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Got my first fish on a swimbait the other night. Bought the savage gear line thru trout beginning of season but only have thrown it a handful of times. Decided that the other night was the night. So going from only really fishing senkos to a swimbait let me just say the hit was amazing! Instant BAM then drag zing in out. Talk about getting your heart racing! Especially with my drag it doesn't really go unless it's a bigger fish (4+lbs). Was very lucky that I got the fish in the boat you can see in the one pic it was barley hooked when I got her on! Think I caught that swimbait fever tho! 5lb 8oz. Great first swimbait fish! Probably my second biggest fish of all time as well!

After all my rants about not liking senko type baits, I caught my first on them today. Out of seven bass, four came on the senkos. The biggest one on one. 17 1/2", one 16", and two 14". I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks....lol. Hootie

Teeth marks are how you which are the "good baits."

Guys come on! We were punching matted Hydrilla in the 70s with 25# mono! Is it a good choice given todays lines? No! Can it be do with 30# mono? Absolutely! Oh yea even with braid ya still gonna be pulling up a bass wrapped in grass!

Instead of Punching, fishing very heavy or matted vegetation with 30 lb mono might be something closer to a Weak Jab. Just use braid. A-Jay

Order has been restored! Shimanos are back!

Roger wins the prize, his estimate 8 1/2 lbs!Tom

I´m old fashioned ! 80% of the time I fish a soft plastic it´s going to be T-rig, most of the time it´s a straight tail worm or a 7.5" Culprit ribbon tail.

I've had good luck using super slick 8 on my spinning rods in 10 and 15 lb test. I run a flourocarbon leader, so I haven't had any issues with the line fraying or breaking. It's really smooth, with pretty much no braid noise coming through the guides

I really like the Champions for moving baits, not my first choice for bottom contact baits though. They are well made and balance very well. No experience with the LT's. (sorry just saw you want input from those who have used both.)

Fish them with short rips. Like papajoe said, pretty much like a PopR. I don't fish them often for some reason, but when I do they seem to attract bigger fish than a popper.

Blows my mind the amount of people that do not carry scales. Have one in both of my boats and every tackle box i own, to avoid this mind numbing exercise. Great fish but you will never know its true weight until you put it on the scale.

I used to be a fish tank enthusiast so you're in luck. The best thing to remember is 3-5 gallons per 1" of saltwater fish and 1 gallon per inch of freshwater fish. So... You could keep 55 inches of fish in your 55 gallon tank. Remember this is just a guide. And do your research to see if certain fish are compatible.

Thats what i was thinking, gona break out thr drop shot and carolina rig. A little popR early am too. We'll see what happens saturday

Thanks guys. I didn't want to give more influential info but I didn't catch this fish however my daughters boyfriend did. Last week I caught a 7.13 at 24.5 inches and it was no where this this fishes girth. It same length. The scales said 8.5 in this fish but I would have bet $100 it was 10! I just wanted to see what the pros thought. Thanks guys.

If they're "finiky", then give 'em what they want. Chances are, you're fishing too fast, and not deep enough.

After I got done fishing I went to the store and got some more chatterbaits in different colors lol

9.5 to 10 lbs based on 25" length, NLMB. Tom Bass weight formula; L x L x G / 1200 = weight in lbs. Average girth for NLMB = .75 L, L is length measure closed mouth to end of tail. 24.5" L = 9.2 lbs

No intent to side-track here... but I'll be damned if that isn't a $%!*ing travesty. A man can't even raise a tank of fish caught from across the street - for eating or entertainment or whatever- in the privacy of his own home without worrying about Big Brother's jackboot kicking down his door. To the OP, I'd go with Bluegill. I wouldn't want a strictly carnivorous fish in there.

I can see the scales but I cant read them .

Best there is. Lake Fork Tackle. Baits last a long time too.

I use fluoro leaders now almost always for musky. they don't kink, and they allow better action. I really would rather not use any leader but I might as well use my wallet as a lure at that point.

I overlooked that 20.5, congrats! That's a horse from an Ozark creek. They don't grow much longer down there. I've heard of 23" fish, but that is rare as hen's teeth.

If you're dumb enough to cheat on your wife then you deserve to be caught.

My Steez LTD SV showed up yesterday!! I only got about 10 minutes with it in the yard, but it is sweet!

Make sure that whenever you hook a big fish in a tournament it turns out to be a drum...not that i'm bitter or anything

A $3 lure that doesn't work properly is more expensive than a $20 lure that catches over and over. Most lures are more like $8 to $16 though. The ones that are pricey are plastics, with hooks and weights you buy separately, that are only good for a few fish. I have topwaters and cranks that have lira rely caught hundreds of fish each.

Best setup ive ever used on spinning gear is- Mono backing, 15lb power pro braid main line, and a fc sniper flourocarbon leader

I have only used the spooks but they were easy to walk when I started learning

Thanks guys! I've taken notes on all of your advise and plan to implement most or all of it into the new game. Keep the ideas and recommendations coming!

I agree with Raul! The Pixy/721 is THE rod for the Pixy. I've also used the 781 IMX and the Jackson Trickster 6'4" which was great. And, it if you want to go "whole hog" get a Megabass Hedgehog rod. Absolutely fabulous. {also great with a Zonda 10 or an Aldebaran)

I agree. The spook Jr. Is the easiest of my baits to walk.

It's probably doable. As long as your not making long pitches and a pretty stiff rod. Like a broom stick! Haha.

On balance (excuse the pun), a 24.5" bass will weigh around 8-1/2 pounds. Roger

ML. There is one rod that to my eyes is the perfect rod for a Pixy ----> GLoomis CR721 IMX.

Uhh .... I don´t think so. Yes, you can use that line for flipping Green Trout, of course it does have some issues, 30 lb nylon coils like a friggin´ slinky.

Yelp! That's what he was doing, that & counting every turn of the gears while warning the bass!

Like it or not you need braid in that situation. ZERO stretch and you'll be able to cut weeds and pads that you're going to get hung up in. Can't do that with mono. And I believe a 30 pound mono line would be twice the size diameter of line your reel would be rated for.

Years ago I had 2 Gators [i live in Fla] named Big Al and Cosmo. We kept them in a 55 gallon fish tank that I set up to look like the everglades. One time I got cute and tried to feed Big Al, who was the bigger of the 2, a piece of hot dog from my hand. He lunged and caught my index finger, as I pulled back his teeth scraped the top from my nuckle to the fingernail. You should have seen the look on the nurses face when I told her how it happened, she giggled as she started to prepare a tetnous shot. After they got a little bigger, I gave both to the biology dept of a local college who were glad to have them I miss those guys. Mike

When I was teaching, I had a classroom aquarium with one bluegill/green sunfish hybrid. "Barbie the Bluegill" lived for 4 years in my classroom of 5th graders. She was able to eat both live and manufactured food. She grew to a nice big size, then I had to let her go after I got a new job in a new city. Her is a picture of her when I first put her in, she gained her color back quickly, and she was very colorful most everyday.

Since my pulleys are all the way on the bow and the stern, I have no need for two. The two inch difference that would be there would mean about 3* difference in boat angle. It's not worth all the extra cordage hanging on the side of my boat. I have my trolley on the opposite side I generally land my fish on. That happens to port for me.

The difference between fly fishing and baitcasting or spinning tackle is you cast the one, not the lure. Your rod needs to be long enough to cast the line with whatever fly or popper you are using. The bass flies and poppers have more air resistance than most trout flies so you need heavier line and that requires longer rods. The reel is simply a line storage stowage when fly fishing, you use your hands most hold the line and work the fly most of the time when fishing. When you hook a fish you still use your hands on the line and the rod to control the fish. Since bass don't make long power runs you rarely use a reel during the fight. As everyone has noted put the money into the rod and line, a basic fly reel that holds the line is all you need, even with fish like carp. Fenwick makes excellent fly rods at a reasonable price point; Fish Eagle 9', 8 W, $99. Okuma Cascade reel $25, SA WF-8-F line $45, Dacron backing $5, taper leader $5, total about $180, plus tax. Tom

DVT is right about starting with a fast action rod. My first flyrod was a 9' 8wt GLX3 with weight forward line. Few years ago I decided I wanted something for panfish and possibly small local trout so bought a 3wt slow action custom rod off TFF, and put tapered line on it. The line was the first mistake. Casting with it for me is a bear. I have to wait until next week before starting the forward part of the cast. I also highly suggest not getting into tying your own flies until you know fly fishing is for you, and fly tying is something you definitely want to get into. You can put several hundred $$ into gear and supplies in a hurry.

Bass Pro's White River fly reels are a good value. If you're not fishing saltwater, a reel is just a place to hold line. If you know how to tie a blood knot, you can save some money by getting your bass fishing lines and tying your own leaders (15 lb test to 12 to 10 to 8). Bass fly fishing doesn't need to be as pretty as trout fly fishing. I know some guys who use a straight 12 or 15 lb test line tied directly onto the fly line for bass. For the rod, i would recommend getting a two piece. The ones that break down to 3-4 pieces can be annoying.

55 gallon seems to small... I had a 225 gallon home made and had 2 largemouth in it and it still seemed go small. I think a 125 for a couple bluegill would be ok. 55gallon to small, also bluegills tend to school so a lone bluegill would be stressed.

A 20' bass boat would be perfect.

Most Muskie guys use 100# flouro leaders, as metal is less durable than you'd think.

5-10 on a buzzbait makes this my biggest of the year... Summer has been pretty busy with work and preparing for college and I've only manged 5 fish over 4 lbs this season. Moving into school Friday (University of Maine) which has me pretty pumped! Definitely going to try to be more active on the forum again during the winter anticipation and next spring.