Boomstick

Well Tatsu is the best fluorocarbon line. The real question is, is it worth the money? I would go with something like AbrasX, InvisX or Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon, which don't break the bank.

If you already have a medium powered rod, I would go with a medium light for a second. You can use the medium for slightly heavier drop shot and shaky heads, and the medium light for clear water drop shot or neg rig for example. I just ordered myself a St. Croix Avid X 6'9 ML/XF rod. Obviously, I haven't got to use it, but I did get my hands on a few and they seem like nice rods. I have a couple of Tatula casting rods, and they're great. I didn't get the ML Tatula, labeled as a finesse rod because I hear the tip is really thin on that particular rod and virtually everyone complains they break it when casting or hooking a 2lb fish. I don't think you will have that problem on the medium rod with the normal tip.

I really like my Tatula SV. The Curado K is also a really nice reel, and probably a little smoother as well, but it doesn't brake like the Tatula SV. Here is how I would decide. If you find yourself throwing a lot of lures around or under 3/8oz or just don't like birds nesting, you'll appreciate the Tatula SV for it's improved braking performance. If you throw more heavier lures, then go with the Curado K for maximum casting distance.

I feel you, Today finally hit 56 and it's been 40 or below most of the time. Some of our lakes haven't even completely thawed and it's the middle of April! Catching bass around here on the shore is like catching unicorns!

If I am partial to any brands it's Daiwa and Pflueger. Pflueger has a great bang for the buck with their under $100 reels as well as good upper end reels, and it's hard to beat Daiwa reels like the BG or Tatula SV.

My personal favorite is the Live Target in 2 1/4". They hold up well from my experience anyway and the size is perfect and Imo are worth the extra cost. The Booyah Pad Crasher is definitely the best bang for the buck that I have found though. I usually buy a few LiveTargets and keep a few Pad Crashers and Spros around as backups for when I need them.

If you throw more moving baits (cranks included) get a Berkley Shock. They have a great track record and hold up well too. Also different Shock rods have different strength tips so you can check then out at Walmart or wherever and get one you like. If you fish more soft plastics, go with an Abu Garcia Vengeance. Of course if you find some better rods in the bargain bin or a good sale, that's the way to go.

I can't comment on the 7'7", but I have a 6'10" MH/F and a 7'2" MH/R glass rod and both are solid rods. The 7'7" glass rod might not be a bad choice as well. On the 7'2", vibrations are slightly muted but you still feel almost everything. I wouldn't hesitate before buying another Tatula rod.

I have used Siege before and it's great line. Very little memory and very abrasion resistant as well. Deciding between these two lines should be rather easy actually. Siege is a stronger, abrasion resistant line and Supernatural is more like Trilene XL which is thinner in diameter and therefore more invisible, but not as strong or abrasion resistant. 14lb Supernatural might be more inline with 12lb Siege so to speak.

I use a Daiwa Tatula 7'2" Glass cranking rod (MH/MF) that wouldn't be a bad option. I got my son a Mojo Bass spinnerbait rod, and the action is very similar on both rods and they're pretty good all around moving bait sticks. I really like the Tatula for these applications. The other sort of rod I would recommend is a M/F rod which would do well for the baits you listed.

I would recommend Power Pro Maxcuatro for heavier applications.

If you are worried about your guides, try a nice smooth braid that goes through the lines smoothly, like an 8 strand braid. I would recommend is Daiwa J-Braid x8 (they also make a x4 as well, but you want the x8). If you want a more abrasion resistant braid that isn't too bad on the guides for heavier applications, I recommend the PowerPro Maxcuatro.

Yeah a typical M/F rod is perfect for weightless soft plastics. I almost wish I got a M/F rod because of that, but it just so happens I really like my MH/MF Tatula glass rod so I guess it worked out.

I have heard the bass can't hear the frequencies of the rattles -- although it's possible they catch some overtones put out by them still. I would focus more on the amount of water that they move. A crank like the Norman Fat Boy that moves a lot of water will attract a lot of bass when they are actively feeding, but when the bite is more subdued you may want a less aggressive crankbait. They will at least feel if not hear water displaced by your lure. My favorite crankbait is the Norman Fat Boy. KVD 1.5s are also generally a good bet for most situations. And neither are super expensive. I also really like the Lucky Craft RTO for later in the fall.

I have used InvisX, Berkley Trilene and Berkley Vanish as leaders because I had it, but for a dedicated leader you can't beat the Seaguar Blue Label. That stuff is invisible and it is strong and really expensive per yard, but fortunately we don't need 200+ yards of it at a time. Also I've had great luck with the knot strength especially in lower diameter test lines. I do not recommend Vanish by the way, if a fish swims by it, it will start to fray and you have to pretty much retie every cast. I just was out of leader material and they had it at the local Walmart so I decided to try it.

If you want to go further east, Vermont has amazing smallmouth fishing but probably not the largest smallmouth. First, there is Lake Champlain, but then there's a ton of smaller lakes around the state as well that are largely remote and quiet. Try Lake Seymour, Lake Dunmore, Lake St. Catherine, either Echo Lake to name a few. I caught my PB smallmouth in a small 20 acre lake in southern VT. I didn't have my scale as I was in a boat and traveling lightly, but was a fat hog that was somewhere around 22" long -- using my arm from fingers to elbow which is 18.5" as a base of measurement.

Dress in colors that match the surroundings of the pond and if possible, sit low on the bank instead of standing to not scare the fish. I would start with a finesse tactic since the water is so clear. Sounds like a neg rig might be a good one, you can slowly hop it until the fish start to get interested

I am going to argue that M/F was the better choice for a bank fisherman anyway especially with just three rods. That is the preferred square bill rod for many and for a bank fisherman, it's a better option because it's common the water we fish is shallower and we may be throwing around a lot of stumps or branches, and the faster action will rebound quicker after hitting a stump and can pull a fish through weeds better too. MH/MF isn't too dissimilar in that regard, the main advantage is it's a great spinnerbait or bladed jig rod but the M/F gives you a weightless soft plastic rod. I usually try to pick an area of the water column to target and change it when that doesn't work for me. Given what I know about the lake I am fishing, the time of day and time of year, I can make a guess where I'm going to have success so I will start there until I can develop a pattern.

I watched a few youtube videos of public seminars about keeping bass. The general consensus was that keeping a few wont hurt the bass populations, and in some lakes where nobody keeps any it might actually help the bass populations. That said, I almost always throw them back.

Yup! I do the same thing except I use a MH/MF casting instead of what I assume is a M/F. At the end of the day they're not too dissimilar though and it's a versatile set of 3 rods. Sometimes instead of rigging them to cover different parts of the water column, I will think different presentations. Like say I start fishing really early in the morning, I may have a crankbait or spinnerbait rigged up. Then I'll have a ned rig or drop shot and a senko or jig on the other two rods for when the morning activity starts dying down.

I use Boomstick because that's been my gaming tag for years. Taken from Army of Darkness...

My first thought is how old is this line? I tend to replace monofilament line fairly regularly as it does have memory issues. The unfortunate thing about monofilament line is that it also be rather line twist prone as well. The best longer term advice I can give is to spool up some braided line, 15# is generally a good bet then tie on an appropriate sized leader for what you're fishing. Braid is largely resistant to line twist issues (although you may eventually get wind knots but they're much less common.

My personal opinion is that trout are line shy, bass, pike, catfish, not so much.

Siege is a really good line, but it is slick and even a little stiff, almost like fluorocarbon which means you are probably better off with the palomar than the double palomar as the double is harder to cinch down and can actually cause the line to break. I've used the palomar without issue with 17lb Siege line so I would think 10-12lb would be even easier, but I also use the uni knot a lot as well, especially when the wind is blowing my bait around as I find it easier to tie under such conditions. I don't even bother with the double uni knot, just tie the uni knot and give it 5 to 7 wraps and you're good. The palomar is definitely the way to go with braid, but for fluorocarbon or even mono, the uni is a better option imo. The improved cinch knot may also work for you and that's quicker to tie, but the uni knot is without a doubt stronger.

Here are my personal rules: -If I am running a spinning rod spooled with braid for finesse techniques, I will always add a leader. -If I am fishing moving baits, I won't bother. The fish aren't going to notice when chasing your lure. -If I am fishing jigs or soft plastics in clear water for finicky fish, I'll add an appropriately sized leader. -If I am fishing near rocks and run the risk of getting stuck in the rocks or abrasion, I will add a leader. If nothing else, it will save my braided line.