Steveo-1969

If by "rage" you mean swear cuss curse stomp around throw things break rod over knee and generally act like an idiot then the answer is... never. For me fishing=relaxation. When I lose a nice fish I don't get mad, but my heart breaks and I feel sick to my stomach.

^^^^This^^^^

Mono: Trilene knot Fluoro: Trilene knot Braid: Trilene knot Braid to fluoro/mono leader: uni-to-uni knot

Jig for me too!!!!

Welcome to Bass Resource and thank you for your service.

I like beer too. In fact, I like it so much that I stopped drinking it (and all alcohol) 12 years ago. I totally understand the honest intention of "I'm only going to have a couple" and then finding myself drunk. I envy people who can stop after a couple. I'm not one of those people. There will be no lecture in here and I don't have a soapbox, but if you are truly concerned about getting too intoxicated in certain situations then you shouldn't drink any alcohol in those situations. If you can live without the buzz but still want the taste there are some pretty good N/A beers out there. O'Doul's would not be one of my top choices though, sorry guys, I'd rather drink Busch N/A before O'Doul's. @J Francho mentioned Kaliber which is good. Beck's and Clausthaler also make a good one. My favorite is St. Pauli Girl N/A. Delicious!!!

Yup. Face shield, hat, long sleeves, sun gloves. Started wearing these just last summer and it was the first year in over 40 years that I didn't get sunburned. Hopefully I wised up in time and have avoided future skin cancer.

This year I'm going to try spinnerbaits. I've never fished one so I think it's time.

So far in 2017 I have caught exactly ZERO bass...

While on vacation at Kentucky Lake the past 2 years our most productive bait for ledge fishing has been a Rage Bug on a swing head.

I have no opinion or experience with any of these hooks, but I'm not sure what hooks you want feedback on. You asked for opinions on two weighted swimbait hooks but mentioned Gamakatsu, VMC, Trokar and Berkley Fusion 19 hooks. I'm assuming you want comparisons between VMC and Fusion 19?

When I saw the title I thought this topic was about the TV show... ha-ha.

Heck yeah! Great fish Derek!!!!

It was obviously a new world record!

Welcome to Bass Resource Colonel!! Here is a link to a Bass Resource video that explains how to Texas-rig a soft plastic bait (like a BPS Stik-O). https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/texas-rig-bait.html

Great message Meatloaf and a pat on the back for paying it forward. And in an unrelated note may I say your written communication skills never cease to amaze me!!

I also agree with 10# fluorocarbon. I use 10# Seaguar Red Label on my NRX MBR 842c and have no complaints.

Tackle Trap X3. I own two NRX rods and they were both purchased from them as rep samples/demo rods but delivered with stickers/tags/plastic and looked brand new. And both were approximately 30% off retail price.

Yup. Last year while on vacation at Kentucky Lake we ran out of PBJ Structure (Rage) Bugs and started looking for them at local stores. The only color we could find was Bama Craw which worried me because all the other colors were sold out. Why wouldn't the locals buy Bama Craw? Hmmmm, we figured because it must not be a good color. But we bought them anyway and had to go back 2 days later to buy more because the fish loved it.

Welcome to Bass Resource from one of your neighbors from the north!

So far in 2017 I have caught ZERO bass. But thanks for asking........

These are the only two NRX rods I own! The NRX MBR 842c and NRX JWR 893c. I bought them both as demo/rep samples for less than $400 each and they were brand new in plastic with tags. I don't know how you being in Canada affects the pricing though? Hope you are able to get these rods, you WON'T regret it!!

Yup, I feel your pain. I remember EVERY big fish that I've lost and there's always a couple each season. But think of it this way. If you just knew that every time you set the hook you were going to land the fish then fishing wouldn't be as exciting.

Welcome to Bass Resource. Make sure you go to the Fishing Locations section here. Inside the Northeast locations there is a thread called "Maryland's Who's Who!". Lots of good local fisherman in there to talk to. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/43647-marylands-whos-who/

My grandson has outfished me 30 to 0 on that very combo on more than one occasion.