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I got my unicorn today. A lot of close calls, but only 2 bites today. She bit a MB 110 FX late under cloudy skies just as sprinkles were moving in. Went 8.20 on the Rapala and 8-1/4 on the Chatillon. Water already warmed up to 55 degrees, but I’m sure that’s just surface. A good 4 days or more of rain next week will probably change everything.

I am a firm believer that a fisherman should hold the rod with their dominant hand and reel with their non-dominant hand. I say this because when will your non-dominant hand ever have more finesse than your dominant hand? You’ll never be able to write, shoot, or draw as well with your non-dominant hand and I think the same goes for imparting action on a lure with your non-dominant hand. Maybe I’m wrong, but if you’re right handed you should be using a left handed bait-caster and vice versa.

Firm beliefs should should stick with 1st person and never be applied to 2nd or 3rd person. Those of us who grew up fishing in the 70s naturally fished baitcaster and fly rod with left arm, and spinning rod with right arm. There are some natural advantages to growing up with this split use. When you get good enough with a fly rod that you only need a single back-cast for line speed to shoot past 70' (little kids ask why aren't you doing this? making whipping motions), you recognize fly cast is more in your line hand than in your rod arm. With spinning tackle, wrist jerk is rewarded with extra distance, but it's a bad habit brought to fly rod or baitcaster. With both, you should be loading the rod with smooth acceleration and total absence of jerk - jerk with a fly rod is tailing loop (wind knot) - jerk with a baitcaster is start-up backlash.

I’m right handed and primarily use left hand reels. Where I depart from the OP is the use of words like should, better, right or wrong. Its 💯 personal preference.

wrong handed casting causes line twist...

Totally downsized for this season. Not included here are the 10 speed bags of soft bait/trailers. A-Jay

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.

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

Picked one up from Japan on Thursday, it’s a beautiful reel, very smooth and a different feel than my Metaniums and Bantams. I like it though I have yet to line it up. Opinions on power as well as the braking system , long cast ability are appreciated. It’s been pouring rain..

I’ve been doing it this way for over 30 years and it feels natural to me. It would be silly to think about changing it now.

You believe it because that’s what you do. There is no “should” Ditto Every time By the time my bait hits the water the rod is already in my left hand after casting right. After an initial pitch right and switch, all subsequent ones are done left. Mike

I’m right handed, and I do all my casting and my reeling with my right hand. The whole “switching hands” argument makes me laugh. It happens so fast that I went 25 years without even realizing it. It’s a non-factor. For whatever reason, on the rare occasion I take my fly rod out, I do my winding with my left hand as it just feels natural with a fly rod.

I'm right handed. I cast with my right then switch to hold the rod with my left hand. I've been doing it this way for so many years I'd have a hard time learning a different way. Spinning reels, I cast with my right and reel.with my left. Both ways work. To each his own.

From left to right: 1. Cheap Lew’s Classic 6’8” M/F combo, paid $50 at Walmart. Original reel didn’t wind line correctly onto the spool unless under a load. It worked well for spinnerbaits for that reason, but most other baits not so much. I removed the reel and put a Pflueger Trion 30 in its place to make it usable but this rod doesn’t get much use. It’s kind of a spare. Combo is 1 year old. 2. St. Croix Mojo 6’8” M/XF “wacky” rod. Daiwa Fuego LT 2500 reel with 10# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. I use it for wacky rigs, but also topwaters and jerkbaits. Combo is 4 years old. This rod is in my hand the second most often of all of them. 3. St. Croix Premier 6’6” ML/F rod. Daiwa Exceler LT 2500 reel with 8# Trilene mono line. I use this rod for light crankbaits, inline spinners, and weightless plastics. Also makes a wonderful crappie rod. I’ve been told it might be a good drop shot rod too. Haven’t tried that yet. Combo is 4 years old. 4. Shimano Convergence 6’6” M/F rod. BPS Extreme 6.8:1 reel with 12# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. This is my main crankbait rod. It is in my hand more often than any other rod. Rated at M/F but feels more like a M/M. It has a soft tip with a lot of flex deep into the blank. The rod is about 6 years old now. It’s had two different reels so far. Wore out an Abu Garcia Orra 2 SX on it. Current reel is one year old. Lost this combo in the bottom of the lake last year off the kayak but the bait floated back to the top so I was able to retrieve it. 5. BPS Fish Eagle 6’6” MH/F rod. BPS Extreme 7.5:1 reel with 15# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. This is my spinnerbait, jig, and worm rod. I love the tapered hour glass shaped handle of this rod! Bought the rod and reel new last year. I didn’t use it much though so it has yet to land a fish. Rod blank is stiffer than my other MH. 6. Shimano Compre 6’6” MH/F rod. BPS Extreme 6.8:1 reel with 15# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. I use it for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, lipless crankbaits, and plastics rigs. This rod once landed a large catfish on a 1/2oz spinnerbait where the fight was so intense that the bait was mangled and the hook was opened up and twisted sideways. The rod blank held firm but it was bent U shaped during the fight and the fish dragged my plastic bass boat around with us two guys along for the ride. Ever since then this rod has felt “softened” to me. So I originally was going to replace it with the Fish Eagle rod above, but once I got the new one I began to just want to keep and use them both. The Compre rod was actually posted to this thread back when this thread was new 16 years ago. It was also new back then. I still have it after all this time and it’s been through 4 different reels. Current reel is one year old. Reels this rod has seen: 1. BPS Extreme ETX10HD (old green/gold model) 2. Shimano Curado 200E7 3. Abu Garcia Orra 2 SX HS 4. BPS Extreme EMX10HA (current silver model) The rod rack was made from a pine 1x4 in my wood shop. I didn’t finish stain it, just left it natural.

JUMBO, excellent work! I appreciate the kind words, a big one on a jerkbait in the coming weeks would put a big smile on my face, for sure. Lipless and bladed jig are strong contenders, as well. Edit: This Chatter Bait to bladed jig auto correct thing is super weird.

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!

No it won't. Tie on 2 ounces. 2oz hanging off the end of your rod with clutch engaged... not going to hurt it. Put thumb on spool, disengage thumb bar. Now your thumb is holding the "strain". Cast. Spool spins on bearings. No strain. Bait lands, you thumb spool. No Strain Retrieve (swimbait resistance), no more stress than a big spinnerbait or crankbait. You watch guys boat flip 7lbers hanging off the end of a rod, that's more stress on a reel than a 2oz bait being cast. To make a larger point, tie on a 1oz tungsten weight, hook and creature (approximately 1.5 oz total). Flip it out and drag through a ton of weeds OR set the hook on a stump. More strain there but thousands upon thousands of guys doing that with 100s with no real problems (REEL problems, Fozzy Bear Face). Or drag a 1oz carolina rig (again about 1.5oz total) through boulders and set the hook on a big ol rock, more stress there... So long as you're not trying to bomb a 1-2oz bait with 50ft of line on the spool and it jerks to a stop or you accidentally re-engage the reel mid cast (we've all accidentally done that) you aren't going to hurt it anymore than any other bait. But those senerios could very well hurt any freshwater reel. Am I advocating a Black Max as a dedicated swimbait reel? Lol noooooo. But to get you by until you decide if big baits are for you, then a "regular" reel is fine. When you get above an ounce the "sketchy" feel of the bait in the casting process has way more to do with the rod.

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.

I really don't. A-Jay

Speak of the devil... first rod is the Zillion

I've deep cranked with a G20 on my TB a few times, not to mention glides and big soft swimmers. Not an issue at all. I don't see any hints of issues with lack of power. Just smooth and powerful, I think you'll love it. scott

Great reel with heavy fluorocarbon. The tws let's line flow out smoothly and the braking system can handle stiff heavy fluorocarbon without needing to use spool tension to compensate.

Once you've been at this long enough, you'll just dominate. Won't matter which hand I do it with. A-Jay

I am the same way. Right or wrong that's the way I learned it as a kid and it works to this day at 68 yrs old. As you said, to each his own.

@T-Billy wrote this months ago in a different thread. I like it so much that I'm reposting it:

Either

That's pretty much all my tackle... Hard baits and terminal tackle in the Plano edge boxes... Soft plastics on the right side... A few bags full of misc soft plastics in their original packaging... I still have a few boxes full of Keitech swimbaits and frogs still in their clam shells... The small plastic tray is my "day box" that I'll load with a few hard baits I may need for that day.. Just saves me from bringing entire Plano boxes.. I like to put my Keitechs in the clear 3700s and toss a few misc soft plastics packages in my black pack.. Been trying to minimize the amount of tackle I'll bring each trip.. But I still will bring anywhere from 6 to 12 rods with me, depending on what lake I'm fishing..

@Team9nine Way to go brother! What a giant, and beautiful fish! @Aaron_H Thanks for the kind words friend! She sure did put on a great show. I have no doubt you'll get that big prespawn girl, you got plenty of experience with those big girls as we've seen in the past in this thread. I predict she'll come on a jerkbait if history is a good judge 😎 Stay strong my Canuck and Yankee friends.......contrary to what Punxsutawney Phil recently forecasted, Spring will come sooner than later, and a new PB is waiting for each and every one of you!

Unfortunately, the current bird flu epidemic is not the problem; it is a symptom, so to speak. Unsustainable and unsafe factory farming practices are the problem. As long as we prioritize profit over humane, safe conditions for livestock, this is going to keep happening. Think of how rapidly diseases spread through prisons, college dormitories, or schools. You have so many individual hosts packed so tightly together that the microbes spread and mutate very easily and rapidly. The same is true of factory farms. It is worth noting that pasture raised eggs have not increased anywhere near as much, if at all, as their factory farmed counterparts. Eggs in the store where I work went up a couple dollars a dozen this morning; the free range and pasture raised eggs have not changed in months.

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'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.

Finally got back out again after nearly 2 weeks of down time. Sadly, two lakes nearby are currently closed, limiting my options. Bluebird day, but a high of 80 and light and variable winds. Only bites I could buy were on A-rig today. Cloudy and nearly 20 degrees cooler tomorrow if I get one more chance to go this week.

Thanks for the tips Tim! I've found that is definitely the case when the bait is deep and I use a Damiki Rig and 2D sonar. There are times when I just don't think these fish will eat an artificial bait without putting the bait on their nose. Earlier I was around a ton of bait, typical frenetic schooling activity for hours with an untold amount of Bass, but these fish are dang near impossible to catch. When you do catch one though, they are freak shows and usually spit up half dozen shad. The fish are always really fat during the winter on this lake, but this year is just different. Did catch a nice 6.10 fish on the 1/8th Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin Jighead and the new elastomer Drift Fry 4.0 in flashing bait. If you're in rolling action, you will not find a better combo than that. This 3lb class fish was a perfect football, and you can see some shad it discarded in the water.

Finally managed to get out for the first time this year. Nothing crazy but it felt good to connect with some fish. Only fished for a few hours, managed 7, biggest one was a bit over 4lb on a bladed jig up against some reeds. Jerkbait and lipless got me a few, but bladed jig got the most. Also culled a tilapia, and had a nice little surprise with an ~11 inch crappie on the lipless. First fish of 2025 was also my first on the Vision 110. Best fish of the evening

Caught a beautiful 7.6 earlier on the A-Rig, along with a few other really fat 3lb class fish, hoping this marks the end of a nasty funk that's been going on for a few weeks caused by crashing water temps and stunned/dying young of the year Threadfin Shad. All you can eat shad buffets make it almost impossible to catch fish I've found. Fat bellies 😍

I hear it’s just lit up the last few days, apparently there was a rattletrap tournament there and 25 pounds won it. Lots of 20 pound bags also. Big girls are moving in shallow.. Don’t know what parts of the lake, I’m guessing the magic mile area. Get ready, we’re very close now. Us Midwest types that is 😂😂😂

Gambler burner craw 1.5oz pegged with a flipping hook for punching

That is a new requirement of KBF and affiliate local clubs-if that video is requested, it has to be available. Not every fish will be checked for a release video-that would be too ponderous. The last Hobie BOS tournament had the same fish submitted and counted twice by a high placing competitor. It cost another angler a lot of money due to them not catching that double counted fish, since he would have jumped up to that placing- I think it was over a $10,000 mistake, if I remember, plus the intangible impact. There was no way of knowing if it was a second unique catch of the same fish, or something more nefarious. Hobie BOS is no longer happening in 2025, but KBF learned a lesson from that incident.

I mean, I don't care what any of you do, but I do abide by @Julius L's system. Lefty gang for life or till switching makes more sense. scott

@crypt and @Fishlegs: Witty! Thanks for the laughs. Say, does anyone know if TW sells 6,000 lb. jigs? That just might work.

Those BIG Southern bass are keeping us warm. Congrats, @Team9nine, on your Megasaurus! FWIW, 12" to 22" of snow is forecast for next week, but everyday is longer and it won't last.

Maybe you should try a jackhammer…literally.

Keep going! This site keeps me sane when I'm not on the water. Alright everyone gave their top choice, what's your second choice for weight and plastic?

Nice one @Team9nine! 😎 update from Canada: it’s dark and cold 😒

The multipiece rods that impressed me most below stratosphere were Abu Garcia, Daiwa (Black Label) and Legit Design. Unfortunately, only available in ML-BF, Abu Xrossfield 654 impressed me way above its price. I think you should raise your ante by $20 and look seriously at Daiwa Ardito.

@Eric 26Thanks for heads up! I'll check out @bulldog1935 posts.

All the approaches have advantages and disadvantages. For example, @Team9nine's photo approach show both him and the bass, which is good, but looking at his second photo above, that bass goes from the top of his head to the top of his thigh. At first glance, it appears to be three feet long or thereabouts. When I used to have a fishing partner who could take a photo of me with a bass, I put my elbow behind my head so that the bass would be right beside me to provide scale. I understand that I'm in the minority here and that a bass displayed this way looks small compared to a bass with extended arms. You can see that the bass below goes from near the top of my head to mid-torso. At first glance, it's a considerably shorter fish. I love having photos, but as Alex noted, I love my mind's memories even more. Even though I caught the bass above a decade or two ago, I could take you to the exact spot where she hit, as long as you were willing to launch just above a waterfall, paddle across one lake, bulldoze through the current of a narrows, wind through a reed field, and then cross another lake. There's an even better lake beyond the one above, but it takes crossing a couple swamps and four sets of rapids. Oh, I wish I were young enough to reach such places still.

Got out extra early yesterday to beat the crowd on what was supposed to be a super nice day. Parked my kayak on the bank in the dark and put some cat rods out and wasn't there 5 minutes when one took off and I had a nice blue on the bank. Nothing else after that so I started chasing bass. Same spot as last week, about a 100 yard wide point that I just worked back and forth across. They must not be generating much because the water temps had dropped from 53 last weekend to 47 this weekend, not good for power plant fish. I was still picking one off every now and then and avoiding the circus of boats I could see across the lake on the bluff walls. I even managed to pick off another nice one on my Ned, just a touch over 5 pounds. Unfortunately, one of the clowns from the circus decided I was having too much fun and put an end to that. They rolled up and started driving back and forth across my shallow point, scanning and pointing around. They had spider rod holders on the back so I assumed they were catfishermen that were going to hopefully anchor out a little bit and give me a little space. Nope, they drove right over the top of my point and beached it, then started throwing what looked like handfulls of brown gravel all over into the water?? I was fuming, but just kept fishing because unfortunately, they had done nothing actually wrong. Then the lines started flying, to each side of me, way out into the water, on fairly light and long spinning rods? I thought maybe channel cat fishing until they got their first bite and landed the fish. They were carp fishing. There's a carp every square foot in this lake, and they decided to do it right on top of where I was trying to fish. I thought about dragging a big jig through their lines. I thought about grinding a deep crank through their lines, thought about tossing my throw net all around the point, but instead, I fished a little bit longer and left. The saying "2 wrongs don't make a right", kept going through my head and I decided not to let them win by making me get down on their level. Instead, I loaded up and drove to a different lake to check on the ice, only to find out it was completely thawed. I spent the last 2.5 hours of my day catching 30 more bass, all small, but it felt like a reward for keeping my composure. The hole jumpers sitting on top of my footprints from the morning. I got bit on the back of their transom while they were rigging their rods.