Red Bear

there is nothing wrong with Ugly Stiks, they are decent rods. you dont have to like them but they are decent whether you want to admit it or not. my trout rod is a 5'6 Light Ugly Stik Lite-Pro. Works just fine thank you, I've also caught bass up to 5lbs on it, catfish over 6lbs, and hundreds of pan fish.

ive never used a chatterbait, i own one but cant recall ever tying it on. Also, i guess this thread has expanded from lures to techniques, because drop shot is not a lure in itself, just a technique...

yes, absolutely. it will last that long and keep its strength. lets just say there are a lot of worry-warts on here who think it gives them an advantage to change line every trip, or every few weeks. in reality theyre just wasting money and time, sure its their money and time, but it could be better spent doing something else. there has been a lot of misinformation spread, mostly out of paranoia, about the life of mono, and fishing line in general. all i can tell you is test it for yourself and see, the only reason to change it in most instances is if your spool is low or you want to try different line.

sounds like yall had a fun league this year. i won my league at work for $400. i had great RB production all year with David Johnson, LeGarrette Blount, and Demarco Murray. My QBs also did good, Cousins and Carr. My WRs were lacking until i made a gem of a pick up midseason in Tyreek Hill, and DeSean Jackson came on in the playoffs with 3 straight 100 yard games...

the "reel" problem is those shimano reels, throw them in the trash and replace with Pfluegers on a more serious note, i dont think the cost of the rod matters at all, as said above the length/action/power etc of the rod would probably make more difference.

ive used mono on the same reels for 4-5 years and only changed it because it got low or i wanted to try a different kind or size of mono...it will last a long time if properly stored. if your mono is getting stiff and brittle in a year or two then you arent storing it properly...also, it can take a very very very long time for sunlight to destroy mono, a few days in the sun wont hurt it...

go with a jerkbait in silver color. also if shallow water, go with a shallow diving crank bait like a manns 1-minus, also in silver color. silver just seems to work for me in cold water better than other colors. anyways, those are the things i caught fish on in NoVa during the winter. plastics wouldnt even buy me a bite no matter how i fished them, i cant say they wont for you though...

id roll with the 12lb as is, see for yourself if it is too big for your clear water lakes, probably wont make much difference going down to 10lb...

if properly stored and not dry rotted, then yes i will use old line

I bought a 91 Chevy W/T 1500 for $1000 about 9 years ago. its still going strong, over 200,000 miles. yeah its needed some parts along the way and we redid the clutch as well, its a 4-speed with overdrive. its a tough truck though, i used it a lot to haul firewood. i basically let my moms husband use it as his daily driver now, he maintains any upkeep it needs, told him if/when we ever sell it, we will split the money. I drove it back and forth to work, an hour commute in heavy northern virginia traffic for 2 1/4 years myself... keep looking around before jumping on it, as it does seem a bit high in price, look online and see what similar trucks are going for.

killer pond baits for me have been weightless rage tail baby craws. berkeley pit bosses, and white booyah pond magic spinner baits. you want to catch only the bigger bass and possibly biggest, catch a small live bluegill, hook it, and toss it out. that bluegill jerking around will draw in the big girls, and the ones too small to eat it will be sitting around staring at it lol

its the same on Smith Mountain Lake in the winter. flock of seagulls = baitfish and feeding striper

http://cryptozoologynews.com/reptile-like-creature-spotted-in-north-carolina/ http://cryptozoologynews.com/park-ranger-and-coworker-spot-nessie-like-creature/ keep your eyes open out there...

seems to me the more you use them the less reliable they come, of course the same can be said about many things. i cant speak for everyone, but i dont weigh every bass i catch anyways or even a majority, just dont care to, i weigh the ones that look worthy enough to weigh. ive weighed enough bass that i can pretty much say to myself "looks to be about two pounds", toss it back and not really care if it was 1.75 or 2.5 lbs. but i do know that we've been through a few digital postage scales here at work, i also know that the old school letter hanging scales always work...