T-Billy

Megastrike fan here.

7'11" XH F, 50# braid and 7'6" MH F, 30# braid. 3rd would be 7'4" H MF, 30# braid.

If they wont eat the worm, simply swap to a beaver. They'll eat that thing ice out till ice over. Peg that sinker if you're in grass. I actually peg it all the time. Some would label me a heretic for that, but it works for me.

Throw that sucker. They'll let you know whether they want it in pretty short order. I caught two on a 10" Ol Monster today. We're coming out of the spawn, but our temps have fallen back into the mid 60's.

Yeee Haawww!!! 44" again today, and there's nothing skinny about this one!!! On fresh meat again. I'm getting this crappie deal figgered out, which means it'll be over soon. 😂 Gotta stay TIGHT to the tree tops, and move SLOW. I raised two others, one bigger than this'n. I'd guess 47"-48". Unbelievable how lazy these fish are right now. I had 1oz of weight on my quick strike and these fish wouldn't chase the crappie down. I added another oz to slow the crappie down, and went back through the same stretch and got this girl to go the second time around. Three more days of vacation. Guess what I'll be doing? Gorgeous fish, awesome fight. She was even kind enough to autograph my hand for me. 😁

Ride Katie ride!!!

Yeeeeeeee Haawwww!!! Hang on to your hats boys, she's back in the saddle again!!! 😂 Congrats on an awesome day Katie!!! Good luck tomorrow.

I sometimes don't turn 'em on when I'm going pitch'n.

FINALLY stuck a good one!!! Lean post spawn 44". First over 40" since January. These lethargic post spawn fish are still not wanting to chase baits. This one ate a crappie on a quick strike rig. I raised a low 30's today, and another yesterday on a muskie killer, but they were lazy follows, wouldn't even follow into the 8. Both of those fish checked out my crappie for a few minutes after turning off the spinner, but neither ate.

I haven't had a chance to check out the new models yet @NorthernBasser. I'm really liking the old model Invoker 7'11" XH Flippin stick though. I got two during the BOGO sale. It's the Invoker version of the Okeechobee Special.

Are those new reel seats on the Invoker tour's the same as the Tharp series? They look the same to me on the website. I was disappointed to see them changed from the Invoker pro series. I found those seats VERY comfortable.

I have a Dobyns Sierra Panfish 7'4" UL. If a crappie farts within 6' of my bait I can feel it. 😁

Maybe it's both? All I can tell ya is, there's a couple weeks every June when I catch channels up shallow on chatterbaits at night and early morning. They're everywhere, rock, laydowns, weed flats... Couple weeks of that, then they're gone till next year.

My guess is they're spawning. Channels typically spawn here in OH in June, and Flatheads in July. I catch some big channels every year on chatterbaits while night fishing for bass and eyes.

None. All my gear gets rode hard and put away wet.

The cheap brands on Amazon tend to have a looser weave, and are un-coated. The few I've tried have proven strong, but don't handle the best. I've tried quite a few braids, and all my reels now have 832 for bottom contact, and either Fins XS Big Game, or Fins Infinity for chuck and wind baits. The Fins braids are very smooth, and the 832 has proven to be the most abrasion resistant of all that I've tried. Both brands handle great.

I pretty much just fish jigs on structure and moderate cover anymore.A flipping rig with a snelled straight shank comes through the gnarly stuff way better than any jig, and gets more bites IMO.

Redhorse was my first thought also, but the snout/mouth didn't look right to me. So I thought maybe a large species of chub. Looking through some pics on the interwebs, it looks like the down turned mouth gets more pronounced as they get bigger. That might be a young Redhorse.

That's not a carp. I dunno what it is. Looks like a big specimen of some kind of chub. Hey @TnRiver46, what is that?

I've become a big fan of ARK rods over the last couple years, but in this case, given the two baits mentioned, I'm gonna recommend the Dobyns Kaden series 744. It's a very versatile rod being a bit on the slow side of fast. It's a solid choice for both bottom contact and moving baits.

Y'all have WAY bigger lakes, and WAY more of them up there than we do. I can't imagine the cost of stocking at the density OH does in MN. Our lakes are in the 1K to 3K acre range, and we don't have many. You also get some natural reproduction in most of them don't you? Even so, we have a much higher population density than y'all, and still grow some biggins. We have good numbers of mid - upper 40's and a few 50"+ fish swimming around our lakes. Average fish is mid 30's. I wish I'd known what was possible as far as muskie fishing catch rates here earlier. I'd have started fishing for them long ago. I just never knew any good muskie fisherman until I met Chad a couple falls ago. Hopefully our stocking program continues without decline. The DNR says the cost of minnows to feed the hatchery fish has skyrocketed since the covid bs, and is now underfunded.

@TnRiver46 intentionally targeting carp. 🤦‍♂️ Never thought I'd see the day. 😂 Kidding aside, I bet that rubber lipped bass was a hoot on 4# line. I had a 13 pounder eat my ned on 6# and take me for a half hour ride a few years ago. That fight ended a few hundred yards from where it started, and there was no current involved.

I'm with ya 100% on this one brother. Fortunately my work schedule allows me to fish on week nights much of the time through the summer months. It's often just me and the critters out there. Bass reproduce naturally in our lakes, no need to stock them. Muskie can't successfully spawn in most of them due to winter drawdown. I fish Leesville and Piedmont mostly. Both have healthy bass populations, even with muskie stocked at one fish per acre on average. Our little lakes get PLENTY of pressure, that's for sure.

I have 1 ML and 1 L Phenix Feather that I bought for neds based on your recommendation. I've been very happy with both. Plenty of rod for bass in open water. Heck, I've landed big carp, cats, and muskie up to 38" on 'em. I use a #2 hook on my ned heads and even the L sticks fish with ease, and due to the fact that they load deep into the blank with light line they do a great job of keeping fish pinned. Especially important for those acrobatic brown bass. OP your MH/MF is indeed a versatile rod. It'll work for jigs, Trigs and such, but it's better suited to moving baits. Cranks, swim jigs, chatterbaits and such.

Same blank, same taper, the lighter action rod will give you a better feel.