BigAngus752

Nice fish! Unpeg that weight and watch your numbers go up! Especially this time of year.

No. Just no. You will change your mind later. Pick a rod for bottom contact. Pick a rod for movers.

One of the lakes near me with the best size fish is a nuke cooling lake. Very, very tough to fish but rewarding if you figure it out for a day. Best thing about it is, the "hot" half doesn't freeze. Ever. Not even below zero. I have been on that part of the lake in February in my boat when the hot discharge was pumping. The steam rising off the water is as thick as heavy fog and EVERYTHING gets wet. You can't use braid because it soaks up the water and freezes as soon as you reel it in. You, your rods, your boat...all dripping. It's a brand new level of cold. I've had the water on the shoulders of my coat freeze and break as I'm putting my boat back on the trailer. And bring salt 'cause the boat ramp will deliver your truck and trailer to Poseidon...as Gump said, "I'm not a smart man".

I fished in the rain today. I enjoy it but today it rained so much I had to turn my bilge pump on, LOL. I had my rain gear so my shoes were squishy but who cares? I have yet to experience the "fish going wild in the rain" thing, but the bite certainly doesn't deteriorate in the rain. I had been having good success pitching into cover and under docks and when it started raining I switched to moving baits but I didn't catch anything so I went right back to what I was doing and started catching fish again. I would suggest using blk/blue as opposed to green pumpkin, etc. With the low light and obscured surface I always move to something darker in the rain.

@Finessegenics and @ErieCan are giving you my answers. Braid to leader is what feels best to me also. I have to say that I use Yo-Zuri Hybrid as mainline on almost all of my baitcasters but I have had terrible luck using it as a leader. That is clearly because it does not like my Alberto knot. I have used many different flouros as a leader and the ones designated as "Leader" are much more reliable. I have no idea what's different, but it is. The Sunline FC is my favorite. Never a problem.

Yes. Two feet or less. All the way down to 5 or 6 inches. It's not so the fish don't see the line. It's because I fish entirely manmade lakes and I break off at least twice if I fish 8hrs. Losing 2 feet of flouro or mono is much more economical than losing 20-30 feet of braid from my reel.

I've seen guys wreck forklifts sooooo probably not...

I agree EVA seems "cheap". I'm very weird when it comes to my rod handles. I very much prefer cork on my spinning rods (full if possible). However most of my casting rods have EVA. If the rod manufacturers gave us a choice then I would pick cork for every rod but they don't so if I love a certain rod sometimes I have to settle for cork or Winn.

I’m still in the market for a flipping/jig rod. Not a ton of reviews on these rods but all good. I love the handle and reel seat. Anyone have any experience? Thank you in advance.

I think they heard you...

A very sturdy rod tube IN a cardboard box WITH paper packed around it. My Cashion Icon spinning rod was snug as a bug. I guess Midway USA has gotten sick replacing rods because the shippers all care not-at-all?

Crazy bass. This was the fightingest bass I've ever caught in my life. He was only 3lbs 9oz but I thought he was going to snap my braid. This madman was everywhere. He was pulling drag and went under the boat, straight out, and then under the boat again so hard that I loosened the drag some more as I began to doubt my Palomar knot. I just let him run and dig while I ate a sandwich and watched a Seinfeld rerun on my phone. LOL. I'm not sure why he was so angry but I was impressed. Fished 2hrs after work. Six bass, two over 3lbs. Nice evening.

Yes! KVD Line and Lure and for gosh sakes take half a valium and chill out a little...

Nope. Animal control officially titled it a danger to the homeowner. Very unfortunate, but we have the right to stay at the top of the food chain. https://www.animallaw.info/statute/va-nuisance-animals-§-291-517-trapping-and-shooting-fur-bearing-animals-during-closed-season#:~:text=Summary%3A This Virginia law states,are otherwise causing a nuisance.

Did he look like he was heading straight for your boat rather than a fishing spot? I've had that happen a couple times to me. Usually right after I've caught fish. I've had some brand new bass fisherman see me catch fish and "casually" drive almost into me. Then they "casually" hang around for a minute pretending to fish and finally work up the nerve to engage me in conversation and ask for pointers. I think there are a lot of people that want to learn how to fish but don't have someone to fish with so they are learning on their own. Good for you for helping this guy out.

Because I sat down several nights in a row one evening in the winter and I plotted every single day for three months in the spring using three of the most "respected" bass fishing calendars available. I was blown away at how often they completely and oppositely contradicted each other. It was unmistakable. The top bass fishing psychics consistently choose opposite "ratings" for each day. Of course it's easy to find "evidence" that it works. Just pick the psychic calender that aligns with your results for the day.

What a blessing you are for your girls.

You want this: TCS-C-691MHa I believe it is exactly what you are describing. I own two of these and a Heavy TCS model thanks to @J Francho who recommended I give the "all-around" a try. It's perfect for 1/2oz lipless and squarebills. Parabolic tip that casts a country mile and good backbone for pulling them out of the vegetation. I have not tried the M+ but my personal opinion/preference would be that lighter than the MH would not work for me for 1/2 lipless/squarebills. If you want something similar but for vibrating jigs/large spinners I love the Duckett Terex (no longer made) that has similar characteristics but fishes heavier. I'm told by the people at Duckett that the Jacob Wheeler series is a good replacement for the Terex.

Fall. Water temp gets consistently below 55 (but preferably 50) then I'm taking a significant number of vacation days. Those are my biggest number days by a long, long margin.

I bet Johnny Carson could have told us what are bass are thinking...

When I'm fishing something "slow" I always use Megastrike original. Also, if I'm pitching and have the bait in my human-smelling hand repeatedly, I religiously wash my hands in lake water with a fragrance-free soap and I use the hand I hold with to put the Megastrike on. Leaves my hand smelling of Megastrike and not human or gasoline or peanut butter sandwich. Some people believe in the lunar calendar. I believe that this routine causes fish to hold on longer. Results may vary.

I heard that they can trap the fish against the hull now, but it's still a violation to swing the fish in and trap it against your body, correct? Agree 100% Tom. I suspect that when they started this league they envisioned the fishermen lipping most of the fish but 98% of the fish just get boat flipped. An appropriate, fish-healthy net is better than 20% of their boat flips crashing to the floor.

Is it YOUR "spot"? It's hit and miss if I'm just fishing "used" water behind someone. However, I have several "spots" on two lakes that nearly no one else fishes with the success that I have. If I pull up (under the right circumstances for that spot to be "hot") and someone is there I just wait. The second they pull off I can usually troll up and start catching fish. It's not magic, it's because I have that spot dialed in for depth, angle, and what lure to throw for those exact given circumstances. They don't. But like I said, if it's not a true "spot" of mine then I'm just working my way through a plan like any other guy.

I have a 2016 Merc 115. Always used Mercury Quickare religiously. Last year I ran out and, since I can't buy the Mercury stuff in a store and I have to order it, I got lazy and bought Startron at a local store. Ran it half of last year, filled the tank in November with my usual gas, put in Startron and put it in my heated shop for the winter. First time out in the spring it was running rough. Second time out it was rougher. Third time out I was halfway through the tank of gas and it was barely running. I had to putt-putt back to the marina. I filled the empty half of the tank with ethanol-free 87 octane and dumped a can of Seafoam Marine in it. I started doing laps in the lake basin. About 20 laps in it was smoothing out considerably. By the end of the day it was running great. I just ordered five cans of Seafoam Marine. That was all the evidence I needed. One ruined fishing day changed fixed my lazy, cheap attitude.