BrianMDTX

I’ve been very guilty of that. Either not trying new baits and/or presentations, or not fishing them enough to give them a fair shake. It’s one of the reasons why I switched hook position after getting no hits. I didn’t want to fall back on a “tried-and-true” without giving it a good try. Glad I did!

@roadwarrior was my Fishmas partner. One of the items I received were a couple packs of Daiwa/GYBC 4.5” Neko Macho baits. I never used a Neko rig before so this morning I decided to hit the pond. Got here just before 11:00. Sunny and around 60°. Saw a turtle sunning which made me regret not bringing the Megabass Pop X (thought the water might still be too cold). No biggie. I tied on a 1/0 Gammy circle octopus hook on a BC rig with 10 lb Big Game and rigged a watermelon Neko Macho with a nail weight (actually, the shank of a drywall nail). First casts were unproductive and upon review I think I did not have the hook far enough forward. I moved the hook closer and on the second cast I felt a bass take the bait. Reeled it in tight and caught this 1.5 lb’er. It’s always nice to catch a bass on a new bait. Not that big but a fun catch. So I decided to stick with it. I casted the bait right down the bank and started working it back slow. It stopped dead but it wasn’t a snag. Reeled in the slack and could tell it was a decent bass. Hopefully there’s a bigger one out there that’s hungry! I seem to be a fall-back guy on lures I know work, but it is nice to fish new baits and new techniques and get a quick payoff!

I will pre-rig every rod I take out. Normally a spinning rig with a wacky rig, one for weightless TR and maybe one for a Ned rig; and BC’s for a topwater, a jerkbait and a weighted TR. But I’ll change baits frequently on the water as needed. The only swivel I use is for a Carolina rig. Otherwise it’s line or leader tied directly to the lure.

NFL: SB champion gets last pick in draft. Team with most losses gets first pick NCAA: National Champion and other high-ranked colleges get the cream of the crop of recruits. So it’s likely to stay this way for a long time!

Safeguard, unless it’s hunting season. Then it’s unscented body wash and shampoo, followed by unscented deodorant (Mitchum) and unscented body powder (I make my own with 50%-50% baking soda and cornstarch). It’s one thing to stink after fishing. It’s another to smell before bowhunting!

The pond I fish is exactly like that. There’s not much plant life growing on the bottom, but it’s mostly mud and leaves. Even a Ned rig gets fouled frequently. I fish a lot on the bottom, though. The vast majority is weightless plastics with embedded or Texposed hooks. Various TR worms, Senkos, craws, etc. Every now and then I may use a very small bullet weight if I’m hopping it in at a good pace, but 95% of the time it’s weightless. Of course, I also use topwaters and baits that stay off the bottom, but I bet I’ve caught the majority of my bass on the bottom. And I’ve caught the most on a wacky rig. Using an o ring seems to keep the hook from getting fouled better than hooking it through the stickbait. It also saves Senkos lol. Your pond, at 6 acres, is a little bigger than the 2-3 acre ponds I fish. I really have no need to bomb cast, and fishing either from my boat or the bank, I can usually get a weightless plastic (especially a Senko) where I need it.

It could. Both teams are solid. But I’m a believer in defense wins championships.

I need to get one of those. I have deer hunting and archery decals on my Ram but none related to fishing. I like that one!

I’ll disagree. If Lamar had nerves, it was last week. With that playoff W ending the “Jackson can’t win in the playoffs” narrative, he will be a gamer tomorrow. The Colts ran the ball well against the Bills. Dobbins, Edwards and Jackson are way better than the Colts RB’s (Rivers doesn’t apply). If Baltimore controls TOP, and if wind plays a factor in the passing game, I think Ravens win.

Even in Texas? ?

For the most part, spinning for finesse (although I will fish weightless Senko TR on my BC). To me, I will say if I am casting and reeling lures like a spinnerbait, topwater, etc., over the course of hours it’s much less fatiguing doing so with a baitcaster than a spinning reel. Reel it up, press the thumb bar, cast and retrieve. No open the bail, cast, close the bail. Sounds easy but after 2-3 hours I think a baitcaster is much more simplified. And easy to adjust the drag if needed as well. But it sometimes it’s just pleasant to toss light baits with a sweet spinning finesse rig and actually fight a 3-4 lb bass vs rocketing it back to the boat or shore!

No crappie in this pond. Also haven’t seen a bluegill over 4”. Just bass cannon fodder lol.

I bought that rod with wacky, Neko and Ned rigs in mind, but it had no problems with hooksets on a Texas rig.

Trust me, I’m not in the least! It’s just that it’s making me rethink my other rods lol. I’d hate to try a real top-shelf stick. Probably lead to divorce court after 32 years! ? Thanks. It took the bait slow but took off like a bat out of hell after I set the hook.

So I picked up my new St. Croix Bass X MLXF rod yesterday. I also spooled new 6 lb. Berkeley XL on my new Daiwa Revros LT2000 and my new rig was set. Started off with a Ned rig and nothing. Switched to a weightless Zoom Trick worm TR and then a 5” Senko. Nothing. Switched over to a purple Zoom Mag 2 and on the third cast I distinctly felt a bass pick up the worm without swimming off. I reeled in the slack and set the hook. A dink, but my first January bass ever! I switched over to my baitcaster with a jerkbait but no action there, either. Went back to the spinning rig and put on a weightless Strike King Rage Tail craw. Once again, on my third cast as I was working it back slowly, it stopped and I felt the bass take it without swimming off. I set the hook and I could tell it was a better fish. Weighed out at 1.94 lbs. Two things. One, that is my first bass on a soft craw. I fished them several times last year weightless and weighted and never got a strike. Maybe. Two, I realize that in the pantheon of rods that the Bass X is not in the upper echelon, but I felt things I think I missed previously. I may have to rethink rod choices lol!

Ponds. Not lakes! ?

My St. Croix Bass X BXS610MLXF showed up today!

I got two Aird-X’s for $49.99 a piece. Really good rods for the $$.

I actually got a good deal on a Fuego CT and bought that instead. Waiting for a chance to try it out!

Nice! I’ma still waitin’ on my St. Croix Bass X. Should be in Friday.

Ok, I’m intrigued. What’s your method? I usually set my drag by pulling line and setting it where it feels like I’m just starting to have resistance and it starts to let line out. I’d say it’s relatively light as I’ve had a few fish (4.5-5 lbs) that I had to increase the drag on after the hookset. But I’m always up for the latest and greatest!

I really want to research this from the standpoint of physics. In other words, does tying off 3 lbs of weight to the end of your line, lifting it as dead weight and then setting the drag to start to let line out equate to 3 lbs of force pulling on the line? It might, but something tells me there’s more to it than meets the eye. Whether it makes a dime’s worth of difference on the water fighting a fish is another story.

I’m sure of that. I’m branching out somewhat as I progress (going to respool my Revros LT2500 with 20 lb Sufix 832 and a FC leader), but I say that if someone is hesitant to try new lines, you can definitely still catch bass on old school mono. And it sure is inexpensive if you like new line on the reel!

Big Game is the 150 grain .30-‘06 of bass fishing.

It’s a moot point. I now have a Daiwa Fuego CT paired a Fenwick HMX76H-FC. Looking forward to breaking it in!