BigAngus752

It's very interesting reading the original start of this thread 13 years ago and noticing that, apparently, a lot of fishing stuff manufacturers read it also.

I counted all my toes today and did NOT eat any of my crayons.

Hit the "solved" button.

Fer cryin' out loud. I've "fixed" it twice. My fingers are dumber than the rest of me.

We ALL have a tendency to "stay put" rather than venture out. It's a feeling of comfortability and nostalgia. Those are cozy feelings but sometimes they can keep you from better things. Ask your kids?! Of course they are going to stick with what they know right now!!! They're kids. It's ALL THAT THEY KNOW. It's not wrong for you to stay put. If that is what makes you happy then you should stay. If you decide to go you certainly aren't "taking your kids away" from anything. You are teaching them a valuable lesson about exploring the world and life in general. You can view this as "moving the kids away from their friends" or you can view this as "giving the kids opportunities they would have never had". You're in a spot right now. I have been there several times and I completely understand your pain. The problem is that neither choice is wrong. One is better than the other. I can't tell you which. One is easy and complacent. One is scary. What kind of a person are you? Are you a "I can't adapt, the past is always better" person? Or a "what if I had done that" person? This isn't about the job. It's about you. I know me. I'd be gone in a heartbeat to better opportunity and, more importantly, to someplace that actually appreciates my work. But that's me. You need to be you. Here's the most important thing: YOU CAN'T BE WRONG. There's no wrong here. You aren't picking between ice cream and broccoli, you're just deciding which flavor ice cream. There's no wrong ice cream, brother.

This thread actually has me considering buying some Abu rods. I have a worthless, broken Dobyns Champion sitting in my garage that broke in a similar circumstance. No way to prove it's defective and Dobyns wants $100 ($70 replacement and $30 shipping) to "replace" this rod. It's a $260 rod that was not worth anything close to $260 to begin with. Now they want to turn their rod into a $360 rod. From day 1 I never felt it was worth the money. If you liked that rod you are getting a helluva deal for ten bucks.

Someone needs to buy him some boots for Xmas.

^^^original^^^

You certainly live in a snake-infested state. I bet you also know alot of people. I'm curious, do you personally know someone that has been bitten by a cottonmouth? In a fishing situation like you describe?

How deep are they? Do they want it moving or slow? 1. As nearly everyone has said; black and blue jig with big, flappy black and blue trailer 2. Vibrating jig, dark colored and I highly, highly recommend the "bubble blade" available on the @Siebert Outdoors Fogy: https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/grid-iron-g2-mata-jig Under "blade color" select Bubble Blade. This thing catches fish when nothing else will. 3. As nearly everyone has said; large spinnerbait 4. Red or dark colored squarebill and the LARGER the better. 5. T-rigged or wacky Berkley Maxscent General or Kingtail in a dark color. The Maxscent stuff is outstanding and the Kingtail is a giant worm with a big, flappy tail.

Agreed. I've lived within the same 150 mile radius (central Illinois) my whole life (52 years). I had never seen a bald eagle in the wild here in Illinois until I was close to 40 and that was an amazing moment. Now when fishing two of my regular lakes I see at least one about 50% of the trips. The small, electric only lake I fish it isn't unusual this year for a juvenile bald eagle to "buzz" me 15 feet over my head while I'm fishing. Epic. Every single time.

That's good info. I will call Dobyns and ask about it. Thank you.

Can you explain how that is different than the DC 735SH? It’s a m/h but has a larger weight range and xf tip. Different backbone?

What kind of a psycho would keep track of that? Oh, the single kind. Nevermind.

Well now, THAT is very interesting. I didn't know it existed. Right now all of the rods I skip with are 7'0 and 7'3. I have to admit that it takes me a couple throws to adjust between those two lengths sometimes. I'm wondering how my pea brain would struggle with a 6'10 in the mix. Edit: I've found several reviews that lead me to believe that, while great for skipping, it is lacking some tip/backbone that I want (people love it for spinners though) and I need a heavier rod. A good, sensitive pitching rod with a lot of tip is my priority. If I buy one of them that I listed and it's not handy for skipping then I'll just have to buy a dedicated skipping rod, right?

Please help me choose. I will be pitching and casting (including skipping) only 1/2oz jigs (with a tendency to use large trailers). I have zero experience with Dobyns casting rods but I have two Dobyns spinning and I find them much lighter and much softer tips than my preferred rods. The "fast" on the two Dobyns spinning are very moderate in comparison to my preferences. Perhaps this doesn't translate to the casting rods but it has me considering the extra fast versions. Who has some opinions to share on any of these three rods? Thanks in advance.

This REALLY makes towing a trailer more pleasant. It takes out movement that you don't realize is there until you install it. I'm guessing it is also as much of a deterrent to theft as a locking pin. Not handy if you need to change drops all the time but I don't and I love this thing. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VWL3R3M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

No one responded! How rude! I would have, but I was 14 weeks old...

What has the weather trend been like the last week or so? Water temps going up, down or steady?

THIS is why I'm a bass fisherman. The people who only care about ending up with a bunch of fish are the people spider-rigging for crappie and drinking a 12 pack while they ride in a boat. Why not just go the the supermarket and buy some fish? I do this for the challenge. Trying to catch a predator with eons of genetic knowledge and primal smarts. I love to study all of the details trying to figure them out. What's the season? Recently passed weather? Current weather? Wind? Sun? Water clarity? What's different today than the last time I was here? I love to read about it and practice it. I get frustrated sometimes too, but that's okay. If I loaded the boat every time I went fishing I would have quit years ago. I'm here for the challenge. Game on.

I've had some luck ignoring the active fish in the middle of the feeding fray and targeting nearby cover. The bass that are lurking in nearby cover will be there waiting to ambush. The bass out in the middle of the water hitting the center of the bait balls I've rarely been able to catch. This only works if the bait is staying in the area for a decent period of time. Those bait balls in the middle of a lake that are moving or getting blown around won't have bass set up to ambush. Look for cover or a weed line or even a shadow line. Pick a mover that matches the hatch and run it parellel to the weed or shadow line.

Anything with lots of appendages. Muddy/stained water I use black or blue/black. The clearer the water the more natural you want the color. The type and size of hook must be determined by the plastic you are using. The thicker your plastic the sturdier the hook. Obviously a larger plastic will need a bigger hook. Many anglers don't like EWGs and will use only worm hooks and flipping hooks. I use all three in various situations. The least expensive but very effective plastic lure around the spawn is, IMHO, two packs (black and green pumpkin) Zoom lizards from Walmart with a 3/0 or 4/0 hook of your choice, T-rigged with a weight selected for the wind or current that day and NOT pegged. I haved fished that rig all day long with great success.

A sweatshirt!!!! Oh, the humanity!!!!

Spectacular! It's about time.

Power POLE. Not poles. Unless something has changed, two Power Poles voids the Ranger hull warranty (RT188). Ranger will allow a single Power Pole only if installed by a Ranger dealer.