So, my next trip is hopefully going to be a week from today, and having had a month to obsess over it, and knowing most of you have way more experience than me, i thought i'd share my plan and see if you had any thoughts/suggestions.

i will be fishing a pond, and fishing from roughly 2-10am. there are 3 goals i hope to accomplish: catch my first topwater fish, my first senko fish, and my first crankbait fish. i thought i'd start with my buzzbait over a grassy area, with either a senko or paca craw as a backup for missed fish. i'll also be throwing my Midnight Special spinner.

When the sun starts to rise i'll give hula poppers and jitterbugs a handful of casts, but really focus on running square billed cranks around cover.

i planned on finishing the trip with senkos, both wacky and texas rigged. So, thanks for taking the time to read this and i welcome your opinions.

Matt

What rod and reel are you going to be throwing your square bills with and what line?

The square bill is the best starting place when it comes to fishing crankbaits. Just remember that cover is your best friend with these cranks and bump and rip them through what you can find for best results.

What squarebills are you starting with?

(not too proud of this) all i have are spincast reels. i'll be using my Zebco 33 with 10lb. test fluorocarbon mostly for everything. My Shakespeare Panfish combo with 6lb. test will be rigged up with one of the soft plastics to throw if a fish blows up and misses the buzzbait. i have 4 squarebills: a KVD 1.5 in neon bluegill, a KVD 1.0 in chartreuse/black back, a Rebel in red craw, and a Rebel in white/chartreuse back

(not too proud of this) all i have are spincast reels. i'll be using my Zebco 33 with 10lb. test fluorocarbon mostly for everything.

 

I don't see what you have to be ashamed of. A whole lot of fish have been reeled in with Zebco 33's.  They ain't fancy, but they get the job done.  Only thing to consider is that the line recovery is pretty slow on those spincast reels.  If you have a fish make a run at you, you'll be crankin' like  a madman to keep the slack out of the line.

Hey you gotta make due with what you have haha those cranks you mentioned surely will catch fish.

I don't see what you have to be ashamed of. A whole lot of fish have been reeled in with Zebco 33's.  They ain't fancy, but they get the job done.  Only thing to consider is that the line recovery is pretty slow on those spincast reels.  If you have a fish make a run at you, you'll be crankin' like  a madman to keep the slack out of the line.

Totally agree. As long as you catch fish, then your combo suffices. You don't need expensive gear to catch fish. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is to stay healthy. When fishing for long hours, sometimes the hand can't take it anymore or headaches start emerging. Be aware of your body conditions as you fish. Other than that, your plan looks great! Good luck to you!

You afford what you can!  I started off with a 2 piece spinning outfit.  I was texas rigging a 7" power worm.  That was 24 years ago.  It caught a ton of fish then and your setups will catch a bunch of fish too!

 

On another note.  I think of my next outings the second I come off the water.  Sometimes they are a month apart.  I never stop thinking about them and I always prepare a hundred times over!