K_Mac

Giving him candy cigarettes is not funny as far as I'm concerned. He may have a very short attention span, but kids at that age are very impressionable. Reinforcing bad behavior at that age is just asking for trouble IMO. I am with Preach4bass on this one. You have the responsibility to protect him from anything that may cause him harm. You can't protect him from everything, but you darn sure can protect him from stupid relatives. It would not be negotiable for me. GrundleLove you say you can't post on this type of thread, yet here you are? I don't post on swimbait threads. Don't use them, don't know nothing about them. You know what I'm saying?

I have been very happy with the Cabelas Advanced Angler 3 bank charger. It has been plugged in most of the time for 3 years without any problems. It is on sale for $151.99, $37 dollars off regular price.

I almost always use a Senko/knock-off wacky rigged. I always concentrate on the fall, usually with some sort of weight. If that doesn't work, I will go weightless using the same technique. If the fish require something that needs to set in one place very long, I will go to a ribbontail worm, finesse worm, Trickworm, drop shot, or a jig with a trailer that has a lot of movement. I have shown a lot of people how to fish a wacky rigged Senko. Very few of them have the patience required to let it do what it do best-fall with an enticing wiggle. That is where a Senko really shines IMO.

Unfortunately that is only one of the indignities that happens with age...

Raul can you elaborate a little?

I completely agree. Being civil and honest are not at odds. RW is absolutely right when he says that doing the research to buy good quality the first time will save money in the long term. There are many opinions of what "good quality" means though. I think a BPS Pro Qualifier baitcast reel bought on sale for $80 is a very good value. RW would disagree. My point is we each have to figure out what works best at a price we are willing to pay. I would rather have 10 outfits worth $200-250 each, than 2 or 3 high end combos. A compelling case could be made that the 2 or 3 would be money better spent. Thank goodness for the choices. astaf welcome to the Forum. It is a great place to learn about bass fishing and spend some time.

All of the lakes I fish regularly have a thermocline this time of year. If I didn't know a thing about thermoclines it would not really matter. By charting deep water structure it is soon very apparent a what depth the fish are holding. As John points out, find where structure and fish intersect and now you have something.

There is nothing theoretical about it. Below the thermocline the dissolved oxygen level will be too low. You can completely eliminate any structure or cover below the thermocline.

I have both of those rods, and while I'm sure they will work, neither have soft enough tips for treble hooks IMO. A MF would be a better choice, even if it is overloaded a bit. Just my humble opinion.

Nope. It is working fine and dandy.

The first thing that comes to mind is what depth were you catching the crappie and pike? Those fish are just as dependent on sufficient O2 levels as bass. If there are fish present you have not gone below the thermocline.

Glenn I would be happy to be considered.

Kellen that is a beautiful fish. Well done. Your questions are so general that reading to learn the basics really is the best place to start. A few hours in the BR library and you will have a better understanding of what is needed and when. It looks like you already are doing some things right. Good luck.

In response to the original question: Yes a 4# can break 10# line if the drag is not set properly. While I have caught bigger fish on considerably lighter line, the fish being able to take drag during runs is what makes this possible. Packard with all due respect to you and Ole Archimedes, if you lock down the drag on a reel with 10# line you will eventually be broken off, and I guaranty it will not take anything bigger than 4 pounds. This is the reason drag settings are recommended to be set well below the line rating (around 30% as I recall).

I love my 18' aluminum boat. I have a 45hp main motor and a 9.8hp that is easy to add when needed. I have high end electronics and more trolling motor than I "need." For the smaller horsepower limited lakes I fish most of the time it works great. With that said I have spent a lot of time this year fishing bigger lakes from the back of a glass boat. It handles water that would beat me up in my boat without any problem at all. It doesn't have too much more storage than mine, but it is wider and more stable to fish from. The other major difference is the way it handles wind. Glass is much less vulnerable to being pushed around by the wind. It comes down to how you are going to use your boat and what your budget is IMO. A glass boat with the bigger motor will cost more to operate. Fishing a tourney on a bigger lake will make you glad to spend the extra. Good luck.

Todd I don't use the trails option most of the time on the lakes I know well. It is a great option on larger lakes and I don't know how I got by without it at night.

It took me a while to figure it out on mine too. I had so many lines on my home lake it nearly covered the map (at least all the good spots).

It is a great question that is not easily answered. Lake management is dependent on many factors. There are a number of good articles here: http://www.bassresource.com/lake-management

Black jig and craw-something like this: http://www.basspro.com/Strike-King-Bitsy-Bug-Jig/product/20152/-688530?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL http://www.basspro.com/NetBait-Paca-Chunk-Softbaits/product/90787/-1644823 Jig and Grub-something like this: http://www.basspro.com/Kalin-s&-x00ae;-Lunker-Grubs/product/13048/-210420?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops®-Premium-Jighead-Darter-Head/product/58632/-1112668 Spend some time in the Fishing Articles section on this site and many of your questions will be answered. Good luck

Great suggestion. For a beginner or seasoned fisherman this combo will produce. Work it fast or slow, top or bottom, or anywhere in between, it will catch fish. I would add a bag of 3" white curly tail grubs for variety...good luck.

I have a 6'6" MH Extreme that we use for heavier jigs, and big worms. It handles 1 oz baits just fine. A longer rod will make throwing those baits easier, but the Extreme should give you a chance to see if you want to invest in another outfit. Good luck.

I remember way back in the day when I first heard of fishing for bass at night, I had the same reaction as you. Dark, slow moving, bottom bumping soft plastics at night?! Then my brother and I gave it try. Having a nice fish hammer a jig or worm at night is still one of the biggest thrills in bass fishing for me. How they see, feel, or hear at night is useful information, but knowing that they do is very cool. Enjoy!

The difference from 6'6" to 7' or more is largely about preference IMO. I use 5" and 6" wacky rigged Senkos/knock-offs all the time. I use either a 7' MXF baicaster w/12# CXX or a 6'6" MF spinning setup w/8# CXX. I generally use the baitcast in stained water/ heavier cover and spinning gear in clear/open water.

Yep I remember. I did not have such a stylish bike at the time. Mine was big enough for two, with luggage, and weighed as much as I did. I learned how to ride perched on the top of that behemoth; it's a wonder I survived. It did not have any tassels though...

As others have said, the short answer is no. With the proper equipment you can fish any style or bait with spinning gear. Using super lines you can have plenty of line capacity with reels that would be inadequate with heavy mono. I do prefer baitcast for most bass fishing techniques. I use spinning only for baits that are too light to comfortably fish with baitcast. The only way to see which you prefer is to learn to use a baitcaster. It really is not rocket science, and you just might find it works better for you. As the old TV commercial used to say, "Try it , you'll like it!" EDIT: I also use spinning gear and light line instead of baitcast in ultra clear water when nothing else will do.