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Does the fact that others love a reel other than Shimano make you feel inadequate enough that you have write War and Peace to try and remain convinced that Shimano is the best reel ever? Good grief.

I would throw a live bluegill on a hook

Good post !! Was the sonar new? if so it will have some helpful tips in the box. Understanding structure is probibly the most important thing you need to learn, it takes time, so don't rush it !!! Structure is the bottom conture of the body of water you are fishing, it is the most vital part of what fish use to travel from place to place, it's in short their highway. All fish will hold structure, not all structure though will hold fish, so how do we know which structure holds fish? simple, it's time on the water, you have to make the time to fish and fish often to understand your particular body of water. In these articals you will find so much information that it can be mind blowing to say the least, just because there is so much of it, but don't pass up the opportunity to read it all. We all know how to beat the banks early, we often get lost in the thought that this is the pattern for the day, after the bite stops, where do we go from there? Well if you have found a spot or two with a good morning bite chances are you are in luck, not far from there should be the kind of structure you are looking for, it could be a lake bottom covered in grass, gravel, clam shell, rocks or tree stumps or even a bunch of humps, an old creek bed, road bed...the list goes on and on. I would suggest using the Carolina rig, this rig is built to find fish and all kinds of structure, you have to use it to get the feel for what is on the bottom, and start using it as soon as the sun comes up over the trees, I would start out using at least a 1/2oz weight, with an 18" leader and matching the bait to what forage the fish are after, it may be a lizard, a grub, a fluke etc... If the water temp is close or above 80 degreese when your season starts, I would look for water at least 20ft deep, and have multiple points around the location. Points are one of the most important parts of fishing different structures, if at all possible find a place where two different creeks come together and form part of a mid lake channel or a V in the lake. Use your sonar to your advantage, scan the area for fish. Fan cast the areas really well until you find humps, determine what those humps are, rocks, stumps etc... go over it with your sonar and get a picture of what it looks like, if you find fish pay attention to detail, what was your retreive speed etc...make good notes you will need to remember this later on in the fall. Fishing in the heat of summer is/can be much like fishing the dead of winter, slow, experiment with it find out what they want fast or slow presentations. If you start fishing structure now it will only make you better in the long run, of course this is only the begining so the info is basic and condenced, but I hope this will help.

Yes the Curado Es are nice, the left hand models are denoted by a one at the end. 51E(6.4), 201E(7.1), 301E(6.2 I think)

@tim4vols hopefully the new pond in the back left is in the flght path of some migratory birds, and they dropped some fish eggs

once the highs are in the upper 90s and 100s, i fish at night

typically in warm weather the bass will be in the shallows early in the moring feeding then return to deeper water late morning .i use a topwater bait early then switch too a texas rigged worm or craw my self. but there are many options.

Headed out to Johnson tomorrow, will keep you guys updated. - Bass Man

The Dobyns Savvy and Champion series are probably their best bang for the buck rods, Loomis really doesn't get amazing till their IMX line, I've heard good things about the St. Croix Premiers as far as value priced, but I haven't used anything below their Avid line (which is a great value in itself); Falcon's Bucoo rod line is great and only $100. As far as an online store, I usually use Tackle Warehouse, great prices, free shipping on orders over $50, and they do military discounts.

This might not be the busiest site on the web, but I can honestly say that it is one of the most informative, friendly and best moderated that I have been to.

I must be warped. I actually thought it was funny. Of course I work in mental health field so go figure.

You want my opinion..................you got it. I own only 1 b/c, as the name implies I use it for fishing with bait, live or cut and it's only for species I think may run over 50#, I have spinning gear that will handle those same 50# fish (and it's a lot more fun for me too). I do see the point of using a b/c with 65# line for tournament fishing, the object is to drag a fish in fast, for the most part those fish aren't too big and offer little or no fight. To me that isn't fishing, that's trying to cash a check. The times I need a bit heavier set up to pull fish out of heavy cover, I use a mh spinning rod and 20# braid. I've yet to catch the freshwater fish I can't handle on that set up, excluding only a sturgeon and one of the those big Texas gars, which I've never caught, bet a 18000 stella would handle one of them, lol. Growing up in Michigan in the 50's I was weened on b/c gear, I have no problem casting them, unless the new modern ones are more difficult, be my guess they would be easier today. It didn't take long to convert to strictly using spinning and fly rods, IMO the fun and challenge increased many times. I truly believe that b/c fishermen are missing some great action and taking the easy way out, just my opinion. This isn't a knock or a condensing comment, but look at the PB of most members, not too many PB's over 10#, just the nature of the areas that are fished. I want that 10# bass on a spinning rod, if I lose it so what, not one lands them all. In all fairness I believe bass fishermen have been programmed in thinking that a using b/c, heavy lines, having 3-5 or 10 rods with them is essential to be successful, I think that's pure non sense for the recreational fisherman.

Water is 2 parts oxygen 1 part hydrogen H2O. What you want to know is the dissolved oxygen levels DO. Bass can serve between 3 to 12 mg/L and prefer 6 to 9 mg/L in 70 degree water, if they can find it. The thermocline is a layer of water between warmer and colder water where the temperatures change rapidly with a few feet. The highest DO levels are just above the thermocline, if one exist. Ponds are usually shallower and smaller than lakes, therefor subjected to both warmer water in summer and colder water in winter and subject to water being mixed by wind. DO is mixed into water by weeds producing oxygen during day light, from wind wave action and in flowing water like a river, stream or creek. During the warm water period bass seek a combination of cool water and good DO levels. Look for bait fish and the bass should be nearby. Tom

The classic walk the dog topwater lure. Great when fished with mono line and medium/fast action rod.

Get one of the small, sealed 7 or 8 amp-hour batteries - Cabelas and others have them. It will power your sonar all day long - maybe several days for that matter. Humminbird supplies the same type of battery with it's 570 portable. On the transducer, I made a "dashboard" for my canoe that has the sonar, a rod holder, and a Slidetrax transducer deployment arm (see photos). Wanna run the sonar - use the dashboard and plug the unit into your battery. Don't want to use the sonar, leave the dashboard and battery at home...

Its night and day. I didnt know what i was missing until i bought costa 580G shades. Simply amazing...

I don't want to bust your bubble but you are needing two rods, the jigs, spinnerbaits and plastics is all good but then you throw cranking into it and it while you can use a fast action rod to crank with it isn't the best choice and it will cost you fish. Now you can get a versatile set up for cranking and spinnerbaits but trying to jig fish with a moderate action rod that is anything less than a heavy or extra heavy power isn't going to work. I think you get a good MH-F for jigs, plastics, and spinnerbaits and buzzbaits and get a seperate cranking rod or you can get a spinnerbait/buzzbait and cranking set up and buy a seperate jig and plastics rod.

Great advice! Smooth and easy. Even the pro's get em, But mostly when trying to get the last bit of extra distance. The more you try to over do it the worse it gets IMHO.

My friend told me about that fish this morning, said it was a really healthy good looking fish. I really believe the lake has the potential to produce a new state record if one can go long enough without being caught and kept.

Swim jig, goes throught the weeds perfectly, hooking percentage is higher than any of the baits mentioned, you can do an infinite number of retrieves to get strikes, you can also vary trailers for a variety of different looks, by far the most versatile of all the baits mentioned. And you won't wanna sceam, cry, throw fits and generally act like a 3 yr old if you lose it like you would if you lost the swim bait...lol that is how I would act anyway.

Try the horizontal fall of a weighted hook. They allow you bait to settle to the bottom instead of nosing down in the mud.

I like green mono so I can tell which reels have mono and which ones have floro.

I take most reviews with a grain of salt. I may buy one reel over another based on playing with it in the store, but the real review doesn't come until months after I've had. I need to use it hard and catch some good fish, I want to see what it looks like after it's beaten up a while, how smooth it still is and well the drag keeps working. I like my Shimano reels, but I have reels in the same price range that I like too. I've backed away from recommending equipment, a lot of it is just a popularity contest. Last thing I want to do is bad rap a product, hate to depress someone that recently bought it. I find most of the equipment today works pretty darn good.

While I am not by nature a morning person, being on the water and fishing at first light is as good as it gets for me. There is something about being on the water at that time of day that makes me glad to be alive. I am not always able to do it for many reasons. I like fishing the mid day hours also, but if I have to choose I'll take daybreak every time, even if that slightly reduces my chance at the biggest fish in the lake.

I feel I need to give a friendly warning! If you start this hobby you won't be able to stop and the amount of molds and colors and glitters will just keep growing and growing and you will lie awake at night working out formulas for lures. You have been warned!