Bass Junke

Because the site isn't called muskieresource.com. Because the store isn't called Walleye pro shop. Because it's not the salmonmasters. Because in 76 on SNL it wasn't called Trout-O-Matic. Okay the last one sort of dated myself and might have been uncalled for. Sorry folks.

Congratulations! Enjoyed following you on the leader board. Amazing!

Wow! Thanks again @txchaser. IMO with regard to all the folks here this is just a useful tool to provide insight and to help the folks who have it become more successful in their quest. Everything already posted is awesome.

I think we a Bass Resource should stop these endless FFS discussions and start a thread called "Things we have learned from FFS" For instance, KVD was on the Bilge and one of his comments was "If I had known about all the followers I had over the years, I might not have moved from a lot of those spots. Instead changed baits, color, ect." Don't know if that really helps all of us that are still fishing without FFS, but it is interesting. I would read that thread with great interest.

@TnRiver46 I watched that. I always liked Steve. He just seems... happy all the time. That was a great discussion. Between that podcast and the Bass after dark with Scott Martin and Fred Roumbanis, changed my mind a bit about FFS.

I use JJ magic. This stuff will bleed into everything. Particularly the Methiola, Mathio, pink. (Stupid name for the color pink). The other colors pretty much stay put. The pink will taint or tint an entire storage box if not careful. First year I used this stuff I had a bunch of various soft plastic dipped in JJ's in all the colors. Before long all baits were brown in that box, pink/red mixed with green based colors equal brown.

I'm with @Tennessee Boy, I want to know what the depth the active fish are at before I go out. I pick 3 though.

I use mesh rod sleeves. I have a small car and 6-11 rods to transport. Keeps everything neat and tangle free. I use Rod Sox. They have a very tight weave so nothing pokes through. I particularly like the tip. I can't tell you how many times I hit the tip on stuff. The tip on the Rod Sox is awesome. Really takes the sting away when you crash into a door frame. The plastic collar is really nice and usually falls right where my hook keeper is and that plastic collar keeps hooks from getting snagged. Most of my rods are long enough and the hook keepers low enough that any bait will not be caught in the mesh because the sleeve does not go that far down the rod. I don't see the need for reel covers. Off-season isn't really long enough to build up much dust. The only thing that ever happens to my reels is they get wet when I fish in the rain.

@Bankc good advise. I have been on the line journey for a couple of years now. Honestly, I have not had a bad experience with any line I have used in the past. Even that year I spooled up a spinning reel with 8lb. Sniper. No problems just didn't see an advantage. My line journey now is about line diameters. The dilemma here is do I focus on lines with the lowest diameter or keep using what I am used to and adjust based on diameter. Most of the folks on BR would find my jig setup for last year...risky. 12lb. Pline Floroclear. Floroclear doesn't get a lot of love on this site. I have been using it for years, 8,10,and 12lb. with no issues. What I am looking at now is Sunline Defier used it last year on my jerk bait rod. Amazing mono. super thin. Sunline super natural on one of my spinning rods. Also awesome just as thin as Defier and almost as nice. Pline C21 copoly have some on my second spinning rod. Not used much last year. Was a little jumpy on the spool at first but settled down. This line is also very thin but not as nice as the two Sunline products. The advantage with this line that it can be bought in larger spools. Pline Floroclear Not giving up on this yet. Finally I think I am going to try a Flouro again. Tackle Tour called Tatsu an almost perfect line. It gets a lot of love on this site also. That is enough for me. So that will go on the new Metanium and a Chronarch that needs new line.

Just received two Metaniums. Both are HG 2023 deep spool edition. I wanted the brass gear and the 2023's were more plentiful that the 2020.

I have a Vibe Sea ghost 110 that has lights operated by switches, a couple of USB ports, and sonar. I built a fuse box as opposed to inline fuses. Everything was bought on Amazon. I would estimate the whole wiring job cost between 50-70$. I have a small LiFe Po 12 Ah battery that runs my Stryker 4 and all my lights. My lights consist of red and green lights on the bow, white lights on the stern, red interior lights, and a 360 light mounted on a pole behind me. The 360 light is removable and mounts in a spare Railblaza mount when needed. One of the reasons I bought the Sea ghost was for hull access. All wiring runs within the hull. My battery sits inside, as does the fuse box. I have many pictures but they are quite large and reducing them is a PITA. If you want them PM me and we can figure it out.

I'm a solo spooler. I have what @TOXIC uses for the small spools. For bulk spools I use lots of things for tension. Books, couch cushions, boxes with tight covers, ect. I think folks make it more complicated than necessary. If you don't like the way it spooled, like others have said, tie the end to a fence and walk off a hundred yard of line and walk it back on with tension.

@new2BC4bass He did. I set him up in a spare room I had. I have been trying to get rent money out of him but he just keeps saying I owe him. Now packages of random tackle just keep showing up. I think he found the password to my laptop and has been making early morning purchases while the rest of the house is sleeping. The guy is relentless.

I'm in the- " I think a quality rod is more important" camp. I have always felt that the rod does most of the work. It performs the cast, you work the bait with it, set the hook, and you should be fighting the fish more with your rod than reel. @Catt makes an excellent point though. I have recently started buying higher end reels. I still feel the rod is more important but buying quality reels is a deep dark hole that just sucks you in.

@Mr. Aquarium like you I live in Southern Mass. I will say that every body of water in Mass is within an hour of me. While we are at it pretty much all bodies of water in R.I. and most of Connecticut are all within an hour from me. Lot's of options. With that said, I only buy a license for Mass. Most bodies of water in R.I. close to me are reservoirs and off limits. Never fished in Connecticut.

When I first joined this site I swore I would never start a thread " Which Rod/reel/bait should I get?" @Delaware Valley Tackle this was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. @GreenPig Thank you. I went too far in the other direction. Agreed, 300 too big. @PhishLI I always appreciate your comments. Particularly on gear thank you. So I have some stuff to think about. I am building an extra heavy and a BFS rod this winter. I have the blanks. At some point I will pull the trigger on a Metanium. The Met will end up on a med rod The Chronarch that is on the med is going on the NFC rod I built as a BFS rod last year. It is kind of in between a BFS and medium. The Curado BFS will end up on the new Immortal blank. I have a heavy with a Revo SX gen4 on it Which leaves the extra heavy. How about a Curado 200K which is currently on my med hvy swim jig rod?

@WRB This is exactly what I was thinking, and would probably go that route. You answered me on my other thread about the Bantam. We are talking about the same combo. I took to heart your comment about line capacity. I believe it will either be that Ambassadeur C4 or that Scorpion MD300. @WRB I like it. If you are recommending it, adding to the list of considerations. @spoonplugger1 That looks nice, compact. Did a quick google search. No idea where to find this.

@WRB This is exactly what I was thinking, and would probably go that route. You answered me on my other thread about the Bantam. We are talking about the same combo. I took to heart your comment about line capacity. I believe it will either be that Ambassadeur C4 or that Scorpion MD300.

@bulldog1935 that's beautiful. I love that they are still made in Sweden. That looks like the one I actually considered on Japan Tackle. Do I want a solid brass reel? Are they heavy?

Thanks everyone. I am kind of on this Shimano kick right now. I would love a Calcutta but even the JDM's are a bit much. Other reels I am considering, Abu Ambassadeur C4, Tatula 300, or the Lew's Super Duty 300. I suppose line capacity could be a consideration, I might find myself throwing some smaller swim baits. @KP Duty I just checked out the Scorpion MD 300. That might be the way to go, for me anyway.

Thanks everyone. I have an RX6 extra heavy coming. Trying to decide on a reel to put on it.

I am adding an extra heavy rod to my arsenal. Not a swim bait rod, just a 7' 1/2oz- 2oz. It will be for pads and grass. I am looking at the Shimano Bantam. I live in Massachusetts so normally 12lbs. of drag is more than enough. Is 12lbs. of drag enough to pull bass out of heavy cover?

Do you build rods differently for round reels?

The season starts with NRS boundary boots. As it warms I wear a shorter NRS boot. Finally in the summer it is flip flops or bare foot. I am in a kayak, if I was in a bass boat, I would probably be bare foot throughout the summer.

I have not seen this brought up yet but IMO the learning curve to learn to fish is much steeper than learning how to read a screen. It is only a matter of time until more and more anglers develop FFs skills that rival Josh Jones. Eventually most events will be won by the guy who interprets what he or she is seeing on the screen the best. It will eventually be a level playing field, once everyone catches up. Will the winner be the best angler? Is this what we want the future of bass tournaments to be? Boring? Maybe but catch rates could be higher, quality of fish greater.