Boomstick

My youngest one always catches them all early in the year. He got skunked after a while, but for a kid with absolutely no patience, he has a lot of patience when fishing and even if he gets skunked all day, he still keeps trying. He's going to be good. I got him a casting rod and reel for Christmas, and he used his older brother's once before that (to some success) and he remembered how to use it, and how to pull bird's nests out. For his second day with one he did surprisingly good though and far better than I did on my second day with one. My older one lacks the attention span and sometimes until one of us catch something, he'll give up for shorter periods.

I fish frogs on 40lb braid on my MH/F rod, so with 50lb braid you are good too. My favorite frogs are the 2.25" Love Targets, but the Pad Crashers are great to keep on hand as backups as well as they're good and cheap.

Wow, great catches. I too have limited experience fishing like that. The one thing I can suggest is try to have a couple of things rigged and ready to go. Your selection will improve as you learn the lake more. Jerkbaits and crankbaits are generally great this time of year. So are spinnerbaits. I caught a five pounder myself on a crank earlier today.

I picked up a St Croix Avid X 6'9" ML/XF and a Daiwa BG 2000. The Mojo has the same blank as the avid but I would recommend a BG over the Fuego.

I finally caught a fish this year (a rock bass) on Saturday. One of my kids caught a tiny largemouth... then today I got this five pounder! Skunk streak over! Bring on the bass! My girlfriend took the pic on her phone which doesn't take very good pics and I didn't even pose because I was waiting forever for her to take it, but at least I got a pic. It really doesn't show the size of this fish though.

Those are good cranks! To answer the original question, I would usually go for a spinnerbait in conditions where he fish don't get the best look at it, either a cloudy day or a cloudy water. Sometimes a spinnerbait can be quite effective on a sunny day in cloudy water. In clearer water where the fish can see it, I prefer a crankbait. Many of my crankbait fish were caught by fishing areas with abundant schools of baitfish. Spring and fall are great times for both baits.

Welcome.

On spinning rods, I prefer to go with braid to leader because or the way braid is far less susceptible to line twist issues so it's a no brainer. On casting rods, I am much more inclined to go with straight fluorocarbon but there are exceptions, for example I run 40lb braid on my MH/F rod so I can fish frogs, so I may toss on a fluorocarbon leader to fish soft plastics. Seaguar Blue Label is a good fluorocarbon leader, I've had nothing but great luck with it. But there's nothing that says you can't tie on regular fluorocarbon as well. Leader line is often a grade up, but far more expensive per yard. I would suggest the uni knot with fluorocarbon as well, give it 5-7 wraps, wet it, cinch it down nice and tight and you shouldn't have any knot issues -- unless you use Berkley Vanish.

Seems like you want to use 30lb or 40lb braid. 40lb braid has the same diameter as 10lb mono, and is less likely to dig into itself although you could try 30 and see how that works.

I have used Vanish as a leader when I was desperate so I picked some up at the local Walmart (they didn't have any Seaguar lines or Berkley Trilene fc which would have been preferred). If you retie often and constantly check the line and replace every time you see any fraying (which is a few times a fishing trip), it's passable but the problem is it's not abrasion resistant in any way. If you snag a weed, it could cause the line to start to break, and even knots will fray the line at the knot. I would not consider it as a mainline for this reason plus the fact that it's very stiff. There are just better lines out there, but it works if you're desperate.

Use mono if you ever fish topwater on the same setup or don't care about depth, and use flurocarbon if you need added depth. As for line strengths, it depends what you're fishing. If you're fishing clear water, use 10-12lb line, and if you fish around cover more often, try 14-17lb.

That's heavy line for jerkbaits. I would go with 10 or 12lb fluorocarbon, unless you're fishing other things that need heavier line.

I find the fatter the diameter, the less likely it is to backlash, but the less overall casting distance you will have. I wouldn't focus too much on the line test in terms of castability however. If you are going to stick with mono, I would recommend Sufix Siege. Big Game is not a bad line, but I find that Siege has noticeably less memory and is just as strong, however more expensive.

I have used as high as 17lb line on mine, which gives me probably 85-90 yards and that's not only adequate, but it's ideal so I don't waste line. I have ran it visibly low, but never spooled it. This way I get two fresh spools from a 200 yard spool of 15 or 17lb line.

I hear the straight razors can work just as well, I just feel that they'd be more difficult not to skin myself which is a problem for me and even more time consuming. Either will correct post shave irritation issues.

I have been using a safety razor for some years now. I used to a pack of 4 Gillette cartridges for $20 that would last a couple of shaves and then immediately dull and cause irritation, and that got expensive really fast. I've also had electric razors, which seem to pull more hair out then they cut even brand new. So I decided to try a safety razor and never looked back. I like the Merkur blades because they're fairly mild and I still get a good month of shaving daily from a single blade. Theyre a little more expensive, but with the contours of my chin, I can really skin myself so they're worth it. If you don't normally cut yourself, Feather blades are super sharp and much cheaper, and Astras are somewhere in between. The one thing is you have to be sure to take short strokes and keep your angle consistent, because you can really skin yourself. I did quite a few times before I figured out what I was doing, and even switched from a Parker razor to a Merkur, which is much harder to skin myself with. I would recommend the short handled Merkur, as the short handle gives you better control than the long handle.

I just got to look at the Renegade 1775 and I have to say compared to the Ranger RT178, it has a much better layout. I felt that I had more width on the seating area, and more depth up front. The RT178 is still better than most. I liked the 1775 so much that I'm considering saving some money and going with the smaller model. The RT188 and 1875 appear to be much more similar.

Welcome to the forums. Also someone else from my general neck of the woods.

While I stand by my BG recommendation, I will add that I completely agree that Pflueger reels are also a great option.

Add my vote for the BG. It's a very well made reel and other than being heavier, is on par with much more expensive reels

I like the Tatula SV if I plan on throwing anything 3/8oz or less. The SV spool adds braking which is particularly effective with lighter lures. That said, the Curado K is a smoother reel. Another one that is worth checking out is the Pflueger Supreme XT. While not as popular, it's as light as the Curado 70 but holds line like a Curado K and overall is a very similar reel at a slightly lower price point and just as smooth.

Yeah my friend who lives in W. Springfield consistently tells me the temperature there, and it's 10-20 degrees warmer than it is here at the time. However, a couple of 80 degree days should push up the water temperature up in a hurry, especially when it probably hasn't hit 40 in most of our lakes yet.

My predication is by next weekend the bass should start to get a bit more active if the weather forecast for this week is correct. So it's coming

I'm bot sure about elsewhere in the country but if you are in the northeast, you are not alone. The weather has the fish all confused.

I try to buy decent rods and reels so I end up adding to my collection, not replacing them unless they break or I lose them.