B_Rose12

Do you happen to have the Pitching TP1? TP173H? 7’3 Heavy/Fast? I’ve been looking into getting a distinct pitching rod. Even with Lew’s higher end rods I keep coming back to the 7’3 H/F. I just didn’t know how good of a rod it is, I haven’t been able to find one to hold prior to buying. I know the 7’0 MH/F I have seems to be a pretty stout rod for a MH. But yeah, I will absolutely try putting on a leader tomorrow. Thanks for bringing that up, I didn’t even think about with me pitching it that I’ll have at least 5-6ft of line out to pitch it so it’ll never even make it close to the guides. Not to mention, here in Delaware where I live, the deepest pond/small lake I’ve fished is 10ft and that’s out in the middle, so a leader would work perfect for my situation. Thanks CroakHunter!

I use my Squarebill Rod, it’s a Lew’s Custom Speed Stick, 6’9 Medium Heavy / Mod Fast with 12lb InvizX. I use it for Squarebills, Chatterbaits, and Spinnerbaits.

I’ve been using the Strike King Ochos. They’ve got some killer bluegill imitation colors (Candy Craw, GREEN PUMPKIN/PURPLE/GOLD, KVD Magic)

Can’t forget Keitech Swing Impacts. But yeah you can’t go wrong with trailers, I’ve caught em on Brush Hogs, Speed Craws, Crawdads, Flukes, Grubs, just about anything! I love when I can get on a quality swim jig bite!

Since my first bite on a jig I always have one tied on! My favorite is the 3/8oz Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover jig, the way its designed it comes through heavy cover like no other jig I’ve used. I normally go with a rage craw or a netbait paca craw as a trailer. Another thing I do is change the skirts out quite a bit, my local tackle store carries Big Mouth Lures gear, which is also local, and they have dozens of skirts. The hot one for my right now is very, very similar to the one that bass slammed in your pic, I slay em with a Netbait “Alabama Craw” Paca Craw

I also fish on highly pressured waters so presentation is key at most of the places I fish. But I can never seem to have any luck with Flukes either. Even when I try them at the occasional trip to a retention pond. A month ago I would’ve said spinnerbaits, even though I don’t throw them enough, I did manage to catch a 4lber on one, I loved how the bite felt like I was hung on a log, but man when it felt like that log came to life IT WAS ON!

I have a boat but bank fish quite a bit. I used spinning reels all my life and after trying baitcasters, I only use spinning for extreme finesse like dropshot or super light ned rig. It is tough to cast a baitcaster in some bank fishing scenarios for sure, but it made me learn a lot quicker I think. Plus my favorite technique is pitching a jig and IMO that’s a big void if you can’t pitch with a baitcaster from the bank. I learned on an Abu Garcia Black Max which is one of, if not the cheapest baitcaster you’ll find. But once I bought my first nice reel (Lew’s Tournament Pro G) the difference is night and day. My recommendation would be to get a Lew’s Speed Spool ($99.99) with a higher gear ratio, I have the 7:5:1 which picks up 31in of like every crank and pair it with at least a 6’6 Medium Heavy/Fast rod, but if ya wanna go a cheaper route then get a nice Lew’s Combo to start out, maybe an American Hero ($79.99) or a Carbon Blue GT ($99.99) both are sold at Dick’s. I’d go with the Carbon Blue just because the rod is a 6’10 Medium Heavy/Fast vs the American Hero which is a 6’6 MH/F.

Power Pro makes a bright yellow braid that I use when I’m crappie fishing. Most hi-vis line I’ve seen.

I recently tried some of the Owner weighted Wacky Hooks, 1/16oz and 1/8oz. Had better luck with the 1/8oz. I always put two o-rings on and cross them over and put the hook between the o-rings. I really liked the Owner because of the hook bend and the weed guard is always nice. I try to target lay downs and docks, if I ever got hung up the hook would just bend straight.

Thanks for the reply man. I’ve been thinking about doing a braid to fluoro, since I won’t be using that reel for my crankbaits anymore. The only thing that makes me hesitate with that is that the Lew’s TP1 rod I use has micro guides and I figured a leader knot may not work out as good as a mainline, also would I have as much sensitivity with braid to fluoro as I would with straight fluoro? I will definitely try more brakes and less tension next time out and I’ll try a bigger jig to see how that works, hopefully good so I can get my form down. And yeah definitely, my next TW order I’ll be sure to have some KVD line conditioner coming to me too. Thx again man!

Hey everybody! I’ve been reading articles and the forums for awhile now and figured I’d join in on the fun and get some questions I haven’t found answered! I’m Bill Rose, 28, and live in the big state of Delaware. I’ve been fishing my entire life, from growing up mainly fishing but occasionally crabbing the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, occasional Atlantic Ocean trips, to fishing the Gauley, Kanawha, and New Rivers for the 9yrs I lived in West Virginia and of course the trout streams! After moving back to Delaware 2yrs ago, I started just targeting Largemouth Bass since there’s a lot of small lakes in the state, and retention ponds out the wazoo. After a few weeks I started doing more research on bass fishing and INSTANTLY fell in love! I’ve done a lot of fishing and caught dozens and dozens of different species but after taking up bass fishing I’ve never been nowhere near as passionate about any other fishing like I am for bass! I love all the variables, different retrieves, different baits/lures, weather, I could go on and on. I just love how it involves so much strategy and thinking on your feet, and it’s all worth it when that bass hits a topwater lure, to feel that tap-tap, or seeing the line take off! Figured it’d just add to the pleasure of bass fishing to talk and learn with some people as passionate about it as I am!

I’ve been having a tough time getting adjusted to fluorocarbon. I love the line itself but can’t seem to get my reels dialed in to pitch it and sometimes even cast it. I can pitch and cast no problem with braid on my Lew’s Tournament Pro G. I have a Lew’s Speed Spool (7:5:1) with 12lb Seaguar InvizX on it that I was using on my Squarebill rod. But I just got a Lew’s Tournament MB (5:6:1) the other day to use as my cranking reel with 12lb InvizX on it as well. So since getting the MB and putting it on my Squarebill Rod, I put my Speed Spool on my TP1 7ft MH/F rod. I can’t pitch nowhere near as well as I can with braid. What happens is I go to pitch it and typically it just kind of goes out and stops, making it end high and come down like a overhand cast almost. I have my brakes off and have the tension down to where it barely backlashes when it drops. Also when I try to even cast with my Speed Spool, I have my tension set correctly but I have to turn my brakes about 3/4 of the way on, if not more, to get a smooth cast. So this definitely hinders my distance vs braid. With braid I can cast smooth with my brakes 1/4 of the way on, if not less. Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks guys...TIGHT LINES!

I first got Lew's back in May, I bought the Carbon Fire SK spinning combo and I instantly fell in love with Lew's. Last week I decided to get a higher grade baitcaster and got the Lew's Tournament Pro G, needless to say, it has spoiled me. I'll own nothing but Lew's from here on out. Picking up my Abu Garcia Revo after using my Lew's Tourney, it's like using a baitcaster that's 10 years old. You def won't be disappointed with Lew's! And like Marcel mentioned, the Lew's Orange Crush combo will be out in month or so, that'll be my next purchase!

Thanks guys I will def check these out. Does the Dobyn brand have a good Soft Plastic Medium Action Rod also? That's gonna be my other main pole

Afternoon gents, Last week I finally upgraded from my Abu Garcia Black Max and went with the Lew's Tournament Pro G (TPG1XH). So far I am absolutely tickled to death with it. It casts so far and so smooth, super light, fast, smooth, fast pickup, and the SpeedKeeper feature is pretty cool. I've only been avidly fishing LMB since pretty much Spring. My dad and I have a 10ft Bass Raider decked out that we go out in occasionally but I have the best luck just pond hopping in developments and private ponds. Not to mention my dad only enjoys crappie fishing and he's not big into bass fishing and doesn't understand how to cover structure and stuff with the trolling motor, just basically cruises around the edges of the ponds never stopping lol. So that's another big reason i pond hop. Now, my question is, what would the ideal technique be for this specific reel? For those unfamiliar it's a 10SS+1RB, 8:3:1 Gear Ratio. I've got every kind of tackle known to bass fisherman lol. I was hoping this reel would be ideal for pitching jigs, casting jigs, and really just throwing jigs into any kind of cover or structure. I've got it setup right now with 50lb Power Pro on a 6'9 MH Fast Action Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 with the Micro Guides. I've been mainly throwing jigs and an occasional spinnerbait and frog. So what would be a good rod to pair with this reel specifically for jigging, if this reel fits the bill for jigging? I'd like to stay under the $200 range. I've just been having a hard time finding a rod at local tackle shops that is at least a 7'0 MH Fast Action. Most places have St. Croix and a couple G Loomis. While I have anyone's attention, what is a good jig, or just a good jighead design for casting and going through some algae mats? Some ponds I fish have em, another reason I want to change rods, the veritas I have now of course hates to throw into mats with the micro guides... Thanks in advance for any info you guys have! Tight Lines!!!