David D.

I have a 7'1" MH/F *** and I love it. The grip has a slightly different profile from what I would consider 'normal', but I have quickly come to like it. I use it for plastic and jigs but even as an all-around rod, I would highly recommend it. That all being said, my next rod is a St. Croix Mojo Bass glass rod for crankbaits.

Topwater frogs are getting fun with the emergence of more vegetation. I'm also having good luck with jerk baits, jigs, and T-rigged creature baits that I run across beds. Of course, Senkos and other stick baits always catch fish

Check YouTube, I saw a couple of the older shows there a few weeks ago.

For me it is C-rigs and tubes. The local ponds that I fish are way overfished so I have had to learn how to present lures that fish haven't seen too often. Is has been frustrating at times, but it has also given me confidence in lures that I never thought I would have faith in... And more than that it has taught me patience

I carry a Plano tackle bag with five 3700 size boxes, with a worm binder and the other odds and ends in side pockets. All that is joined by 2 or 3 rods.

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that the 'leader material' was the same stuff as the filler spool, just not as much per box since you won't be completely spooling up a reel with it.

Abu Garcia Revo STX Gen 3. I just got into baitcasters a couple of months ago and took the advice from here about not skimping out on a reel. It has been a wonderful reel and has since been joined by a Speed Spool.... Now I'm going to be adding a Shimano soon (just have to decide which one).

Honestly, pretty much any knot will work. I can get my 3 year old cousin to tie one of her "knots" and it will work just fine. All it has to do it hold the line in place while you spool line over it. You shouldn't ever get down to the point where the knot is the difference between landing and losing the fish. But I personally use an arbor knot.... Never have had a problem with it on any reel.

Hey guys, I currently have a Gander Mountain GSX Elite 6'6" MH paired with a Revo STX. Now I'm looking to get another good (for me) rod and I have pretty much settled on an *** Black because my local store carries them and I need a new rod by Thursday for a family fishing trip so I don't have time to order online. I primarily fish crankbaits, spinners, jigs and t-rigged plastics and was wondering what action and speed y'all would recommend that I add to the lineup. This new rod will most likely be paired with my current Lew's SS. Should I add another MH, or a M...or heck, is there a reason for me to add a H that I'm not seeing? I apologize if this type of question has been beaten to death, I'm still fairly new here, and being in school right now I don't have time to search through for similar threads. Thanks for the help!

Trailer: Hook, not plastic. I have tried the plastic trailer, and I didn't notice a difference. I tried the trailer hook with plastic and the movement just felt a little too erratic. Just a trailer hook? Definitely have more hook-ups.

A Lew's Speed Spool on a 7'1" *** Black MH would make for a good all-around casting setup.

I think back about what worked and what didn't and the possible reasons for each.... and then think about what exams I have coming up to prepare for

I cast just far enough to get stuck in the closest tree.... Every time.

For fishing a couple times a month it will do more than you will ask of it. I have one and have been fishing it probably 3-5 times a week for the past two months and it hasn't missed a beat.

A 5" black w/ red flake Senko is a terrible choice... Seriously, the fish don't give you a break when you put one on the hook

If I was going to get a new reel right now it would be one of the new Shimano Curado I series (actually, it's on my wish list). Out of the 3 on your list, I would take the Lew's.

I have a Garcia Revo STX that has the dual system and then I have the Lew's that you are wondering about (magnetic brake only). While I enjoy both, I do prefer the Revo. I set the centrifugal brake and then pretty much leave the magnetic on zero and don't worry about a thing. With the Lew's I have to do some adjusting depending on what I'm throwing and how I'm throwing it, but after using it a little it is simple. For the price, I really like the Lew's that I've got. But my next reel will most likely be centrifugal only.

I've caught about 75 bass so far this year, largest being a little under 6 lbs. Most were caught with a chart/orange spinner, but a lot have also gone for T-rigged plastics. I get to fish probably 3 or 4 times per week after I'm done with classes for the day as long as I don't have any exams or anything coming up to worry about so the time that I'm out fishing adds up... even if it is rarely for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time.

I don't see that fish being anywhere near 30". I would put him around the 4 lb mark. Here is a picture of my friend with a 23.5" fish (.5" short of being keeper length!) that weighed about 8 lbs. Your friend's fish does not look anywhere near that big. And 30" fish are generally pushing 16 lbs..... which that one certainly isn't.

Here's a little fishing report that I made following my trip there. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/134931-gibbons-creek-reservoir-tx/

Howdy guys! A friend and I went fishing Gibbons Creek Reservoir this past weekend (Friday and Saturday), and I decided to get a little early spring fishing report out about it. Overall, the fishing was very slow, we only landed about 9 fish over the two days (with a couple others that threw the hook before we got them in the boat). It was very windy both days, with sustained winds about 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph. Early in day one, my friend landed a very nice largemouth that we ballparked around 8 lbs (scale's battery was dead). That really got our hopes up, but it would be the biggest fish of our trip by far. That big one was caught with a T-rigged trick worm, but for the most part we couldn't get bites on plastics. As for quantity of bites, spinnerbaits did the best for us (chartreuse and orange/white). Crankbaits also caught a couple fish. As a whole, this weekend was more of an example why the sport is called 'fishing' rather than 'catching'. However, a slow day on the water beats any day sitting at home! It was also disappointed that half of the lake was very difficult because of stumps just below the surface of the water. We didn't even try to get back there because we didn't want to risk damaging the boat.

The course is actually open to the public, to spectate. However, there are designated areas where spectators can be. If you mean that the public is not allowed to play at the same time as the pros, then you'd be correct. However, that is because the course is not large enough to allow for that. A large lake is plenty big to allow both professional anglers and others to fish at the same time; boundaries just need to be set. Did you know that golf courses that are hosting PGA tournaments are actually closed to the public beginning about a month before the tournament? Should that also be done on lakes prior to big tournaments? My point is just that comparing a golf tournament to a fishing tournament is apples to oranges.