BrianSnat

I do most of my fishing in Kinnelon too. I'm usually out on one of the Fayson Lakes (mostly West Fayson) 2 - 3 nights a week. Split Rock is great if you have a canoe, kayak or maybe a lightweight aluminum boat that you can carry to the put in. I tend to get spoiled with great bass fishing practically in my backyard and rarely go elsewhere. Monksville or Round Valley once in a while and maybe a stream during trout season, but 90 percent of the time it's Fayson.

Usually T rigged with a 5/0 or 6/0 EWG hook, unweighted. If it's mid-day I may go with a C rig.

I bring 5 rods. One usually has an unweighted, T or wacky rigged Senko, 1 with a C rigged or T rigged, weighted plastic (Rage Space Monkey, Rage Anaconda, Brush Hog, Kreature, Senko, etc.), 1 rod will have some sort of crankbait (deep diving during the day, surface in the evening, early morning or night), 1 with a jig and the last with some sort of plastic swimbait or maybe a spinnerbait. I always start with the unweighted Senko because it seems to be the most productive under most conditions. I'll give it about 15-30 minutes. If I get nothing I move to the weighted plastic. If that fails then I'll move to one of the others. Basically I'll give each lure about 15 minutes to a half hour. If nothing is working after about an hour I totally reconsider the depth that I'm fishing at and/or the location where I'm fishing. I don't worry so much about changing colors. I've found that if the bass are hitting a certain bait they'll usually hit it regardless of the color. I've been catching fish on a black Senko while my partner is doing equally well on a green pumpkin or chartreuse Senko. It's only after a everything has failed that I'll start thinking about changing colors. There are occasions (albeit rare in my experience) when color can make a significant difference.

A few years ago I bought my wife an inexpensive rod, reel and a license. She would go out with me and take a few casts, then sit and read and maybe later on take a few more casts. Now most of the time I schedule my fishing for when she is busy doing other things so we don't go together often, but when we do she just reads. I didn't see a point in wasting money on a license if she's just going to make a dozen casts all trip and she has no problem with laying back, soaking up the rays and reading while I fish.

Thanks for the input so far. Keep it coming.

What are some of the best spinning rods for those of us on a budget? Looking for something under a $100, or better yet under $50 and for something in the 6'6" - 7' range. I'd like to get a MH or H, and a ML. Any positive or negative opinions of the following? Shimano Convergence Shimano Voltaeus St Croix Triumph BPS Tourney Special Fenwick Eagle GT Okuma Celilo Anything else to look at?

I took the canoe out on Splitrock yesterday and did pretty good. Didn't fish very long but got 4 nice bass.

I rarely use anything but plastics. My crankbaits collect dust.

Before I visited this forum I never would have thought of using plastics after dark. All my life I went with topwater lures after sunset. Based on advice I received here I started trying Senkos, Rage Anacondas, Yum Dingers, Space Monkeys etc. in the dark and have been killing bass with them. I just don't get it though. How do bass see these things? Am I dropping the bait right on their noses or do they sense them from a distance? I guess the Rage baits probably have some vibrating action the bass sense but Senkos and Yum Dingers? I'd think they'd be sight only. Or do bass have good eyesight in the dark? Oddly enough it seems the darker colors the better at night. I started with white and chartreuse thinking that the bass would see them better. I've since found that dark colors like junebug, black, smoke and watermelon work best at night. Any insight as to why?

1. Senko/Yumdinger 2. Rage 10" Anaconda 3. Rage Space Monkey I don't know why I carry any other lures.

Give the Rage Space Monkey a shot.

I have a few. It's one of my favorite topwater lures. The bass around here kill them after sunset on a calm night.

For me: Green Pumpkin Watermelon w/ red flake Junebug black Chartreuse

If it works stick with it. I once wouldn't dream of fishing an unweighted worm. Now I fish them unweighted about 70 percent of the time.

Is there much you can do with a jig that you can't do with a tube?

Most of my bassing waters are greenish with maybe 5-6 feet of visibility. There is a lake that I will be fishing this summer where the water is so clear you can see fish hugging the bottom in 25 feet of water. Any advice on colors for water that is clear?

I wouldn't consider anything but glass lens. No matter how hard I try to keep them nice, plastics seem to scratch. For that reason Ray Ban Ouddoorsman aviators model are my choice, standard green/gray lens. I've found that to be a good all around color and use mine driving, fishing, hiking, pretty much everything but skiing. My current pair is over 25 years old and the lens are still perfect. Some of the metal frame is starting to degrade, I guess from all the contact with sweat, but they ARE 25 years old. I've been through probably 10 good sunglasses with plastic lens over that time and I don't wear them nearly as often as I wear the Ray Bans. I also like the flexible wire frames that hook totally around the ear so they stay on under most conditions.

Plastic stuff like Senkos, Yumdingers, Rage Tail Thumper and Anaconda, Zoom Baby Brush Hog, Rage Tail Space Monkey, Zoom Trick Worm (green pumpkin, watermelon, junebug are good colors) floating Rapala gold or silver (size F09 and F11) Rapala X-Rap 3-1/8" RatL Trap or Strike King Red Eye shad 1/2 oz Rapala Skitterpop Jitterbug Strike King spinnerbaits Strike King football head jigs (dark colors) That should cover most situations.

Happened to me a few years ago. Got it in the hand. I completed the evening of fishing and hid it from my wife when I got home. Took a look at it and realized that there was no way I could do it, but didn't want to wake my wife up and tell her I was going to the ER so I taped the Jitterbug to my hand so it didn't flop around and catch on the blankets and went to bed. Went to the ER the next day. Doc took it out easily with a local anesthetic.

I guess now he knows how a bass feels.

I was disappointed to find that the toads sank. Love the Space Monkey and I also like the Anaconda. Only problem is that two places near here that sell Rage products (Dicks and a local tackle shop) do not carry the Space Monkey or Anaconda. I have to order them online and am awaiting a shipment right now. Down to my last Space Monkey and I'm all out of 10" Anacondas.

I bought my first tube of Mega this morning. Tonight I was fishing bare using Senkos and Rage Tail Anacondas and came up empty after 2 hours. I applied the Mega Strike and bagged 7 bass in 45 minutes using Anacondas, Rapalas and poppers. Whether or not it was the reason I can't say. I've had similar flurries of activity without using the stuff. And I was fishing in the evening so maybe as it got later the fish started biting. But after what I experienced tonight I will continue to use it until it's proven to be ineffective. Next time I go out with a friend I mirror the baits and tactics he is using and see if it really makes a difference.

Fish ain't biting? I enjoy the day on the water. Thoreau said "Men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after" and I agree with that. I learned long ago to not be too concerned about whether or not I catch fish. It's life I'm catching while I'm on the water.

I think most of us probably learned with mono. It works.

Hey, if you live up north and aren't into ice fishing, it's time well spent on a snowy winter afternoon. And as I mentioned it saves time driving to the tackle store to restock your box. The time devoted to mending plastics vs. just buying new ones is a wash. I wish I could find Mend It in my area. I went to Dicks and the local tackle store today and neither sold it.