LOTR88

I have the Mach II combo, that combo has been very productive for me as my worm setup. I think you are right about talking myself into the Custom Black, I have a bunch of gift cards to Dick's that I got over the holiday (told my family just give me Dick's gift cards for gifts...lol) I may just put all those gift cards towards the Custom Black.?

I have both the Tournament MB and the LFS, I like both of them, The Black reel seems in line with the Tournament MB as it has the same dual braking. I like the larger 95mm handle and the new Winn Dri-Tac knobs on the Black reel and I think the Black reel may have better gears. Plus I like the all black look.

I am a fan of Lew's in general, have several other Lew's casting rods and reels and have been very happy with them. I am thinking about getting the new Custom Black combo but it is a higher priced combo at $280 and am not sure it is worth it. What do you guys think? I played with one at a local store and it seems like a real nice setup. I may hold off till I see some real use reviews on it.

I use a 6'8" M/F for smaller poppers and spook type baits, I do a lot of walk the dog, the shorter rod helps me with that.

Another vote for Lews, I have both the LFS and the Tournament MB, both are great. The MB casts a little smoother and has a dual breaking system. If you can swing the MB I would go for it but the LFS is a solid reel.

I am a fan of this rod, I have 4 or them. They go on sale a lot, wait for the 50% off sale like I did, at 40 bucks they are well worth it. I have the 7'3" heavy, two 7' MH/F and the 6'8" M/F they all work well. They are a good all around rod if you are on a budget, sensitive and durable. I have mine paired with the Lews Tournament MB and the Lews Speed Spool LFS reels, very happy with these setups.

I am embarrassed to admit how I lost a rod, went to cast and I think the line was twisted on the tip and just the recoil of the line not coming out and the loaded up rod the thing just kind of flew out of my grip. I was kind on in shock and did not react quick enough, next thing I know I am watching my rod sink down into the murky depths. I tried to hook it with another pole but was a little too late. It was not a very expensive setup but it had sentimental value, it was my first bait casting setup, a Shimano Sellus worm rod that I got on clearance at Dicks with an Aubu Garcia ProMax reel. I don't know what it was about that setup but it caught a lot of fish for me.

The Sexy Dawg Jr. in Blue Gizzard is my favorite walking bait. I caught 8 on it this morning in less than an hour before work. My last 3 outings, I have done very well with this bait, over 30 fish, over 30 top water strikes!...life is good....lol. I do upgrade the hooks, I find the stock hooks bend a bit easy.

Still too hot down here in South FL. November and December are my best months. Looks like we may see some 60 degree nights at the end of this month. I Did have a great day last Sunday morning with a top water spook, caught 11 in less than an hour. It was interesting, the bait fish were breaking the surface but the bass really were not but thankfully there were still going for my spook on a regular basis.

I highly doubt any of my other poles would have broke in that situation, that tip seemed way to fragile, not saying it is a bad pole but I don't want to have to worry about being super careful how I lug a fish up on the deck.

I have been pretty happy with Lews, I use them for all my casting rods and reels, I don't use a lot of spinning gear any more but I do have a few Ugly Sticks with Penn Fierce 2 reels that work well when needed.

I had the same issue this past Sunday with my Mojo Bass topwater casting pole. It broke in the same spot just pulling up a fish onto my boat. I have never broke a pole like this, the fish was a decent size, maybe 4 pounds but not that big that I would think the pole would break. Fortunately for me I was within the 60 day return at BPS that I was able to take it back and exchange it. I ended up going with a Lews Custom Speed Stick topwater which I almost bought when I got the St. Croix. I have several other Lews poles that are cheaper that would never break on me like the St Croix. I liked how sensitive the action was on the Mojo Bass pole but I just can't worry about a pole breaking like that.

I live in the West Palm Beach area and have caught Peacock bass several times, I always catch them on top water, I use a spook type lure, and there is usually a school of them so if you catch one you will probably catch a bunch. Peacock prefer warmer water and weather, I have not caught any since November in the lake I live on. Good luck!

Since I live on a lake in south FL I fish almost every day, some days only an hour before or after work and just about every weekend. I usually just fish the lake I live on.

For me it was top water in the morning and evening, I mostly fish Texas rig worms in my lake because they catch a lot of fish but there is something about those top water strikes :-).

I am dealing with a sore elbow right now, started for me back in November when I fished for two weeks straight. During the 2nd week my elbow really started bothering me, I have since had to adjust my cast to a two handed side cast and I mostly use my left arm now while trying to let my right elbow heal. I have been icing it and doing stretching that has helped but it has been over a month and it still bothers me. I may need to take some time off from fishing to let it fully heal but living on a lake in South Florida I just can't stay away from the water. :-)

There is plenty of informative content on YouTube when it comes to Bass fishing, it all depends on what you are looking for. I watch a lot of bass fishing YouTube videos and have picked a few I follow because they are either informative or entertaining, some of them just make me laugh and we can all use a laugh. As for how it affects the industry I can't really say, I don't fish tournaments, I live on a lake and fish for the fun of it. I have taken a few action cam videos of me fishing but the novelty wore off quick with me, it was too much work...lol. As for it being expensive to bass fish that also depends on the person, you don't need to send a lot of money to catch a bass.

My goal is to really learn my lake better and to fish different lures other than the good old Texas rigged worm that catches me a lot of fish. I want to get better at Jig fishing and go for bigger fish this year.

I live on a lake where we have a pontoon boat so most of my fishing is from the pontoon boat. I am looking to get a small John boat to use so I can access some of the other canals and lakes that branch off from my lake through small tunnels that my pontoon boat can't get through.

I have several different rods but that's just because I buy the ones that are on sale. :-) Dicks always has 50% off sales that I go for. I have a few Lews and Shimano rods.

I have 5 setups but mostly use only 2 of them. The lake I live on I mostly do top water in the morning and Texas rig in the evening. I fish from a pontoon boat with limited space so my biggest rod is 7'. I use a 6'8' MH/F casting 7:1 with 12lb Floro for my Texas rigs. A 7' MH/F casting 7.1:1 for my top water with 30lb braid as my main two setups, I also have a 6'10' M/F casting 6.8:1 that I use for crank baits with 30lb braid and a 6'6" M/F 2500 spinning that my wife and kids use and I sometimes use it if it is very windy on the lake. I recently picked up another 7 MH/F casting rod that was on sale at Dicks paired with a Lews LFS Speed Spool 7.5:1 reel that I am not sure what I am going to do with yet.:-)

Welcome aboard!

I have been fishing most of my life, I grew up on Long Island, fished mostly salt water growing up. I have been bass fishing off and on for the last few years but it has only been the last year that I got serious about it. We bought a home in Wellington Florida on Lake Wellington. I am now able to fish almost every day :-). I mostly fish top water in the morning and Texas rig in the evening with some crank baits as well. I look forward to improving my skills and have already learned a number of things just from the information on this site.

Hi all, I am new here, this is actually my fist post, I will head over to the introduction section soon and say an official hi but i wanted to comment here because I am seeing the same thing. I live in Wellington, FL (near Palm Beach) on Lake Wellington and am catching fish like crazy even in the middle of the afternoon. It's not uncommon for me to catch 10-15 bass in less than an hour in the evening right outside my house on my pontoon boat in open water with a worm. I was off this past week and caught over 50 bass. Given a lot of them were the smaller 1.5 pound size but a few nicer 2-3 pounders. I am also seeing nice Peacock Bass in my lake, twice now I have been in schools of them in the morning and had a ton of fun with top water, Peacock bass sure do put up a good fight :-). Definitely a fun time to fish for bass in South FL.