Bird

Most of my reels have holes in spool or are braid ready but the few that aren't I use whatever Flouro or mono I have on hand as backing, maybe 20 yards. Never heard of the tape trick to prevent back lash.

I fish Abu, Lew's , Kastking and Shimano.......my Abu Orra's are definitely work horses.

I have no flaws in my game, actually gets redundant after awhile and simply remove hooks to even the playing field......nah. Need to work on mental toughness......wind picks up I bail. Been working on more accurate casting from a kayak around cover. I need to spend one solid day throwing a chatterbait to determine once and for all, this bait is more suitable as an Dennis Rodman ear ring.

That's a nice body of water. Whenever I'm fishing deep water quarry " only fish 1 " I find the road bed and also like fishing horizontally to banks or use deep diving crankbaits to search water column. Natural colors in clear water.

Yes, adding a 10# leader reduces your 30# mainline down to 10#. Why use leaders opens up much discussion. This site shines a lot of light on the subject. I fish very clear water and and like braid, feel more confident with a Flouro leader, 15# braid to 8# leader mostly. A good knot and location of knot is important when using a leader. Imo I wouldn't mess with a leader if you can live without braid or fish stained water.

Whenever I'm Texas rigged or throwing a weightless Senko, I like to see my line move before setting the hook. Plastic worms and Senko's are inviting to little pan fish and those are the ones you usually miss, or have your bait stolen.

Now your starting to understand why you need around 10 different outfits to optimize your fishing experience. Lol In your case, I'd start with a 6.10 - 7.0 med action and go from there. I'll answer your question though. I'd rather have to much rod for a specific bait than not enough. Imo

Lol, I'm betting a Smallmouth would still hit it.

Yes, size goes up with weight rating. You really won't have any issues with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, moving baits in general. Just watch your suspending Jerkbaits as they're sensitive to additional weight and action may be compromised.

Super Slick & Slick Honey.

I always have 1 rod with a power clip on, everything else is direct tie.

Most likely culprit is bad guide, has a nick in it. Check your equipment first.

I have the Royal and Speed Demon, hard to beat for the money. Imo

Another contributor is reel size, little spools are more prone to bunch up.

15# Power Pro

Our weather but that pond. Bone Jerkbait Spinnerbait Frog Weightless Senko Buzzbait or fluke, can't decide.

Big cold front moved in but managed this female on a pearl Magnum fluke.....water temp 58*.

There's a perspective that deserves a set of ears.

At the expense of my entertainment......I say let's be easy here. This is perhaps the best fishing forum on the net, hilarious at times but we all have differing opinions and should respect those opinions that differ from ours. Yes I'm still giggling.

A small farm pond that receives no pressure will out fish a 10,000 acre lake that receives Mardi gras like crowds......I've found. I don't have farm pond tackle and lake tackle, throw same baits.

Learn particular techniques and you'll find the same hook that you'd use for LM, will be the same hook used for SM. As stated above, SM aggression makes up for it's smaller mouth. Catch SM frequently on 5/0 buried in a magnum fluke.

A quick Google search shows you are correct, was unaware.

I have a long haired Border collie that I have shaved couple times a year and he's miserable right now. I saw dog trimmers in the Amazon cart and I'm just BETT'N she's gonna ask me to do it......my noggin is getting bad also.

Been throwing Zoom lizards for many years.....favorite is cotton candy chartreuse especially for SM.

We're having concert like crowds on the lakes around here, all week. I'm going an hour before sunrise in the morning to see if I can get on the water.