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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.

If it's going to be any length of time, I take the reels off and lay them flat on top of my steel storage unit in the garage with their mesh covers on. If it's going to be a short period, like a month or so, I just lean them up against that storage unit in the corner where they won't tip over. I've done this for years without warping any rods. I try to minimize any bend. Otherwise they stay jammed in the rod locker of my boat all season.

Try using a plastic tote. That's also a good place to keep your line stored in a cool dry place. It'll last a decade like that without weakening. All you need is something in there to keep the spool standing on its end when you're spooling. I just use other boxes of line that were stored in the tote to keep the spool from tipping. The plastic tote will keep the spool spinning easily, even heavy 1- and 3-mile bulk spools. Have the line coming from the top for baitcasters and from the bottom for spinning reels. Don't worry about that sticker-up vs. down, or clockwise vs counterclockwise, etc. Apply tension by slowly running it through your fingers. Apply KVD Line and Lure to a few layers on the spool as you're filling it up.

Those rods are plenty good. It doesn't matter how sensitive your tackle is, some bites will not be felt. Hooksets are free. When in doubt...

I'd grab a Dobyns Sienna 734c off Amazon for about $160. Or wait until the next run of online sales (Labor Day) and save $15 more since you just missed the Fourth of July deals.

They've been steadily getting better with each upgrade. Of the Shimano spinning reels I'm familiar with, it's the only one I'd say that about. It'll be hard to beat the Stradic 3000 HGFK. That reel is fantastic for the going rate of $150, which will only drop in price.

The both have their benefits. I almost always have someone with me, often my dad, who is retired and bored. It feels selfish to head out on a beautiful Minnesota lake with an empty back deck when I have a list as long as my arm of people who like to fish. Interestingly, some of my best days have occurred while fishing alone, including nearly all of my rinky-dink club tournament wins. I think it's because I'm focused only on my own position and getting the best casting angles rather than trying to position us both for the casts.

Dobyns Champion 736 over the 735. The 735 is much more versatile for jigs/T-rigs, pitching, swim jigs, big paddletails, Whopper Ploppers, etc., but for just frogs in Minnesota weeds, the 736 can't be beat. You can get them for about $210 or so on Amazon or by using Fourth of July sales right now.

The point of diminishing return. From what I've seen, that's in the $200-300 range for rods and around $150-175 for reels. Up to that point, you're getting good bang for your buck. After that, gains don't seem to be proportionate to the increased cost.

A stiffer copolymer works great for dock skipping. Easy to keep the backlashes down. A lot of folks recommend heavy flouro in the 20-25# range for sidearm skipping or pitch-skipping. I just use a copolymer that handles similarly, like Yo Zuri Hybrid 15# or P-Line CXX 17#. It's a lot cheaper than fluorocarbon for those times where I may birdsnest a reel (happens) or really scuff the heck out of the line getting a fish out from deep under a dock. Trilene Big Game 20# worked okay but it felt like it was stretching like a rubber band on hooksets and had poor sensitivity. Skipping with straight braid works fine until you pin a jig 30' under a dock and have to break it off.

Those roads all lead to lakes and rivers.