Master Bait'r

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait... Webster Lake is listed and no Quabbin? That is insanity. Sure, you can't stomp around the place in your 250hp glass boat but does that honestly knock it out of the running?? That makes me kind of sad.

As with any decision in life, I think there has to be a balance. You could buy 50 ugly sticks for the price of one Megabass... But for 99.99% of us, the best option lies somewhere in the middle. I'd ask myself where I'd like to be in that spectrum. Does it matter more to you and your current situation to have one really nice setup that does something really really well or three that will allow you to use different bait presentations? It will be different for everyone! Personally I would keep the rods you have as a solid base and build off of that in whatever direction you want to go.

I would call Ron @ Valley and tell him what you have to work with and what you're trying to accomplish. I'm positive he could help you get where you want to be, but I'd really only be shooting for like 3 or maybe 4 setups at a time.

time to go take a peek at the lipless section

Quabbin. Hands down. Insanely clear water, don't allow powerboats and offer two distinctly different sides of massively diverse condidions- the open lake side and the Pog Pond side. The latter of which is BRILLIANT for bass fishing even if you don't have fancy electronics. Lots of heavy cover, deep pools, stumps, laydown and structure in general- and miles of it to explore. Most people stick to the main side so Pog on the Quabbin is one of my favorite spots to go to when I'm headed to a public place. Other than that, I'm not telling

Honestly I don't like fishing hammered-out lakes with boat ramps next to five guys in $50k boats wrestling wakes and I know I can't be alone. To me, that really sucks and really isn't enjoyable. I want to be alone and I like hoofing it to remote lakes that normally don't see any traffic at all- can't do that with a glass boat or even most canoes solo. Once I'm there I'm the only guy out, its completely silent except for maybe a little whisper of Bob Marley and a few birds. For the relatively low entry cost of a cheap kayak ( I think I paid about $350 for mine) this seems like the biggest single thing you can do for your fishing so it's easy to see why they're so popular and still gaining momentum. Heck, my gf isn't even THAT into fishing but she loves to paddle around and catch some sun. A play boat like that just appeals to so many different kinds of people. I just hope this means I'll be able to find a Ride 115x used for cheap soon haha

Slug-Gos without a doubt.

Pretty sure that's the eel. Tail flipper and whatnot...

You could fill Biwa with all the "unnecessary" advances in fishing. After all- all you need is a stick, line and a hook to be fishing. The rest is just nice options haha

Yes. You drown it with sexy baits. If it hasn't died yet, you haven't bought enough. I've been on a frog kick lately. Other than that though, I usually stick with a lot of relatively cheap plastics so I offset my expenditures to some degree. I can't not buy new looks for heavy cover froggin/poppin/etc. I just love it so much, it's almost all I want to do anymore and the options and baits just keep getting cooler and cooler.

This, sir, is a fantastic rig you've made. I may have to get shoppy on one for myself one of these days. I will use metal because I can, but for milk crates you could also use epoxy to hold them together if you aren't into zip ties.

It's actually made from strands of unicorn hair.

Slug-gos Roboworm straight tails Bento minnows

I can't believe I'm sharing a gear honeyhole with yous guyz but I haven't done a good deed yet today so here goes. My #1 spot for cheap rain shells- just read the descriptions before buying, these are all children of an unconditional return policy. http://www.geartrade.com/browse/mens-rain-jackets?sort=new

That's a tough call, and really mosr of a question of "Would I rather not get the bites or am I fine with getting all those bites but *maybe* losing the bait"

Yes, you instantly become part of Phi Bait'a Kappa- or the fraternal order of those who spend thousands of dollars to specifically eliminate catching 99% of the fish in the lake.

In such instances that you can't feel what you're doing, watch your line on the water. Try to work on your ability to move from feel -> sight.

If I were you I'd start off with T-rigging some 4" Slug-Gos. Get your cadence down and develop a successful technique with them first- they're cheap, ultra sensitive, completely weedless and fish absolutely own them year round... Once you're confident with your technique, branch out into the more expensive, bigger and non-weedless versions where you'll end up using a "bigger" and slightly less forgiving version of the same techniques you got down with the Slug-Gos.

I usually don't listen to music but if I do it's probably my Bob Marley or Slightly Stoopid Pandora stations. Don't wanna mess up my high maaaaaaaaaaaaaan

7'2" MH/F *** Green, Lew's BB1 Pro @ 7.1:1 w/ 17lb NanoFil in Low Vis green As for baits... Well... I can't choose just one hollow weedless topwater. There's way too many good ones out there. Bronzeye poppers Poppin pad crashers Bronzeye frogs Live target frogs Lunker-hunt lunker frogs Bettencourt weedless slop rodent Molix Supernato Weed Demon Optimum Furbit frog

Oh man, I want one of those jointed claw S-song 115s and a bacra SR. Too bad I need both kidneys. *sigh*

Great bait! Especially if they're on sale- very comparable to spros if not indistinguishable once you tie them on.

It's true... However, you should see my ski gear room- I could have a brand new boat fully stocked with NRXs and Stellas! I am big into handmade skis and climbing mountains to ski them and that requires a ton of gear. The past few years I've been getting really into fishing and have been building an arsenal... But it's slow going when you have limited funds and like nice things! Maybe the gear fairy will hook it up one of these days or somebody here will want to trade me sick gear for some custom welding or metal fab work, who knows haha

Hey, that puts a whole new hot spin on the term "Trophy Wife" though! For me it's 2. One spin and one baitcast. I know... That shame!