David P

I don't think height makes a difference in selecting a rod length and 5'11" aint short, I am pretty sure around 5'10" is the average height for a guy. I agree, the height comment was based on comments several others left. If I was 5ft I'd still be wanting 7'3 + rods. I still feel short!

Spinnning reels on baitcasting rods, baitcasters on spinning rods. And of course, as other people have said, the rod upside down.

I'm shocked to see that everyone lucks such short rods. I'm only 5'11". I don't think height makes much of a difference, especially when there are so many advantages of longer rods! Oh well, guess I'm the outcast.

20.

Stick with a baitcaster, don't give up. Get a spinning set up so you can fish the rest of the day if you backlash bad, but stick with baitcasting! It will get easier and easier in time.

Guys, don't discourage him! It's not has hard as some of you are making it sound. Try skipping first with easier baits to skip. Some baits just glide a bit easier. I like skipping with frogs and flukes and such. It helped me learn. Stick with it, and remember use your thumb. Also, if you do it too light in fear of a backlash, you'll get a backlash. Don't be afraid, give it the good ol' power!

On TV this weekend, they showed a segment on catching some pike. It looked a LOT like bass fishing to me. He was using the larger X-Raps and catching a bunch of them. I've never caught one, nor do I have any lakes with Pike, so just passing along what I saw. Sounds like fun!

Culprit makes a 12" worm, and there's a new worm on ***.Com that has a 14" worm. V & M something I believe.

I like long rods even in tight cover. No matter what, I prefer longer rods. Senkos and T-Rig - 7ft3inch Jigs - 7ft6inch Frogs - 7ft6inch Swimbaits - 8ft I like 7'3 and above for anything. I own one rod that's a 7fter and nothing under that. The 7fter is my finesse rod. This is just my preference, and I know some other guys as well that are like this. Some guys like 6ft and 6'6 rods only. I can cast further, feel like I have better hook ups, more leverage over the fish, and I cast more accurately with longer rods.

When I first started bass fishing, I thought everything was too big for bass. I fished with 4" senkos and thought, jeez 5" senkos wont' catch bass they're too big. Long story short, I fish with 7" Senkos now. I've 10" bass on 7" Senkos, they're not just long but FAT. Jigs are much smaller. Including a trailer. Put a trailer on, they're plenty small for fish of any size to eat them. I've caught a ton of 8inchers on jigs.

Paddle tails are this years "It-Lure" definitely.

I always palm.

fold the senko in half and hook it right there, haven't had a problem with a senko falling unevenly.

7:1 no doubt about it.

20lb Pline CXX 50lb braid / 20lb fluoro leader 50lb braid / 15lb fluoro leader depends on the situations.

If I can avoid waking up early I will. But for tournaments, they start early, so I suck it up and do it. Some guys just have different priorities I guess.

That's a pretty large pike. But also, the clamps on it look to be metal without an guard on them. I can see now how that might damage the fishes mouth. The Xtools scale, is a plastic piece on the end of it, and it's round, not pointed at all.

I always think outside of the box, and do the opposite of what people say. It worked the other day in my tournament in fact. It drives some of the guys I fish with crazy, but when it works, IT WORKS.

Flukes look INCREDIBLE in the water. To me, it resembles a fish a lot more then the majority of baits out there. I love the super fluke. I'm going to try the Magnum fluke soon.

I got the XTools scale last week, despite hearing a few bad things. I have a buddy with one, and his is 100% accurate. Not to mention it floats / is water proof. I almost dropped my older scale in the water twice last week alone. So far, mine seems very accurate, used it with a few things around the house to check.

There's negatives with every single way of weighing a fish. Piercing holes in the mouth, putting into a bag, sticking it near the gills, all can be dangerous or bad. If using a scale that holds the fish by the lip is bad, I'd think lipping a fish in general and taking a photo of it is bad as well. You're putting all the weight in the same general area.

All look between 4-6lbs. The last one looks to have a big mouth, but looks rather skinny.

Some lure types are also harder to skip under docks with a BC then others. Practice though, and you'll get it down.

I was just about to buy a crankbait setup, and now I remember why I don't throw hard baits ;D

It definitely is proven, that sometimes, some places, a leader truly does help catch more fish. It's situational. A lot depends on the fish and the water.