flyingmonkie

I've been catching stuff tossin' a net since I was a tiny tot Fresh cut gizzard shad is the best catfish bait there is! I've never really put much thought into it. Don't spend money on anything fancy. $20-$40 should get you going. The bigger your mesh, the faster it'll sink, but get it tight enough that you don't lose baitfish through it. 3/8" is pretty common, if you're targeting shad, you'll do fine with a 1/2". In terms of radius, the smaller it is the easier it is to cast. Bigger nets are hard to cast, but obviously can cover more water. I generally use a 5 or 6 ft radius. I've never had luck netting shad that weren't visible. The absolute easiest way is to hit shallow flats in the morning when they are active... just throw at them when you see them, let it sink a couple seconds, and RIP IT! Shallow water is easier too, as they have less time/room to swim out from underneath the net. I've caught visible shad in deeper water, but you have to let it sink a little further and I generally catch less. I've had many 100 shad nets in my life throwing on schools in 3-5ft. Especially in the summer. Cake. Throw-netting can be a ton of fun just in general. As a kid, I would walk the bank with a cast net for hours each day. I've caught practically everything you can imagine in them. Have fun!

Put some 12# Big Game on there and go to town!

I haven't used much co-poly, but mono isn't a bad choice for SBs. I like it when the water is a little colder or when they are nipping at it.

Our collegiate anglers volunteer for a couple regional groups (for example: http://www.futurefisherman.org/f3programs/hooked-on-fishing-not-on-drugs-hofnod/). Might just have to do some digging around to find non-profits in your area. You're talking about young kids, so keep it simple. Zebco 33s with bobbers and worms will run you about $30 per setup. A couple hundred bucks gets you started. Equally important will be finding an accessible location that can give you some easy (and successful) fishing. Perhaps most important will be finding volunteers that can help teach the kiddos the basics, bait hooks, take off fish, and snap some photos. I would suggest contacting local local fishing clubs or sporting goods stores to see if they could donate anything (time, tackle, water). If coming up with sponsorship proves difficult, this sounds like a perfect use case for a GoFundMe campaign! Put me down for $20!

Line snaps with braid can be common if your line is dug-in or you get a backlash. I've lost a small fortune worth of lipless cranks thanks to sudden spool-stops. This is with as high as 40# braid. One of the reasons why I've dropped braid on my casting setups. In response to the original question, ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY! I like a good 14-17# flouro on a 7' MHF or MHM.

My top-3 change with the seasons. Some of them (like a jig), cover multiple seasons. Right now: - Squarebill - Spinnerbait - T-rigged Structure Bug

Bait Monkey says stop trying to narrow things down... just get them all!

I use this and like it. https://www.amazon.com/Orvis-11041000-Rugged-Stream-Thermometer/dp/B0039MY5XE

Oh, how I love the line debates! I was once a braid-on-everything kind of guy, but I've had a 180. The only baitcaster I have braid on anymore is my frog rod. Don't get me wrong, I love the sensitivity of braid... I really do... I just hate how it digs into itself, I don't like the way it effects the fall of my bait, I don't like that it's visible, I don't like that it frays, I don't like that I can't cut it with my teeth, I like to fish around rocks, and I like a little bit of stretch. My vote is for flouro. Get a good flouro, and use line conditioner routinely.

Fury line is good - hard to beat in that price range. Falcon Bucoo would be another worth looking at. I like a 7' medium heavy for SBs.

Drop. Shot.

A few thoughts: 1) What is your visibility? In my neck of the woods, "stained" water is 1-2 ft. of visibility. I wouldn't expect to be catching anything in 20-30 ft of water. 2) I'm not sure about the 10# braid as mainline on a 10xd. I've had lipless cranks snap 30# braid on a backlash... I could see one of those big cranks snapping 10# on a good cast! 3) Unless you're dragging a brick behind your 10XD, I wouldn't worry too much about it's action.

Never listened to music, never will. The sounds of fishing, my internal dialogue, and the occasional boat pal are the only things I want to hear.

I know a guy that fished the Elites for several years, took a break, and is now fishing FLW. He has a young family and seemed pretty jaded by the expectations put on Elite anglers. He said he's much happier in FLW now. So in that regard, I imagine a lot of it just comes down to personal preference. There are pros/cons to each.

I've heard of folks using pool thermometers. I got this and it does just fine: https://www.amazon.com/Orvis-11041000-Rugged-Stream-Thermometer/dp/B0039MY5XE

BR is my home away from home! Would go crazy without you guys... especially in the winter. Group hug!

Your mind will be blown reading the logs that Ned Kehde and his buddies publish. They've been catching fish all winter with their midwest finesse strategy. The numbers are stupid. I know the Ned rig is a numbers thing, but if you catch 30 bass, there is bound to be a few good ones in there. My first tournament of the season is Saturday morning. You better believe I've got one rigged up to get me a quick limit.

Sure you will! There's a big difference in a 4# and a 6# smallie. Extrapolation using the Bassmaster lunker scale: - your smallmouth is equivalent to a 7.1# LMB - your lake's record smallie is equivalent to a 10.7# LMB Sorry... had to math-out for a second. Beautiful fish! Go get another!

Using rusty hooks is a bad idea, and unless it's very mild and doesn't rinse off with WD40, you'll waste your time trying to clean them. Upgrade your hooks - that's rarely a bad idea. There was a recent thread about hook disposal:

I didn't think twice about hurling my 130 size Whopper Plopper as a non-boater! As long as you're not fishing your boater's water, don't worry about it.

Yeah, you should get some good input on this. Some of us tend to get quite passionate about jig trailers. I think of trailers as adding to three components of a jigs appeal: action, bulk, and color. A simple and generally effective rule of thumb is to use increase the size and action of your trailer with the water temperature. There are always exceptions to this rule, but it's good as a starting point. Color is generally dictated by water color/visibility. Don't feel like your jig and trailer have to match though! Unlike home decorators, bass don't mind mismatched color palettes.

I almost never use a trailer.

I've watched all the old classics on YouTube - love them! I especially love the cheesy production! The 1976 "Duel at Guntersville" video is narrated by a fat and sassy female bass. I would have loved to spend an hour with Ray Scott back in the day. He strikes me as a super friendly, somewhat goofy, uber-confident guy that could sell a Whopper Plopper to a fly fisherman.

Drain the pond. Spare the local environment. There's no way you'd be able to recover without fresh water anyway. Then try to identify the fish kill... otherwise, it's bound to happen again.

I have them - you'll like them! I've got a growing arsenal of UV clothing... sure beats the heck out of sunscreen. If you don't have any burka-style headwear, get you one or two (Buff makes a good one).