A-Rob

Buy some cheap line and back all your reels so your new line is about 1.25-1.5 casts long. That will save a bunch of money and line. Fish braid when you can (ie jigs, frogs, whatever else) b/c as mentioned above it can last all season. I like Power Pro. Try the Stren Flourocast, it's like $10 for 200 yards. I'm sure you get what you pay for...but I know it works b/c I've used it and the price is right.

Senko 4&5" Wacky when I can T-rig when there is too much cover/structure around

I agree with everyone I'd make sure you were using braid to help your hook sets and the 0 stretch will stop the fish from stretching the line to get slack. Hammer the hookset and keep the bass coming towards ya. That way even if you do have a problem with the hook staying in the fish will be in the boat by the time it comes loose haha.

The nice thing about the wacky rig is it falls so slow that you can control it so it doesn't get buried into the structure. On top of that it falls so slow if you are asleep at the wheel it lays down on the structure without it burying itself in there to bad. And on top of that, you can get hooks with a weed guard specifically for wacky rigging. Once in a while I'm sure you could get it stuck if you tried tho haha. I think a largemouth bass will definitely hit a 4-5" finesse worm.

Tie: Sexy Shad and dark green craw

sorry I should've mentioned my experience with P-Line has been with CX and CXX, not fluoroclear which I just noticed is what you specifically referenced.

I've fished the Berkley and Abrazx....you are right, they are nicer lines. But at the stores around me there is a big price difference especially with the higher # tests. At my local bass pro it is about 2 times as much as P-line and you get less "yardage". I fish the nicer stuff most the time (especially for tourneys) but if for fun fishing I think the P-line would suffice for the average angler.

Citica E is a nice reel. Good find. I'm a lefty but a use right handed reels. I don't have to switch hands when pitching or casting. That's one advantage to having my wires crossed.

I think you are going to need to time the spawn a bit. They may be deep for a bit longer but at that temp and warming they may start pushing up shallow in the next few weeks. You'll know there's bass on the lake when you can see the beds thats for sure! So as of now maybe hit the classic "staging areas" find where the deep water edges up into a flat in a protected pocket of the lake. Fish that. Watch over the next few weeks if there's any bass moving up on the flats. Bass are funny to, when you think they are all deep you may want to hit those trees in 3 feet of water with a jig just in case!

frog and jig for the pads and junk Outside the pads depends on tons of factors but spinnerbait crankbait swim jig big worm creature bait whatever you want

Jig and Pig If water is warm I may go big worm or craw

same

Jerkbaits for me are good for me on smallies over rockpiles in the shallows, or colder water b/c you can twitch-twitch-pause for as long as you want while it suspends. The rest of the time I'm throwing a crankbait, especially for largies. I will use this to cover a ton of water, crank fast and see if I get a bite. I will do this for both smallies and largies. I just find the largies are less picky on the cranks. Smallies may follow more often...have a wacky senko on the ready to clean up. Thats my take on it.

Zoom monster, berkley power worm, Gambler 10" ribbontail They are all winners.

Flipping = zoom ultra vibe craw Pitching = jig & pig or a zoom super vibe craw

I was going to suggest the same rig I tend to agree with Mr. Delaware Valley Tackle a lot haha.

I agree. May I add....I feel b/c of competition you can get a solid rod for a reasonable price. Its shouldn't be so black and white with $25 or $500. Get a quality rod for $100 if you don't want to spend $200....my point is find the balance you are happy with. I fish ~$100 rods for the most part (with the odd splurge), for my budget and my fishing it is good enough. Would I go with a $250 rod if money was no factor? Hell ya.

I don't normally. The only time I have was when I catch a slimy pike on it and I spray it after just to reduce the pike smell. Who knows if it works.

4" senko rigged wacky

one more for the Jig

I've only seen one of them rods....the boater I was fishing a tourney with said it was originally for flipping and power............I'm not an engineer so I won't try to wrap my head around why. But that is what he said.

I live up north....way up north haha. Frog fishing is great immediately post spawn until the water gets too hot and the largies move to deeper weeds. This is the typical pattern where I'm from. Our season opens June 25th, I'll probably fish frogs until August sometime when the "dog days of summer" kick in. The water temp will go up, the bass will move 10+ feet deep and you gotta drop the shallow frog for the most part.

I'm all thumbs up for frogs, not only are they fun but they also allow you to fish in the junk where the bass are and no other lure can go. You got to fish them on the right gear and you got to fish them the right way (ie setting the hook on a loaded rod, not the splash) in order for it to work for you. If you don't like the frog I'm sure it's because of 1 of the 2 options I just said haha.

A wacky rigged 4" senko will catch small bass nicely. That would be my go to for your situation. Your finesse worm should work to...1lb bass are greedy. If the wind picks up I've had a ton of luck in ponds with a small spinnerbait like the booyah pond version. I swapped the blade for something slightly bigger..... it fires them up!

Ya man give braid a try Spend the extra dollar to get Power Pro 50# in green color. I had a real stiff rod with no tip once and with braid it was too stiff and I felt the fish couldn't inhale the lure. I would get a rod with a bit of tip so the fish can actually inhale the jig and load the rod a bit as the braid won't stretch. So I pitch a medium heavy a lot with the braid no problem at all. Some people go Heavy with a nice tip. I won't throw my MH in heavy heavy stuff....but our cover up north isn't as heavy. You will love the braid, your confidence will go up as your hooksets will be destructive (in a good way) and you know your knots won't break. I do find that on cheaper baitcasting reels braid is sometimes tough to pitch as the spool is not as smooth as a higher quality reels. I have a couple citicas and curado and they work great with braid. I assumed you were fishing baitcasting gear. I actually fish 15-20 braid on my spinning reel to M and MH. For these I may tie a flouro leader. But the braid works great on spinning gear to.