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I get mild to moderate tennis elbow towards the end of the season. It's even worse since I started musky fishing and tossing 4-6oz baits hundreds of times per trip. What's helped me limit the discomfort, at least in terms of bass fishing, is to learn how to cast ambidextrously when able. That's been super helpful. I still do precision casts and roll casts right-handed (my dominant side), but I bomb cast using my left more often that not. No more ice packs or tennis elbow braces. I don't see why this wouldn't benefit the shoulder as well. Both arms bear the strains equally. I'll second the advice of numerous posters. Ignore the Internet medical advice; it's just a basic guideline, at best. No qualifications are needed to post here and pretend to be an expert. Go to your primary care provider and get an orthopedics consult. Visit the ortho docs and get an MRI of that shoulder. It'll likely cost you a couple hundred unfortunately. You might be a candidate for minimally invasive procedures, like a lubricant/steroid injection or arthroscopic surgery, rather than completely wearing it out and needing major surgery. Look at it like your truck. Preventative maintenance is better than an engine rebuild.

I went through about 4-5 different jerkbait setups before settling on the Dobyns 704CB in GRAPHITE. The glass one is a little too soft. Had it and sold it. As others have said, the 705CB works well too, but I prefer that one in graphite as well. Also had/sold the glass model. It's great for jerkbaits over 1/2oz, and it also doubles as an excellent rod for squerebills like the KVD 1.5/2.5 (it's best application), shallow divers like the Rapala DT-6, and topwaters. It'll do well for lipless crankbaits in open water or rocks, but I prefer to toss those on spinnerbait tackle because it works better for ripping it from grass. Strict jerk bait rod: 704CB graphite. I toss Pointer 100s and deep-diving, three-treble jerkbaits on it every spring and fall. It's not too soft for those.

Depends on the size of the bass and how thick the cover is. I punch with 1/2 to 1 1/4oz weight and catch 1-4lb bass mostly, so I get away with 50lb easily. I could probably get away with 40, but what's the point of trying? 50lb should suit you fine. It handles better than the super heavy stuff, but everything handles pretty well with a 1oz tungsten weight swinging around.

I know it's not Megabass, but consider the Dobyns Champ Extreme 745. I have two of them. One is my primary jig rod along with a 744, and the other is my pitching stick. These are my favorite rods, along with the 742 spin. Wouldn't trade them for any others.

Catch a 30-pound sack or a double-digit bass. Likely have to travel out of South Canada to get the 30 sack. The DD bass is not gonna happen up here.

Good question! I usually change one independent variable at a time. That's a basis of the Scientific Method that's been around far longer than any of us. However, that doesn't factor in coincidence or other conditions out of our control. For example, using a green pumpkin jig for 30 minutes without a bite, then switching to a PB&J and getting a half-dozen bites in the same timeframe doesn't exactly mean the color change did the trick. Anyone who's watched MLF has witnessed that an entire lake can turn on and off simultaneously for almost all of the competitors spread miles apart.

Bring the labels "waterproof" vs. "water-resistant" to mind. Pretty much all line manufacturers label lines as memory-resistant, but none are memory-proof. I'll still likely get a spool to try. Sufix makes some excellent braid and mono, so I doubt this will be a total dud.

Have you tried skipping weightless plastics of a baitcaster? It's difficult to get any momentum. They're better suited on medium-heavy or heavy-power spinning tackle.

I'm okay with the walleye anglers disliking bass. They can stay away, for all I care. I just hope they're releasing them respectfully. There are rumors of people occasionally cutting the gills of some Mille Lacs giant brownies when they were taking off a decade ago, but I've never seen a suspicious floater or heard that someone credible has, and I've inspected a few. The bigger issue is that smallmouth actually taste good, so some walleye anglers fillet them up when they're coming up short on 'eyes. These Minnesota walleye anglers outnumber the bass guys 5:1, maybe more. There's also probably 3 panfish anglers for every bass guy. We should thank them for all the revenue they put into the system that keeps our public accesses in relatively good shape. Minnesota anglers spend over 5 billion with a B every year from fishing alone, and much of that is from the walleye chasers.

Yes, numerous times with smallies on jerk baits. Felt like I had a monster on.

Gamakatsu EWG Monster in 5/0 is perfect for 10" worms. It's all I use. They're a little longer than a standard 5/0 EWG due to a longer shank near the eyelet.

That's been my experience with Sunline as well. I always buy lines based on diameter, not rated strength. These ratings seem to be all over the board and rarely are accurate. On the flip side, take Yo-Zuri Hybrid for example. It breaks at way over the rated strength. It's also much thicker than you'd expect for that strength rating. I'd be willing to bet that if we took a series of different lines from all over the globe that measured 0.10mm, they'd all break at about the same time under the same load.

A 10-15# 8-carrier braid like Sufix 832 or Daiwa J-Braid x8 is a good place to start. As with any line, be cautious of different line diameters from one manufacturer to the next. For example, 10# Sufix 832 measures, looks, feels, and handles very similar to Daiwa J-Braid x8 in 15# test.

It must have been a bad spool. It happens. I've had bad spools of numerous lines before, including tried-and-true Seaguar Invisx and Trilene XT. I love the 10 and 12# Hybrid for moving baits on baitcasting reels. That's about all I would recommend it for: crankbaits (10#), spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, bladed jigs, topwater. It's a little stiff prior to the KVD L&L, but it's very tough and knots break rarely. I have a 3-pound (10,000yard) spool of the 12# I've been using for years.

I'd just get a Curado K from eBay for $30 less that what Amazon charges, and then spend the $50 on Amazon household goods.