Big Hands

It dropped 29 degrees between the high on Sunday and the high today. However, the high Sunday was 116°, so today was a bone chilling 87°

Looks like a fun fishery. I wish we had some cover like that to fish where I live.

With regards to line lay, this has been debated here on BR recently, and there may be evidence that the reel was designed so that the line would be wound so it appears larger at the top of the spool to allegedly aid in casting. At any rate, Daiwa does provide spacers you can install under the spool to customize the line lay to be the way you like it.

Looks like you caught your PB according to your profile. . . . ?

I have 5 Daiwa spinning reels. 2 @ Revros LT 2500-XH, Legalis LT 2500D-XH, Fuego LT 2000S-XH, and a Kage LT 2000D-XH. I can flex the Kage more so than the Lagalis and Revros. I have only had the Fuego out once, but caught 10 bass up to close to three pounds with it (and the Kage rig) that afternoon and didn't particularly notice the flex, probably because I wasn't looking for it and it if it was there (like the Kage) it didn't impede my ability to land the fish (and they seemed especially cranky that day). I think Bass_Fishing_Socal does a good job breaking down the 'reel' differences Pun intended) at different price points. If there was one person here I would want to chat with about the Daiwa spinning reels, he would be that guy. He knows them pretty well. I guess from there, it's up to you to figure out what you're willing to spend and what you're willing to compromise on to spend less than it would cost to be ballin' with a Ballistic or a Vanford if you don't want to pony up for one of them.

It may be more about 'change' than about a specific temperature. The change that triggers different behavior in your area may be different than mine, or even vary from lake to lake in a given area, especially if they are different types of lakes.

There are people that fish for bass with coke cans (wrapped with monofilament) and do quite well. Use what works (legally), and apologize to no one.

I think it's a good idea for you to develop a rationale for why you use the gear you do. A MF spinning rod is usually rated for around 6 lb to 15 lb test line. Is there a reason you would prefer 12 lb monofilament?I have never fished in MN, so maybe there is a reason that would be recommended for the type of fishing you do. Maybe you get a slower sink rate with a weightless Senko, and that's what works for you. Where I live, I wouldn't throw anything more than 10 lb for a plastic worm, and mostly use 6 lb mono (for all of the line), or 8 lb fluorocarbon leader on 10 lb braid because there relatively few trees to contend with and I can usually conduct the fight out in deep open water. If I go to Texas, I wouldn't use anything less than 10 lb line for a plastic worm, and most likely heavier than that because I would have a hard time keeping a good fish from wrapping me up in a tree if I don't get them turned and headed for the boat. There are lots of possible reasons that could support using 12 lb mono in a (your) given situation. Or not. If not, maybe you might want to try going down to 8 lb line to let the bait possibly have better action and/or be less visibility to highly pressured fish. That MF rod should be great for that. If your reel is a 35 as in equivalent to a 3500 size for Daiwa or Shimano, then you may want to use some backing so you only use 100 to 150 yards of good line to be more economical so you can afford to put premium line on the part of the spool you actually fish with.

I was taught to fish live crawdads that way BITD, except we would let them move away with the bait, stop, and then bust them when they moved again. I think they would sometimes smash the live dads against a rock, and then come and eat them or not have them all the way in their mouths on the initial hit. At any rate, I'm not sure why I never thought of doing that (pulling the line with my fingers) with a plastic worm. I think we called it 'stitching'.

If I could only have one. . . . ^^^ this ^^^

Have you ever fished all day (got up in the dark, stopped fishing when it got dark), maybe you didn't even get a nibble, and still didn't have time to eat a bite the entire day because you were too busy fishing? And you still want to get up early the next morning and get back after them. It's not something I was taught or was supported in doing. I grew up in a family of water skiers and speed boaters (before fishing boats were ever made to go fast) and was ridiculed endlessly for my interest in fishing. I grew up loving fishing in spite of how the rest of my family felt about. I'm not sure I was born with the passion for fishing, but I certainly had it from a VERY young age.

Pretty sure no one is taking this seriously. I know it's not bothering me because. . . . .

Passion. This is one answer where my normally verbose tendencies are not an issue. Everything else is/are merely details.

If you have the serial number available, I would go to marine engine * to see the exploded view for your outboard. They have many of the parts available. That should give you an idea of what you can be a bit more forceful with, or not, depending on whether or not the replacement parts are available and if you can afford to buy them should you need to. I would think that the drive shaft would be stainless steel, so it may be corroded, but I doubt it is rusted. When you reinsert the lower unit back up into the motor, make sure to grease the splines on the drive shaft.

Horses for courses. 10 lb test mono on a baitcaster is about as normal as it gets in my area. . . . . for cranking. That's what I caught my PB on using a Poe's crankbait. I still use 10 lb mono for cranking. That's about the heaviest for anything but things like Alabama rigs and swimbaits. Always had a couple baitcasters rigged with 6 lb mono for plastic worm fishing too, LOL (now, it's more like braid with 8 lb fluorocarbon leader). Then, one spinning rod with 6 lb mono would round out my arsenal for most fishing days (which is now at least two spinning rods with 10 lb braid and 8 lb fluoro leader).

If that is where you like it, that's where you like it. Sounds like you're possibly want something custom made. On my swimbait rod purchased earlier this year, I went with a Phenix rod (Black Diamond PSW869H-Deckhand), deckhand wrapped (cord) butt section just so I could put the reel (a Shimano Tranx with 20 lb test) exactly where I liked it. That stick is a little too beefy for your stated needs, although I do throw larger crankbaits like the Megabass Big M 7.5 at 2.25 oz on it quite well. The do offer a PSW808MH rated for 15 - 40 lb line. . . I was given the impression by my local tackle store that Phenix might be open to putting the cord on one of their other similar rods if I was willing to wait for it to be built that way.

I would think that the only reason it would be tough to find a lake to fish near DFW would be because there are so many choices, it's hard to figure out which one to fish. You can't hardly swing a roadkill armadillo by the tail without hitting at least two lakes, 30 Whattaburgers, a couple of mega-churches, and a Bucee's. I would just start visiting each nearby lake until you find one you like to fish. You have a ton of options at any given time, and any one of them may appeal to you for whatever reason over another. I have fished a half dozen lakes in your area (including Lake Fork), and have enjoyed fishing at each one for one reason or another. But if I have a choice, I would take the extra time it takes to drive to Fork. As a fisherman, you're blessed to live in an area with so many fishing opportunities.

If that were true, don't you think they would have closed those lakes while they were stocking those trout so the bass could have them all to themselves? The trout were, and continue to be put in lakes for the hordes to fish for as soon as they are stocked. They are known as 'put-n-take' trout. Not sure where you heard that stuff, but it's simply not true. There have been a handful of San Diego city lakes that get closed off for a few months of the year (different lakes closed off different parts of the year; not like they closed them all during spawning time), and also have them only open on weekends and one day during the week. If you have ever been to one of those lakes during the spring, you would understand why they limit the days they are open. The line to get into a 1500 acre lake can be a mile long. When I say 'get into', I'm alluding to the fact that almost all lakes here are only open from sunrise to sunset (all of those that have yielded fish on that top 25 list). I live in Castaic (have since 1987) and Castaic Lake is open seven days a week. It has a surface area when full of 2,200 acres and they allow up to 500 boats/jet skis on it at a time, which is limited to the parking space they have available. It's not uncommon for there to be a long line to get in, and then a line forms by late morning after the parking lots fill, waiting to get in when someone leaves. If they cared about growing giant bass, they would have never allowed stripers to get into Castaic (where six of those 25 were caught), and would have patched the screen that let them in. They have also have had the lake level change drastically (sometimes dropping a foot per day) during the spawn with no regard the effect it might have on spawning fish. This year, the lake rose about 40 feet between February and April. They do sometimes close a couple of small coves during the spring, but that is about the only thing they do with the fish population in mind.

I ordered a reel on eBay on a Friday from Croatia (in Europe), and it arrived in California on the following Monday for a $15 shipping fee (and a decent price on the reel; $5 less than TW in the same size and gear ratio). Over the weekend? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't expect it that fast from across town considering it was over a weekend. eBay has all three flavors of the Curado DC available as 'buy-it-now' for the same or lower than shops are charging.

That's a very nice collection of rods for sure. Having those in Oklahoma, and having them where I live in California, would probably get two very different lists. Are these all casting rods?