Steveo-1969

I've used this technique before and it works great. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/12981-how-do-i-remove-a-hook-a-bass-has-swallowed/page-2

Congrats, what a great fish! I leave for my annual fishing trip on KY Lake in 37 days. Not that I'm counting or anything.....

I have no experience with a Smoke BC reel, but I fished with a buddy's 7' MH Smoke rod for a couple hours last summer fishing a football head jig and t-rig and loved it. (He had an EXO reel on it). It was noticeably more sensitive than the Carbonlite rod I was using and that couple hours of fishing with his rod helped me decide to upgrade my jig/worm rod this winter.

Most of the smallies I catch aren't any bigger, but man they are fun! Congrats on your first smallie, hope the future gives you many many more!!!!

I like the Buckeye JWill swimbait heads for the 4". For the 3" a jighead with a 1/0 hook. Never fished the 2" Ripple Shads.

I have a Revo S that's a couple years old, has had no maintenance on it (I know, shame on me) and it still works great.

Mine is a Loomis walleye jig pitching rod WPJR 821S GLX. Mag-light power and XF action. 3000 size Stradic CI4+ spooled with 10# Sufix 832 and an 8# fluoro leader (brand varies). I am seriously in love with this setup.

On my spinning rods I've been using braid with fluorocarbon leader for a couple years now with no complaints. I also used braid on my baitcasting rods, but about a month ago I spooled up a reel with 12# Invizx. So far I haven't seen any manageability issues. I do apply KVD L&L conditioner the night before a fishing trip though.

http://muskyinnovations.com/chatterbait.htm

My family and I are taking our 5th annual vacation at Kentucky Lake this year, we will be there from May 30 - June 6. We always stay at Shawnee Bay Resort near Benton, KY. Very friendly owners and nice cabins. They have a marina right at the resort to launch and keep your boat in a covered slip during your stay.

Yes I am (at least for now). I don't know enough about super high-end reels yet so the bait monkey hasn't been bugging me about upgrading. I've had my spinning combo for a year and it's still my dream. GLX rod and Stradic CI4+ reel. Just bought my dream baitcasting combo this year. NRX rod and Curado I reel. Every time I cast it I just giggle...

Well, it depends......

I carry a very small tackle bag when I'm shore fishing (or wading) and don't have much room for line. I bought 2 small 25 yd. spools of leader line a couple years ago that fit nicely in the bag. When they run low I fill them up by hand from a larger (and cheaper) spool at home.

X3. You can find them on Amazon for about $30.

X5. My go-to rod for river smallie fishing is a MLXF spinning rod.

Last night I put a 7/8" black chair leg cap on my NRX 893. By adding 4 nickels inside it the balance feels much better and the tip is now light as a feather. I didn't need to tape it, the cap wasn't easy to get onto the rod butt and it's not coming off. Thanks for the tip guys!!

Ditto. After I watched a video of Aaron Martens holding his spinning rod like this and explaining better leverage and less fatigue I practiced this until it became second nature.

Your reel should have come with a little fold-out "owner's manual" that has a picture of the brake drum and instructions on how frequently to oil it.

Caught my first bass of the season yesterday on a SK swim jig with Menace grub trailer. I won't tell you how little (er, I mean BIG) it was though...

Welcome! I'm a transplanted cheesehead that grew up about 10 miles from Winnebago.

I agree, maybe try a different brand of fluoro. When I first started using fluoro leaders I was using 17# Berkley Vanish (w/ 30# braid mainline) and had problems with the leader breaking on the hookset. Since then I've used 3 different brands of Seaguar (Red Label, Abrazx, Invizx) and haven't broken a leader since then. I've always used a uni-to-uni knot with more wraps on the braid and less on the fluoro to get the knots about the same size. A Trilene knot for attaching fluoro to the bait or hook.

From what I've read the rainbow and steelhead are basically the same fish, but are differentiated by where they live and how big they get. If they live in the Great Lakes they are called steelhead, so you caught a steelhead. I think...

Here are a couple other threads that also address your question: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/154233-new-spinning-rod/ http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/154379-st-croix-avid-vs-other-spinning-rod/

Pretty simple goal for me this year: just get out fishing as much as I can.

Actually I opened this topic because I've never caught a bass on a chatterbait and just bought a couple to try this year. I'll be reading all chatterbait related topics for any tips/tricks.