Boomstick

I would say it's really a case by case basis. There are cheap lures that work well, and expensive lures that aren't half as effective at catching bass as some much cheaper lures. Most of the time lures in the middle of the spectrum are your best value lures but there's times where the pricier lures can be worth their money - for example the KVD 1.5 is a solid all around squarebill but when the bass are really hammering them, you can't beat the Megabass S-Crank or maybe the Booyah Flex 2. Then if you're shore fishing and getting caught up left and right, maybe it makes more sense to use something cheap since you know you're going to lose a few. Another example is the $1 spinnerbaits at Walmart. A lot of people catch fish on them, but they don't hold up for very long. I'm not sure they work as good as say a Nichols, War Eagle, Strike King or River2Sea model would (among others) but they are helped by the fact they generally have a poor quality wire that puts off extra vibrations, but that also is usually what breaks first.

I have three Tatula SVs and one Tatula CT, and the CT brakes maybe 80 or 90% as good as the SVs. You should be able to find a CT at the right time on ebay for a bit less than the retail price of a Fuego CT.

Of the three, I am only familiar with the Sierra but they are solid rods.

I'm generally not a fan of combos, most of them aren't great but I think the SLX combo is a pretty decent combo for someone on a budget and sometimes the sales are pretty solid too. I do think the Fury is a bit better of a rod. As to the Fuego vs the SLX reel, it's a preference thing but both are pretty decent reels. I can say the Magforce-Z on the Fuego is the superior braking system as in you will get fewer backlashes with it unless you just turn it off, but the Shimano reels typically cast further.

I just sent out email invites so those who can make it (Monday at 8pm) can add it to their calendar.

That is sort of a M+ with a softer tip than some, which makes it pretty versatile. It's great for weightless or lightly weighted soft plastics, finesse jigs, 3/8oz spinnerbaits, 3/8oz chatterbaits, most standard sized topwater, crankbaits in grass etc. Since black friday is approaching and Tackle Warehouse offers 20% off, I would say step up to the Sierra 703C.

I'm not either - just like these forums it's for everyone!

Verified my email is legit

I will shoot out an email later today or tomorrow as well and I will post it here around 7:30 as well.

August because I've caught my three best bass in the month of August and it's not too brutally hot and the weeds are still there and effective if I choose to target them in weeds.

So I still haven't heard about my son's hockey schedule, they delayed opening the week another week and if I had to guess I don't think they are going to open it at all the way things are going. So at least for next week, I am going to set up our call for 8PM EST on Monday, November 23, since Monday seemed to be the best day. Since Black Friday is rapidly approaching, I am going to theme this one towards for gear and tackle. One thing I will ask everybody to present their most productive lure this year (make and model etc) and maybe some situational lures as well if we have enough time. Hopefully we get a decent variety and maybe someone looking to pick up something new will get some ideas.

I use my Tatula SVs and turn the brakes up to like 16-20 when I do it, which minimalizes the backlashes.

Net Bait Paca Chunks are my all-around goto jig trailers, but sometimes I'll throw on a rage bug or a rage tail craw to upside.

I generally fish April to November. Once it gets below about 45 degrees, that's just too cold for my liking.

Sorry, I mean does it screw directly to the hull?

That's about what I was going to guess as well.

Where does that thing mount? If you were going to side mount the fish finder, I wouldn't think it's too much different.

In that case, here you go: https://www.yakattack.us/cellblok-clb-1002/ https://www.yakattack.us/switchblade-transducer-deployment-arm-ffp-1001/

Yeah, it's not always viable, but if you get the chance - it's usually something fun to do on night one of camping when you have limited time on the water for example.

I'm not gonna lie, going out on a kayak and going around the lake to make a map and check out the bottom before you start fishing is quite fun.

I have the glass version of this rod, it's my go to for crankbaits and sometimes I use it for jerkbaits and poppers too although I have the St Croix Mojo Bass Topwater rod which is my goto for those.

I believe you may have seen my comment in another thread, but given new info, the Dobyns 744C would be much more inline with the weights of those baits. Unless you're looking for a flipping stick to throw them in heavy cover with braid, but at which point I would think you would want 1/2oz and 3/4oz and maybe even 1oz jigs anyway. I mean, for my complete jig setup, I would want (and I have) both rods, and the only time I would really throw the same jig on them would be a 1/2oz jig and it would depend what sort of cover I'm throwing it in. The TAEL731MHFB as @Hewhospeaksmuchbull suggested would be a fairly similar rod to the Dobyns rod. I kind of wish they had that one with AGS guides. I have regular Tatulas and they're pretty solid rods though. The 703C/733C might be a bit overloaded with a 1/2oz jig plus a trailer, but it's great with 1/4oz jigs. The 4 power will handle a 1/2oz fine but can still fish a 1/4oz, so I'd personally start there. I will note the Dobyns 3 and 4 powers make a very versatile pairing though for what it's worth.

Well I caught the largest fish that I ever weighed on a scale (5.43lbs) and it wasn't even the biggest fish I caught this year, just the largest one where I didn't leave the scale in the truck. I haven't got the virus ye or lost anyone to it, and I fishing kayaks for myself and the kids so that was pretty fun

Both those rods are a little bit different. The Tatula Elite is a flipping rod and you would typically use that for flipping and pitching - has the AGS guides too so that's a pretty sweet rod. I have the regular Tatula 7'6" - didn't want the 8' model because I can sit and flip it in my kayak. Typically, you would want to pair this up with some heavy braid and throw into heavy cover looking for bass there. The Champion XP is labeled as a heavy rod, but it's the equivalent of a Daiwa medium heavy, they run a little bit lighter than their rating - and Daiwa runs a little bit heavier. My oldest son has a Sierra 704C which should be fairly similar except in length. It's not a flipping stick by any means, but is a pretty solid rod to cast or even skip a 3/8oz or 1/2oz jig, probably on some 15 or 17lb fluorocarbon or maybe 40lb braid and optionally a 15lb leader. To be honest, this would be more inline with how I use a jig as heavy cover in most of the lakes I fish is very situational. For a dedicated jig rod that is not a flipping stick, I'm very interested in the Megabass Destroyer FMJ

Well there is a lot to learn. You can spend any spare time looking through the videos and articles on this site as well as Bassresource on Youtube (Bassresource will get you started quickly) and also reading through the forums, there's loads of advice in little things people mention everyday. My advice, is keep it simple. Get a rod and reel, as much as you're willing to spend as long as you know you're going to stick with it to make it worth it and pick a presentation or two and just work those presentations until you start catching fish, and once you start catching fish, expand from there. I probably wouldn't start with top water personally, I would be more inclined to go with a Texas rigged senko or ribbon tail worm like the Berkley Powerworm and maybe a Spinnerbait on a medium heavy rod. And maybe throw in a buzzbait as well, since you said you're interested in topwater. Topwater is incredibly fun when you get on a bite. Largely, topwater is the most effective at dusk and dawn in the hotter weather and then you can catch them in the spring and especially the fall all day long when the water is colder. Also, I'm not sure why it is but sometimes when it starts raining on a hot summer's day, they'll hit a popper.