Obi_Wan

Go look at AJay's posts on his 1875 Pro V Bass. I have a 19' BassCat. For my fishing I could go down to a smaller boat and almost did with a Bobcat. I fish alone 99.9% of the time. I'm not looking for a boat to accommodate someone every now and then. I really want a boat that's easy to load and unload alone. But, My dream boat is a 2075 ProV Bass and I don't fish water as big as AJay. I think it comes down to what you have to tow it with, how much storage you have, will you have anyone else in the boat fishing with you, and then what lakes will you fish.

I've got two of these combos that I use for river fishing. ML rod. Highly recommend. Got it at Wal-Mart. Lew's Xfinity XJ Spinning Reel and Fishing Rod Combo, 6-Foot Rod, Size 100 Reel, Green https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lew-s-Xfinity-XJ-Spinning-Reel-and-Fishing-Rod-Combo-6-Foot-Rod-Size-100-Reel-Green/155659016?athbdg=L1200&from=/search

Good info. I haven't fished a weightless wacky rig much, but makes sense. I'm going to start throwing one in the river here and I think weightless is the main way to go.

I'd like to hear whether or not you like to use a wacky rig weighted or not weighted. If you do both, what makes you pick one over the other?

When I was a kid my dad fished red plastic worms, almost exclusively. I don't know anyone still using them. I was looking at some Tomatoe colored Zoom Finesse worms. Anyone have an opinion on red plastics?

#1 - yes. I like to wiggle it as it is falling and then just let it sit. You can use it as a follow up bait in the back of the boat at times by letting it sink and then just very slowly reeling it in. #2 - yes. We probably use more line than we need to anyway. #3 - depends. Sometimes I let it rip. Based on what hook I'm using. #4 - 80% of the time. I use the same Denali rod with a BPS reel.

Tubes - I have some smaller tubes that i use in the rivers and I have some slightly larger. I've really been liking the smaller tubes lately. Bitsy tubes and the 2 1/4" BPS Crappie Maxx tubes Z-Man TRD - Can't store them with your other plastics, but they last forever. Really like the Bass Assassin Lit'l P&V and the small Stik-O from BPS Kalin curly tail grub - I'm sure there are other acceptable ones, but these are what I use. Zoom finesse worms and magnum finesse worms - like the magnum version Z-man craw Culprit 7.5" in Mocassin BPS hellgrammite Yamamoto Fat IKA 4" Arkie Stick, 4" Charlie Brewer slider worm, Fluke of some kind, paddle tail swim baits, and anything else you like.

I wouldn't use a $150 lure in my bathtub. If I need a $150 lure to catch fish, I'll pick another hobby.

I have a rubber tire chock tied to a line. I don't want my truck rolling down the ramp on me. I back up and put the chock under the driver front tire. The rope goes in the window. I follow the procedures above to launch and get in the truck to pull up. I ease up and lift the chock up with the rope. I know I'm paranoid, but I don't want to end up with my truck in the drink. Funny, I'm not likely to screw up when I'm alone and un distracted. the only time I've had a close call was when I was with my brother and dad and they were distracting the hell out of me. I went to pull up and realized the truck was in reverse. Nearly backed it right into the lake. Learned to tune them out and double check what I'm doing.

Academy Sports sells some good cheap reels. I really like the cheap Lew's combos from Wal-Mart. I use them in the river so I don't have to worry about losing one. (let my nephew borrow a combo and he ended up throwing it in the river because he doesn't pay attention and doesn't care about other people's stuff until its too late). Lew's wal mart combo has never let me down.

No. I use mono and copoly only. NEVER had an issue. We worry too much about line and color and not enough about size and presentation. YMMV,

Can't agree enough with the speed thing. I'm accustomed to fishing warm water here in the south. I try to go to Canada with my family and friends once a year for walleye and smallmouth. Fish jerkbaits mostly. We get there just after the thaw. A very common conversation around the campfire is, "I'm struggling to slow down enough." When the water is cold, jerkbaits are great, but you have to slow down. I watch the pros fish a jerkbait and its non-stop. When I'm up north and the water is cold, I twitch it 2-3 times (slow twitch) and let it sit for a second or two. Many times I find that when I twitch it again, there's a fish there. But when I go fast, no fish.

Denali Attax. I've used it extensively in Canada with jerkbaits. Impulse is my #2 and for cheap, I like the Berkley Fire rod. Hard to beat the Denali for the price.

I've had nothing but great performance with Bass Pro Shops reels. My favorite is one they don't make anymore, but they still make some good reels. I agree with all the Lew's recommendations and then some. I used to be an Abu Garcia fan and I have nothing against them, but Lew's and BPS has overtaken them.

Don Iovino - Smallmouth candy Zoom - junebug, green pumpkin Arkie, Z-man - Coppertruse, PB &J Z-Man - Green pump./orange; yoga pants, the deal, sprayed grass Culprit - Mocassin (recently found some Gene Larew that is basically this color. good stuff). May be because my dad and I caught a ton of bass one time on this color. I was just a little kid, but I'll never forget it. BPS Stick-0/hellgramite - Houdini Smoke/black flake, green pumpkin, california craw, purple w/chartruese, watermelon/red flake. Good in anything.