Kevin22

The back end of the braid is going to float, ruining your action. But, it will probably work. The fish up in your neck of the woods are probably post spawn and on fire as the water warms. I'd imagine they would be hitting about anything that moves and looks like food.

Looks like a mini butane torch.

To be honest, I'd just tie on a square bill and have at it. Crank any structure, weeds, and just fan cast. If you run 12# line you can fish from 0-6'. Up it to 14 and you can get most down to a good 5'. I doubt they are going to be out in the middle of the lake, probably going to be tucked in weeds, being that it is a shallow lake which will have no noticeable thermocline.

Sure, I use it to dye white baits when walleye fishing. It works okay on darker bass lures, but its not as strong as JJs. The upside is that the jars are leak proof and won't explode like JJs. I've caught a lot of fish using it.

Exactly. Places like DSG, Walmart, and the like order the reels in clamshell since they are harder to steal. Bigger sporting goods stores like BPS, Cabelas, and online shops order in boxes because they are easier to store large quantities of and they generally don't have problems with them walking out the door. Same reel, just different packaging.

As for the veritas breaking.. I wouldn't worry about it with the newest models. I stepped on a 6'6MF and cracked the clear coat just above the reel seat (has cracks about 3" long running the length of the blank). I thought for sure it was done so I stopped fishing with it and when I got home I did the fence post trick and bent that thing way past anything a fish could give me and nothing happened. I had that thing past doubled over, just to make sure it wasn't going to let me down on a big fish.

I have that rod (the 7'MHF) and it is a broomstick! 3/8 is minimum for that rod. Going to sound stupid, but are you sure those jigs are 3/8? A 3/8 hack attack jig with creature trailer barely loads the tip on mine. I bought it to use 1/4 and 3/8 t-rigs but it is way too stout. I even grabbed the line and tied it to a fence post, mine only bends about 1/3 of the way down and then its solid backbone (I could not get it to bend at all). You might want to go to the nearest sporting goods store and make sure your veritas are the same as the ones in current production.

Which speed spool? Magnetic breaks? If so, turn the breaks to 0, hold your rod at a 135º angle (looking straight ahead, feet are 0, head is 180, straight out is 90), and release the bait. Adjust the tension on the side until it falls all the way to the ground with no assistance. Then turn the breaks to 5 and give ti a cast. If you have a really heavy bait and slick line you may need to really crank the tension down. Mine are very adjustable. They have a good tension system.

They'll hit that buzz as long as they are in the shallows or up towards the surface. If they are burring themselves down deep in the weeds, post storm, then they might not come out for the buzz.

I don't think I have ever fished a senko around smallies and not caught them.

I have yet to see a MH spinning that compared to a MH casting. Talking backbone, tip, and lure rating.

Anything with rattles or vibration. I'd go for a chartreuse black back or a firetiger over black. Chartreuse/white spinnerbait is another good choice if the wind is blowing.

Go on ebay. I buy almost all of my braid there now. I've been getting sufix 832 for $12-13 a spool (150yds), brand new.

Then they better not let St. Croix find out. I asked the guy that is in charge of the service dept why you don't see sales on their rods.. everyone has them the same price...and he told me that they are all under contract to sell at a certain price and above and if they violate they loose their dealership pricing from st croix. Your local guy could be buying them from a distributor and not straight from st. croix I guess.

What do you already have? You need a MHF either 7' or 6'6, and a MF either 7' or 6'6. After that you are in tech-specific rods, topwater, crankbait, flipping, frogging, etc. As for brand.. there's only a hundred options so pick what has the best reviews in your price range and then see if it feels good in your hands. As for reels, a 7:1 lews will do you well. They are about the best all-around reels IMO. If you get into cranking then you can pick up a crankbait rod and a slower reel.

Just watched the promo video on youtube, no wonder it takes on water. It walks UNDER the surface? That's a new one.

I've fished the owner ultrahead, it was pretty good. But I have since just went to basic round head shady heads. I buy them locally at an okay price, no brand on them so I don't know where they are getting them. For worm. I use hand poured 6-7" finesse worms. Various brands from guys I know. Zoom finesse is the store bought bait of choice.

I use braid for flipping, T-rigs, and main line on C-rigs as long as the water isn't too clear. I like the sensitivity when fishing bottom contact. I would use good fluoro in those instances, but I'm too cheap.

For a spinning rod, I think you will want a MH. It would be equiv to most casting Medium rods. You will have a heck of a time finding a moderate action in a MH rod. I know when I throw a #7 shad rap (a lot less resistance than a typical bass crank) it overpowers a Medium Fast action. I have a fenwick eagle gt 6'6 Medium mod spinning rod in the garage somewhere. There is no way you will be fishing any bass lures with that, I use it for throwing 1/16 jigs for white bass. Its a bit less powered than my 6'6 MLF casting rod.

More evidence of the MYTH that bass taste terrible. Glad you cleaned it and enjoyed it. Stuff happens, that's fishing. I've had them jump and hit the side of the boat dead as a rock, it happens. That's just another reason why everyone needs to learn to clean and cook fish, even if you are a 100% C&R bass fisherman.

I know st. croix will do it for you, not sure if BPS will. Doesn't hurt to ask. I had a st. croix eyecon break, and asked if I could switch to the premier instead (same price) and they said "no problem!".

Nobody is allowed to have a sale on SC rods. Its in their dealer contract, if they run them below MSRP then they get kicked off st. croixs dealer list. All you will find is store credit rebate, free t-shirt, free reel, etc. Gander mtn usually has the best incentives, $20-30 back in gander gift card.

I just use octopus hooks in #2 usually for worms. #1 for minnows.

Not much. When you see the depth # on the crankbait package, that was probably metered with 10# mono. Unless you are fishing DT22's or 6XD's and trying to really get down there, I don't think mono is going to hurt you. But I would try to avoid a stretchy mono with a crankbait rod. Have you thought about trying a co-poly? They are medium priced, you can get yo-zuri hybrid 12lb for $16 at TW. That's for 600 yards.

Two major forage fish around here... They are not the same family. Gizzard shad- Dorosoma cepedianum Skipjack Herring- Alosa chrysochloris