T-Billy

Atta Boy!!! Them's some nice chunks. If you don't make it back out, that's a fine way to end the season.

And sometimes when they're biting, they're still off. I caught 11 today, and lost almost as many more. Bites were super subtle and they just weren't eating it well. It was tough getting a hook in 'em.

If you have some small lakes around you, there's surely some clubs, and probably some opens. Lakes around me are 1K-2K acres. Most have low HP limits. They're all jon boat tournaments around here with the exception of two lakes.

I gotta show this to my wife!!! I might even print it and have it framed!!! ? Good luck tomorrow. Looking forward to your report. I'm gonna get out myself. I'll hit the water a little before daylight and see if I can come up with another pre-dawn musky before I start bass fishin.

When I grow up, I wanna be a HAMMER like @ol'crickety!!! What a morning Katie!!! Congratulations!!!

No right or wrong, just a matter of what works FOR YOU. Your froggin rig might work well for you... or not. Only one way to find out. It'll definitely help drive that 5/0 home for you. Being seated in a canoe definitely decreases the hooksetting force you can generate vs those of us standing on the deck of a boat.

I fish a lot of plastics. I go through hundreds of a few baits each year. This reminds me, the other day it occurred to me that I've been fishing the same 3/8 tungsten flippin weight since early summer. #STRAIGHTBRAIDBRIGADE!!! ?

This has been my experience as well.

I agree. Either a fast rod with mono or a Mod Fast with braid, which is what I fish 'em on as I throw 'em into thick stuff. If you can bring yourself to wait a couple seconds before setting the hook, it may help your hookup percentage as well. Rigged like this, it's a natural feeling bait to them and they'll usually hold on to it awhile. A bigger hook may help too. With a 4.75, I'd go 4/0 or maybe even 5/0. Whichever comes through the bait at the back of the hookslot.

Yup. Same blank. I have both.

Heckuva lotta rod for the money at full price, let alone the BOGO deals going on.

Thanks for making me feel better about myself fellas. ? Other than that musky and four pounder last week, it's been rough. 8 and change won the tournament on my favorite lake last Sunday.

Getting to be that time of year for me. Tubes are one of my favorite options from the mid 50's on down to ice over.

This.

Still working on it myself. Roll casting hasn't worked well for me either. Straight forehand. Keeping my elbow tight to my side helped a bunch. Senko works well. Super fluke is the easiest thing I've found to skip. Both good practice baits. Neither will clang off peoples pontoons or dock floats and won't damage anything. Both are fish catchers.

Don't put 'em down in summer. Get out there after dark and run 'em over submerged grass and along defined weedlines. When the bluegill are on beds it's prime chatterbait time at night!!! It's a multi species killer at night, and it gets big bites.

Smoooth casting stroke and follow through is the key. Baitcasters no like herky jerky.

The reel? That Fuji seat isn't the slimmest on the market. I like a small frame reel on my dobyns rods. The Lew's SLP frame, and my SLX XT150 are very comfortable on them for me. My SLX XT found it's forever home on my Kaden 744.

My favorite of my Dobyns. Awesome rod for spinnerbaits and swim jigs.

That's how I roll. Switching hands never made a lick of sense to me.

The braking systems on modern baitcasters have flattened the learning curve a great deal. I taught my wife and niece to use one this year, and they both figured it out in a matter of minutes. I think baitcasters are actually easier to use, and more efficient once you get the hang of them, which doesn't take long. The combo the OP mentioned in his first post also covers alot of bases, and is better than spinning for alot of them including the ones he mentioned.

OH isn't exactly a hotbed of world class bass fishing, but I'm blessed to live in one of the best parts of the state for it. The MWCD reservoirs are all within an hour of me. One is just down the street, and my favorite just 15 minutes away. There's also the Tuscarawas river 30min away and the OH river is an hours drive. I haven't fished the big river yet but probably will next summer.

It ain't. I throw a weightless senko or a 1/8oz Trig 100' on a 7' MH with a curado mgl and 20# braid. Much better knot and shock strength. Black or junebug worms and green pumpkin craws and creatures are all you really need.