Glaucus

2500 it is. Thanks gents. Any reason I should slap a 3000 on it with the intended purposes and rod I mentioned? I'm an online shopper being out in the boonies so I rely a lot on you guys and other online bassers as far as info goes since I can't check things out in store without a hefty travel.

I'd rather be fishing out of this abomination rather than a yak where there are gators. But yeah. You know sometimes, a lot of times, I envy the DDs they catch in the south, as well as year round bassin.... But then I remember that in the north I don't have to worry about gators and snakes.

I thought I was done upgrading and buying new gear as I head into a 2019 season that I'm hoping will be the best ever, but nope! Bait monkey really loves to hang around northerners in the winter. I'm looking at a new small T-Rig and Senko spinning setup. I'm going to get the 6'8" M/F Daiwa Tatula spinning rod. I want to pair it with a Daiwa Tatula LT spinning reel. I'll be using 15lb-20lb braid to a leader. I'm not sure what size reel though. Stuck between the 2000 and 2500. Thoughts?

"Overall this is a good platform for somebody that wants a family friendly recreational watercraft that wants to use it for fishing too, especially if you don’t have the room to store a large boat. Starting at less than $15K (without trailer), it’s an affordable alternative to pricy fiberglass bass boats. In addition, it’s a great tool for getting to those fishing spots you just can’t reach with big boats with prop outboards." .....

28 degrees today, but the river was still open thanks to relatively warm weather recently. I had a great day... Casting and losing some TRDs. The river was flooded, dirty, cold, and not a bite to be had. 2 hours of freezing. Found out with my new HMG that I can probably cast into a tea cup. Oh well. It was nice to throw a line around. Got hung up a couple times and reel set hoping it was a fish. It was never a fish. However, even seeing my rod bow felt pretty good at this stage of winter. 3 more months. I can do it (crying).

Watch bass fishing videos on YouTube

Around 5lbs. It's not even close to being in the 3s.

MH/F casting (jigs, texas rigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, some swimbaits, etc) M/M or MF [I prefer MF] casting (crankbaits of various kinds etc) M/F spinning (weightless plastics, small texas rigs, etc) ML/F or XF [I prefer F] spinning (dropshot, ned rig, various finesse) * topwaters appropriate to size on any of the rods ^ that would be my bare bones arsenal of choice if I was limited and wanted to do darn near everything. So whatever you're lacking from that is what I would get. If you want to get even more bare bones than that you can axe the ML if you're in the south. If you're in the north I would axe the M spinning. But I wouldn't be happy without either.

I wouldn't buy something so cheap. Much better of getting something like a Berkley Lightning rod, Abu Garcia Vengeance rod, or a Fenwick Eagle rod, and pairing it with something like a Pflueger Trion or President reel. All depends on your budget. Cheapest route of the ones I mentioned would be the Lightning rod with a Trion reel. Cost you like 70 bucks.

Weather channel app keeps notified on wind and lightning.

Matter of fact, I take that back. There was one place this season that was private that was head and shoulders above anywhere else I've fished in my area. My buddy got us on a big private pond a few times over the summer. It had big LMB and big SMB in it. Crystal clear water. It never gets fished. We got bit on almost every cast no matter if we threw a spinnerbait, chatterbait, crankbait, worm, Senko, topwater, you name it. That was a lot of fun. I think you read my post wrong or you had an improper idea of the tone of it.

To each his own. I'm not going to say you're BSing because I'm not you and I don't know you. It's perfectly plausible that someone fishes purely for the challenge. I think most of us fish for the fun and the whole concept: catching fish, and catching big fish. Then there's the guys who fish for the money. Then there's the guys who fish for all of those reasons combined. Personally from my perspective, nothing sounds bad about being on private water and catching big bass with ease. I did have the time of my life wading and kayaking rivers for Smallies this past season with my wife and good friends. We caught a ton of fish and made a lot of memories. That's the whole point to me, so private water sounds like a blast. I have fished private water, but few and far between and where I live, there isn't much of a difference. But to get on private water in a big bass state sounds like a dream.

Yeah I'm really not seeing his logic all things considered. People foam at the mouth for a chance to fish an awesome private lake. Like you said about changing states then because of the challenge, we can even go as far as to say well then change gear and baits. Go back to a wooden pole and worms. More challenging than taking a good, sensitive rod and a tried and true lure.

I don't get to fish very many private waters here in Illinois. I'm a public pond hopper and river rat.

It's been warm for this time of year in central Illinois. 55 degrees today. Rainy and windy though. 30mph winds tomorrow. Finally Saturday is supposed to be calm, moderately sunny, with no rain and a high of 35. A bit cooler but the water temps should still be in decent condition all things considered. I'm going to hit my favorite river up that day. Just 48 more hours. Haven't felt a tug on my line for far too long. Taking one of my new Fenwicks and the Ned Rig. Should at least 1 or 2 Smallies. I hope.

Some people fish for fun. Put me on a lake where I can easily catch big bass all day, I'm going to have fun. Catching is the whole point.

Lake Fork Guy dropped a video. He found spawning bass already. At one pond he found fry and a fry guarder and at another he found one on a bed.

Sheriff is one impressive bluegill. Their smallest bass Moby is a different kind of bass, a different kind of savage. He would eat the family if he could. Bama says he's never seen a more aggressive fish. Future DD easily.

A ML Fenwick rod of your choice and a Pflueger reel of your choice, depending on your budget. You can go with the Eagle rod with a President reel ($120 total), to an HMG rod with a President XT reel ($180 total), to an Elite Tech rod with a Supreme reel ($250 total). Or mix and match. Whatever you want. Fenwicks and Pfluegers are really good rods and reels for the money.

The best YouTube fisherman ever is ndyakangler. He absolutely slays giant smallmouth kayaking down rivers. He's mellow, only talks fishing while he fishes, and isn't over dramatic about anything. My daughter (2yo) falls to sleep watching him. It's her nightly ritual. She has to watch him catch the fishies.

His bass and crappie came from a river. I believe his catfish did too. Dunno about the main bluegill. The new gills came from a river too. Not sure what you're talking about. Most of his fishing for straight up videos is in private ponds though.

If you watch Bamabass, you'll want a pet bass.

I'm from Illinois. I know of a lot of people who take fish as pets. No issues. What the letter of the law says is different. But it's like the law from a southern state that it's technically illegal to walk down a sidewalk eating an ice cream come on a Sunday. But it isn't enforced and nobody cares. I'm not going to tell you to do it, but I'm going to tell you that I've never known anyone to get in trouble for it, and I've never met anyone in any position of authority who would even care. Some laws are just stupid. Like collecting rain water is or used to be illegal. Nobody cares.