bighed

Thanks for the rod recommendations y'all. I've been more than pleased with my Falcons but am always interested in something lighter. The shoulder and elbow issues I've had have all but disappeared as reels have become lighter!

Thanks Kent. I'd like to hold one in my hand. Wonder if my local cabelas stocks them?!?

I'm like most of us on here, a tackle ho, and always on the lookout to upgrade. I got lucky on my last reels. The CU50E's were excellent reels and the last Curado's made in Japan. That allowed me to use them for a couple years then sell them for 50% more than what they cost me. At the same time I was able to get a black friday discount on the new reels so I jumped on them. The Cores will go on my Cara medium light and medium rods but one will go on a Duckett ML to try out. The spinners will be on Tourney Legends.

the UPS man comes! Merry Christmas to me

http://youtu.be/i6zaVYWLTkU

Izor XXX is the best one I've run across. Suffix is a close second.

I missed out on this but look for 7' mh Ducketts. They were scanning 39.99 in the few stores that had them.

Be sure to get a clear lense for early mornings and low light conditions. Not something I put on every time out but it for sure has its place in my boat!

Would love to get into big smallmouth like that one day!

Cool! I would like to try the tail race thing a little while we are there! It's not something you can do much of in my neck of the woods.

Somebody jog my memory. Was Wilson the lake that Davy Hite won the Elite tourney below the dam?

From our family to yours, hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Water temp was not that bad @60 degrees. The air temps were upper 30's that morning and i had put on my rain parka and bibs. The mustang is just one of those inflatable PFD's. it's small enough to wear all day and taking it off was a mistake on my part. Get a good one that auto inflates and wear it all day when fishing alone. I will be!

Thankful that when I fell out of the boat at Dardanelle in full winter gear that the boat didn't get away from me and that I was able to get back in. Ill be wearing the mustang when I'm alone from here on. Had a change of cloths with me which saved the fishing too. Couldn't believe the iPhone even survived after a couple minutes under water!

With the 20% off stuff going on around the net a St Croix Legend Tourney is a sweet heart of a rod and will come in right around $200

Around here bass are still that shallow provided there is deeper water not too far away. Fish right now are keying on shad and my best bait is a white spinnerbait or square bill. Grind both slow through the gravel. Always effective is a shakey head which is easier to fish without smacking the paint off somebody's boat.

Very pleased to live in a place where man muffs are not available for purchase, lol!

First year in several that I didn't break 8 pounds but still had a great year. Got to enjoy the Bassmaster Classic and BR dinner at Grand Lake. Went on the Pickwick Roadtrip which was awesome. Got to attend the BASS Nation Championship as a guest of my son and had a blast on Dardanelle. Won a couple small tourneys and began backseating in a new to me draw club. Downer of the year was watching my first bass club wither away to the point where it's time to shut it down. The club that produced a BASS Elite series angler and produced many other great sticks has fallen victim to the economy.

Boats hooked up, truck gassed up. I'm ready to go!!!

Mike!!! HAHAHAHA

Welcome Joshua! You have come to the right place to learn about fishing. Hang around here, read, and you will get lots of ideas to try out at your local lake. The learning will come naturally with time. Here's an important lesson from me to you. Never ever get in your new boat without a life jacket! Lesson two is alway maintain balance in your life, don't get so wrapped up with the fishing that it takes away from school or family. bert

Never had a roach problem in the boat. Had snakes getting in it for a time. I'd rather have roaches.

Yes, I booked from Sunday-Sunday because the cost difference was minimal and I'll have to take the whole week off anyway. So if anyone wants to come early you won't be here alone!

...as long as the wine bottles are square and made of paper I'm in!

Very difficult to answer your question. Too many variables to be as specific as you are asking. How tall are you? This usually plays into rod length. I'm 6-3 and rarely use less than 7' and as long as 7-11 but a guy whos 5-7 may prefer nothing over 6-6. What are the lakes like where you fish? The rods I favor for Falcon or Fork would probably be very different than what works best in Mass. What is your confidence technique? You will probably gravitate to that rod most of the time and may want to double up on them. Time of year has a lot to do with the rods you take along. I probably won't be taking a deep cranking rod along during the spawn but wouldn't be caught dead without it in August. I think for general use, a couple 6-6 or 7' medium and mh's are a good place to start. You can fish almost anything on those two and not have a rod that fishes only one technique well. As you tune in on your preferred style and needs for your lakes it will become clear what to get. Plug for my fav rod brand: I fish Falcon Cara rods and very little else. They are the best bang for the buck I have found. I feel that keeping all your rods of the same brand and model adds a lot to your ability to detect a strike.