gulfcaptain

used to use paper plates and newspaper way back in the day when I would sonar around and then mark a bunch of fish when I ran sportboats to give me an idea where to set up and drop the anchor. But Catt beat me to the Exactly post.

Some S-Weavers, couple styles of hair jigs, and some structure/jigging spoons.

I thought that's what GPS was for....lol but can't argue with old school tactics when the results are just as good. Takes less time to kick over a bouy then to punch in a waypoint for sure.

I learned without all the fancy brakes to adjust, and this knob over here and a dial over there. I leave all that crap at zero, fill it with line, check the spool tension knob and make sure the lure falls at a rate I like and go fishing. But then maybe that's just me. Edit: But I do ride my thumb ever so lightly on the spool to feel what the line is doing and how fast it's coming off.

I'd probably be the cheap guy that would take a piece of flat styrofoam and cut it out to fit in the ziplock bag in order to make sure my phone and wallet floated or something similar. Can't justify $100 on a cell phone life jacket when I can get myself one for $30. It just doesn't add up.

First, let me say once you learn how to fish grass, you look for it and seek it out where others do not. You don't need mats, thicker subsurface weedbeds will work. I would look into a H action rod, 7'6" or better, no less then 30lb braid, no leaders needed, and tungsten weights or punch jigs....I suggest looking at Siebert Outdoors website and look into his punch jigs. Find you some beaver/craw baits, bobber stops and some strong hooks and your set. Now fishing the grass you only want to use enough weight to get you thru the grass. I mainly use 1/2 to 1oz depending, like the Rage DB Craw as a trailer but that's me. Now, look at the grass, how it lays out. Look for where two kinds come together, where it has a hole, a thick spot, point, channel...etc. Look for irregularities in the grass. You want to let your bait fall on a semi-slack line(pay attention on the fall) and if you feel something that doesn't feel right or see it move, set the hook. Most grass bass you will feel weight when you lift up so you need to learn what your bait feels like and when it feels different. Once thru lift up and jig it 2 or 3 times and let it fall. No bite, on to the next spot in the weedbed. I use this a lot in the summer on bright days when a lot of people choose not to fish or have slow fishing......not too many people punch the grass where I fish and use this to my advantage. I fish the sunny shores....why, because I know the bass are going to burry themselves up under the denser weeds and that's where I am looking to pitch my bait. Once you're bit, pull, steady pressure, no herky jerky. Just pull as you may have to pull a bunch of weeds in with that fish. They may fight or may think they are hidden. Be prepared when you remove the grass for that fish to wake up. As spring turns into summer, watch the way the weedbeds grow, and any cover that may be in and around those beds are always great spots. Remember that anywhere two different kinds of weeds or cover meet is always a great place to try, and look for deeper water breaks close to the beds as well as if there are slight channed or bottom changes also. If there is a depression or hole under those beds, odds are there will be a fish sitting in it. There are quite a few articles on here if you look for them under grass/trash/weeds....etc. Welcome to punching, once you get a few you will be hooked, I love full contact fishing and that's pretty much what this is.

Yes, here in Long Beach Ca, the Fred Hall Boat Show used to be the big event to go get tackle at cheaper prices and find deals. Retailers had booths and you could buy all kinds of things, meet people in the business, look at fishing venues and get info for lodges and resorts all around the world....and they had a lot of boats.....for the low price of $6. Now $20 gets you in the door, used to be 2 different areas in the convention center is now down to maybe 1 and a hallway. Nothing to buy, no deals, not many boats to look at, overpriced snacks and beer, and the "wow" factor of old is gone. I've asked why to a few vendors that I know and the number one reason for no longer having anything to do with the show is it costs them too much money. They get no return on the investment and time it takes them to set up. The cost of getting in has dwindled the appeal of the big boat shows and the costs to the vendors to cover the lack of attendence drives the smaller operations away limiting the experience to just a few big names and nothing else. It's just boring, and a complete waste of time now to attend all but what Bass Pro Shops or some of the other giant outdoor stores do in comparision that like someone said before IS FREE.

They normally will take all orders for a couple days and then close it off. But they do look good.

I know what Rodgers fish weighs, but at least I don't think I guessed over what Dwight's weighs. I could narrow it down to both over 4 but less then 12....lol

Have a few packs, but need to find a smaller o-ring or put a small drop of super glue to hold it in place since they are a bit thinner then a senko or dinger.

I'm guessing pretty good. The Falcon's I have are although they aren't part of that rod line up.

Dwight's may be over 7, but not by much.

I'm guessing both fish are in the high 5's to high 6's.

If you are worried about it only having 5lbs of drag, go get a 5lb weight, tie it to your rod and try to drag it. 5lbs is more then you think.

X2. 8 is rounder, smoother, and holds it shape better. 4 is well the basic braid. Standard PP isn't bad, but when you try 832 and fish micro guides you can def feel and hear the difference. But the above is pretty much my thinking too. EDIT: Both can be used for whatever application you want, they both will work fine. Just becomes personal preference IMO.

Why do some think it's complicated when it's really not.

I need a sponsor.......but more for my bait monkey addiction. But here I don't think I'm going to find "that" kind of sponsor as we all support one anothers bait monkey issues.

Bingo.....that's why right there. If you're winding it on and you can barely turn the handle it's really tight, if you have a good bend in the rod and can feel a good bit of resistance it's still tight. You don't want it digging in on the first hook up or snag....then go to cast and you and your bait part ways.

appriciate it.....gives me more of an idea on where to start for sure.

You want it tight yes. You will want to put a backing on it....fill it up a quarter of the way with some 12 or 15lb mono for it to ride on and grip. Put the spool on the floor with a screwdriver through the middle and between your feet, make sure you put a cheap rag or towel....area rug for the spool to ride on. use the pressure of holding it between your feet and pushing down on the floor to give you tension. If it feels too hard to reel, let up a bit and fill. Once full, add a couple squirts of KVD line conditioner and you're good to go. When you fish, say you flip or pitch a lot, every so often make a longer cast to straighten up the braid. It's not that big a deal to put it on. And the line size is your choice, I've fished 15lb pp on casting rods. But then I've been comfortable using 6lb on them for quite a long time so the smaller dia doesn't bother me as most ( I did a pole) fish braid in the size dia they are used to in Mono or FC. Oh, and back your drag off a bit to substitue the lack of line stretch.

Think I'm gonna have to play with these and see how they swim first. I'll have a week to get it figured out. Thinking the smaller 120 may work really good on SM but seems some post have read the 168's get hit just as well.

Well that answered one of the 3 questions.

Pay attention to the water temps and the lunar cycle. For some reason they seem to move up right around the time of the full moon with water temps around the 60-62 degree water. If you are seeing beds, fish outside them or off some sort of break where the bigger females may be posting up waiting to go up on the beds.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Time on the water lets you learn to read subtleties that some or most miss. You pick apart the cover, look at all the variables and make educated guesses on what you have experienced in the past as well as observations. If you try and look at the whole picture, you miss the little things. Pro's and successful anglers learn to see the little things that might be missed and then piece them together with what the conditons are as well as seasonal behavior. You have to be able to dissect and analyze each bite and fish you catch and understand why that fish was where he was.