NYWayfarer

Honeycrisp, Gala and Pink Ladys. Love a good apple as a snack with some peanut butter.

I have tried both and caught fish on both. I will say that the Dreamshot has a major flaw in my opinion. The bait is very thin and the tail tends to get bit off by any panfish that might be in the area. The good thing is even with the missing tail it catches Bass. Love them both. always have a supply of them on hand when dropshotting.

I have a mix of budget and expensive rods. I wouldn't say I have gone back to budget as I can't pass up a good deal so that's when I buy most of my budget rods.

Something about that Plopper drives fish nuts. Even fish that have no way of eating something that size...

Even at $89 it's a good deal. I really like the Mach 1 rod. I liked it before I purchased the combo as I had one already. I bought it from DSG on sale for $35 DSG has a $10 off every $50 you spend online only purchases today. That brings that combo down to $79

The older Mach 1 looks to be a better reel to me. More bearings and dual brakes. $99 closeout right now at Tackle Warehouse. The new Mach 1 has fewer bearings, mag brakes only and different handle knobs. $119 at Tackle Warehouse.

That's a great deal for $49. Looks like they are getting rid of all the older Mach 1 baitcast combos as the new models have come out. Everything is the same except the new Mach 1 baitcaster has mag brakes only instead of the dual brakes the old ones have.

Little buggers have good taste in homes.

No way, I was thinking more of the Lew's Mach Crush, or Kastking Speed Demon.

You are correct. I throw smaller lighter crankbaits, like my rebel Bluegill on spinning gear. Bigger cranks are what I use the 5.6:1 baitcaster for.

I lost a rod overboard while kayak fishing early this season. The fact that it happened in clear water and the reel was white made it easy to spot and retrieve. This experience made me want to go and replace all my black rods and reels with white, or neon green or orange ones.

I use a Lew's Tournament MB in 5.6:1 gear ratio when fishing crankbaits for River Smallmouth. For most other lures I use a 7.1:1 gear ratio reel.

If you are having troubles with the hooks breaking try the Z-man Nedlockz jigheads. The hooks on those jigs are stouter. You can still bend them back with a decent pair of pliers. My hookup ratio improved when I started bottom hopping the rig. Most Smallies will take the bait when it is standing straight up on the bottom. Even small ones tend to engulf the entire bait. When I feel the telltale "thunk" I use a sweeping hookset similar to the kind folks use for a dropshot. Also keeping them from jumping helps. I lose most Smallies on the jump.

Berkley's line of hard baits are hard to beat. They are great quality for their asking price. The fusion hooks they use are wicked sharp and don't need to be swapped out. I have experience with and can recommend the: Warpig Skinny Cutter 110 and my personal favorite the Squarebull 5.5 ("Gilly" color) I have to say while a whopper plopper is not cheap, it flat out catches fish and is durable. My WP 90 Bluegill color has just finished it's second year of fishing with me and has caught more fish than any pack of worms ever has for me. Looking forward to next year with it.

My absolute favorite bait for river Smallmouth Bass. Sounds like you had a good trip, Grats!

Poor A-Jay, can't escape those hurricanes. Stay safe out there.

I have the 100 size Mach II Speed Spin. Used it all season from trout and panfish to Bass fishing. I even caught a Smallmouth Bass over 3 and half pounds on it. No issues or sounds at all with this reel. I bank fish so this reel has been laid on the ground, wet grass and rock. Could you have gotten sand or dirt in it? It does have an open spool.

While I didn't learn on a Kastking, a Kastking reel (The Stealth) is what made me really start using them consistently. I found the Kastking reels easy to dial in the dual brakes and prevent backlash enough to where I was able to educate my thumb. The Royal Legend Elite only has magnetic brakes. I prefer the dual brakes on most of their other baitcasters (Stealth, Assassin, Spartacus, Royal Legend/Whitemax) My advice is avoid light lures when trying to learn baitcasters. Try a topwater lure like a Whopper Plopper. The heavier lure will allow you to set the brakes at near max and still get a decent cast without backlash. Once you have casted a few times without issue you can click the magnetic brakes down one notch. Repeat until you have dialed the brakes to get maximum casting distance without issue. Also no need to "gorilla" your cast. Wrists and rod do the work in the cast. Good luck and stick with it!

This past week has been tough. I have been getting 1 decent fish a trip. Bluebird skies, air temps in the 40's and gusty winds. The only things that have worked for me all week were squarebill crankbaits and Z-man TRD Tubez.

I have the Lew's Mach Crush Speed Spin size 300 reel. Very smooth reel, aluminum frame with the Winn Grip knob. Casts great. The only thing I would change would be the bail wire. I like a thick metal bail wire and this one has the thin wire like my old Shimano's. All that being said I would recommend this reel however not at the full $99 price point. Shop around, find a better deal on E-bay then go to DSG and let them price match it. I have seen this reel on sale for as low as $75 at times. With % codes you can get it cheaper than that.

October 18th this year I went fishing. On the water at 7am fished till noon. Air temps around that time were 35-38 degrees with 15 MPH winds. I had on three layers that day. Got this girl at 10:15 am Made braving the temps and wind worth it. Despite the temps I like to be out at first light. My bait choices change as the day progresses and the water has a chance to warm. Started out slow with jigs and deadsticking senkos to swimbaits and crankbaits in the early afternoon.

So sorry about the loss of your Dad.

I have the same issue this late in the season. During the winter months I organize all my tackle. I have old shoeboxes full of soft plastic packages. One for worms, one for craws, one for tubes, etc. Hooks and such get stored in Plano boxes. All of that stuff gets so tossed about during the spring, summer and fall it's impossible to find stuff after awhile. With the season winding down it will be time soon to get everything sorted for next year.

Squarebill crankbaits. Crank them until they collide with objects then stop reeling, give a 3 count then start reeling again. Smallies will hit when that bait starts moving again.

Chatterbait with a fluke trailer.