Logan S

In that price range I would strongly recommend the Megabass XX Extreme Mission Type-F (7'5" MH/F). It will handle all of those techniques well as long as the 1/2oz football is the heaviest you go...But it sounds like you have a rods for heavier jigs already so the EMTF should be a good fit. IMO the Megabass XX line outperforms it's price tag and the EMTF is one of the best rods in the series. I would personally use 2 (or maybe 3) rods to cover those techniques you listed...But I would have no problems at all if I wanted to or had to fish all of them on my EMTF.

It's a shame I didn't catch any fish when I ran way up here with the gopro on since it's such a great backdrop...

That was eye opening to me, more so becasue a lot of it was with frogs which is low on the "color matters" list for many. I think it's also important to note that it mattered to him on that day. Put him on another body of water at a different time while fishing with different techniques and it may not have been as important of a factor to him. I'm in the camp that it matters when it matters...And sometimes it matters a lot, other times not so much.

One fluid motion and the follow through is very important. The follow through is just slowly lifting the rod tip up as the bait travels. It is also important to not get right up on the dock/cover, leaving yourself more space will actually make getting more distance easier. Use your normal reel braking settings but tighten the spool tension just a hair. You don't need to over power the cast, just a nice fluid motion...Typically the bait is not travelling very far. Any head shape will work and flat shaped trailers with a little bulk can make things a little easier starting out. The actual bait itself doesn't make a huge amount of difference though, technique and practice are the keys to getting it down. Shameless showing off below, but it's a good example of the proper motion .

Either of those colors would be a good choice. I have both colors in 580 glass and would be perfectly fine if they were my only pair. The one difference between the two that I've found is that the green is better if you are looking for fish/objects that are in/around stuff like grass, wood, etc. Silver is better at spotting fish/objects against more uniform backgrounds like sand, rocks, etc... I think for the fishing you're going to do around here green is the way to go.

Meh, people are going to do what they do. I take pics of fish on the carpet occasionally if I'm alone in the boat. I boat flip fish a lot too. I'm not going to intentionally cause undue harm to the fish, but I'm not going to walk on eggshells either. Everyone starts somewhere, new anglers are often so excited to catch a nice fish that they don't realize what they're doing. As they catch more fish their fish care will get better. MLF is a made-for-TV program and the penalties are just TV fodder...If MLF's rules were actually geared toward protecting fish they would force the anglers to land fish in rubber landing nets while still not letting it hit the carpet. The landing penalties are there to make the angler flip or hand-land the fish, which provides more of an opportunity for lost fish or barely landed fish - AKA Drama. I enjoy MLF very much, but I recognize it for what it is.

I've found that most baits these days don't need to have the trebles changed. I will swap hooks on certain baits but it's more for adjusting float/fall rate or to get a stronger hook, not becasue the stock hooks aren't good enough. There are very few baits that I regularly use where I consider the stock hooks to be junk... If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it at all right now.

I think you're overdoing it with that list and all the extra blades. Since you're new to the technique I'd start small and just get a few. Once you've put some time in you'll realize what works for you and what doesn't and then you can expand the collection. You could just start with 1 double willow, 1 tandem, and 1 double Colorado and be covered for everything. Wait to do the tinkering until after you've learned a little bit. If you want your spinnerbaits to last longer, tie off the R-bend with some braided line. See the pic below. It won't get bent nearly as bad by fish and will last longer. It'll still break eventually, but you'll get a lot more fish on it before it does. I got probably 30 or so fish on this one before it died...Another benefit is that they seem to break when you tie them off, so you'll lose blades but not the fish.

Trailer hook 100% of the time for me. Soft plastic trailer rarely, if I do it will be a swimbait tail to add more bulk in dirty water. Retrieve style varies greatly, but a quick steady retrieve over or around visible cover and/or grass is a good, easy place to start. Pick any brand in your price point, these days they are all decent enough...I prefer the compact styles for my waters and style. I use double willows most often for my waters and they are the most versatile IMO. Deeper and/or slower I'll use double Colorado blades. I don't use tandem blades (one willow, one Colorado) very often, but they are good for when you want be fast but run slightly deeper as they have less lift than double willow. For colors, it's mostly shad patterns for me but I do like a green pumpkin or bluegill color now and then too. MH power rod and most often 15lb flourocarbon. Regarding trailer hooks, it's not just about short strikes...Sometimes it's the speed that's triggering the strikes in the first place. A spinnerbait is an awkwardly shaped bait and many times the bass are actually striking the blades and not the body/hook. Trailer hook is a good way to increase your odds in all scenarios. The right sized trailer hook isn't really any more snag-prone than fishing without one, so to me there's no reason not use one. The 'right' size varies, but it's usually a size or 2 smaller than the main hook...I try to keep the end of the trailer hook about even with the tip of the blade.

3/8 Jig - Black/Green. It gets my biggest LM of the year more often than not...and stuck my #1 and #2 LM of the year on the same tournament day this year . One of these was 6-1 and the other was in the upper 5 range (didn't weigh the second one). Coincidentally, my biggest smallie of the year was also on the same jig, but it was only in the 3 lb class...It's usually a little better and on something different, but oh well...No complaints .

I've done it with a piece of one of those round foam pool noodles. You can just poke the hook into the foam, wrap line around it and then poke the swivel in. Holds them pretty well but will crumble/deteriorate after a while in the boat, one noodle will make many rig holders though so just replace as needed. I think it's more trouble than it's worth and don't keep pre-made rigs anymore...But the foam noodle works well if you're going to do it.

Absolutely, we don't expect people to commit to anything beforehand. FOBA doesn't have any commitment requirements anyway, members can participate as much or as little as they like. Shoot me a PM for more details if you're interested, I'm sure you know where SVHS is but I can give you the room number and all that stuff. (Same thing applies to anyone else reading this as well)

We don't have any tournaments in March. If we did, it would likely be on the Potomac (as was our tradition for a while)...But we start in April now. PS, there are other places to fish around here....You should try them sometime .

Good to hear . First meeting of the year is next Wednesday at SVHS in Germantown (7PM), hope to see some new faces there! Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend. Anyone is also free to shoot me a message for more info.

People may or may not agree with this...But I consider rods to be rated the following regardless of what the manufacturer writes on the blank. It's a generalization, but it's served me well. Medium = up to 5/8oz or 3/4oz Medium Heavy = up to 1oz Heavy = up to 1.5oz To answer your question, yes use the the lure and line ratings to see the 'true' power rating of a rod.

I think that's a little overly dramatic.... I don't think many people use oils anyway, most people I know use dish soap (myself included). It clears about a 15' circle for about 15 minutes before being washed out. One dock owner washing his boat one time is going to put more soap in the lake than I will in several seasons. Two wrongs don't make a right...But I'm comfortable with it personally and I don't believe it's doing any harm. I can live with effecting a 15' circle for 15 minutes on a 20,000+ acre lake. I wouldn't use oils, but if you're talking dish soap too we'll just agree to disagree. FWIW, some people also just use their spray scents....The oils in those have the same effect, something to think about if you are concerned about the oils on the water surface and use those scents.

Red Label = Good all around line for a good price, but does not last as long the others before getting brittle and coiled. InvisX = Very limp and easy to cast, good for spinning tackle especially. More stretch than the other 2 but it's not too bad overall. AbrasX = Excellent all around line. A little stiffer but not too bad, especially if you're used to RL as a main line. Only drawback is the price. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I use mostly Red Label personally...With some AbrasX in 17 or 20 lb here and there. I respool frequently anyway so the shorter life of RL doesn't bother me too much.

Normally, I agree with that... But sight fishing for bedding bass is different. Being able to clearly see the fish and the bed is a big advantage, so taking a wind ripple and pollen out of the equation helps a great deal.

Not really new...guys have been using vegetable oil to slick off the water for sight fishing for a long time. It does work, BASS has even done some articles on it. It also disperses yellow pollen from the surface which helps a great deal as well, especially around here . Dish soap also works (which is what I use)...Only need a tiny amount of either, like 1 spoonful total. The squirt gun rides in the rod locker during April/May just in case it's services are needed .

I think it's supposed to be sort of a hybrid crank/jerk......I use it as a deeper running jerkbait and it works well.

Yes we have both. I don't think I can post it in the public forum, but it's in my profile. Our name, Fish On Bass Anglers, is all you need to know to find it . Feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like any more info.

Hey Kris, You can tell him to check us out...Fish On Bass Anglers. Open year round to anyone and everyone. I made a post a few day back about it. We're based in Montgomery, but fish all the major lakes/rivers in the region.

I also cut the hook eye for my Buddy replacement hooks, no split rings. #6 on the 1/2oz and #4 on the 3/4oz. I've used several different hook models and don't really have a favorite, but I like to use lighter wire trebles becasue they seem to pop free of snags easier (before using the hound dog).

I prefer FC for the simple fact that it's more sensitive than mono. The sinking/floating aspect is too small to be of real significance IMO. FC does actually stretch too (despite what the box says ), some FC's stretch as much or more than some mono's...So I wouldn't base a decision on stretching properties. For me it just comes down to sensitivity, I can feel what my bait is doing better with FC...I can also feel some strikes on the pause that I believe I wouldn't feel with mono. I sometimes use braid mainline on small size jerkbaits (Pointer 65 size), but not very often. Braid blows/bows in the wind too much which makes it more difficult to feel what's going on....I also don't like how 'direct' the movement is with braid on jerkbaits. I only use braid when I need the casting distance of a small diameter line but more strength than the 6lb FC I normally use for these small baits.

Just wanted to do an annual post about FOBA. If you are in the MD/DC/NOVA area and looking for a club check us out. We are open to all (boaters and co-anglers) and have a great learning/sharing environment. I know it's a ways off til the first tournament in April, but we still meet every month. If you'd like any info feel free to ask or shoot me a PM. 2017 Schedule: