JigMe

Totally agree with J Francho, crappies and walleyes taste much better than Bass. I will only keep a Bass if it is gut hooked and might not make it, and then I will keep it.

Nice Catch, I will probably hit Rocky Gorge this weekend.

10lb braid for Spinning, and 30-40lb braid for BC. Use FC leader for clear water presentation.

I would probably not try to fish Chatterbait around wood as well. Try pitch/flipping a Jig or creature bait around stumps and laydowns. You can fish a squarebill and it wont snag as much.

If you guys like to fish for crappies, then try the I-29 bridge. Get few dozen crappie minnow and go to town.

I fish near the browns bridge and fish from the bank. Let me know when you are going there, and maybe we can hook up

Yeah, lake Elkhorn is a bit over fished. I typically go to Rocky Gorge or Loch Raven resv.

Did you catch them on the side with the play ground or the opposite side?

Centennial was recently drained for repairs, they have filled up the lake again? The bite might be slow, since Bass might be looking for place to live. Park ranger won't let you stay after dark, if you are fishing for bass in the evening then go with pre-spawn baits. Last year, I had fairly good luck using square bill, 1/4 oz lipless crank, LC pointer, and Black & Blue Jig with zoom chuck.

You got me all excited for a minute...haha.

You just find a great friend to fish with. I don't think he is expecting anything monetary in return, a simple thank you will serve the purpose. If you feel strongly about "gifting" him, then plan a weekend fishing trip with him. I will be fairly upset if I return something valuable, then he/she is trying to thank me with Cash. Unless, you believe he is in need of financial compensation and your "cash/gift card" will make an impact then it is a good idea. "My bait monkey talking"...some nice tackle....j/k

Strike King KVD HC Square Bill Silent Crankbait http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_King_KVD_HC_Square_Bill_Silent_Crankbait/descpage-SKKVDHC.html

Good deal. Places an good size order as well...

I am sure this is not a perfect solution as well, but the following idea sort of work for me. It appears to me that plastics will start going “bad” after 2 years, except for rage craw products and those seems to last forever even you don’t use them. Over the years, my buddies and I developed a strategy to share plastics and 90% of the stuff gets used in a season. For example, we will load up during spring classic and everything gets stored in a centralized location (his garage which I have access to). I will drive over to his house to pickup/drop off stuff I need or don’t need for the next trip. It works fairly well this way, because we will probably use them all by the year end. If you have fishing buddy that lives relatively close by then give it a try. As far as storage goes, I will take a few from each pack then store them in the Plano box. If I don't it, then it goes back to the original bag when I go over next time.

I fished at Florida only few times, and my most productive baits were frogs and Stanley ribbit. I caught 60-70% of my Florida bass on Spro bronzeye Jr. If it is raining then tie on the Stanley ribbit to make some noise, then you will see some nasty surface bite.

I am more of a value shopper, but most of my reels are made by Shimano or Daiwa. I feel like those reel will last longer and better quality overall (personal opinion). I got an old Shimano Citica that’s probably 4-5 years old, and it works like new with regular maintenance.

T-Rig baby rage craw, or drop shot w/ robo worm. Catt is dead on the money, I also believes technique means more than which bait to use.

I agree with you that after heavy rain you should expect run-off. I will start by checking the areas you normally fish, and if it is too muddy then bass will be hard to catch. A good place to start looking for bass (if your normal spot is not ideal) will be where clear water meets the muddy water, and I always catch them there (my guess is they are feeding at that area).

what about you star drag? did you check that?

First of all, baitcaster should have some sort of braking systems (ex. centrifugal) on one side of the reel and a tension knob on the other side (located under the reel handle). Make sure they are set correctly, and you might need to practice your timing of release on line spool. If you think that the reel is broke, then either return it or send it DVT to have Mike look at it.

Are you looking to found out how to use a baitcaster reel? setup? If so, Glenn's got a good video on youtube and here is the link.

Yeah, I fished Jackson Pond few times last year and largest one I caught is 2.7lb. I rather fish at Rocky Gorge and you can pull out 5-6lb from time to time. Or go to Loch Raven and you can rent a boat for 30 bucks.

I keep a trash bag with me and once a year I drop them in the recycle bin for soft plastics (local lake).

I don't care what the statistic says on who is "number 1" on youtube. 1rod1fish is popular among kids (more free time), and it is primarily reason his ranking is so high. He hosted few subscriber tournaments which I don't think you can just go out and host without formal approval process (different topic). Most adults are not spending hours watching youtube video.

For me, lipless crankbait, susp. jerkbait, and T-rig lizzard.