Russ E

I mainly use flukes after the water temp gets above 60 degrees. Until then the hard jerkbait is my choice. Often times in colder water the bass will swipe at a bait. The 3 sets of treble hooks on a hard jerkbait will usually catch that fish. The one ewg on a fluke often times does not.

Caught my personal best on a super fluke. Once the water gets above around 65 degrees and the bass are shallow, it can draw some big bites. I Fish it weightless on an EWG hook. I personally don't fish it on a jig, but don't see why it would not work.

The havoc pit boss is my go to bait for pitching into cover. It has caught me a lot of quality fish. You can still buy them pretty cheap at walmart. They are usually piled in a box under the other tackle. I believe there is also a powerbait version of the pit boss, but I have never tried it

Palomar knot is best for braid. I don't use the uni or slip knot. I use a san diego jam knot for fluoro and mono

To me the rapala, or any loop knot, is a last resort. there will be a greater chance of losing fish on a failed rapala knot than a questionable split ring. If you have bad split rings just find better replacements. I use the bass pro shops xps oval split rings on jerkbaits and crankbaits. I believe the are size #2.

in that price range I would pick a Tatula sv. It runs in price range from$159.00 to $199.00. Depending on where you look. It is one of the most versatile reels in that price range. good at casting light baits, skipping, and pitching.

^^^ this the president was once a good reel. In my opinion that time has passed. last couple i tried were rough. go to a Bass Pro or Cabelas and compare the president to a Regal. the Regal is much smoother. if you want to pay a little more the Diawa excelor is even better.

I have fished at least once a week since jan 1. So far everything is still open to fishing. The covid 19 cases keep mounting daily in the KC area. People seem to be congregating at the Walmart and Sams club stores. I have been avoiding them as much as possible. Waiting to see what the next step of shelter in place will be. hopefully fishing remains open.

I did a quick search for all three reels you mentioned. They all have magforce cast control.

Smithville has quality fish, but it can be tough. There are a lot of trees, that can be hard on lower units and boat hulls. When I lived in Liberty, I fished it quite a bit. when I moved to Kansas the out of state license and Clay county nonresident Park permit was too expensive. I now stick to Kansas lakes.

Nearly anywhere in the Northlake is a pretty good neighborhood. Biggest issue I have had in the northland and western kck, where I currently live, is the HOAs . They can sometimes be a pain. One nice thing is , Smithville reservoir is just 1/2 hour North of you.

I have lakemaster and navionics for my helix. lakemaster is much more accurate. Navionics covers more lakes. The only reason I have Navionics is the local power plant lake, that I frequent often, is not available on Lakemaster.

I would remove the sideplate and pull out the spool to see if something is broke, or loose. If you can't find the problem contact Diawa, They are usually pretty good on warranty issues.

I learned how to skip with a baitcaster, by bouncing jigs across my driveway. once you learn the trajectory, it is not that difficult. occasionally your bait does not skip and you will still get a few backlashes. Using a tatula sv, will make the backlashes more manageable. while I do skip jigs, the weightless super fluke is my go to skipping bait. I don't fish around many docks, but shipping a fluke under overhanging trees can get a lot of bites.

I have watched Ned fishing the local lake. He will sit right in the middle of a patch of coontail and hardly ever get hung up. They do catch a lot of fish with that bait.

I own a 733, 734, 735, and the 705 crankbait rod. they are all decent rods. Dobyns power ratings tend to run lighter than other companies. the 733 is a good light duty rod for super flukes ,weightless senkos,and light texas rigged worms. it is definitely not a medium heavy rod. It is a 3 power rod which is closer to a medium action rod., with a lure rating of 1/4 to 3/4 oz. A 734 is closer to what other companies would classify as medium heavy. it is a 4 power rod,with a lure rating of 1/4 to 1 oz.

I guess that would work. You could just cast a heavy sinker next time you are in the boat and take off with the trolling motor until you nearly empty the reel. Then just reel it back in. It does not take a lot of pressure, just a little tension.

It looks like your line did not have any tension when filling the reel. You probably just need to walk it out and tie the end to something solid. Then walk it back while retreiving under tension.

generally use hickory for pork. apple or oak for beef. spicy sausage, like andouille, gets pecan. apple will make good ribs also.

Arthur Bryant's is ok. A little over-rated in my book. To me the best barbeque around the metro is Wabash in Excelsior Springs. It is in an old train station about 25 miles northeast of the kc metro It is around 45 miles from my house, but well woth the drive.

Pretty good. The sad part is, a lot of us have at least one relative like this.

The rick clunn jerkbaits aren't bad. The suspending model I have.does not suspend without adding significant weight. In my opinion the Academy H2O ultimate jerkshad is a much better bait. It is roughly the same price. My largest bass of 2020 is 7 pounds 6 ounces. it was caught with the ultimate jerkshad.

I paid $1.77 a gallon for gas at a Sams Club last friday in Kansas City Ks. That is the lowest I have seen for years.

bobber stops for me. One thing I want to add is, I don't peg the weight unless I am pitching into heavy cover. My hookup ratio is always better with a loose weight.

We officially start shelter in place at midnight tonight. the local lake will stay open to boating and fishing, unless people are stupid and don't obey the rules. Unfortunately there are a few stupid people in our area. Friday afternoon at that same lake there was a group of around 20 to 30 people partying at a shelter house. there was a 10 person per group rule in affect then. As much as I hope the lake stays open, I am not all that optimistic.