teabag259

Thanks everyone!

Thanks. This information is exactly what I was looking for.

The Ned Rig has morphed into my go to set up on the lake where I fish usually. So I want to get some specific equipment that will make me ideally as successful as possible using it. I’m looking for a medium light rod and a decent reel to go with it. I figure something around $50 for the reel. I’m not sure what brand or length of rod. I just want something good that won’t break the bank. Can someone steer me in the right direction so I know what to get when I shop this weekend (at Field and Stream)? Thanks.

The Ned Rig has become my go to where I usually fish. I’m still working on mastering the technique but I have definitely improved. I usually hop it along the bottom and have had pretty good success. But....I do get hung up A LOT with it. The lake I fish is very rocky and I guess that is the risk I run. I do have a question on what rod and line I should be using. I’ve read that a light or medium light rod with light test is recommended. Is this the case? I’ve been using my medium heavy rod with 10# test. It does work but I’m thinking i might have more success with the proper equipment.

I have a 13 Fishing 2000X spinning reel. Thanks for all the replies thus far guys. It has been helpful.

I’ve gotten back into fishing since last summer/fall and have learned a great deal since then. I watch videos and try to talk to experienced fishermen when I can. There are a couple areas that I have questions. How much does it matter what action rod I use? Right now I only use spinning reels and don’t have any baitcasters yet. I’m trying different varieties of fishing trying to get any bites that I can. I have a medium heavy rod and 10 pound test on my reel. I have seen videos which talk about the rod and was wondering if it is really significant having different action rod‘s when trying different techniques. For example I saw a recently that if you were fishing a Ned rig you want to use a light or moderate action rod and very light test (4-6 lb). On the flipside of that I said I have seen videos where it is stated that with chatter bait or large spinners you want a heavier action rod and heavier test. Does it matter what action rod and test if I’m fishing a Carolina or Texas Rig? Another dumb question...what is the difference between fluorocarbon and monofilament line? When would you want braided line? Could someone explain to me the purpose behind and the reasons for the necessity for a leader? Is it just for ease of switching lures or is there a more practical reason for them? As an aside I have a physical handicap due to a work injury where I have extremely limited use of my right hand. I have difficulty tying knots and even some difficulty sometimes getting a hook out of the fishes mouth due to my lack of dexterity in my fingers. For this reason I am somewhat reluctant to use lures with treble hooks. Would using a leader make my life a little easier because I would only have to theoretically tie one knot per use of that rod? Thanks for any help here everyone.

I’m probably looking to get a Jon Boat to fish the lakes in the area. As for fish finder budget...I’m thinking in the $200 or less range.

I am looking to get a fish finder next season. We don’t want to break the bank and I’m probably getting a small boat too. Can someone provide a recommendation for a quality fish finder that isn’t too expensive?

Thanks for the info guys. I never would have though about releasing the drag.

Is it advisable to store my rods, reels, and tackle boxes in the garage during the cold winter months? It is starting to get really cold in PA (highs now in the upper 30s) now so my fishing season is over. I was wondering is cold has any adverse affects on fishing gear.

It took me a long time to find this little pond That were used to fish. It used to be great. I located it and I took my 12-year-old son out today and caught a nice 3-4 pounder in the first half hour. A Few minutes later someone drives up and states that he owned the property now and refuse to let us fish there. I tried to appeal to him and asked him if it’s OK just for my son and I to come there on occasion because it’s kind of remote and certainly not well known. He refused. Kind of bummed out right now. It’s a great place.

I’m learning that bank fishing large lakes is challenging to say the least. Lake Pinchot and Lake Redman seemingly require a boat to catch a lot of fish. Anyone know of any ponds in the general area?

I need to change my nickname on here to Skunked Again.

Yeah it seems to be really tough all over. In South Central PA the temps have plummeted. It was 88 two weeks ago and two days later the highs are in the 50s. It’s in the upper 30s at night. So the water temps have dropped quickly too. And the fish are not biting. My last 4 days have been skunked, 1 real big one, skunked, and today after 4 hours I caught a dink right at the end. Ive tried a variety of colors and lures. Chatterbait (chartreuse and blue black), crankbait, trick worms( black, white, blue black), and a blue black mini spinner. Random question from from a beginner. How long generally should you stay with a particular lure or setup (i.e. chatterbait with a trailer) before you move on to a different one? I know there are no hard and fast rules but what is the generally accepted practice for changing it up in terms of time or casts ?

I learned today that wind sucks.

Today was very windy in my area and it made things difficult for me. What strategies or techniques work best on those really breezy days?

Medium heavy spinning rod. 10lb test line. Pinchot has tons of big bass. I know they host tournaments there. Also. The Susquehanna is a bit high and fast right now. I talked to a guy yesterday who was out on his boat on the lake and he said he was on the river earlier that day but there were 1 to 2 foot whitecaps on the river due to the wind etc. It’s a little dangerous in spots. I don’t have a boat anyway. By”soaking” worms what do you mean? Just take them out and keep them under water for a while?

I’m going to reply with a dumb beginner question because you just used a term that I’ve heard referenced a few times now. What is “rip rap”?

Very excited. I just caught what was easily my personal record bass here at Pinchot. It was easily 5 pounds. Probably more. I was using blue and black chatter bait with a sapphire blue super chunk Junior trailer. If I can figure out how to post a picture I will. (It Says my picture file is a bit too big so it won’t let me post it.) But regardless it was quite a good fight and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

FYI I am fishing from the bank. Not on a boat. I was told yesterday by a local expert that blue/black chatterbait and spinners and white crank bait are the way to go right now due to the sudden change in temperatures. I did catch one yesterday on a crankbait but it fell off as I was lifting it out of the water. Ugh.

I learned a ton. Firstly I learned that it’s a bad idea to have a spinning reel on a baitcaster rod I fixed that problem quickly. I learned that the lake where I normally fish the water is stained and that bright colored lures generally work best this time of year. I learned to cast with more accuracy. Not great or perfect by any stretch but I at least learned how to get my line out to the general area where I want to be. I learned that snapping turtles are a pain in the ass when you are fishing live minnows. Not that I necessarily needed to learn this again but I had it reinforced that I stink at fishing.

I apologize for starting a new thread if many of these things here have been covered. My son and I are trying to learn and I figure the best way to do so is to ask questions of those who are experienced and knowledgeable. We started out with a little bit of success fishing simple split shot rigs with nightcrawlers. And we also had a little bit of success fishing live minnows. But to this point we have had zero success with lures. The last five times we’ve gone out I don’t think we’ve had a single bite. Lake Pinchot is more or less permanently stained 2-3 feet?) so I have tried a variety of lures. We have tried spinners (white and chartreuse), chatterbait (Green pumpkin and chartreuse) and crank bait. Nothing. I talked to a guy who is a lifetime fisherman of this lake and he says that normally chatter bait and crank bait do really well there. Is there more to chatter bait and spinners then just casting it out and retrieving it at a solid steady pace? Are we missing something? I have watched a bunch of beginner videos and probably some that are geared towards a few more experienced fishermen and I have tried a variety of colors of zoom trick worm’s. I have learned to Texas rig them. I feel like I am rigging the worms correctly. I’ve tried the past two days with a white trick worm on a shaky head. I tried to follow instructions of a video on this site on how to bounce it off the bottom taking 3 to 5 minutes to finally reel the line all the way in. Still haven’t gotten anything. I’ve tried casting out to the middle, I’ve tried the grasses and seaweed areas, under trees, and the rocky areas not too far from the shore. Without success. Is this Texas Rigged trickworm considered a difficult fishing tactic for beginners? Pinchot Is considered by many people I talk to a good place for bass fishing.

I haven’t fished in nearly 25 years. But my younger son who is 12 really has an interest in it. So we have been going out quite often and having fun with it. I had forgotten how much I enjoy fishing. We aren’t very good right now but we’re trying to learn and get better. I have lots of questions for the experts on the forum and look forward to learning techniques and hopefully some new locations in our general area here.