Finessegenics

No problem and good luck! Your family will have fun. If you ever have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

This made me chuckle All in good fun, I dont want to start a debate LOL. I know what you meant ?

Still reviewing my DTL, here's my fantasy team. 84 lbs 12 oz for tiebreaker. Should be a fun one to watch

I like St Croix too. In your price range, there is the Mojo Bass. It sounds like 6’10 MLXF would be perfect for your applications. I use it for just about the same things you outlined. Like others mentioned, If you stick to name brands it’s incredible how many options there are at that price range and how GOOD the rods at that price range are too. Same story for the reels a 20,25, or 30 is ideal. I personally like something that is light. I run a pflueger president xt on mine. Shimano makes excellent reels at that price too, the Sedona and Nasci are notable ones. I’ve also heard amazing things about the Daiwa Legalis and I almost pulled the trigger on one but I genuinely didn’t need a new spinning reel. There’s also the Fuego from Daiwa. I think you have it covered for baits, a jig and plastic allows you to be versatile. You can fish craw style baits on the bottom, or swim baits at any level of the water column. Good luck!

I usually let out a lot of line and ended up with the same frustrations as you did. My thinking was always that if the lure was too close to the boat fish may be spooked by the boat and motor. I have no way of knowing for sure. Somewhere in between far and close, whatever that is, is probably best

If you truly want to fish bottom, I’d go with a light jig which won’t bury itself into the muck like a heavier one. How light? That’s up to you to find out. Trial and error ??. My guess would be something with an 1/8 oz or 1/4 oz head may work. Or that might still be too heavy. Even up here in Canada I deal with that bottom muck sometimes but jigs are not a big part of my arsenal in those areas. It’s like there’s 2-3 inches of sediment before the actual bottom. Instead of a dragging retrieve, perhaps a hop and go may accumulate less muck and not bury itself as bad. Good luck!

Live minnows are forbidden just about everywhere in Quebec so it is illegal to fish with them anyways. Probably not allowed to cross the border with them. I’d assume that crossing the border with nightcrawlers would not be allowed as well, but you should be able to find the bait in QC. A lot of the outfitters sell it themselves. Some may even carry leeches. I’ve heard of Lac Simard but given that it’s a common name, there’s probably a few other lakes in the province with the same name so I can’t be sure if it’s the same one. If it’s the one in the Témiscamingue region, then it’s probably good fishing. I’ve fished a nearby lake a few times, Lac Kipawa which also is connected to the Ottawa river system. Ottawa river looks like it flows right into Simard, so there should smallmouth bass in that lake as well! It might not be worth the effort to specifically target them but they will be a nice bonus catch.

Lots of good suggestions here. Walleye, like bass, will go after a variety of lures but for some reason I have done better with skinnier and less erratic crankbaits for walleye. Something like a Shad Rap or Berkley Flicker Shad (both original and shallow models). Walleye don't seem to eat the big and bulbous crankbaits I usually associate with bass fishing as well as the Shad Raps. That is my experience at least. FYI, the shad raps are made of balsa so they're not the easiest to cast as they catch wind easily. If you're casting them on a spinning rod, it should not be a problem. Which lake will you be staying at? I've done my fair share of walleye fishing in northern Quebec, maybe just maybe I've been to the lake. So many bodies of water up there you couldn't fish them all in a lifetime. You'll have loads of fun. Also welcome to the forums.

You're making me want to get out there!

Any fish so far?

One of the rods in my bass arsenal is a two piece and for other species I run 2 pc to ease transportation, so I use quite a bit of two piece rods and it’s never happened to me. I heard it was a problem with 2 piece rods back in the day (?) I’m curious to see if anyone has had experiences similar to you I always thought it took away from the sensitivity, cliché I know, but that’s what I’ve heard

Is a screwlock absolutely necessary or are you open to other jigheads?

I like the bullet head almost exclusively at this point. Since it’s streamlined, you’re able to burn it and it doesn’t blow out. I’ve found that the fish head spinnerbaits are a lot harder to fish that fast, it’s like the head is creating resistance. I know I’ve repeated it countless times but War Eagle is pretty much all I use now, specifically screamin eagle.

Well said, this is how a ned rig was meant to be fished according to Ned Kehde and you can knock them out of the park fishing a jighead and plastic this way. A light jighead is key. 1/16 oz majority of the time for me. Sometimes 1/10 and even 1/8 but that's rare. Constant but slow movement, it creates a gliding look which appears natural, at least to me. I can concede that a heavy current can make it hard to fish this way.

Lots of good reels out there, no need to go nuts with getting a high end one to match your rod. I own a Curado K and SLX. Curado K is really nice, absolutely nothing wrong with it, but in the past season I 'rediscovered' my SLX and man, it is a good reel. I use it on a rod for moving baits, 6 speed. I'd feel comfortable throwing it on any setup. Still affordable here in Canada. So if you're feeling like saving a bit of money get the SLX, you won't be disappointed. My current frog reel is actually a Daiwa CR80 7.5:1. Very affordable robust. It's also tiny and easily palm-able so I'm wondering if I should switch it over to my punching setup.

Couldn't care less, I've never considered it once. Maybe subconsciously it comes into play but I mishmash whatever reel onto whatever rod.

.33 mm diamater mono or fluoro. Right now I'm mainly using 12# Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Same diameter gets you 15# Invizx which I also used in the past.

I was wondering more about what seasonal phase the fish are supposed to be in but it's a dumb question cause we all know bass don't follow any rules

Dropped big time in DTL after the Classic. Went from 99.5th percentile to 94.2. Fantasy fishing, I'm still atrocious but improving. 36th percentile to 43rd. There's probably some of you who have only played two tournaments and still ranked higher than I am ? I've set my teams for Santee Cooper. I'm confident for my DTL lineup but unsure for the regular 5 man team. The buckets are a little weird. So how is Santee supposed to look? Slugfest?

Take a look at St Croix. Might have to concede on the height a bit. Texas rigs is vague too, how heavy will your weight be and will you be throwing this stuff into heavy cover? If you can find an Avid X (they were recently discontinued) it will fill what you’re looking for exactly. 66MF and there’s a 68MHF. The M will probably be fine for most Texas rig applications unless you’re fishing heavy cover. 6’8, well it’s two inches over but I couldn’t find anything else. Custom is an option as well

Heck yeah. I'm a sucker for it but it does catch them. Other colors; just way too many to name. I need to have a lot even though I only throw 2-3 colors. I'm sure many can relate

Not sure what it was, but it eventually started working What a nail biter this is turning out to be

Is LIVE working for you guys? For some reason I can only tune into the live mix.

Mullins with a bag quite heavier than what was recorded on basstrak. Wondering how this will shake things up