Mike Thomas

The 844c Is one of the most versatile rods in their line. Back when I had to keep things minimal, I literally used one for everything from spinnerbaits, jigs, frogs, buzzbaits, spooks and c rigs bass fishing to back trolling plugs and back bouncing roe for salmon.

An old milk crate is a handy substitute for a boat deck in the yard👍

Sub surface: Spinnerbait with a large, single Colorado blade, either black w/black blade, white w/ nickel blade or white & chartreuse w/ gold blade. which one goes in the drink depends on ambient light. larger profile shallow running crankbaits in darker colors large soft swimbaits jigs with bulky trailers topwater: buzzbaits, plopper style baits, large wakebaits and frogs. I personally tend to shy away from walking baits in the dark as I feel the fish have a harder time tracking them I hear and see alot of missed blowup's on spook style baits and the like.

I do have multiple rods for spinnerbait depending on weight and one bladed jig rod . being that your limited on space, I'd probably err on the side of one heavier rod to cover all like a 7' to 7'4" medium heavy fast or heavy fast. As the gentleman above me mentioned, the 734c is a very serviceable all around stick. Anything in that rating class should have you pretty well covered

Once every couple of years, I cull through what I've accumulated and start filling a box with all the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" baits that I either bought and didn't use, didn't like or just didn't fit the way I fish and haul that box over to a pond not far from the house that a lot of kids fish at, set the box on a picnic table by the dock and let them have at it. Easier than a yard sale and I think the bait's go to a better purpose.

I have a few of these as well. For one specific lake and one specific purpose. When that bite is there, It cannot be matched with a faster reel. I'm a huge believer in matching reel gear ratio to the technique to maintain a comfortable cadence in retrieve.

My theory is that the best knot is the one you can tie proper every time. I've tried a bunch of them and can tie a lot of them well but the 2 I always settle back to ( depending on the application ) for line to lure are the Palomar and the Trilene...... and the occasional improved clinch if I have reduced myself to a bug whip for stream slimers.

I rarely dropshot. Can't stand it, really. BUT I do keep a dedicated dropshot rod in the boat at all times. I have a very hard time not "reaction" fishing but every once in a while, you see something too good not to drop on.

I've actually been messing with that the last few days here. Used to fish it religiously every spring and early summer but just kinda forgot about it. I found a bag of 065 color code "old purple" trick worms that spurred the thought as that was always THE color here, turns out it still is

I live out west and fish mostly deep water impoundments. As soon as fish have started to go "pre-spawn" It's all about big topwater and slow sink glides for me. big hens start looking for big meals after they've had a chance to recover and it's probably some of the most violent topwater bites you'll ever get the chance to witness. Get's me excited just thinking about it👍

Well Sh@t! I would have given you 3 cans of expired pringles, 2 can's of chipoltle vienna sausages vintage 2005 and a half dozen coors lights that have been sitting in the livewell since 2018 and 800 bucks for just the motor, gauge and control package. Just pulled the blowed up 200 HO off mine and sold it. Offer stands🤪🤣🤣

I hadn't heard of Holschlag. Just ordered 2 of his books, Thanks for the heads up. There are a couple copies of the original Big Bass Zone books available on Amazon as well as an updated edition that I wasn't aware of

Most T-rig and C-rig bait's I go with the "old school" offset worm hook. Punching rigs with bulky baits Like a Sweet beaver or Double wide beaver, EWG is where it's at. Really, the only time I ever use straight shank worm hook's is with 4 " & 6" "finesse" style straight tail worms on light line with light weight.

If you're serious about it and willing to put the time into it. The books authored by Hannon, Murphy and Siemental are pure knowledge, they give you the framework. Take what they've written and bend it to your means. I read everything Doug Hannon put out when I was a very young kid, sucked it up like a sponge and applied it where I could for the means that I had. Murphy extrapolated on that even further. Siemental's Big Bass Zone dropped the final bread crumbs I was looking for to put the puzzle together with big bass, whether swimbait's, reaction baits, topwater, jig's or a bobber rig with a tiny little hair jig. All of what those guys wrote coupled with coming from a hardcore, multi-species fishing array of family members, East Idaho fly fisherman, strict bass fisherman to offshore salmon, marlin, tuna, you name it, to nothing but chasing striper from the ocean through the bay and into the delta. I had the knowledge pool to draw from. Those 3 books played a huge part in me being able to put it together and all of it plays a huge part in the baits I build now.

The first time I did it was on my '97 482vs. I was the second owner of that one, It was a local boat that the original owner took amazing care of. It was about 6 months before I sold it, I was blown away at the results. I've done it twice now on the 518vx that I currently own and you wouldn't think that the carpet is now 26 years old. The only reason I'm replacing the carpet is that I'm going to re-power with a Yamaha SHO and swap out for aluminum deck lids. This boat fits the way I fish perfectly plus, the miser in me can't justify spending over twice as much as I bought my first house for on a boat lol