Steveo-1969

Certainly nothing wrong with legally harvesting/eating the bass you catch. My question for you @Pkfish49. If you weren't 100% certain on the ID of the fish you kept and ate, how were you 100% certain it was legal for you to keep them?

I don't know Glenn, that dude was a dead ringer for you!!

I just wanted to thank the Mods for leaving this thread open. It's been one of the most entertaining things I've read on the site all week.

Thanks for the clarification Ksam, not sure why I thought you were looking for a spinning rod! I would say with your $250 budget you can't go wrong no matter what you pick. Good luck in your search! Just to muddle the water further the St. Croix Legend Tournament is about $260...

Can you explain one more time EXACTLY what you are looking for? What I gather from above posts is you want a spinning rod, longer than 6'6", Medium power, extra-fast action, price of $250 or less, to fish Senkos and other soft plastic baits. Is that close?

Nope, no kissing. But I always thank them before gently setting them back into the water.

Sorry, I have no advice on any rods you listed but I noticed you mentioned a St. Croix Premier (costs $140). You may also want to add a St. Croix Mojo Bass rod to the list. They have a 7'1" MHF spinning rod for $130.

Thank you for the post @J Francho. Lately I've been super gluing them onto jig heads with mixed results. The toothpick seems much simpler.

Thanks for the link to the FAQ page @RPreeb! I totally understand wanting to handle a reel in person before buying. It sounds like if they'd had this reel in stock you would have purchased it from the store that day. So now that you've gotten hands on with the reel what is stopping you from purchasing it online?

Ha-ha, yup! I much prefer my "hand scale"...

Go to the thread in the below link. About halfway down the first page there is an entry from @Glenn with pictures on how to safely remove the hook when it's swallowed.

I am a G. Loomis fanboy and I've never fished with a St. Croix rod so take all this with a grain of salt. That being said... if I had a chance to buy G. Loomis rods at 50% off it would be a no-brainer!

Wow, that's crazy. One more reason why I'm glad I'm a self-professed Loomis fanboy! BTW - GO BEARS!!!!!!

Just looking for clarification Mr. Brat as I've never heard of this before. Are you saying the leader connection knot will tear THE GUIDES right off of certain rods during the cast?

You could always take up golf instead.

About March through October I am specifically targeting smallmouth every time I fish. Then November through February I'm specifically targeting walleyes. There is definitely overlap between the two species and of course other species are caught as well.

Oh yeah, did I mention Megastrike also makes an EWG model? ha-ha

"Best" shakey head is opinion of course. Personally I prefer Megastrike Shake2 Pro Model shakey heads. I only fish shakey heads for one week a year while on vacation so take this with a grain of salt as I'm no shakey head expert. But I caught most of my fish on vacation this year with the above head in 3/16 or 1/4 ounce with a Zoom trick worm.

I use 3/16 ounce Strike King Bitsy Bug jigs with Baby Rage Craw trailers. I bite off the first two segments of the Baby Rage Craw to make it a little shorter then thread it onto the hook and over the trailer keeper. The hook point comes out right in the middle of the craw's head.

If I could "like" this more than once I would!!!!!!

I'm sure there are less expensive options out there than what I bought. But you will have to pry this combo out of my cold dead fingers!!!!! G. Loomis NRX MBR 842c (7-foot Medium Fast, rated 1/8-3/8 ounce lure weight and 10-14# line) Abu Garcia Revo LTX spooled with 10# fluorocarbon

You will probably get recommendations for both spinning and casting, but for me it really comes down to personal choice. After using spinning rods exclusively for the first 40 years of my life I bought my first casting rod. I found I enjoy using a baitcaster more than a spinning rod and eventually bought a casting rod that could throw lighter baits. Last Sunday I took my spinning rod fishing for the first time this year and I quickly realized I still prefer fishing with a casting rod!

That's a great smallie, congrats on the new PB!!!

I don't own a boat or a kayak/canoe. I wade fish year round in a river when the water level is low enough to safely wade, otherwise I fish from the shore. Occasionally I'm a guest one someone's boat. When wading I carry one rod and all my tackle fits in a small over-the-shoulder bag (half the size of a bread loaf). When shore fishing (or a boat guest) I carry one spinning and one casting rod with the same small tackle bag.

This year I've tried to fish either Saturday or Sunday each week, though between bad weather, high water level in the river and home obligations that hasn't always happened. The only chance I get to fish consecutive days is our annual Kentucky Lake fishing vacation. Then it's 6 days of 12+ hours on the water each day.