BrianinMD

One thing to keep an mind, the OP is a newbie to baitcasting, while the answers have been a good a lot have been geared towards what experienced guys do now No one started out by picking up a BC for the first time and just casted with no brakes and no thumb. All in due time but it takes some experience to get there. Attempting to cast like this immediately will cause frustration and some people to give up.

yeah, it has you fully addicted before you know it. I joined this site because I had a few questions about fishing lakes, I moved and no longer had easy access to wadeable rivers for smallies and wasn't doing well on LM lakes. Pretty quickly I joined a club and my 3 spinning rods turned into 14 baitcasters and 4 spinning rods (none of the 3 originals remain). Thankfully my wife has a expensive hobby to (Reining horses) so my expendatures go unnoticed.

I used to use Quaker oats, a packet of flavorless gelatin, and a little vanilla. Add enough water to make it bond together. After it sits over night it can be formed into whatever size balls you need for the hooks you use.

A couple baits I am finishing up, a newb at this so not up to the caliber of work I see from others but I am happy with these for the experience I have.

Unless you get very comfortable and have the breaks/cast control just right its a good idea to keep you thumb on the spool. It will be extremely light touch during the cast but helps get the feel if a backlash starts so you can stop it quickly.

Hi Salenity, if that was meant for me I do have pics but I don't think some people would appreciate them being posted....rather graphic

My nickname of chatterface is based on taking a chatterbait to the face on the left side of my chin. After a lot of failed attempts to remove it they ended up cutting it out. Six stitches later it was out and I was left with a nice new scar.

The idea of spooling tight is to keep it from digging in, yes the line that goes out in the cast will loosen up. However, its the line which is not out in the cast which remains tight making it harder for the irritating digging in. Larger, round (not flat), braid will also reduce this occurrence.

A Moderate action rod with mono is going to make for some interesting adventures with hooksets with a heavy hook. Yes it will work but be prepared to lose a few fish.

The cure for this "pest" is generally chemical treatment to kill it. But generally there is no reason to do it, everything from baitfish, crawfish to bass will thrive in it. Learning to fish it properly can have outstanding results.

Cyber security forensic analyst, been in cyber for 6 1/2 years

A young Cooper's hawk from today.

I never spool up or go out without treating my line with it the night before. Works great.

Just a couple quick ones, some visitors to our backyard and one of my wifes new stallion.

Go with a high speed reel, brand/model is a personal choice. The high speed provides plenty of power to move the fish away from cover. That is not an issue.

I assume the question is in regards to senko's, so my answer is.....it depends. if you are fishing around cover t-rig, if more open water wacky. The issue with wacky is the exposed hook. Otherwise the two presentations are interchangeable.

I imagine they are part of the ads from Google, you do not have much choice it what ads you get.

Just booked a trip to Lake Cobbosseecontee in Maine the last week of July. Everything looks great by the reviews but never been there before. Anyone fish this lake have any suggestions they would share? Any suggestions on a good lake map to order?

Looking at your orignal post and the techniques you list. If you like the Avid go for another one of them in a little shorter length for the jerkbaits. A 6ft 6in MF should do great.

My ride is a 2013 F-150 Ecoboost, has been a very good truck. Only one issue and that was being to quiet. Last fall added a K&N cold air intake and a Borla Type-S dual rear exit exhaust. Sounds better, runs better and gets about 1 to 1.5 mpg better than stock. Last highway run got 23.9 mpg, about 18 mpg normal driving. Not bad for a truck with 420ft-lb torque at 2400rpm.

It will pair well with most anything, the question becomes what technique will it be used for?

do not assume it was panfish. I get this periodically, downsize to a finesse worm and slow down a little. You may get surprised with some decent size bass. Another thing to try is a color change, sometimes this will get them to commit faster.

There are a lot of clubs that are not FLW or BASS affiliated, if you want to fish larger tourneys those are where to go. But if your goal is to have fun, learn, and a little friendly competition a non-affiliated club is better. Its more about the fishing and the enjoyment of it when you do not have the guys with the illusions of grandeur in the larger tourneys.

We have one team tourney a year, best 5 per boat. All others tourneys the boater and coangler weigh their 5 best seperately. Finishing order and money payouts are fully seperated. Just makes it fair, you don't have to fish in the back of the boat and compete against those fishing from the front have first and best shots at targets.

Short answer, yes. Longer answer, getting into a local club and fishing in their tourney's is a great option. I started fishing in one a couple years ago, I had never been in a bass boat before. I was looking to improve my skills, meet some other fishing people, and I always enjoy a good competition. The experience has been great, and I have learned a lot. Can now pick up a couple wins, in the coangler ranks, each year. Personally, well obviously from the above, I would choose the local club over starting immediately with the larger tourney circuit. Give yourself a chance to how it works, gain some experience, and there is no better teacher than the experience of fishing with different people. As far as steps to take, post something in the part of the forums here for your area of the country and do a google search for clubs in your area. Check them out for scheduling, rules, and stop into a meeting to talk with them. One thing I would look for, if possible, is a club where co's fish against other co's, boaters fish against boaters. Makes it a little easier to learn and a little more fair. Cost will vary, currently my club is $60 a year with 1 day tourneys $30 and 2 day tourneys are $40. I am sure others will chime in with their thoughts too, feel free to PM me if you have anything you want to ask about my experiences.