Quarry Man

thats exactly what I was thinking. I want to try vertical jigging with my new fish finder for both trout an bass, hopefully walleye someday..., and I thought the keitech on a ball head would be great for bass. the guy who taught me how to vertical jig for trout used 2lb test on that lake so im sure I can get away with it. I want to enjoy the fight, especially when catching tons of really small bass!

lots of great advice and probably better advice than what I can give, but ill tell you what I do regardless. I loosen the drag way more than I know I will use, and grab the line at the tip and let out line until it is at the reel again. then I pull the line and tighten the drag and simulate fighting a fish, you want the rod to bend a lot, but not too much, and not slip when setting the hook, but loose enough that the line doesn't break.

not true in regards to the rods, I personally don't like the look of the new envy black 2s, and they are very expensive. for those two reasons, I will not be purchasing any. I believe there are better options for $300. you can get your hands on Dobyns Champion Extremes at this price point if you know where to look (eBay). I have the 7'1" ML hourglass handle envy black 1, and love it. I also have a ***, and ***, along with several ***. I am a big fan of 13 fishing, but I think there are better options. Keep in mind that this com es without me ever using the rod, and who knows it could be amazing, im sure its a good rod, but id be willing to bet there are better options. just my $.02

the 7'1" M mod Cabela's Tournament ZX "Crankbait" model is awesome. I have mine paired with a 6.3:1 Cabela's Arachnid, which is basically an upgraded Tatula. I would recommend this setup if you can find the reel, great. if not, get a tatula. even though it is typically frowned upon, I fish 15 lb braid on this setup for mostly topwater and crank baits. it is very sensitive, and I have never gotten a bad backlash, or a dig in.

there are lots of good options. Cant go wrong with a Shimano/daiwa/pflueger. I would pick the one from each brand you like the best/fits your budget, and look at the differences between the three and pick which ever one you think is best for you. you are going to get a decent reel whichever way you go.

In preparation for the opening days of trout, March 30 at home, April 13 at the lake house, I purchased three 7' Ultra-Light Falcon BuCoo SRs paired with 1000 size Diawa Legalis Its and 8 lb braid with 4 lb floro for leaders. I am planning to fish powerbait on a carolina rig from the boat, and the shore, but was wondering if I could use them for bass with a 6-8 lb leader? I know I probably couldn't fish cover, but as an open water rod (or three) I think it might do well. I fish a crystal clear lake in Massachusetts where bass suspend in deep open water with no structure nearby. there are tons of 12-14" bass. I think these rods would be great for drop shooting and ned rigging here. P.S. I will still have my 4 other spinning setups for bass fishing, and for throwing trout lures on opening day.

pretty sure 13 FISHING is no longer banned here!

jigs and texas rigs, I can't catch fish on em

you can use zman plastics with jigs, just take them off after, you should do this anyways, and you should be fine. I would be more concerned about the bait absorbing water and rusting your hook later on. Besides, the trailer would have to be on for a while before it reacted, if in fact it does.

Yes, and I get no sensitivity/feel. I do fish a drop shot in spots where it isn't weedy, but thats few and far between. Thats a very good plan and its similar to what I do. I have one spot that I only fish in tournaments, its an isolated cove maybe 25 square feet, but its super matted and catch a decent bass literally every time. I hit it maybe 15 times and never failed to get bit! around the area are shallow reeds and I have frogged it, caught one once, but I have been using the ima skimmer to get bit, I love your idea about the popper will definitely give it a go. The best way to describe this kind of fishing is like sight fishing for redfish I guess. water is clear and super shallow, you can see the fish sitting there and they make a wake with dorsal fin when swimming away. I haven't caught fish in the middle of the lake with topwater, though I haven't tried much. that makes more sense, thanks for clarifying. I sometimes cast towards the bank, but fish offshore near the stream channel drop off like you said

Forgot to mention that I have a boat. lake isn't that weedy. only the bottom foot or so has milfoil, no mats or anything. there are weird clumps of milfoil though that reach the surface around 10' in diameter, and I have noticed baitfish around there. I usually bank fish at night with luck, but want to fish bottom baits more, like jigs, Texas rigs, and crank baits

my lake is man made and 40 acres, with an average depth of 4' (lol), and a max depth of 10'. The lake has almost no cover/structure besides a few isolated rocks/logs and a channel There are some spots that have rock and are the deepest, and I fish these spots well. The back third of the lake is very shallow and I am one of the only ones who actually goes back there and has luck.Mist if the lake is silty and has mud and weedy bottoms (milfoil). this makes me hesitant to throw any lures that touch the bottom. I pretty much only throw moving baits over top, even during the day. What can I do?

well im not going because I don't have a boat plug...

I'm sending it to Marsh Creek Lake after school tomorrow. I will be on the water hopefully by 3ish, and fish til 5:30. Water temps will likely be in the 30's if it isn't frozen. What techniques work best, and how do I find the fish? I am confident that if I can locate them, and know where to look, I will have a shot at catching them. What parts of the lake do fish tend to be in around this time of year? I will be on a boat and have side and down imaging, and detailed maps of the lake.

yes, you need the bar code from the box as part of the deal/offer

so would you reccomend the 7' mh fast instead of the 7' mh mod fast? https://falconrods.com/falcon-lowrider.html

that's what I expected, I just thought it was a combination of using a 2 piece rod, (didn't realize it was a 2pc until after I bought it) and 12 lb floro. Now I am hesitant to fish with it because I can't afford to lose fish in tournaments.

good point, I have only used up to 15 lb floro with no issues, was gonna try 17 lb abrazx. will likely stock its 15 lb for now I feel like they prevent me from ripping the hook out of the fishes mouth, (problem of mine is setting hook to fast and relying on reaction time). I guess its just what I prefer?

thats a good point, lower gear ratio, more power for baits with more resistance, and faster reels for baits that need slack picked up

Can you explain what you mean by torque? I have two casitas reels one with 15 lb floro and one with 12, casts great and is smooth, just doesn't feel right when fighting fish

I used very similar reels this year for all three applications, and it worked great, im interested to learn if a 6.3 is better though?...

I am preparing fo my first tournament of the season the second week of June. It is a small event on a small lake (100 acres or less) and most people fish out of Jon boats. Over the last few years, I have had great success with both 3/8 original man chatterbaits, and kid finesse spinnerbait. I have since branched out and built a collection of these baits. I want to build two combos that fish these techniques very well. Basically I go into the middle of a barren lake with 4' visibility in 2-6' of water and cast and reel. There is almost no structure, the occasional boulder and stump but thats it. I am getting two 7’0” MH Mod-Fast Falcon Lowriders. looking at the Tatula SV for both rods, and will like be using 17 lb floro (its also a pickerel tournament) I may switch to 40 or 50 lb braid someday, but im starting with floro. basically, I start my tournament fan casting the two lures into open water and reel them in. What gear ratio should I use? options are 6.3, 7.3, and 8.1

thank you, I will take this into consideration. your point about weight and stability makes sense. Also, you have convinced me to test the boat's stability first!

sounds awesome on paper, was debating between the 7'3" and 7'2" I have a 7'3" mh rod and h already so was thinking of going with the 7'2 for swim jigs and fishing heavy wood and some vertical grass...and maybe adding the 7'3 down the road. on paper they both look identical, one is an inch longer. can you comment on this?

I just read somewhere that adding weight adds stability and realized that I agree with this to an extent. add more weight when fishing with my grandfather and take it out when fishing solo... good idea?