ElGuapo928

Pretty good deal!! May as well restock the Shad Raps before it gets cold!!

You are not alone. I have been tinkering with a spider grub on the free rig - with a 2/0 light wire hook it has a really nice almost flat fall.

Missed the most important addition for California…….Dottie!!

Generally around here, they start hanging out in the flats and shallows around the mid 70’s, but they still tend to move around with the shadows.

I’ve got a few spots around Roosevelt and Apache I have identified that always reload, and fast too. Most are natural humps/ridges, a few are man made, and one that defies logic is an old section of concrete K rail that slid down the bank sometime in the 90’s. If the water is high enough to cover it, there’s fish around it.

When we used to fish a lot of tournaments, I would scour the swap meet for the most ridiculous baits I could find and tie them on the rods on the deck before we went and weighed in. I came in once with 3 rods on the deck, one had a set of trout trolling cowbells on it, one had a giant saltwater squid jig and my spinning rod had a Farmer John corn dog tied to it.

I just can’t see where that thing is any less work than a boat. Maybe I’m missing something?

My granddad used to put Chapstick on the joints of his 2 piece rods - never saw one stick or get loose. I’ve always carried my truck rod in a custom case (piece of 2 1/2” PVC with slip caps).

I wasn’t using “Seniors Tour” as an insult - I personally think it’s a higher level of competition. I honestly hope NPFL is able to grow and eventually sanction all tiers of the sport, from weekend warriors up to the big leagues.

No reason that setup wouldn’t work. I usually throw them on an old BPS Pro Qualifier 6’6” M/F, on 8lb braid with no leader - not too far off. I like a lighter head on a tube for the most part though - 1/16 or 1/8, pretty much self setting with a light wire hook.

I like to replace the nose ring with an oval split ring on most baits. Saves a ton of time over figuring out the position to keep the ring opening out of either the loop or the knot.

With some slack in it, free rig will drop pretty close to vertical. Steve Rogers has some videos on YouTube showing it working.

In the shallows, I will throw a free rig first normally then switch to dropshot if I’m getting short strikes. During the early spring, I love dropping a Bubba shot into the brush. In 20 feet or deeper, it’s straight up dropshot.

I like NPFL as a “Seniors Tour” but without some radical changes across the board, I think tournament fishing will continue to decay.

Beautiful fish!! I got my PB smallmouth a couple months ago on a Choppo - great minds think alike!

I’m guessing the upper end of 7 (7lb 12oz-ish) Good job regardless!!

Welcome from AZ

It could take weeks - I was thinking $400-$500 would be a good guess, then he went straight for that thing🤣

My son has decided that he wants a kayak. He found this one the other day for “only” $4900. After I got done laughing myself into hysterics, I asked what was wrong with a $500 Pond Prowler…..still waiting for an answer out of him.

It will, but it’s a pretty good fight. Goo Gone will soften it, but it still sticks pretty hard in places.

That is a perfect rod for chasing deep fish. Deep cranks (8XD, 10XD, DD22, etc) flutter spoons, big tail spinners (shh!! It’s a secret!!), I’d also use that for dropping swim jigs off in deep water.

I’ve seen fish in 6 inches of water down to 60+ feet in obnoxiously clear water, so no real adjustments there.

Thanks!!

Product plugs have never really bothered me, but I loathe the NASCAR-ization of the sport to where the actual act of fishing has become secondary to product placement.