T-Billy

I bet you'd catch twice as many fish if you wore it in pigtails. Give it a try, and make sure you post LOTS of pics. ?

I agree 100%. Use gear that will give you the best odds of moving the biggest fish you might stick, out of whatever cover you're fishing. Still loving those big reel handle knobs you sent me. My index finger knuckle is finally almost scab free. LOL. It used to get busted open every time I went flippin, which is nearly every day off from March to December. Thanks again.

General pitching duty, 7'4" Mag H F Ark Invoker Pro. I'd call it 6.5 power. HEAVY cover, 7'6" XH F Invoker Pro. Call it a 7 power. It definitely feels a full power stouter than my Sierra 766 Flip. Still has enough tip to pitch 1/2oz very well though. I spend a lot of time with these two rods in my hands.

I have a BPS Pro Qualifier 7'6" MH F that I like for tubes. It's more of a M+ IMO. 15# XT or YZH. For me it's an open water structure deal during the pre-spawn.

That's great to hear. Congratulations to you all on an epic trip.

Thanks for letting me slide on the crooked hat and unshaven face officer. I'll try not to let it happen again. ? My #3 all time. 6# on the nose. December of 21, suspended in a deep pine tree top. Water and air were both about 40 degrees that day.

Been there. Done that. Sucks... REAL BAD!!! I was at a kegger and they burned some ivy covered wood. I wasn't the only one in head to toe misery in the aftermath of that poor decision. Here's a bass pic to keep the BR fashion/hair/pic cop off my back. ?

Good info there @bulldog1935. Thanks. I've been happy with the Gomexus handles I've purchased. I have their 105's on several reels. The carbon handles I purchased from HPR Bearings on the auction site have also been good for me. I have their 115mm on my flippin reels. They're stout and have proven themselves up to the task. I've bent a few of Lew's aluminum handles on my Super Duty's and Pro SP's. Musky and flatheads in big gnarly laydowns are a handfull. LOL.

8x5 is correct. Lots of quality choices out there for replacement handles. If you want to use the OEM knobs, I recommend removing one and measuring the shaft, then buying an appropriate replacement handle that doesn't come with knobs.

This was about 10am, not a cloud in the sky, sun overhead.

8 speed Lew's Super Duty LFS, 50# 832.

Yep. I rig it flat and fish it like a jig on rock structure. Deadly technique at night.

One for @ol'crickety. How's that for fattening up? It weighed 2.19#. At least .19 was the bluegill in it's gut. The whole tail was sticking out it's gullet, and the little glutton still choked my sweet craw. I got tired of fighting the legs on my little cell tripod, so I snapped 'em off this morning. Now all I have to do is drop it into a seat pedestal, and it's ready to take pics. Much easier, and faster.

Spend the extra $20 and get a Lew's LFS. You won't regret it.

I've found them at Lowes, and on Amazon.

Yo Zuri hybrid is very good and will keep you from being flamed by either side. Me? I enjoy poking the bear in the eye with a stick. Braid > clear plastic sissy lines. ?

@ol'crickety, have you considered one of those fiberglass stake out poles? If those bogs have a soft bottom one of those might work well for you.

In timber brown even!!! I like it!!!

They're all plenty strong, but in terms of abrasion resistance, and just generally holding up to fishing rock and gnarly wood tangles, nothing I've tried beats 832, and I've tried quite a few. 832 is the best handling also. That Gore fiber lives up to Sufix marketing hype IMO.

OH fish love the Ol Monster in the summer.

Try to position yourself where you can make long drifts, so you can fish as the wind carries you along.

The first bluegill spawn is gonna happen soon here. The bass will be gorging themselves on gills when that happens. I saw lots of gills on the bedding areas today. They're not locked on beds yet, but it won't be long. Hopfully it'll be on by the time I start vacation on the 3rd.

Only caught six on the chatterbait in the dark this morning between 1:30 and 5:00, but five were in the 2-2.5# range, so decent quality. Once the lights came on I was once again the "DINK WHISPERER". LOL. I don't know how many I caught, but I'd guess mid 30's. I picked up 23 torn up sweet craws off the deck at the end of the trip. Pitching holes in hydrilla beds. Lots of 12-15 inchers. I don't know how I managed this but, IT COUNTS!!! I wasn't sight fishing!!! LOL. Best fish of the day came late morning from an isolated patch of hydrilla. A long lean 3.79#. I found this image of where the glaciers stopped on the ODNR website. They stopped just south of Canton over here in the eastern part of the state. It's much flatter and less rocky up north where the land was ice covered,than it is south of where they stopped. Driving up 77 from Bolivar to Canton you can really notice the change in topography. We were taught in school that the Appalachian Mountains are lower and more rolling than the Rockies because they're older and more eroded.

? This map is actually pretty accurate. The biggest inaccuracy I see is, we have way more Amish than that. I live in Carroll county, right above the last i in hillbillies. Thus my screen name. LOL. SE OH is the most beautiful part of the state. Being unglaciated we have lots of rolling hills and forests. We also have the highest concentration of reservoirs, with most having been built by the Army Corp of Engineers for flood control. We also grow some dandy bucks around here. This is my best, and while he's a good one, they get MUCH bigger round here.

Nice. Leesville is my #1 Lake. I live 15min from either ramp. Piedmont is #2. I live on the shores of Atwood. Leesville is where most of the muskie mayhem went down last fall, with Piedmont getting honorable mention.