Darren.

Welcome aboard! Yes, fish them either way. My favorite is wacky, and I like the 4" versions the most. I like to stick to "natural" color variants like watermelon or green pumpkin magic, junebug, and so on. I've had success with many colors, though. If you have a Bass Pro nearby, try their house brand, the Stik-O in those colors. Less expensive but they work extremely well by my experience.

Not venomous. Is either a northern brown or a garter.

Welcome aboard!

I always use a weight when using a float/bobber unless I'm putting a soft plastic worm (wacky rig) on it. I.e., with live worms, yes. Anywhere from 6-10" above the hook is where I'll crimp a split shot on. Oh, and welcome to the forums!

Welcome aboard! I also highly recommend using nightcrawlers!!

The FG knot is a great knot for those who enjoy the tie. I don not see it as a necessity, merely an option in the myriad of line-to-leader knots we have to tie. More power to those who think it is best. For the rest of us, Uni-to-Uni or Albright variants are sufficient and we aren't losing any sleep over the matter. To each his/her own. Tie what you want and don't slight the rest of us who tie differently.

I don't think there's a protocol like with batteries and such. I usually dispose of said things in the trash.

What are you running? Jon boat, or bigger bass boat?

Thanks for the update, Glenn. I noticed some unusual behavior this afternoon and could see some updates were in progress. Things seem to be great so far. Thanks for all the hard work on the best forum anywhere!

I have experience with them, but via kayak. I use a Stick-It Anchor Pin at 7'. They make longer ones, and they are the same material a Power Pole is made from. There are models which float if dropped, such as YakAttack's Park-n-Pole, up to 8'. The other option is to DIY using a golf ball retriever. They are telescopic and go as long as 15' and more. Here's a video for that.

My eldest son, several years back, was not having much luck bass fishing, so I took him out during the spawn in our canoe to catch an "easy" target, LOL. I positioned him near a bed with a large bass on it and for about an hour he tried everything I had to catch that bass. I finally told him to try a rattle trap, just jigging it up and down. I was ready to move along, but stuck in there for his sake. He finally caught that bass - all 5.9 pounds of it!! Was on cloud 9 for a week or so after that.

Aloha and welcome aboard!

I use 20# Power Pro on mine...works great. So 30# for me, would be max, unless you fish conditions @Master Bait'r mentioned.

You're on a roll, Dave

Welcome aboard! Some great fish!

I like it, Dave! Looks great!

I would not pay that much over original price unless it was something I couldn't live without....

My opinion, for what it's worth, Carbonlite in M or Mojo in ML (a tad stiffer than a ML in CL lineup)

Virginia registration required. My Native Ultimate has a lovely boat registration number on it. Hey, for the joy of having my trolling motor, I happily oblige to pay the tax.

Wacky rigging is my favorite technique. Super easy, almost always works

To be very honest, either. I do both of your techniques (4" senko 6" trick) on my M and ML Carbonlites. That said, I was doing those on M power spinning rods before I bought my ML CL in effort to lighten my casting setup. My youngest son caught a 3# bass this weekend on my ML Carbonlite with my Chronarch 50e this past weekend using only a 4.25" Stik-O and a 2/0 Wide Gap Finesse Gamakatsu hook... Absolutely no problem reeling it in. I've caught 4 and 5 pounders on that setup with no problem... FWIW

I've got a few Carbonlites in M (spinning) and ML (casting). They're pretty great for finesse purposes. Quite light.

Welcome aboard! This is the place to learn!

The FK gets US warranty support, if that matters to you...per my mentioning earlier. They are excellent reels. If you can find an FJ 2500, you'd possibly be just as happy, unless you prefer the cosmetics of the FK (and I believe larger gear?). And I.rar is right concerning balance. This is what concerns me. I hate tip-heavy rods tires my arm out more quickly. So I was using a Stradic FS 2500 on my 6'3" St. Croix Legend MLXF rod, it balanced it nicely, but the weight of the 2500 wore on me. So I put my FJ 1000 on it and it balances to a more horizontal (even) plane which is satisfactory.

Wow, that's quite a big smallie! Too bad she couldn't be released unharmed so her genetics could be passed on...