ClackerBuzz

there is nothing more satisfying than being able to open/clean ur own equipment and knowing you can fix it if something goes wrong or upgrade parts. start easy and do a basic cleaning ie don't take apart the line guide assembly or take out bearings first time. and like francho and dvt said, put the reel in a plastic bag when ur ready to pop the c-clips. i learned the hard way when mine flew across the room. i 'swept' my wall to wall carpet with 3 magnets in my hand but apparently it went straight to c-clip heaven.

I switched all my reels over to braid b/c it's like having double the sets ups/versatility. i just add a 6-20ft flouro leader when needed and have never looked back.

x2. i've also found my self pushing the frog on the bass while looking for that awesome explosion. now i tend to classify frog fishing as either being "on", "weak" or "off". ON= lots of blow-ups and interest (especially when you relocate/cast on fresh water.) its awesome. practice getting the "feel" of frog fishing ie the hook sets. WEAK=the nip/bite/nibble but don't commit/inhale the frog. i haven't tried it but others say downsizing to a smaller frog works well. OFF=only one nip at the frog after 30+ min's over 3-4 different locations. the trick for me was to recognize when to efficiently move on to a different technique (senko, jig, crank etc). like with any new technique its all about learning it w/ as little pain as possible lol. if you only get out on the weekends don't spend 4 hrs trying to force the frog bite b/c its frustrating. but dedicate a good hour or two if you are getting any positive results. there is nothing better than landing ur first fish on a new tech even if its 12"!

click on forums and type "frog" in the search bar. there are tons of great threads. for me slower action always seems to work better than fast. good luck!

yes don't do it in ur living room. take ur rod/reel to an open field...walk all the line off...cut it...and carefully spool it back onto a toilet paper roll. by 'carefully' i mean DO NOT twist the line in a hurry. it takes longer but its better to spin the roll clockwise as opposed to spinning ur wrist in circles creating a twist.

in open water i start with spinnerbait. if they dont want the blades/vibration i switch to swimjig. if around weeds i start with a chatterbait b/c its easy to bounce them off the weeds w/o getting hung up or collecting weeds. then move to swimjig. i love boss swimjigs (@fishingskirts). they have a recessed eye which doesn't get hung up in weeds

x2. In the end I think it comes down to where you fish the most. If 90% of ur fishing is in shallow water then ur one rod is plenty. If you have sonar and like fishing deep then def buy a rod specifically for it. I like my shallow rod to have a fast or xf tip b/c it helps when ripping square bills thru the tips of grass. it helps 'pop' them free and initiate strikes. deep water rods need moderate fast action ie long parabolic bend for hook setting and fighting. Good luck

all great advice. this might be a good time to analyze where you are fishing. open water fishing is fun and easy but it also gets the most pressure/traffic from other angles. i can't tell you how many more fish i catch than most guys b/c i go into dirty, nasty, muck ridden corners a pond/lake offers. the fish back there are easier to catch b/c few people have the proper gear or as LMGambler said 'POWER!' to go in and haul them out. what is ur heaviest rod (baitcaster or spinning)? if you upgrade to 50lb don't feel like you wasted the 10lb braid on ur spool. i change/rearrange rods/reels all the time. just take an old toilet paper roll and spool ur 10lb braid on it. you will use it again for a different/open water set up.

x2. just depends on how much muck your throwing in. i heard a saying "every fish on lake okeechobee is a 10lb'r...some are 8lbs with 2lbs of weeds attached...some 2lb fish with 8lbs of weeds". put some time in on the water and you won't need to ask the question anymore...you'll up to at least 50lb braid. it cuts thru lily pad stalks like a saw blade.

when guys make fun of me for catch and release i ask them what species they are eating. then ask if they read the little book you get when you buy ur fishing license. it dangerous to eat most species more than twice a month. they stop laughing and turn a special shade of green

there's nothing like catching a fish on a new technique let alone your PB. nice job!

Not at all. They come running for them like the dinner bell! I had an ole' timer ask me what the heck it was the other day. He laughed at the loud noise until an 18" pickerel smashed it right in front of him. Start with 3/8oz and up to 1/2oz once you can land them long distances w/ very little splash (and also waking on the top of the water immediately on touch down). And get the Booyah with a clacker. They are amazing. Black is the only one you need but I toss a white/chartreuse for fun. Don't spend hours casting over the same water. Sometimes it does take 10 casts over the same spot to get the hit. As with any reaction bait, try as many angles as you can to find out how the fish are positioned. Early and late time of day are very productive. I use a trailer hook but lately been experimenting with just cutting the skirt short so they grab the main hook. Good luck! I find a low thump vibration works best so work them as slow as you can to just keep them on the surface. Burning too fast aka high pitch only works well for me when they are super aggressive.

As RW said its full of oil and grease right out of the box. Most companies pack it in so they last several seasons w/o problem b/c most guys don't open/clean/maintain them. When you do clean it or have it serviced by someone be careful the first time out. It will cast MUCH better/farther without all that extra grease packed in there. Turn on an extra brake or two than before b/c it will backlash much easier than what you've become accustomed to.

the a-rig is the newest shiny new toy in the fish world. its easy to have 5-6+ rods in ur tool box and you can toss an a-rig/swimbait on one of them. i'm guessing you are on a budget b/c its the only rod ur buying this year. you don't yet have a good crank set up which is why i recommend focusing on it. you will most likely spend 10x's amount of time cranking vs a-rig. everyone seems to like BPS crankin stick for $79. And their carbonlites. Powell has great glass rods (703CB). cranking is a base technique in the foundation of fishing which you won't get bored with and you'll catch alot of fish in many different time/places (cranks are great search baits for the deep water you mentioned). yes its fun to throw a new toy a-rig but i can tell you from experience it gets boring quick and the time/place is limited compared to cranking. are you interested in flipping heavy mats, swimbaits or carolina rigs? if so they focus on the heavy rod set up BPS has free shipping on orders of $75 now. i believe they always charge $6 for rods which would make that ur only shipping cost.

2 totally diff techniques. Buy a crank rod set up (plenty of info in forums). Use 1/8oz jigs for a-rig and you can keep it under 3/4 oz----throw it on a heavy rod set up you already own. good luck!

gotta love it when a plan comes together. congrats!

I only feel bad for one group of people...the children that were abused. I'll pass on the 'holier than thou' attitude. It happens in everyone's town, city and state. Winning at all costs has become a major problem in our society. Change is not going to come from the top. It starts with us...from the ground up.

Were the fish as tired?

I stay away from true micro's b/c of knot connection issues. I use braid on all my reels and tie a fluoro leader when needed. i don't like my leader knots banging so hard thru the eyes. there are too many quality rods on the market. i prefer full size or a lot of companies have semi micro which are fine. i tried using a dobyn micro savvy 7'3" as a frog rod using 65lb power pro. my line got compromised on a tree so i tie a blood knot connection so i didn't have to throw away 30ft of braid. the knot wouldn't pass thru the eyes. had to send the rod back. i think micro's are fine if you don't use connection knots aka use all braid, all mono, all fluoro and don't fish in slop. thats too much of a specialty rod for me.

Always change ur payment option in Paypal to ur backup source ie visa credit card. my visa protects me 1000 x's better than paypal and ebay combined. i purchased a pair of snowboard boots mens size 12. they were actually an italian 44. look up a conversion chat and you'll get 10 different answers. its a no brainer i should have gotten my money back. they were too small (11) and neither paypal or ebay would do anything about it. last time i ever used my bank account as a funding option. only had 2 other bad experienced and i trumped paypal and ebay by going straight to Visa who kicked their ass immediately and refunded my money. they put the burden of proof on the seller NOT the buyer. oh and... DON'T DO IT!

I would like to start fishing Medford Lakes but know a lot of them are private. Anyone know which ones are open to the public? Tks!

I think one of the biggest factors is how much you played the fish. if you didn't have a chance to play it long and it still has a lot of fight left when you boat it..there is a good chance it will still jump/kick in ur hands and on the scale. that would be bad. if they have any energy left they will usually jump when you touch the scale hook to their jaw so do a trial run first. if you can touch the hook to their jaw w/o having them kick they usually have submitted. should be save then. The same will hole true weighing with bags. They will put up a hell'a fight going into the bag if they haven't submitted yet. So hold them another 30 sec till they've calmed down. Same principle no matter if its a hook scale, boga, stringer etc.

you sound careful and won't cause damage with the hook scale. you will get bored weighing 90% of the fish you catch and save it for lunkers