MassYak85

Generally if I actually hook the fish and fight it for a while, I don't get a second chance. But if I just wiff on the hookset or they just swipe at the lure I can usually get them on something else later.

I'd consider 1-2lbers "cookie cutter" fish I expect to catch every time I go out. A 3-4lber is a "nice" fish I don't get to catch every time, and a 5lber is a special fish..."Toad". Of course where I live an 8lber is a fish of a lifetime.

You'll have to play with your brakes (more braking) when casting into the wind. That and/or using your thumb more to slow down the spool. The reason you get a bird's nest is the lure gets slowed down by the wind while the spool keeps spinning fast so it overruns, you need to slow down the spool to match the decreased lure speed through the air. Like other's said once dialed in it shouldn't be a problem, but you won't get as much distance.

Most of my baitcaster applications I am running 40lb braid to anywhere form 10 - 20lb leader. If you are confident in your knots you won't have an issue and going through the guides shouldn't be either unless they're micro guides. I run fairly long (6-8ft) leaders and usually they'll last me a few trips just cause I retie lures a lot, or if I'm dragging the bottom or fishing around rocks those first few feet of line get worn quickly. But I like the leader cause I'm not chewing through my mainline trip after trip and it's more abrasion resistant than the braid.

I had some super slick 8 on a spinning rod a few years back and hated it. Horrible wind knots and it was like the weaves were unraveling.

I'm convinced there is no perfect solution, I've tried half a dozen ways and I'm not happy with any of them. The core reason why is that the packages don't stack. There's no way where the baits "interlock" to save space. Also, IMO there is far too much excess sticking out on the top. I understand they need real estate for hanging it on shelves and to advertise details and the name, but it's such a pain and waste of space when trying to organize them.

For me personally I just can't let go of the sensitivity braid offers. So I use the leader to adapt more to the presentation while maintaining that mainline sensitivity and lack of stretch.

@Mr. Aquarium Have you ever fish lake quinsigamond for carp? I always see HUGE ones in their when I'm up shallow. I think some guy got the state record by bow fishing there too.

I'll second the Daiwa BG. I have had three pfluger presidents now and I love them, I still have one. I think for the money it's the best budget option out there. But that step up in price to the BG, something about the it just has that "IT" factor. Maybe it's the frame, it almost reminds me of anodized aluminum (it's not though). But it just feels solid overall, it is a bit on the heavy side too. But also it's very smooth an I believe was designed with saltwater in mind (waterproof drag).

Bass fisherman are a mixed bag as far as C&R. Some will judge you for keeping any amount or size of bass, some will frown upon keeping big bass, some don't care at all. Personally I see nothing wrong with keeping a couple here and there that are of average size, and if someone wants to keep their catch of a lifetime to put on the wall I can't fault them, even though I wish they'd have released it.

Are you talking "swimbaits" like 5.8 keitech's, or "swimbaits" like glide baits, big topwater rats, Hudds etc. ?

I like the concept so I'll probably pick up a couple. I imagine they'll charge a premium for them though.

Generally if I'm throwing a swim jig I want some action out of the trailer because unless you have a really lively skirt you're not getting any from the actual jig. On a straight retrieve I can't imagine a chunk would do much. My go-to is a paddle tail 3-4 inch, sometimes a grub if I'm looking to downsize. If I really wanted the baitfish profile without much action I'd lean towards a fluke.

Nice fish guys! I've never caught a carp, I'm sure it's a blast!

I meant to say Alberto as well.

I tried the FG for a couple seasons. It's just as advertised, smallest and easiest going through guides. BUT, I had a couple...and I do only mean a couple, failures. I just couldn't ever 100% know if the braid truly gripped the leader and I sometimes had the finish unravel. It's a great knot but a knot I can't 100% trust is a knot I won't use. For me it's only Albright and Blood knots now.

I run almost exclusively braid to leader and have no issues with the T-wing other than knots hanging up on it (I just run shorter leaders i those reels).

It's bad when I'm considering driving an hour and a half to Bass Pro instead of ordering from Tackle Warehouse. I get that they have to keep minimal staff, but it's kind of hard to "support" them through this when we can't order anything.

I'm assuming this is a private pond? Anyways, a large cooler should be fine with of one those battery aerators and maybe some of that livewell additive to keep them calm during the ride. But like others said check your regulations.

You might have more responses in the general forums rather than the regional ones but I'll give my 0.02. I wouldn't really worry about spooking fish unless you're fishing specific pieces of cover and the bite is tough. I've heard it said that the splash can actually attract curious big bass, I don't know if there's any truth to it but guys do well fishing 3/4lb lures and those sound like cannonballs hitting the water. Best thing to do is switch it up. You mentioned you're fishing the bullshad. That is a very versatile bait. Try burning it, slow retrieves, twitches etc. The S-waver is what some call a "cover" glide. That is the glide isn't super wide which means it doesn't have the "drawing power" of say a Deps 250, but you can fish it tighter to cover. The rod issue is somewhat preferential. Ideally you'd want a bit stiffer rod for the jig hook baits but some guys still like a parabolic rod to keep fish pinned, you'll just ave to adjust your hookset a bit (more bend in the rod means you'd have to reel down more to load it before cracking them). Now if you're talking weedless baits like 8in weedless hudd or Rago Alphas you're gonna need a pretty stiff rod to set the hook through all that plastic.

I use a Tatula 7'2" MH/Mod-Fast. It's forgiving enough to load a bit when they grab it but still fast enough for a quick hookset and has the backbone to pull fish from cover.

Depends what you mean by light. If you're talking weightless senkos or something they're still fairly heavy baits, about 3/8oz I believe without the hook. That will do fine on a medium heavy because it is heavy enough to properly load the rod when casting, and you're probably talking 10-15lb line. If we're talking an 1/8 oz ned rig though, it won't load up the MH rod fully and you will have issues casting it. Plus if you're using light line, say 6lb flouro and that tiny ned rig hook, you want a rod that will load easier (less "weight" to load the rod) to start taking some of the shock of setting the hook and fighting the fish rather than your tiny hook and line taking it before the rod is fully loaded and breaking you off. If you tried fishing a ned rig on a Heavy power frog rod with 6lb line you'd never load up the rod before breaking off. It needs too much "weight" to load the rod for the technqiue and line choice. But if you're using a Medium Light rod it will full load up well before the line breaks. Then it's just a game of using your drag properly. There's no hard and fast rules everyone has preferences but if you go waaaay outside the usual you will know it. Either by having limited casting distance, bending hooks, breaking off, or losing a lot of fish. Adjust accordingly.

Usually you want a faster ACTION for those techniques but a lighter POWER rod (medium, even medium light for stuff like ned rigs). The reason being you're talking small thin wire hooks that don't require much to set, a heavy power would probably bend out the hooks. A lighter power rod will also load up better (ideally) with those lighter finesse baits. Throwing them far or accurately on a frog rod for example would be almost impossible.

My dad tows an 18ft Lund with the same SUV no problem. Like others said you should just make sure it has a towing package with a transmission cooler, and trailer brakes will be a big help.

I'm using Alberto for small diameter lines, blood knot for bigger. I tried the FG and it's good but I just can't fully trust the half hutch finishing method for it. And a knot I don't trust is a knit I won't use, even if it is a better knot.