RDB

Most professional fishermen are not famous outside of people in the fishing world. My wife would have a 50/50 shot of picking out KVD in a lineup of two and I’m a fishaholic. It is a hard way to make a living outside of the top pro’s, so you better really be passionate about fishing. Sure there are some who make a lot of money but there are way more who scrape by or have to do side gigs like guiding. People get on to pro’s for promoting certain products but without those sponsorships, few would last more than a few years. I love to fish and have fished my share of tournaments but I would take a massive pay cut to do it full time. Maybe that’s more an indictment of my skills ?.

I have both and both are good rods. If price is no object, I would go with the Conquest personally. I have tried most of the higher end rods and have moved to all NRX/NRX+ except for 1 Z Bone and 1 Steez Bottom Contact. My plan is to get rid of the Kistler and Diawa and go all NRX for feel applications. In my hands the sensitivities are great but they feel different and I want the consistency. No need to spend that kind of money for moving applications IMO. Edit: While I completely agree with others that high end rods should have good cork, cork optics is pretty far down on my list necessities.

Most of my reels are Steez SV’s but I purchased the ‘21 Zillion shortly after release (I’m addicted to trying everything new) and it’s an excellent reel. I will probably add a few more at some point. I also think there is a ‘22 Zillion that has been released on the JDM. Give this whatever value you choose but here is a review of the ‘21. http://tackletour.com/reviewdaiwazillionsvtwg.html

I haven’t used the M1 but I have 2 older Featherlite’s. I haven’t used Phenix is a while, so I don’t know if Feather v. Featherlite is new branding or if they made changes. IMO Phenix heavily over rates their Featherlite powers and actions. Since you like the Feather you had, that’s what I would I would be most concerned about replicating.

My opinion after trying scents for a while now is they do work but more as a masking agent than an attractant. Personal hygiene likely matters as well. My guess is scents would work miracles for some of you ?. I also think the masking probably matters most in close quarters. I equate it to whitetail hunting. You have that deer coming in on a rope and all of a sudden he sniffs the ground right where you walked in and hangs up or becomes cautions. Shouldn’t have been wearing your hunting boots while pumping gas. I could see bass exhibiting the same behavior with human scent. Maybe that’s why the hold longer. Who knows…if it gives you confidence, it probably works. It would also probably help to take an occasional shower.

If I means more light in the morning then it will improve my mood. My partner can’t back a trailer for #%!#.

As others have said, there are a number of variables and there are no absolutes. The saying is simply a general rule of thumb based on a higher likelihood of what the wind direction might be indicating regarding the weather and it’s potential impact on fish behavior. Another adage is “winds blow from high to low” (pressure). Sailors in the old days used things like clouds and wind direction to help navigate and predict storms. In the northern hemisphere, if the wind is at your back, generally the high pressure is to your right (Buys Ballot’s Law). That could be helpful in storm avoidance in the old days. Below is a very BASIC video about atmospheric circulation. It helps explain wind movements and pressure from a BIG picture. From there, you have many influences including local and regional.

Since you said high end, I prefer the NRX for everything except the heavy stuff where I use the Steez 7’2” H which is a great rod. I had the 7’6” H Z Bone before the Steez and while it was a good rod, I prefer the Steez.

For sight fishing, either a white Rage Menace or Bug (without the top arms). I want something where the hook covers most of the bait with few appendages as they often pick it up and move it off the bed.

Don’t apologize for your beliefs on the aesthetics of your lures…haters gonna hate. If it makes you more confident in what you are throwing, I can pretty much guarantee it is positively impacting your success. I never fish a spy bait and recently decided to tie one on and the whole time I was throwing it, I was thinking about what I should replace it with.

I have the 893 and the 854 (4” shorter). The 893 would probably be best for the weight ranges you listed. You could also consider the 873 which is more of a 3.5 power (kind of in the middle). The 873 and the 893 are two of my favorite G Loomis rods.

I aim to please…hope it’s helpful.

I have multiple length rod socks and after a day of fishing, find it frustrating to figure out which sock goes with which rod. I have had a planned project for some time to see if I could create customized sock labels and this afternoon finally had a few minutes to start. This is my first attempt using a few of my rods. Basically it is a special vinyl transfer paper used to put images on dark backgrounds. I found the image or font I liked, printed on the paper, cut out what I didn’t want to show, and pressed on using a heavy duty t-shirt press. (you can also use an iron). I thought I would post a few pics in case others might feel motivated to try. I found it to be a pretty simple process.

I have the same 852/Steez setup and it works great. I don’t have a skipping setup…I skip with most of my spinning & baitcasting rods. The only rods I don’t skip with is the RipFreak (whippy…hard to be accurate) and my longer specialty rods. If you can do a low to the water roll cast, stay within the ratings, and have a reasonable rod length, you should be able to skip with accuracy.

I prefer some chop and brighter skies or dirty water with spinnerbaits as I don’t want them to get a great look at it…it’s not the most natural looking thing. If it’s fairly slick and/or cloudy, I’ll opt for a chatterbait, a swim jig or another lure type altogether…IMO there are better options than a spinnerbait in those conditions. I typically fish spinnerbaits above the bass (unless slow rolling) but they can be fished high or low in the column depending on the blades and trailer which can add lift. I don’t get married to a certain type of cover as I haven’t found the cover type to be a limiting factor. The vibration and/or silhouette can make dark colors in either great in low light or night conditions.

Those subtle color differences are mostly to catch fishermen. I would stick with something resembling a shad and/or bluegill. Personally, bone is a pretty safe color in Texas since our waters are not usually very clear. If I was fishing the church retention pond in your profile, I would probably go with bluegill as my first choice.

Just go on LureParts or Barlows and order some different blade types…there are tons of blades and cups to keep you busy. I use the pre-poured heads and build from there and it’s cheaper than buying pre-built. I made a few recently using chopper, royal, thumper, and whiptail blades. If you like to tinker, it can be a lot of fun.

With no wind, I personally would also have opted for a swim jig over a spinnerbait as well. I like some chop on the water when fishing spinnerbaits. As far as color, I choose more natural colors in clearer water and brighter (white, chartreuse, etc.) in stained/dirty water. I have confidence in both and let conditions dictate which I choose first.

I don’t keep found lures…bad juju. I don’t want them giving my other lures any ideas.

I’m sure there is. I chose the coffin because those bags fit perfect and I could adjust the slots to fit my needs. FYI…this is what the bags look like:

You can take that Bass Mafia box and expand to hold most if not all your terminal tackle. Below is a pic of mine. You can get the small plastic bags from Hobby Lobby (100 or so for a few dollars) and I add a rectangle of card stock paper to the bag to keep it’s form. I probably have 200 different items in that 1 box. I also labeled the slots though I know where everything is now.

I don’t know if by tumbling/spinning you mean during the retrieve or the cast…I assume retrieve. If yes, I use slightly heavier jig heads on the bottom arms. I usually use either 1/16th & 1/8th or 1/8th & 1/4. In Texas we can have 5 hooks and I always use the max allowed. The only time I use dummies is on the Blades of Glory (Shane’s Baits) which has 4 upper and 5 lower. I use dummies on the upper.

I think you can find thumb guards on the same isle as the nail polish.

Who said Florida’s don’t like cold water. How long before we have a new state record. That is the first over 17 since the state record 18.18 was caught in ‘92. I also believe that is the first over 17 not caught at Fork.

I’m sure you’re right. I’ll be on that lake tomorrow so I will have a better idea.