Jrob78

This is what I do as well. You don't have to bend them far to make a difference in hook ups.

I only peg when i'm fishing nasty cover where there's a risk of the weight separating from the bait. You don't want your weight hanging on a piece of vegetation or tree limb leaving your bait floating. Pegging allows your bait to penetrate all the way through whatever it is your fishing. In open water, I don't normally peg.

I would also check out some of the All Stars from Academy. They had the Classic series on sale for $29 when I was there yesterday. They are a far cry from the All Stars of old but still a good rod for the money.

Most of the micro spools hold a very small amount of line so it's important to use a thin diameter, light line. I've also heard that some of the spools can be damaged with braided lines. I've been toying with idea of buying a Yumeya spool for my 50E but I don't have a proper BFS rod. You need a rod that can cast really light baits to get the full benefit from it.

When I first started changing hooks frequently I bought a pair of BPS split ring pliers. They worked ok but were still cumbersome. It sucks that you already bought them. If you're going to change out hooks often, you should get a pair of Texas Tackle Split Ring Pliers. They are under $20 and work better than any pliers I've ever used. The design is a little different and the jaws are really narrow so the fit inside the ring. TW carries them and Tackle Tour even reviewed them. They are worth their weight in gold!

Thanks for the heads up! I just downloaded it. You can't go wrong for $1

Those Gamakatsu EWG trebles are excellent hooks too. You would definitely have to use a size 6 with them because they don't have short shanks. I use them on a lot of baits too.

What I do is double up about 6-8" of line and tie an overhand knot in it so you have a loop. You can then hang the loop on your hook keeper (if you have one) or around the reel handle. You can reel your line all the way into the reel but it's kind of a pain to run back through the guides every time. Figure out what knot you want to tie, I recommend the Palomar, practice it until you can tie it well. You will build speed and confidence and no longer need the snaps. Tying good knots is a critical part of fishing, there aren't any shortcuts.

The clearer the water and the clearer and calmer the day, the clearer a bait I will use. As the water gets more off colored and the conditions get windier/cloudier, I will go to a darker/brighter bait.

The only baits I would ever even consider using a snap for are crankbaits, and then only a snap, never a swivel. I don't use snaps with crankbaits but a lot of people do. I would never use a snap on a jig, soft plastic, spinnerbait or anything else. Practice tying good knots and don't use snaps. Definitely don't use swivel snaps.

A DVR is a must!

I used to have Time Warner. They offer a sporting package (here in TX) that includes The Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Network. I think it's an extra $7 or so a month. TW doesn't carry WFN. Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Network show more hunting than fishing but do have some good fishing shows. A dvr comes in real handy.

Get a pair of Texas Tackle Split Ring Pliers, they are awesome! The other guys are correct, a size 4 short shank is what I have on my 1.0's too. I use a size 2 on 1.5's and size 1 on 2.5's. As long as the hooks don't get hooked on one another, you shouldn't have any problems.

I use a Powell Max 702c for the same techniques from time to time. It's a good topwater rod.

If I remember correctly I run the KVD Short Shank Triple Grips in a size 6 on 1.0's. I would have to look to verify but i'm pretty sure a 4 is too big.

I like the E5 Shimanos, (Curado or Chronarch) and the Gen 2 Revo Winch. If I were buying a new cranking reel today, I would look hard at the Daiwa Lexa.

You're on the right track. I would get a 7' medium heavy/fast casting rod and a reel with a gear ratio in the 6's. Make sure your reel has an aluminum frame and not graphite. This combo will be good for t-rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits...etc. I would get a 7' medium or medium light, fast action spinning rod with a 2500 size reel. This combo will be good for drop shots, shaky heads, wacky worms and anything that is too light for your casting combo. Learn what these 2 combos do well and do poorly and expand from there, down the road. Your Ugly Stik might make a good crankbait rod. They normally have a slower action.

Skeletor is right, cranking rods are the exception, they do not usually make good general purpose rods. Their actions are too slow for a lot of techniques.

Rod companies have started putting techniques on rods so that people will think they need a rod for every technique. It's mostly a sales pitch. In general, any rod that says "spinnerbait", "worm", "jig", "frog", "soft swimbait" is a general purpose rod. The only differences will be the length and the power. A spinnerbait rod isn't going to be as powerful or as long as a frog rod. The rod doesn't care what bait you use it for.

Ish's Phat Frog or Jackall Iobee Frog.

I wouldn't want my frog to sink either.

People will disagree with me but I feel like $120 is about where you need to start to get a quality rod OR reel, not both. There are exceptions but not many. You will find more for your money on the used market.

One of the main things (IMO) scents do are cover up human odors. Gasoline from filling up, cigarette smoke, soap...etc. Anything natural that will help mask those things should improve your fishing. I wouldn't hesitate to use a craw scent on a worm or crankbait or any other bait.

WFN definitely has its weak points but I still watch it at least three times more than I watch anything else. There are a few shows and hosts I can't stand but for the most part it's worth watching.

Think of Sufix Elite as Trilene XL and Sufix Siege as Trilene XT. I don't use a lot of mono but Elite is the one I use when I do.