flyingmonkie

Right? And don't forget the additional work required to reset the drag when you go back out! I don't do either. I also fish 12 months/year, so might be different if I had winters off. Drag washers are a dime a dozen and take 15 seconds to change if they flatten out. As for tension knobs: it depends. All reels are different. The spool can/will wear a little divot in whatever material it is pressed up against... some materials hold up better than others. Again, if this becomes an issue, pretty easy to add a shim to correct for any loss of adjustability. IMO, I'd rather fix mechanical problems as they arise vs. lose a fish because I forgot to reset things.

MHF is too much rod IMO. I'd suggest either medium power or moderate action (or both). Spooling up with mono will help if you go on the stiffer side. 7' MHM with 10# mono is my go-to cranking setup.

Lake Fork Lures has a pretty good orange in their "Bluegill", "Fire Perch" and "Sun Perch" colors.

If my wife can have 37 different colors of shoes, I can have both black/blue AND junebug. I have spoken.

Pretty solid granola bar technique. Raise your hand if you know how hard it is to yell "NET, NET, NET!" with a fat bite of PB&J.

I spend way too much time on YouTube. Hunter Shryocks "27" series is AMAZING! His newer "24/7" stuff is good too, but "27" chronicles his 2017 season of the Bassmaster Opens that ultimately qualified him for the Elite Series (He had 27 days of open competition to qualify for Classic/Elites). Palaniuk's videos are also at the top of my list. Not Bass/FLW, but if you're into kayak tournaments, Greg Blanchard has a great channel. Jon Boat tournaments? Check out SBFISHINGTV.

I'd ditch the Carolina keepers in favor of two or three bobber-stoppers. Easier on the line.

Light/finesse cranking... I'm thinking early season stuff like shad-raps, flat-siders, small-bodied medium depth plugs. I usually throw on a medium-heavy spinning setup to get better casting distance and use lighter line; with a good reel, you could accomplish the same thing with this rod. I grind my WWs pretty good and personally like a MH/M for that.

I see what you did there...

☝️

Another TNF fan club member here! @Paul Roberts is the Bob Ross of bass fishing.

I mean... those guys know their stuff. Fury is hard to beat bang-for-buck on the heavier end, but I'd take TB's word for it on the ML.

Another vote for their square bills - best bang for the buck on the market.

Damiki rig?

There it is! The ol' Jigger Pole vid - was about to go look for it myself.

15 yr old study from Lake Fork Biologist: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/lunar-phases-and-bass-fishing-results/ Not necessarily scientific, but the BOAT: https://rahfish.com/kevin-vandam-moon-phases/ https://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/bass/how-fish/2007/11/going-deep-name-bass-research Bob Underwood writes about it in his book "Lunker!", as does Larry Lawson and "Bass Fishing Facts", and Doug Hannon the Bass Professor was also a believer. Now, to be clear, you can find just as much "research" to the contrary, and to my knowledge, nobody has conclusive evidence for either side. Guess this just further emphasizes the fact this is one of the most debated topics in the fishing world.

I tossed a frog for a minute tonight in the full moon (can't help it)... only had one fish slap at it. Still think it's a little early for an ACTIVE topwater bite, but it's about time for me to start mixing in a plopper/buzzbait and frog.

Me in my craw/creature bait collection:

Drop shot year round!

Yeah so it depends on where you are, but a lot of research has shown that full moons do trigger waves of spawning action. Conditions are right in some of our bodies of water, I imagine this moon will probably trigger some early waves for us.

If there is anything I've learned from Jacob Wheeler, it's that a Biffle Bug should never be fished the way it comes out of the package. You've gotta rip something off!

I don't see any fish...

I have two little girlies that I've been exposing to fishing since they were old enough to walk. I've tried to keep it exciting though - 15 minutes at a time, somewhere that I know I can catch a quick fish. I'll fish while they throw crud in the water. I'll hook one and then let them take turns reeling it in, and then we all take a selfie. They also love running jug-lines, catching bream in throw-nets, and hunting for crawfish under rocks. My oldest officially caught her first fish at the age of 4. Worm on a bobber in a creak. I'm thinking this summer (she'll be 5) will be our first legit fishing trip together.

'Twas just TONIGHT... fishing a drop-shot in the dark (yeah, that's right), missed a fish twice before actually getting her hooked. Third time's a charm. I think it depends on how much you rattle 'em. If you actually get a hook in them and they shake it out with some acrobatics or what-not, may take them a while to regroup. If you get a pick-up/nibble and just miss the hookset, you can catch them on the next cast with the right presentation.

I can't believe I never put two and two together! Bravo, @Paul Roberts, The Nature of Fishing is arguably the most underrated bass-specific channel on YouTube. Also, @A-Jay has some great videos of his sweeeeeeet ride on. Stubbled upon them a while back researching some of the newer aluminum boats. Diggin' that Pro-V man...