DitchPanda

Nice work dude! A 5+ North country bass is a solid fish no doubt. I've caught some here Iowa but I'm always itching for another one..they sure can be hard to come by. Congrats on the PB...that's always a special moment.

Ok so the chatterbait and Senko thing I can understand...I catch fish on chatterbaits but they aren't a strong bait for me...as with senkos they catch fish but there are options that produce just as well for me that are cheaper and more durable. As for the rest of it you guys are killing me. I'm starting to really like the ned with a TRD. Strike king squarebills...in particular the shallow 1.5 have been producing quality fish for me lately. The regular 1.5 has also worked well in the past. Oh and the spinner bait thing...come on man. That and a jig or Texas rigged worm are probably my two biggest confidence baits...ever!

Any colors in particular on the wiggle wart? I know to match forage and water conditions to my lakes...but do you have any favorites?

Out of the regular storm wiggle wart and all the various other brands similar style crankbaits (6th sense curve, Spro rock crawler..etc) which baits do you prefer?

If that was me I would have called my boss and said I know you saw me 20 minutes ago and I seemed fine but I just developed a bad case of explosive diarrhea and can't come back. Don't drive by the river.

This is a good practice as far as I'm concerned. I'm not one to keep a bass...not because I'm against it if it's legal...I just feel there are much better fish to eat...my opinion of course. However if it's going to die and I caused it then I'm fine with eating it. I saw a dying bass the other day...wasn't sure what it was so I guided it in with my rod grabbed it and it was a solid largemouth. It didn't appear to have been caught recently and I saw no signs of damage so it must have been illness or old age. Turtles get that one. Like stated above this is a barbaric practice we engage in to begin with. So while you should do what you can to respect\preserve the resource...squeamish people need not apply. It's one thing to feel some remorse for killing an animal...you should to an extent unless your heartless...but if it devestates you then fishing may not be your thing. Hunting as well. But I find that as you get better in your skill set and refine more techniques as your competency goes up your deep hooking goes down.

Forgot all about fenwick ...I've got an old eagle I use for crappie and love it. Another decent option.

I've gotten it from buddies..of course some of it is trash talking innocent ribbing in good fun. The rest is stupidity and also trying to prove toughness over other people because they reel on top not bottom? Heck I don't know..I don't get it. I've also seen it in years past where pros are bashing pros for using sissy sticks. Also these tough guys have half the winnings of the guy they are criticizing for gear choices. That's why I mentioned that argument with my buddy..he was serious almost ticked off about it...which is dumb anyhow...not sure how my head choices affect him negatively enough to get upset? I told him you keep using what you use and I'll keep beating you down when we fish.

Strippers that only cost $12-$15 to catch.Those are the wrong kind dude...don't mess with those.

I'm leaning towards that 7ft medium light as I think this will help her in casting distance and also is more fun fighting them on it...plus it's a little more forgiving. Now I've gotta find somewhere reputable that has them in stock to order from.

I'm not a whopper plopper guy...that is to say I've never used one but I'm a huge topwater guy. For me the two colors you have to have are bone(white) and loon(black). Also being a northern guy I think you cant go wrong with perch since a lot of the northern fisheries lack shad but have tons of gills and yellow perch. So that leaves munky butt and I know it. Since you already have a white color and I know it looks to be a sexy shad white base I think I would choose munky butt if it was me. Gives them a different look. Also kinda has a trout look to it and if you have anywhere that stocks rainbows this could be a decent imitation of said stockers.

No need to apologize at all I completely understand what your talking about. I wasnt reacting to your post entirely..it just made me think of other times in other posts or conversations I've had when it started how you did and ended up where I was defending spinning gear...so I jumped the gun and went into defense mode..totally lost in a tangent. I apologize if it seemed like I was attacking you...totally not my intention.

What model would you suggest for ned rigs and grubs on an 1/8oz ballhead? I don't have them locally to feel there true power and action. I can only go based off the model I have which is a 7ft heavy casting so that doesn't tell me much.

The top paragraph I can understand. Even as a guy who has thrown spinning forever I tend to agree that casting gear is generally more comfortable. Also it tends to be lighter. I was definitely not knocking BFS by the way...I hope I didn't offend any BFS users. In fact I am quite intrigued by it..I was just stating that there are some times I feel spinning is still more effecient and that some of the downsides to spinning aren't rectified on bfs. You illustrated several of the things I was thinking technique wise.

What's funny to me is line capacity talk. There are guys that talk about lack of line capacity as it pertains to spinning gear but will turn around and claim that a bfs setup can do everything finesse needed. Part of the beauty of BFS is casting distance on light lures...to accomplish this usually takes a shallow spool aka less line capacity. Also how much line do you need to fight bass...I've never had one take 100 yards on a run. If you want or need more line capacity in a spinning setup run braid...that's a good option. My only issue...and this is me personally...with using BFS over spinning is cost. You can get a very solid spinning combo for $150-$200 and if you step up to $300 your talking real quality stuff. To accomplish that same level of performance in BFS or even traditional baitcaster setups your looking at twice that cost it seems.

I've never caught a musky...but pike on the other hand I've had some of the action. Mainly on moving stuff...spinner bait and chatterbait in particular. Had one bite me off a few weeks back on a swim jig.

Another guy that comes to mind more from my generation is Aaron Martens. Dude is a straight up stud...maybe one of if not the best angler to never win a classic. Yet anyhow...who knows what the future holds. I've seen him with a spinning rod in his hands half the time I've seen him. He has won many high level tournaments and millions of dollars. While some of his victories may not attest to it id bet my house that a bunch of that bank was won on a dropshot.

That's a nice bag of hot weather bass...solid work boys! Must be a cool feeling seeing and hearing about all the bass we are catching on your jigs. Fine jigs they are. Hope that brings you some satisfaction because your bringing lots our way.

So after my first response to this post I went fishing and totally whiffed on a hellacious frog bite. I suck. Take whatever advice I gave and throw it in the trash.

Exactly...I remember that thread. The macho mindset about it is crazy to me...I had a buddy argue with me about the usefulness of a "wimpy" spinning rod as it pertains to bass. It ended with him saying: Why would I need that crap? And me replying:You dont...just stick with your baitcasters under all circumstances and I'll keep catching more fish than you. How could it not be fun to fight a big powerful fish on a less powerful setup where you actually have to fight a fish? To me fishing is a gamble and while you try to put the odds in your favor your still gonna lose some hands...that's all there is to it. But to me that's the appeal of fishing...winning that exchange even when it's not a guaranteed outcome. So riding that edge of uncertainty makes it more exciting and gives me a greater feeling of accomplishment when it works out. So while I love catching a 5lber on a topwater frog there is a totally different feeling of satisfaction I personally get besting that same fish on a spinning outfit with 6lb test. All im saying is they are both tools that I won't go without. And while I lean heavier on baitcasters I will never not own several spinning combos as well. I mean to me it's like the difference between a spinner bait and a chatterbait. A lot of people say they are interchangeable and while I agree there is some overlap there is also A lot of difference. Tools for every job..otherwise your taking a flat screw out with a phillips. For instance a spinner bait is good around wood but not grass in my experience..the opposite is true of chatterbait. Kinda like saying a lipless and a squarebill are the same so you don't need both.

Thanks for the reply...I may end up going that route

I do love my baitcasters and use them alot. But I also like finesse...ned, grubs, weightless trick worm, shaky and slip shot rig..and now midsummer I just started picking a spinning rod up more often. Also in mid to late fall I throw shad raps alot. Between those two and panfishing often + a few walleye outings every year I spend a lot of time using a spinning rod. To be totally honest I'm just as comfortable with a spinning rod as a baitcaster. There is a stigma with a lot of bass anglers where they call them sissy sticks or fairy wands. I've never figured out if they are compensating and trying to act tough or if they had bad experiences with light tackle cuz they don't know how to fight fish on it properly. My main goal is to catch bass whether that means I need to use baitcasting gear, spinning gear or the a boot lace to my truck antennae im gonna do it.

I have an aird x baitcaster I use as a frog rod and I love it...I will probably get her a spinning rod...can't really beat it for $55

I know I know this has been done..beat to death even but I'm asking. I need a suggestion for a budget spinning rod for my girlfriend. Will primarily be used for ned and twister tail grubs. Budget $75 and down.

What lure or piece of gear have you bought this year that has surprised you? For me it has to be my 7ft medium mod fast Berkley lightning rod. I mean it's not gonna blow your mind but for $40 I couldn't ask for much more. I love it for squarebills.