NYWayfarer

I fish with my Father-in-law who is used to salt water fishing. When I went to visit him we would catch fluke and flounder and eat our catch same day. Ocean to plate fresh. Now that he lives up by me we go smallmouth fishing and he kept one to try it. I told him it's not the best tasting fish as I am a trout man myself. Seems he developed a liking for the taste, go figure. Legal limit here in NY is five 12" smallmouth. We don't keep anything under 15" as a personal rule. That means 1 or 2 a trip. He is eating them so I don't have a problem with it. Bottom line is no worries about your avatar. If Bass were endangered they would raise the limit to 50" to keep.

Bought a Fenwick Eagle 1 piece 6',6" Medium Fast rod from Dicks today. Got a $10 rebate printed with my receipt. That turns a $60 Rod to $50 rod.

PB Largemouth Bass on a lightning rod paired with a Mitchell 300X fishing a night crawler. PB Smallmouth on a All Star Rod with a Pflueger Purist Baitcaster fishing a shiner.I came 2 oz short of beating that PB this week on my Shimano Sellus matched with a Symetre fishing a Roboworm.

I noticed when I user to get line spooled at the bait shop they tend to over-spool. Their motto seems to be better to give too much than too little. I peel off a bunch of line to use as leader material. It helps with the problem you are having.

I have a 2 piece St Croix Triumph that I have had for years. It has served me well and stood the test of time. Back when I bought it the arguement was this rid was the only St Criox that was made in Mexico and not the USA. Still a quality pole and no complaints from me. The Triumph X looks great with the split grip. I say go for it.

Canadian Mist tube? Forgive my ignorance but I never heard of that but it sounds like soaking a tube in Canadian whiskey!

Ocho's are great. That coffee salt scent really gets them going. I fish mine with a wacky rig tool O ring and a VMC weedless hook. My only complaint is they are soft and when I used to Texas rig them they would shred easy. I used the bits left over on Ned rigs and they work great.

My vote would be for the Shimano Crucial. I am what they would call a frugal fisherman as I can't personally spend more than $100 on a rod for financial and sanity reasons. The financial part is because I am comfortable not rich and the sanity is because I would go nuts if a $100 + rod snapped! I know how upset I got when my St Croix Premier's cork handle cracked. I say the Crucial because I love my Shimano Sellus ($50) and the Crucial is the Lexus to the Sellus's Pinto.

I fish smallmouth on rivers and lakes. All baits I list are equally good in both. Top 5 baits in no particular order: senkos (or strike king shim e sticks to save $) zman TRD Ned Rig or Zingerz Drop shotting Roboworms Drop shotting Strike King Perfect plastic dream shot (love the coffee salt scent of these baits. Can't say enough about how it takes the fish stink off my hands) fragile baits though I lose the tails off of them a lot. drop shotting Jakall cross tail shad.

Hi everyone. After reading the Bass Resource forums for years, I finally got around to creating an account. I love fishing ever since my dad showed me how when I was a kid. I try and fish any chance I get in the summer and hibernate in the winter. I enjoy finesse fishing, drop shot, dead sticking senkos and ned rigs on light spinning gear. I hope I can help the community as they have helped me over the years. The knowledge I gained from Bass Resource articles, videos, reading the forums and purchasing sponsored products have been invaluable.