33oldtimer

4# line is pretty light for a 33. I like 10# but 8# will work. Too light of line on a Spincast reel and the pick up pins can miss grabbing the line. Drag is pretty bad on Spincast reels in general. I keep the drag locked down and only loosen the drag when absolutely necessary. With monofilament--and that's all you want to use on these--you have enough stretch to give you time to loosen the drag if necessary. I have some Spincast reels and enjoy the nostalgia. Zebcos is supposed to release a 75th anniversary special edition 33 this month and I'm looking forward to picking one up. But the quality of Zebco Spincast reels is just bad--50/50 that it will work properly. Either the line keeps jamming up inside of the reel, or the reel beats up the line to the point it constantly needs changing. Out of three 33 micros I ended up trashing two of them as unusable from line jamming or getting under the spool cap constantly.

Similar to myself except I mainly fish 4 small ponds. Pretty sure the biggest bass in one pond is about 15-16", lots of 9-12" bass, but huge panfish. Crappie as big as 14", bluegill 11", and an 11" perch. Another pond tops out at 14" bass. The other two as big as 20" bass. You really get to know these small bodies of waters and their occupants after awhile.

I have no trouble using 2 O-Rings crossing them and putting the hook between them.

I'm done with Yamamoto plastics. Bluegill bite the ends off of those baits and bass tear them up. No durability at all. I like the cheap Creme stick baits at Wally World when I use a bullet weight, and Yum Dingers and Shim-E-Sticks when I fish them weightless. This Spring I knocked the bass out on Stick Baits, but conditions getting tougher now I mainly use just 4" Stick Baits, Ribbon Worms, and Zoom Finesse Worms.

Had to do a quick split shot rig the other days as I underestimated the wind and a weightless stick bait wasn't cutting it. Caught a couple of fish after putting on a split shot weight about 8" up the line. I have a dedicated 'mini Carolina rig' with an 1/8 oz weight to drag around lizards and creature baits in the summer in a pond I fish that's about 8' deep. Split Shot Rig is handy in certain situations. Better than a Texas Rig when you want to keep plastics off of the bottom.

I caught a 28" channel catfish yesterday on a little cheap spinning reel with 8# mono. I don't know what it weighed but it was more than 8#. My arm was about to fall off from holding it up. And I didn't have a net so had to drag him in. I was fishing for panfish with a 1/16 oz beetlespin. Like I said: I love monofilament

I absolutely love mono. I flip fish on mono without worrying about it breaking off. Even 4# mono. Yesterday I flipped an 18" Smallmouth on 10# cheap Omniflex mono. I hadn't got around to putting Big Game on that reel yet, but still wasn't worried.

Tyler Berger on his Youtube channel says he always recommends those new to jig fishing start with Bitsy Bug jigs to build their confidence in jig fishing. Seems like a good idea to me. I noticed my local Walmart now sells a pack Bitsy Bug jig paired up with 3 Baby Rage Craws. Doesn't get much easier than that.

Great Stuff! Thanks!

I think it is mostly milfoil, with some snot grass as well. Thick stuff getting thicker every day.

What are your Go To Lures for weeds? Seems weeds are taking over some of my favorite fishing spots, two nearby lakes and one pond. I'm more comfortable using search baits and Texas Rigs than top water baits. I did catch a 12" bass today swimming a Stick Bait over the weeds and into holes. But generally not a fan of fishing weedy water.

There is a four foot long carp in a pond I fish. First time I saw it I couldn't believe it. Not long afterward it swam right by me just a few feet off of the bank. Another pond I fish is rather small and I counted 12 carp in it. Can't believe the city is allowing the carp to take over that pond.

Great article!

That's what I try to keep in mind. One search bait and one finesse bait, unless it is cold front conditions. I'm usually tempted to take too much tackle with me and jump from one thing to another without fully giving one lure a chance.

Looking for tips, your approach to bank fishing for bass, particularly on a new body of water. What do you focus on? Go to lure? Search bait? Finesse lure? Where do you start? Thanks. Edit: I have 2 new small lakes I'll be fishing, 1 new pond.

Any day I can go fishing is a Good Day. Any day I catch fish is a Great Day.

Just like a pond I regularly fish. I've done well there with a dropshot rig and a 4" finesse worm.

Talked to my son in law today. He fished a tournament a few hours away and came in 5th with just 4 pounds, which tells you how bad the conditions are here. He told me he caught them on a beaver style creature bait.

Ton of rain recently.

Got about 2" visibility in cold muddy water post cold front. What do you do? Wait for better conditions? Have any go to lures for impossible conditions? Thanks.

Thanks for reminding me--now my ears are ringing. Most of the time my brain blocks it out

Texas Rigged: Craw, Lizard.

Weather all over the place in the Midwest this year. I've had to constantly adjust my expectations. About half the time I adjust it to "practicing my casting" rather than fishing. I've resorted to live bait after 3-4 skunks in a row. Worst case scenario there is always some show to stream and catch up on until the weather improves.

I had a few in my teenage years. Still have my 1984 Zebco 33 Classic with a matching rod. It still works well.

I hope so. Can't imagine that they wouldn't have a combo available.