Evan K

Jigs are a weakness for me too, and I'd like to gain some confidence with them as well. My biggest problem with jigs and lures in general is getting a sense for their depth. For some reason it's really hard for me to tell, possibly because I fish ponds with year-long thick hydrilla, and it can be difficult to tell if you're dragging along a bottom or just hung up in a giant submerged hydra bed, 4 feet up. Best of luck!

I have a St Croix Premier 6' UL rod. I like it as well as my other Premier rods, except that it is rated fast but has almost a slow action. Super whippy. It can be good or bad depending what you're fishing for.

I like 1Rod1Reel best, I like his barebones style and simple, straightforward videos- feels more like I'm out fishing with him than watching some hyped up sponsored to death TV show. Jon B. "Fishing the midwest" is good as well.

And these posts get deleted in 5....4....3...2.

Most of the water I fish is in the upper 30's right now. Don't think much of anything bites at that cold.

I had to grab a couple of the Yo-Zuri baits last night. Only got 3 but as my crank box is almost all Rapala I figured I should take advantage of the price to try some different brands.

I have one of their spook-style walking topwaters, and I like it very much. Seems like a well made bait and I've caught fish with it.

Yep, I get the same disconnect with both, depending which I've been playing for a while. It's true.

Wow! Wish I fished enough to burn through that many plastics!

Those are some sweet boats!

Like @roadwarrior said, just have the discipline to wait for a good deal or shop around. I agree that there's no need to buy cheap knockoffs- just be judicious and careful about what you spend and buy quality stuff when you do.

Sounds like you ARE a bit of a lure hoarder. Nothing wrong with that!

Cool! I play there too. I am awful at blitz and bullet and don't really like them anyway. I'm about 1300 on online chess. If I'm on in the near future I'll send you a challenge.

That is a lot of plastics. Maybe sell off a bunch? I have been using 3 ziploc gallon bags, one worm-type, one trailers, one other. Got 3 of the deep flambeau boxes on the way from TW that will take the place of those.

I too wish that if they do release catalogs, they would include detailed specs! I have many fond memories of poring over giant BPS and Cabela's catalogs as a boy and still like sitting down and browsing a paper-and-ink catalog.

Yep, it's a seasonal hobby of mine, usually starts in the winter when most other things are hard to do. What site do you play on? Do you know your approximate ELO rating?

I realized that P-Line CXX is a little more beef and more importantly memory for a medium sized crankbait setup, and I got a spool of 10 lb. Tatsu as well for that purpose. My first time using FC for main line. I'll have to see how it works.

Sweet setup!

Grabbed me 5 packs of Strike King trailer hooks (5 hooks to a pack) for $1 a pack at Walmart. They've been sitting in clearance for months and they finally knocked the price down to where I'd bite.

Ha! I used to be infatuated with that stuff when I was a youngster fishing walmart rigs.

My first year of "serious" fishing went pretty excellent! Caught several new PB, finishing the year at a 4.57 lb fish out of a farm pond I'd fished for years, but never got anything bigger than a pound and a half out of. Summer fishing was really good, fall was really poor. I could hardly muster up a bite, and when I did, they were usually dinks. I think I need to work on my fall baits and presentations. Probably a 65-70% for me. Sorry @Catch 22- better luck this year!

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone! I saw the Lew's spinning reel for a pretty cheap price. It looks good but I'm a little hesitant it'll be quite what I want for the new Powell.

TBH I think @k3bass has a decent point. I contributed for years to several other forums, and I know the frustration people (and myself) usually feel and express when someone new logs on and asks a question that has been answered a million times. That's because for them a forum is a tool to obtain information, whereas for us the forum is a hobby, pastime, etc. That new person hasn't seen this topic posted and answered here a billion gazillion times- it's a new thing they're considering and desiring information on. @A-Jay's reply is spot on.

Same here man. The amount of rain we've gotten over the last week is absurd.

Depends what I put in it. All my tackle stays in my truck and I bag only what I want for going out on the water. I fish from the bank and a kayak.