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Caught a nice 7.2 yesterday on the Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin/Drift Fry combo. Tried to make a complete video showing the ridiculous action on this bait but the stupid editing program kept getting buggy. This is the second season of using these Drift Fry, and the novelty keeps growing. That front lip makes the bait almost stand still while aggressively rolling, it's the closest bait I've ever seen to matching what a stunned Threadfin Shad does in cold water. They do this thing where they roll on their sides and the right themselves. Adding the elastomer models was the final cherry on top. I think it's the coolest fishing lure I've ever owned.

@A-Jay counting down the days to ice out like "Y'all got any more of those bass pics?"

I finally went fishing, returning to the pond where I own property. I liked the drive because there was no traffic. I don't know why that was so, but I enjoyed having the road to myself: I arrived at the driveway to the pond. I was so excited to see the water. I couldn't quite see it yet, but soon. A walk through the woods took me to the wetlands between the water and me. Open water! At last!!! I walked the boardwalk to my canoe. She was ready and I was too: I dragged her out to open water and trolled a deep diving crankbait, thinking the bass might be deep since I was fishing a wee early. However, the crankbait malfunctioned and would not dive. It worked like a surface lure and a mighty lousy surface lure. Not surprisingly, I was skunked. Rapala will be getting a strongly worded letter from me!

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss Replaced my old CBR 783 with a 903C CBR as *the* DT-6 rod. Can't wait to try it out.

Although I live where the ice does not keep me from chasing bass, my work and family obligations have side lined me for a few months now. I am starting to get cabin fever. As usual, I start going through my tackle, when I start noticing symptoms. I can only gaze at my meager collection for so long. So I got the idea to ask members to post their tackle pictures. Pictures of that much tackle, should keep the fever away for days. I want to see pictures of all of it, everything, hard baits, soft baits, hooks, line, rods, reels, boats and motors. Everything bass fishing. Why not see what we have? The more the better. If the internet breaks, I'm sure it can be fixed. I will get it started with a few of my favorites.

Hi all, As some of you know my wife is a recent cancer survivor. We were so lucky to have an amazing hospital with a very good cancer center near by, and her treatment was top notch. She and I were exploring ideas on how we might give back and came across an Idea that is a good fit for us. Besides fishing, my wifes main hobby is quilting and we found out the hospital could use Lap quilts for patients during infusions, chemo to help keep them warm and possibly take home. So my wife has been busy making quilts and bags to keep them in. Here's one we hung up to photograph and one of the storage bags she is making. Thanks for looking

To me, pulling a bass straight out of the lake and recording that catch then and there is much more exciting than pulling a bass out of a bag. When I lift a bass to photograph it, it's generally flopping and when I release it, it often splashes me because it's fresh from its home. Those limp bass that they pull from bags are stale, made so by hours in a livewell and many minutes in a bag. Filming the catches of still-fighting, fresh fish and then playing that footage at the stage gets my vote.

Regarding the baitcaster models... I was throwing spinnerbaits last Fall for Bass on a local lake, about a 20" Pike ate my Spinnerbait, followed by a much much larger Muskie grabbing hold of the Pike, immediately corking one of my World Class rods, that Muskie held on for several minutes before finally letting go. Couldn't do a darn thing with it or control it in any way, but that rod took a beating when the Muskie hit that Pike and still works like new. The blanks are definitely super tough... If you were to just hold these rods in a tackle shop, they are light, but maybe not take your breath away, but when you fish them and hook nice fish on them, which I am fortunate to have fisheries around me where say a 5 pound Smallie isn't all that big of a deal, they just feel very solid in hand and very well built. They feel much more solid and higher quality than say a Loomis NRX+ while actually fishing with them. I also prefer that cork fore-grip over say the metal fore-grip on my MegaBass rods. The thread wraps, epoxy work, etc... is just as high end as MegaBass, which is obviously better craftsmanship than Loomis or St. Croix. I buy a lot of fishing crap because I like to try new things, I would consider these rods made for fisherman more so than what feels great standing in a tackle shop if that makes sense. I only have one season on them so far, but all three were used a lot and never flinched. The way they blended the cork with the EVA was likely tough to do and is why the two rods I sent back to be replaced had the issues they did, frankly most guys likely wouldn't have even noticed what I did, I am just particularly picky, I don't break rods or treat them like shop tools so I tend to care about initial quality more than most. The cork on the models I have is definitely better quality than say what MegaBass uses on their P5 rods and these rods are about a $100 less. I am kind of a stickler about cheap cork, I don't use cork sealer or any of that non-sense, just want a high density of cork as it's more durable in the long run. I think where Fenwick has failed is the marketing, they have not done any decent marketing to back up their dealers, seemingly trying to rely on a name that isn't what it once was. Let's be honest, most tackle shops don't employ marketing geniuses so you aren't going to get it from them. Before I bought these rods I scoured the internet and there is nothing out there, no decent YouTube reviews, etc... If I owned a rod company in 2025, I would have detailed YouTube videos of each model going into detail what they are designed for, etc... I used to help design and sell boats for a living, you would sell more boats by putting up a simple YouTube video than you ever would travelling all over the country going to trade-shows, etc... and the YouTube video was free... Fenwick has an automated system to return rods purchased direct from them, it did not work properly when I tried to use it so trying to deal with their customer service was not all that impressive, which is odd as Abu Garcia has great customer service, the people you speak to may not know anything about fishing, but they answer the phone, accomplish what you need them to do, etc... Fenwick was always leaving a voicemail and a couple days later they would call you back sort of thing... I think Fenwick should just use the same call center as Abu Garcia does and invest some time in marketing and they would see sales increase... I am assuming their automated return system is fixed by now so maybe the call center is unnecessary, but they definitely need to invest in marketing. It's a different World now and simply having your rods in racks at tackle shops isn't enough to sell them, especially when you are trying to rebuild a brand. Just my thoughts...

Don't laugh too hard! : ) I did add a few new rods to my arsenal in the last two years... The gray casting rods are pretty much only used when we head north to chase Pike.

I'm very familiar with this problem. It's a significant part of my work right now. The current strain of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) aka bird flu has affected more than just domesticated poultry. We've found it in dairy cattle, wild birds, and other mammals. Cats seem particularly susceptible to it. The reason it's so deadly to domesticated poultry is because of how they are raised - in tight quarters by the thousands, indoors. So the spread is like wildfire. If a flock of layers, broilers, or turkeys gets it, they have to be euthanized. Then the barn has to be cleared out, cleaned, sanitized, and sit empty for 30 days to clear the virus. Then you have to line up a new flock which takes time and is in high demand right now. For laying chickens, it also takes time for them to reach adequate egg laying age. Flock after flock is being taken out across certain parts of the country. That's why eggs continue to go up, if you can find them. This problem is not going away either. A new strain was just found the other day. California has declared a state of emergency with their dairy herds because it's so prevalent. It's not fatal in dairy cattle, but it reduces their milk production. Luckily, it hasn't mutated or been shown to spread from person to person yet, and cases in people are still rare, although they are rising. If it mutates to the point where it can more easily spread from person to person, get ready for pandemic 2.0. This problem isn't going away on its own. Egg prices will probably continue to go up. Commercial poultry operations have implemented very strict biosecurity rules to try and mitigate the problem, but it's still happening. I really feel bad for that business. Imagine having to euthanize flock after flock of birds because of this. It would be so devastating. It's their livelihood on the line. I don't mean to terrorize anyone here about it with post. I just want people to be more aware of this.

Spinning: Daiwa Aird X 7' ML + Daiwa Revros 2000 (6lb YZH) Lighter jerkbaits, crankbaits, topwaters. Daiwa Aird X 7' M + Daiwa Revros 2500 (6-8lb YZH) Wacky rig, weightless Texas rigs, tube jigs. Daiwa Aird X 7' M + Shimano Ultegra 2500 (8lb YZH) Jerkbaits, topwaters, lipless cranks, Mini Max Chatterbaits. Sixgill Fast Action Akylos 7'2" M + Shimano Sienna 2500 (10lb Power Pro braid) Ned rigs. Casting: Daiwa Aird X 7' M (or Abu Vigilante 7' M) + Daiwa Tatula SV TW 103 reel. 7.3:1 gear ratio (12lb YZH) Jerkbaits. Lews Team Custom Pro 7' M M/F + Shimano SLX MGL 70 reel, 7.2:1 gear ratio (30lb 832 Suffix braid) Lighter jerkbaits, crankbaits, paddle tail swimbaits, topwaters, lipless cranks. Lews Team Custom Pro 7' MH + Daiwa Zillion reel, 7.1:1 gear ratio (12lb YZH) Football jigs, Texas rigs, swim jigs. Lews TP1X 7' MH + Shimano SLX A reel, 7.2:1 gear ratio (12lb YZH) Football jigs, Texas rigs, swim jigs (alternate). Lews KVD GC5 7'2" MH + Daiwa Fuego CT reel. 6.3:1 gear ratio (65lb Power Pro braid) Spinnerbaits, heavy/deep swim jigs-chatterbaits-lipless cranks. Lews Team Custom Pro 7'3" MH + Lews BB1 Pro reel, 7.5:1 gear ratio (15lb YZH - 12lb YZH) Lipless cranks, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, paddle tail swimbaits. Daiwa Aird X 7'3" MH + Daiwa Tatula CT reel, 7.3:1 gear ratio (12lb YZH) Lipless cranks, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, paddle tail swimbaits (alternate). Dobyns Fury 7'3" MH + Shimano SLX XT reel, 7.2:1 gear ratio (12lb YZH) Lighter football jigs, finesse jigs, Texas rigs. Lews David Fritts Perfect Cranking rod 7'6" MH Moderate + Lews LFS reel, 6.8:1 gear ratio (12lb YZH) Deep/heavy crankbaits/chatterbaits. Daiwa Aird X 7' H + Daiwa Tatula CT reel, 7.3:1 gear ratio (40lb Power Pro braid) Frogs, spinnerbaits, flipping/pitching/punching, chatterbaits/hybrid hunters in the grass. Lews KVD CC5 7'4" H Moderate Cranking rod + Lews BB1 Pro reel, 6.2:1 gear ratio (20lb Big Game) Up to 2 ounce swimbaits, 6" Daingerous/Magdrafts. And big top waters. Daiwa Beefstick Salmon/Striper/Steelhead 8' MH rod 1/4oz-4oz. Daiwa Tatula 150 reel, 7.3:1 gear ratio (20lb Big Game) Up to 4 oz swimbaits, 7" Daingerous/Magdrafts, and glide baits. Ugly Stik Tiger (or Berkley Big Game) rods + Abu Ambassadeur (30lb Big Game) 1-4oz/3-8oz swimbaits.

Blessed to have a heated garage. This is a 1968 Mustang I have owned since 1988. I'm restoring it for the second time. Next time it's my son's problem.

My other hobbies take over, guns, casting, reloading, and working on my cast bullet website. I read a lot about those subjects too. I like to whittle next to the wood stove. Mostly Christmas ornaments and spoons. That goes right along with my knife hobby. I also do a lot of chopping wood when it's cold. I enjoy splitting with an axe.

No, I go braid to wire, skip the mono or FC. A-Jay

I used to want to go into tournaments. I grew up watching Bill Dance, Roland Maring, Jimmy Houston, Hank Parker, which gave me the itch. But I never had the money to get started, and I ended up getting married and having other interests such as guns and reloading, even going through a pretty long spell where I didn't fish. But through it all, I realized I didn't really want to be a pro bass fisherman, I just wanted to be a bass fisherman with a pro skillset. I like the learning aspect of it. I like trying new stuff.

Please don't poke the @gim Bear. We northern bears are hibernating and when someone pokes us mid-winter, we don't wake up sweetly.

One week from today, every team will have had their pitchers and catcher report to spring training. Can’t wait! Opening day of baseball and ice-out on the lakes are usually within a week of each other.

Since we seem to be on a roll with the dinks I'll share one too. I caught some of the fish that @roadwarrior doesn't like to see in January, but this is my first bass of 2025. It's not big, but it had nice coloration. Hopefully, it will hang around this area so I can catch it again when it grows up.

We had dinner with friends scheduled at 6:30, figured I would squeeze in a short trip to quarry from 5-6. Caught 5, all the exact same size. I’ve fished here for 3 or 4 years and never caught a bass of any different size haha. One of them had some black markings, pretty cool. Its eyes were bugged out too, I think I pulled it from way deep. It swam straight back down vertically when I let it go. Some parts of the quarry your lure never hits the bottom so no clue how deep. Fun way to pass an hour

With the 2025 season right around the corner, or underway for us lucky southerners, what are your lineups going in? Mine is looking like, Spinning- 6’0” ULF St. Croix Premier/Shimano Nasci FB 1000, 4lb Invizx FC (creek fishing) 6’6” LF St. Croix Premier/Daiwa Tatula LT 2500, 6lb Sufix ProMix mono (creek fishing, small ned rigs) 6’10” MLXF St. Croix LTB/Daiwa Tatula MQ 2500, 20lb Sufix 832 braid/8lb Invizx leader (dropshot, Ned) 7’2” MLF Shimano PA B/Shimano Stradic FM 2500s, 20lb Power Pro SuperSlick braid/8lb Invizx leader (Ned, small swimbait) 7’0” MF Shimano Expride B/Shimano Stradic FM 2500s, 20lb Power Pro SuperSlick braid/8lb Invizx leader (shakeyhead, wacky) Casting- 7’0” MLR Daiwa Tatula/needs a reel (small jerks and cranks 6’8” MXF St. Croix LTB/Daiwa Alphas SV 7:1, 10lb Tatsu FC (jerkbaits) 7’4” MF Dobyns Champ HP/Daiwa Alphas SVs 7:1, 10lb Tatsu FC (weightless T-rigs, finesse jigs) 7’2” MHM St. Croix LTB/Daiwa Zillion SV 6:1, 12lb Invizx FC (cranks) 7’3” MHRF Shimano PA/Shimano Chronarch Ci4+ 7:1, 15lb Invizx FC (do it all rod) 7’3” HXF St. Croix LTB/Daiwa Zillion SV 8:1, 17lb Invizx FC (t-rig, jigs) 7’2” HM St. Croix LTB/Daiwa Zillion SV 7:1, 17lb Invizx FC (bladed jig/spinnerbait) 7’4” HF Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS/Daiwa Zillion SV 8:1, 50lb PowerPro braid (frogs) 7’5” HF Dobyns Xtasy/Daiwa Steez SV 8:1, 17lb Invizx (jig rod) 7’6” HF Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS/Daiwa Tatula SV 7:1, 50lb PowerPro braid (flipping stick) 7’2” H+F Daiwa BLX/need a reel (1/2-2oz swimbaits) 8’3” MHSB Dobyns Bucca Bullshad/Shimano Curado 200K 7:1, 20lb Trilene Big Game mono (1-4oz swimbaits, A-rigs) probably gonna get an Alphas for my Tatula rod and a Tatula 200 for my Dobyns Bucca rod and move the Curado to the BLX. Then I’ll be set on setups Whatcha got goin into the season?

I’d probably crash Glenn’s server if I listed all my rigs. In short I mix & match my rigs based on mood, like my wife & daughter wear shoes. Most of my rods are Kistler. I have a few new Douglas rods I’ll put in service when open water returns. I use Shimano, Diawa, 13, and Abu reels.

That's an awesome fish, bud. You've got me itching to hook into a big prespawn girl.

I don't think this website can support a file big enough for pics of my tackle and that's just rods, reels, accessories and tools. I know it won't support all my lures, jigs and hooks. I have an idea that may work for you, but only if you have a BPS or Cabela's near you. Take a pic of each isle of baits, hard and soft, and think: Papajoe has this, as you look through the pics.

I agree. My number one method of fishing is the T-rig by a large margin.

They figured it out for Kayak Fishing. But yeah. Tough to replace the spectacle of a weigh in.

This thread reveals how MUCH I MISS FISHING. I really did drive down to the pond yesterday...in the snow. I miss it that much. In the bottom pic, where the marsh ends and there's nothing but white beyond the plants, that's the pond. You can see it in the second pic too. Meanwhile, I just snowblew the backyard for the second time in two days so that my pup can do his business. I don't clear it entirely. I just clear paths for him. I make a maze that he loves to explore!

Here’s a shot of the work bench, I have my accessories and tools laid out for so I can take inventory. I’ll upload the rest of my collection and arsenal soon

You got me. 🤣

As someone who prefers to fish with bottom contact baits, I could talk about it all day(You all have been warned)

Don't hate me for getting a couple Kastking reels - just trying them out, and they were on sale.

It won't hurt but a different casting technique is needed with heavy baits to reduce wrist and forearm fatigue. You really shouldn't cast these heavy baits with the same wrist and forearm intensive casting stroke as normal bass baits or you will wear yourself out. For baits over 3 oz (your weight range for fatigue will vary) I use a casting technique I call "bend and send". I put the rod over my shoulder and to cast I let the weight of the bait preload the rod from the motion of placing it over my shoulder and cast by pulling down on the rod butt and pushing the reel seat up and forward with my other arm using my shoulders to put in power and rod loading as a spring while my butt grip arm pulls back to rotate the rod parallel to the right arm.

OP was looking for exactly what he got. A great conversation with tons of different perspectives and a few new ideas. I've been fishing a texas rig for 25 years so I know how to do it but wanted to hear what others do. The specifics were to try to keep people apples to apples. Until the free rig convo... But I loved the entire thread, and feel free to keep it going Oh, and since I'm the OP, send all samples to me and I'll bring @Pat Brown along on our testing session 🤣 but the key here is send samples. lots of samples.

I learned to fish using spinning gear and reeling using my left hand. When I switched to casting gear, the only option was right hand retrieve. I resisted purchasing a LH casting reel for over 40yrs., until last season. I don't know why I waited so long to give one a try, I blame it on my wrist. I can now work a Spook with my rod tip down and not to the side. Same goes for cranking. and my hooksets are better for it, too.

Yeah, you need a ‘big stick’. We have plenty of heavier stuff especially after June. For me that’s an amistad but ymmv.

Here's what the math tells me. They improved Stella so much for '18, the only thing they changed in '22 was slightly increasing the spool pitch - slightly lengthen the spindle. This tells me they decided '18 Stella was as near perfect as they can get it, and overdesigned, so they pushed the design a little harder with '22 increased spool pitch. Makes me even happier all my (worm-drive) Shimanos are from the '18 Stella series.

@Swamp Girl 100% agree with the relative weight comment. If you have skinny fish something has to change. If you don't, it is probably fine.

Saturday will be a trailering tournament. Expecting wind gusts. 240 boats coming to a small landing near you. LOL.

If anyone is thinking of posting a rock bass in this thread…DON’T.

Dang, that weather is snow joke! You'll get 'em next time.

My hands down favorite t rig set up 8” bull worm in moon juice color. 1/4 oz tungsten 5/0 straight shank worm hook falcon Cara eye crosser currado 200 k with 50# power pro they pick it up and run then I wack em. It’s an agreement we have lol. I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Love it.

Lead wire on glides for me. But with smaller jerkbait hooks, hanging these or even tiny swivels from the front hook ring has worked for me. scott

I always tell someone where I am heading, and I always call and say that I am on my way home.

"Best all around Texas Rig" consists of a bullet weight, hook, & a piece of plastic.

I got one once that a friend had ordered for me. My first name is Duane but he had it sent to me addressed to “Dink”.

Hard to make ‘em look big if they aren’t, so I didn’t even try 😉 - lol. Kidding. Just 4 cookie cutters today on A-rig on another “too nice” of day. Water clear and floating around 48-50 degrees.

Free for me ! Even got a dozen from a duck right now

It was. Well, half of it anyway. Not interested in taking a break. This is my literal therapy. Work 12-18 hour shifts as a 911 dispatcher, I need out of the house and alone time on my days off. It does wonders for me!

ive listened to several biologists on national podcasts over the last couple years and they all agree, that as a whole we are not keeping enough fish. im sure it varies from fishery to fishery but with catch and release so ingrained in bass fishermen we dont harvest enough fish. now what they would like is for us to keep them between 12 and 15 or so inches. I dont keep bass so its not gonna happen for me but when i see somebody keep a few in that size range i dont let it bother me. Also the absolute best thing that can happen to you lake is for it to have grass and for some moron not to kill the grass.

My current 2025 reel lineup... All Shimanos.. Core 101, Conquest 101, metanium 13s, all variations of newest generation metaniuims and bantams, stradic fl and 24 vanford 3000s for spinning...

I’ve caught a lot of smallmouth using jerkbaits on straight braid with no leader. For me, stretch in the line absorbs a lot of the action I impart when twitching the bait especially on long casts. If you’ve seen how little the bait actually moves when you jerk the bait when using mono, you’d see what I mean.