko... If you're not stuck on a worm try a creature bait. They work good weightless in the pads and the strikes are so cool to see.

I use abrazX for everything and tried invizX for it but switched to #7 sunline sniper and its way better. Handles great.

I fished a very small (10 boats) tournament Saturday and everybody thought it was going to be a great day. Turned out everybody struggled. It was from 6-12 in the morning and I had 1 fish by 11:00. Managed to fill out the limit and win big bass by fishing docks with light jigs, broke off on another nice one but couldn't get any to take a top water. Had a couple blow ups but they missed it by a good foot so I didn't stay with it too long. Couldn't get a deep bite going either. Congrats on the #6!

Where you found those fish with a crankbait mark where you caught them on a GPS or a marker in the water and slow down and fish it with a jig or soft plastics such as a drop shot or shakey head or t rig.