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I prefer the Premier Series jigs with Alien and Football heads, mainly in 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 oz weights. Like Hooligan said, the Alien heads are very versatile for fishing around a mix of weeds, wood, rocks, and docks. The Alien Premiers are the best jigs that I've tried. Black/Blue and PB&J have been my most productive colors this year. Alimony, Junebug, Okeechobee Flame, and Green Pumpkin/Purple have also been very effective at times. I see nobody has mentioned the Pro Series yet. Don't let the price fool you, these are great jigs and the best value around.

I also have two: Rage Craw with one or two ribs bitten off and threaded onto a Northstar jig. 7" Anaconda on a keel-weighted Owner Twistlock hook.

Dobyns DX 744c Dobyns Champion 735c

I'm a big fan of the 734C for spinnerbaits and other moving baits, but not so much for bottom contact baits.

The Champion Extreme vs. GLX would be a more appropriate comparison. Those are pretty much equal, IMO. Besides, the NRX are 1.5 times as expensive as the Dobyns DX series.

Another option would be to get a second job, just for your toys. That's what I've done for years, until recently. The full-time gig goes towards living expenses, and the part-time job is for the fun stuff.

Zero spool tension, just enough that there isn't any side to side movement.

Any rod that breaks that easily is either due to a manufacturer defect or was damaged somehow. Even a tiny bruise or nick in the blank will cause a rod to snap like a twig as soon as it's bent. I don't suppose you missed a hookset while pitching and had the bait come back and hit the rod? It might sound insignificant but I had that happen earlier this year when I was lightly trying to free a buzzbait that was snagged on a tree root from about 15 feet away. It came flying back, gently clicked the blank of the rod up near the tip, and the rod snapped on the next fish. I had done this before, but the bait must have hit the rod just right this time.

Power Pro from eBay.

A little Mend-It will double the life of a pack of Senkos. After two fish, take the bait off and set it aside to dry, then Mend-It and get another couple fish with it.

The last few years, Gander Mt has had GY Senkos 30% off in the spring. That's the time to stock up.

It's been miserable in MN, with state record dewpoints and heat indexes. ---- "Moorhead: Hottest, Most Humid Spot ON EARTH Tuesday Evening. The coolwx.com site shows global extremes from hour to hour. Tuesday evening, around the dinner hour, the dew point at Moorhead reached 87.8 F, making this the most humid reporting station on the planet. The heat index peaked at an almost incomprehensible 134 F. at Moorhead." "97 F. degree high in the Twin Cities yesterday. 119 F: heat index yesterday at MSP (temp of 95, dew point of 82), tying the all-time heat index record (119 in 1966). 82 dew point at MSP Tuesday (on the hour at MSP International Airport). That's a new record for the Twin Cities. 84 dew point (unofficial, reported at 3:21 and 3:27 pm). The MN Climate Office will determine if 84 is the new MSP record. 88 dew point at Moorhead yesterday, setting a new all-time Minnesota state record for the highest dew point on record. 134 F. heat index at Moorhead yesterday, setting a new record for the hottet heat index ever recorded in Minnesota" http://www.startribune.com/blogs/125847178.html

I usually put about 70 yard on my reels. With braid, I'll put on about 100 yards+ because it'll be on there for a year or two and I don't want it to get too short, due to retying or having to cut off a few yards of abraded line. With reels that are used for just flipping/pitching in close quarters, I will only use about 45-50 yards of fluoro or braid, and even that's excessive for 10-15 yard pitches. If I ever need to cut out a backlash, that reel is retired for the day and respooled that night.

Good colors available, too. Thanks.

Being outside the last few days brought to mind the scene in Platoon where Charlie Sheen is slapping ants on his neck, only they were mosquitos. Familiar?

Great looking boat and a fair price for both parties if the motor checks out. I would be wary of those tires. Personally, I would swap them out regardless to avoid a blown tire after dark in mosquito country.

I've lost count of the lighting issues that I had before I learned about bad ground connections on trailers with LED lights, which are especially sensitive to a bad ground. Since I began cleaning/grinding the ground connection on the trailer every spring, I haven't had an issue. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the problems that occur when I had a bad ground. Even from day to day, they could be different. Try cleaning the ground on the trailer(white wire) and see if that fixes the issue. Or you could clean all the connections. I like to use a Dremel with a grinding stone mainly. Anther useful tool is to wrap some steel wool around a nail and use that in a Dremel to polish your connections. It's basically looks like a steel wool Q-Tip.

Thanks for the replies. I had a good bite last night from sundown until midnight, after that, not so much.

Frogs, heavy spinnerbaits, jigs, and dock skipping.

My favorite setup would have to be either the Dobyns Champion 734C or 735C, matched with a Abu Garcia Revo STX. I have two of each setup, and on most trips, at least half of my fishing is done with one or the other. They are very versatile.

I'd suggest a longer rod than 6' 10". For flipping/pitching, the advantages of a longer rod will far outweigh the little bit of time it might take for you to become accustomed to it's length. Even a few inches would make a big difference in power and distance. I think a 7' 6" rod would be best suited, but if you're worried about going with one that long, then look into the Dobyns Champion 735C. I'm very happy with them as pitching sticks, and they are a great rod for frogging as well.

Nobody wants to be Keith Richards? For me, it would be one of the guys from Daft Punk. They're living it up.

Yep, Dobyns are my favorite rods, too. Do you know what kind of price tag will be on the ABA rods?

Well said.

What time do you typically go out night fishing when the heat and humidity are oppressive? I don't night fish very often, but when I do, it's usually from about 7 PM until 1 AM so I can fish the dusk hours as well as a few hours of darkness. Does anybody fish the early AM hours? A trip from 2-7 AM for example.