Largies4Life

I should have been more specific, I'm in Wisconsin and according to our laws it is illegal as far as I can tell! Oh well, not much one can do besides warn others if it keeps happening. And it could quite possibly be that the kids don't know any better and just want to go out and catch fish like the rest of us. You can still fish for panfish in Wisconsin, but I do know the bass are off limits until May. I found it hard to believe that they were fishing for panfish when they were using 5" swimbaits, unless fishing for panfish requires 5" swimbaits, in that case, I think I need to go get myself a swimbait setup.

I did this last year and this year due to expanding my arsenal, and why not get a Huk performance tee for $5?! It will come, but like many others said, it does take time. From my experience, it takes around a month or two after they cash the check for you to receive it in the mail.

Here's my two cents. Instead of getting a rod dedicated for swimbaits, what about a Heavy action rod in the 7'3"-7'6" range that will be able to handle an S-Waver or your "smaller" sized swimbaits. This rod can also be a frogging rod and a pitching/flipping jig rod as well. Since money can be an issue, my vote would be go towards a rod that can handle multiple techniques rather than just one, if at all possible!

Could be, but it is a public golf course, so I would find that hard to believe. There were golfers out there too, just seemed very strange to me. My guess is that the kids just aren't aware of the regulations and just walked out there from the nearby neighborhood. Just a hunch though.

Water is finally open in the Milwaukee area. Saw some young anglers out on some golf course ponds fishing Gantarel Jr's and saw them catch at least one decent bass.....Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this is illegal until the first weekend in May. It's tough because I know there are big bass in those ponds as well.

I just recently picked one up at an expo near me, except it was the 7'4" all-around version. What type of line do you like throwing on your reel? It looks like braid to a leader?

Couldn't agree more with the club member you talked to. We've all been there where you only have a select few rods to begin with! Your mindset is perfect to try and cover as many applications with the rods that you have and then slowly start to expand your arsenal where you see fit. Now we just have to wait for open water.....

I should have been more specific in my first post, I apologize. I throw larger topwaters on the 7'2" MH-Mod Fast like my 130 or 110 WP, buzzbaits, etc. I throw smaller topwaters like spooks and poppers on the 6'8" M-XF LTB so I'm not slapping the water when I work those baits vs. a longer rod you would be slapping the water constantly. I prefer the X-Fast for baits that I'll be twitching like spooks and poppers. For a constant retrieve like buzzbaits and the WP, I like my mod fast rod for those and haven't had an issue ripping the lure out of the fish's mouth. This would be very ideal as well! The 6'9" MH-Mod Fast would be a great option for your chatters/spinners/buzzbaits. I prefer longer rods when it comes to BC's so I tend to stay in the 7' range for most stuff other than topwater and finesse. I would say grab that deal on the St. Croix Legend from your friend! Life is too short to be giving up good deals especially if there from a friend that you can trust. Maybe even stop by your friends house to get a feel for the rod. In the end it all comes down to preference. You know what the rod is capable of, but is it comfortable in your hand and does it seem balanced with the reel you are slapping on it? Can't wait to hear what you decide on!

I would use the 7'3" Heavy-Fast Fury that you already have for your jigs and weighted texas rigs etc. instead of using it for chatterbaits, spinners, and buzzbaits. I throw a lot of my chatterbaits, spinners, and even the occasional buzzbait or other topwater on my 7'2" MH-Mod Fast which I absolutely love. Based on what you have so far, I wouldn't see there being a reason to get another Heavy-Fast rod, so I would opt for the 703c for your chatterbaits, spinners, etc. For your side question, I have the LTB 6'8" M-XF which is designed for topwaters and jerkbaits. I wouldn't say there is a need for another MH rod if you are going to go with the 703c, so I would say go with a Medium if you can. That's my personal opinion, I like a medium power rod for my topwater and jerkbaits.

Since the Whopper Plopper came out well before the Choppo, I'd say nearly everyone is going to side with the WP. My vote will be the WP as well because of how effective it has been for me over the last couple of years. I'm sure I'll try a Choppo out at some point, but all my confidence lies with the WP.

I have the 7'2" MH Expride and I don't have anything bad to say about the rod so far, it has lived up to the hype. I'm using it primarily for jig fishing as well. The Expride is hard to beat at the price point!

I would stock up on terminal tackle and line as that seems to be one of my expensive purchases every season in order to restock those.

Fluorocarbon for sure. Specific brand you are looking for? My vote goes to InvizX, and then whatever pound test you desire for the applications that you will be utilizing.

My confidence bait for around docks is a jig. I like the 3/8 oz. around docks and slowly roll it back on the bottom, while making sure to bump into the rocks/wood/etc on the bottom. Tremendous amounts of success doing this last summer around docks in 2'-6' of water. You could also take this same methodology and apply it to shaky heads as well around docks. If you don't want to be making bottom contact as much, my vote would then be a weightless senko, just can't go wrong with that around docks!

I throw primarily 3/8 oz. and 1/4 oz. swim jigs. I use a 7'2" MH/F paired with a 7:1 gear ratio reel. I threw all my siwm jigs on 15 pound fluoro. I'm not fishing very thick cover, but do like to get down in the weeds and produce those reaction strikes in the summer. You can also throw your spinnerbaits on this setup as well, assuming same weights as your jigs. I might bump it down to a 6:1 for spinnerbaits because I like to vary my retrieve speed a lot with spinnerbaits, and I didn't like how a 7:1 reel felt when I would try to slow roll them in the spring. Also, welcome to BR! Tight lines!

My vote goes for the Sienna as well. I've had for about 10 years and it's definitely served its purpose. The reel requires lube quite a bit throughout the season, but it still works like a charm!

Have you looked into using an O-Wacky tool and getting O-rings and using this method? I found it to be a lot quicker and much less of a headache. I still can catch 10+ fish with one worm!

X2 on the Daiwa Tatula SV part. Once you get this reel dialed in, you will never have to worry about backlashes, even with those smaller presentations you are mentioning. Either way, you can't go wrong with a Curado or Tatula. There will be biased opinions one way or the other. I currently have a Tatula SV (which I've had for a couple years) and I got my father the Curado K for father's day last year, and neither of us have had a single complaint about either reel so far. Personal preference in the end. My vote would lean towards Daiwa, but that goes back to me saying there will be biased opinions and that just happens to be my opinion.

I had this same thing happen to me last year on my last night out of the year musky fishing. Fishing a big reef and got snagged on the rocks (or so I thought) and ended up breaking loose (or so I thought) and once I got my lure to the boat, there was line on the last treble. I had to put on gloves because the braid almost went through my hand since the lure was stuck on rocks, but managed to get it loose and it ended up being a double cowgirl still in perfect condition. It even came with a leader too!

I'm not for or against the Googan Squad in any way, but when their products cost nearly the same as other big brand companies like SK Rage, I'm willing to at least give them a shot. Sure it's the same patent, but there's a lot that goes into making these baits outside of the Googan Squad. All I'm saying is, you can't judge their products just based off your personal opinion of Googan Squad guys themselves. Same goes for any other lure...It's like me saying "I'm not buying any Zman products because B. Lat is sponsored by them and I'm not a fan of him." (Not true, just using it as an example.)

Does anyone have an issue with storing utility boxes on their side vs laying them flat? A lot of these tackle bags will store the utility boxes vertically rather than the utility boxes laying flush with the ground. Anyone have any issues with baits being damaged when storing them vertically?

How heavy does your cabelas tackle bag get? It looks like it weighs 40 pounds! lol

Are Bass Mafia utility boxes worth the money? @J.Vincent - Do you have any waterproof boxes? If so, what do you use them for? Trying to figure out how many and what brand of utility boxes to go with now!

@J.Vincent - Thank you for the very much for the detailed response. I am thinking that is going to be my best bet, is to have a "tackle library" (love the name!) I may look into getting a tackle bag big enough to store most of my library of Plano's for when I go on trips for weeks so I can do the same thing at the cabin or even just bring the tackle bag on the boat since there's always plenty of room. Which will also help them be protected from the elements (the boat has a lot of room, just not any available compartments).

That Large Bag may be the route I should go! I'm thinking about getting a bag like that, otherwise I am also leaning towards just getting a bunch of utility boxes and then when I go out, just have a "to go" utility box(es) to throw in a backpack and be on my way! My biggest concern is when I go on longer fishing trips and what I'm going to do about carrying all of the utility boxes if I don't get a tackle bag of some sort. Do you ever go on extended trips where you need to take most of your utility trays? If so, what did you find to be the most effective way to transport them?