Lobocito

I can almost never hook a fish with the weedless wacky hooks. IMO, any wire "brush guard" is a way more effective "fish guard."

3.3 and 3.8 fat swing impacts are my go to. I'll either rig it upside down with the paddle on, or chop the paddle off and put it on upright.

Broke my last rod that was soft enough for cranking trying to get my 5XD off a stump on Sunday. Sunday night: Duckett Jacob Wheeler 7'2 MH Composite Tuesday: BassX 7'2 M/MF Shimano SLX 200yds 14# Sunline FC Sniper Thursday: BassX 7'2 MH/M Might send the Wheeler rod back if I'm satisfied with the MH/M. This St Croix B-stock sale is about to lead me way further down the rabbit hole though...

You can check inventory before you go for both cabelas and bass pro online if there is anything in particular you need. Fishing gear is selling out quick everywhere though. My local dick's usually stays well stocked and they have maybe 15 rods left and some senkos and almost nothing else. That said I can barely shop at BPS anymore, even before the virus. The ones near me barely stock anything from my favorite brands (almost no duckets or dobyns for rods, almost no z-man, zero keitech) and instead just super aggressively push their own branded stuff. Also last 2 times I went I was practically chased around the store by a woman trying to get me to sign up for a credit card even after I made extremely clear to her I had absolutely zero interest. You probably won't find much if you just go to browse. Tackle Warehouse is shipping slow but at least you get exactly what you need

So the b-stock sale seems to be on top of b-stock prices, which means you can get bassX rods for $66-$72 or Mojo for $85-$90. All told about $50 off which is a pretty solid sale.

They don't even really like being with different z-mans. I put some pink TRDs in a bag with some green pumpkin TRDs, and the result is a bag full of very bizarre pond scum cotton candy.

I don't find the senko to be the end-all-be-all lure it is sometimes made out to be. It almost never works for me in creeks or ponds that get fishing pressure. Even 3 years ago I had a lot of confidence in the senko but it has dissolved pretty quickly. On seeing fish - I'd say ~50% of the fish I can see have no interest in biting. If you can very clearly see a fish and he rejects your lure 2-3 times, its a safe bet he's seen you and he's wise to your game. I think another poster suggested just.. ignoring fish you can see, I definitely always give them a few casts, but if a bass can see you and rejects your lure, it isn't necessarily the lure. If you know there are fish in there, I'd definitely try changing lures. If its a stocked pond it probably gets a lot of pressure and the fish probably see a lot of senkos (and most probably have a few sitting in their bellies). So being a little different will be beneficial. I agree that the Mepp's inline spinners and ned rigs are very good tools to add to your shore fishing bag for when your senko is getting rejected. The Mepp's will let you cover a hell of a lot more water too.

I love my Pflueger XT. That said, it seems to have only "fisherman" qualities to set it apart from a normal presidente - slicker color scheme, more carbon and aluminum, and cork handles - but mechanically is very similar to a presidente. IMO at that $80 price point I'd order a Shimano Sedona from the internet somewhere, because that is a freaking incredible spinning reel.