Glaucus

I never use braid, but I'm going to give it a go. I have a couple of questions. First, how many feet or yards of mono backing should I use? Second, if my spinning reel is rated for 6-10 pound line, will 15 pound braid be fine even though it is 4 pound mono diameter?

Bass are friends, not food.

Nope, and I negatively judge those who do. My opinion, which matters little.

Do that with a wacky Senko. Might as well be a frog. Works well.

Same. There's more to a Senko than people think. It's the first bait I learned how to bass fish on. I remember that summer vividly. I literally never used another bait and never felt like I had to. To this day it's still my bread and butter. That can be a waste of time, in my opinion. If I don't like the spot, I don't keep it there long. Better chance of catching a bass from a spot I like after reeling in and recasting than keeping it soaking in a spot I don't have faith in.

Depending on the location (of course) I'll demonstrate and then literally hand my rod and lures over and let them do the work and catch the bass on what's working and what I showed them while I relax and have a good time downing some beers. I know I can catch them any time. Can't say that for everyone. So sitting back after teaching and simply watching and enjoying is a good time. I'd never let my pals struggle while I have a field day.

It's cool to see how different people are and yet still catch bass. I've never used braid in my life. All mono with fluoro leaders, or rarely, straight fluoro.

Basically the same man! When I do the cross their eyes garbage, there are too many misses to be comfortable with. When I reel into them, I never miss.

I never use braid either. I've never been in a position where I thought braid would have mattered. When you're from Illinois and our 5 pounders are as exciting as southern 10 pounders, and our vegetation is typically scarce, I guess it doesn't matter.

What are you doing that nobody else is, or that very few people are, that catches you more fish? I have a M/F casting rod paired with a good spincast reel spooled with 10lb fluorocarbon, and it's always got a Texas Rigged Senko attached to it. I pick it up when I need deadly accuracy. I can put that Senko almost anywhere and skip it with absolute ease, and it's great for the wind. It's gotten me bit in places that I can't really get to with spinning or casting setups. I've had buddies laugh when I show up with 5 rods: 3 casting, 1 spinning, 1 spincast. What do you need that thing for? Oh, you'll see. Just another tool for the job at hand that gets glossed over. My second best LMB ever was caught in some nasty weeds with this setup. Couldn't quite get to the spot I needed to get to without it.

Only eats beef jerky, ya liar

You're slow dragging a wacky rig on the bottom?

Otters, turtles, predatory birds, etc. Lots of possibilities. Love to watch them do their business on the rivers, though. I was fishing a dam with a buddy a week ago and one was sitting on a stone in the water just completely still and eyeballing the rushing water coming off the dam. Amazing to watch them work.

Berkley or Spider Wire polarized 10-20 bucks. Fine glasses. You just need em to let you see. And they let you see.

I'm starting to appreciate these weeds. I was horrified at first. Then I had a good day. I also saw my first beaver ever at this pond. There was also a ton of birds and frogs. It seems the weeds have made this thing come alive.

The pond, while overgrown at the moment, is clear. For some reason it was a 7" Blue Flek Berkley Powerworm that was the deal. Senkos and Trick Worms were not getting it done. 2 Trick Worm fish and 1 Senko fish. All 3 were dinks. Put that Powerworm on and it was a party. I dragged it across the mat and as it got close to the hole I would see bass getting worked up and heading its direction. Drop, then smack! It was just the deal. Had a couple blow it up through the mat while dragging it. Didn't try a Fluke. Will give that a go tomorrow. Funny thing about the Blue Flek Powerworm is I didn't get them for this pond. I got them for another place. Green Pumpkin is the color to use at this pond, but I left my GP worms at home by mistake. So I accidentally found a good color today.

Got 13 today. 6 were a good 3 pounds. Thanks guys.

Been trying to identify this vegetation and it's curlyleaf pondweed. Hope it does soon.

I recently posted a thread about how vegetation has suddenly overtaken my favorite pond. Almost an entire mat over the top. Would dragging weightless plastics over the top of it get bit? Is that a thing? I'm an Illinois guy. I am not used to heavy vegetation. I am specifically asking about weightless plastics such as worms and stick baits. I understand there are different techniques for this such as frogs but that isn't my question. I plan on dragging the plastics over the mat today and letting them drop in holes. I'm hoping that they'll be hit on top of the mat too.

I've had bluegill smack the 110 on the initial plop. It's weird.

Bottled water, toilet paper, waterproof New Testament, knife, first aide, cheapo old style flip phone that I'm not afraid to get wet and ruin in case of emergencies, beef jerky, disposable camera.

Your rod, reel, and kayak ain't gonna catch a thing without the right lures. Very erroneous to go that route imo. Reminds me of the guys who recommend a 7' MH baitcast rod and high speed reel with 50+ braid for shore fishermen. Preparing for the worst vegetation and double digit bass whilst ignorning reality and context.

You'll easily be able to get a Lightning Rod, Silver Max, spool it up, get a good supply of tackle, and maybe even have enough left over for a spinning combo. No need to go balls out on expensive gear or a boat load of tackle at this stage.

Release it lol. It's not a dog.

I have 2 lakes and 2 rivers that I fish outside of ponds. So new water for me is almost always a new pond I've discovered, was told about, or that I finally got time for. So that being said, I always look for the shore with the most weedline, downed trees, dock, etc.