papajoe222

I feel that the majority of 'advancements' in newer baitcasters are user friendly ones and their target group is new anglers. I mainly fish older Daiwa reels; Sols, Alphas Vientos and my workhorse Advantages. . They perform exceptionally well and the Sols and Alphas are buttery smooth. Newer reels have nothing more to offer for me.

For those of you that have talked about fishing a square bill deep, can you mention what baits you get to run deeper than 6ft. Most of the ones on the shelves here are shallow runners.

Dislike: I have to go with a drop-shot. Yea, I'll throw it when the bite is tough, but that doesn't mean I like it. Cant Stand: Bladed Jigs. Give me a spinnerbait, or a swimjig. Can't Catch Bass: Toads. I mean no takers. Cut it off and tie on an Ultra Vibe Speed Craw and I'm into fish.

I start throwing topwater once the bass start moving shallow. I'll switch off between a floating jerkbait and a prop bait, depending on the amount of chop on the water. Once they start clearing beds, I switch to ploppers and buzzers and always have a follow-up Fluke on deck. Unlike many anglers, I'll throw topwater all day from post spawn through fall as long as it's producing. Often times, after that morning bite dies, it's just a matter of changing speeds, or profile/action to continue the excitement.

On my home lake, it was from searching with my depth finder (no topo maps). For my other two favorite lakes it was a combination of picking out areas on a map and then finding them with my electronics. The ones that consistently produced, although few in number, have been on my list for years. I still check out spots, but don't spend much time searching for new ones.

Mine was with a BPS 6ft. Med (I forget the model) paired with a TD Advantage and good ole 12lb Original Stren. That was my topwater combo for years. It and a Spook put a lot of fish in my boat.

I've found that with clear water, I do much better with silent cranks. Even though there are no shad in the clear lakes I fish, my two best producing colors are some version of sexy shad and red crayfish. I do have plenty of bluegill and firetiger baits, but like someone else mentioned, if the crankbait bite is on, action and vibration are much more important than color.

Not me. The only time I ever spent in DeKalb I was delivering to McDonalds

I'll attempt to address both of your concerns. When netting a fish that is hooked with treble hooks, the best way I know of to keep the fish from impaling itself on the other hooks, is to keep tension on the line thereby keeping the fish's head pointing up. Don't lay the net down until you do so. You can then remove the fish from the net, provided the lure isn't caught in the net. A coated net will resist tangling with hooks and is the type I've been employing for years. The coating of the nylon prevents the hooks' barbs from catching the fibers or the hook point from easily penetrating the net.

The only knot I've learned in the last decade is a snell knot and the only reason I first tried it is the advantage it offers for improved hook-ups. Otherwise it's the Pitzen (single and double) and Palomar.

Hands down, my TD Sols. I'm sure there are smoother baitcasters out there, but I haven't found any. I take that back, my Alphas is just as smooth. Both of those will handle the majority of what I ask them and they really shine when throwing the light stuff.

I just call them brain farts, or senior moments (I have reoccuring ones). Didn't know there was a switch. If there is one, I'll bet it's buried in a dark hole.

I understand your situation. The only suggestions I can offer are to switch to a light wire hook, which will penetrate easier than a standard worm hook, and stick with short casts to help compensate for the line stretch (less line, less stretch).

It's always a kick when something like this happens. Glad you 'figured out' how they wanted it. Something similar happened to me. I made a cast with a football jig and ended up with a bit of an over run. It didn't take long to untangle. When I went to move the jig afterword, you guessed it, fish on. That was the ticket for the day; let the jig sit for a while before moving it. Never would have thought of that on my own.

Two baits I recommend for beginners; A BeetleSpin and a wacky rigged worm. The first will catch them when they're aggressively feeding and the second will get them anytime, but really shines when they aren't aggressive.

No argument on either of the St.Croix mentioned, I have a Med and a Med/Lt Triumph. However, the OP is looking for a rod with a small fore grip and I don't know that SC offers one.

Glenn turned me on to this T-Rig hack; Thread a piece of heavy 60-80lb. mono through one side of the plastic, the hook eye and out the other. Trim both ends flush with the plastic. It keeps your bait from sliding down the hook shank and also from getting torn up. One plastic worm can last all day and catch multiple fish. Really saves on both money and the occasional missed fish from your plastic balling up preventing a good hookset.

Although my love affair with Daiwa low profile baitcasters began before the TD line was offered, I enjoy them to the point that Sols, Fuegos and Alphas make up the majority of my reel inventory. Other Daiwa models make up the rest. Sweet combo.

I'd go with a tube which is my second favorite for CR. You could also downsize the worm to a 4-6in. I normally will switch to a split shot rig for those, but they work well on the Carolina Rig also. I still haven't gotten a bladed jig wet, but that will change this season. They were hot the last season, and I gotta find out one way or another if they live up to the hype.

I have found that there are days and different times during any particular day, that bass prefer a horizontal vs. a vertical presentation. When they ignore the straight fall of a jig that's flipped or pitched, I switch to a worm with a pegged weight. Although it isn't a vertical presentation, the worm will pendulum on the fall more than a jig and that slight horizontal movement is, IMO, the trigger.

Or you could send them to me. The big box stores around here stopped selling them a few years ago.

#3 Actually, the most important information for me would be the weather pattern for the previous few days.

I use a combination of storage systems. One is a pegboard for baits and tackle still in their original packaging. This is where I keep multiple bags of soft plastics and a few hard baits that the monkey talked me into buying. The other is a rack (actually two) that will hold multiple 3700 boxes. I mark the boxes with the contents and will replenish from them when necessary. I fish for other species, so some of those are taken when needed. BTW, the racks I have can either be utilized free standing, or mounted to a wall/pegboard.

Three favorites; Jig/trailer, Tube bait, crankbait tuned to run under one side of the dock.

I don't break them out often, but I do carry a small assortment of the jigs. I use them almost exclusively with skinny worms and a 'do nothing' approach, letting them fall slowly, lift and let them fall again. Killer presentation I go to when my tubes aren't getting any love.