MIbassyaker

That may be the most straightforward rule-of-thumb about gear ratio I have ever heard. Thanks.

Baby steps. Give it time...

My bass seem to like 'em quite a bit on a Texas rig or Mojo rig.

Cabela's has some reels discounted right now below that price; not sure if they'll be an upgrade for you, but Abu Silver Max and Pro Max, Lew's laser MG speed spool, all under 75 right now. Daiwa Exceler at 80.

I dig a power worm or original culprit, but, honestly....I don't think I've ever fished a 7"-7.5" worm I didn't like on a t-rig.

Check out this thread -- lots of really good recommendations: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/153551-whats-your-fav-bass-book Personally, I really like the in-fisherman Largemouth and Smallmouth "handbook of strategies" books, which you can probably get super-cheap used on ebay or amazon. Also, if you can find a copy, "Knowing Bass" by Keith Jones is a canonical source for basic scientific information about bass physiology and behavior as it relates to angling. I also have the two you mentioned, and both came very highly recommended, but I haven't gotten to them yet.

Well, maybe he'll show up and explain. I know for a fact there are many, many better rods than what I use for this...but I don't have those rods, and yet, the one I do have seems to work.

Seems to me as long as you're using light-wire hooks, you shouldn't be more likelty to lose fish on hooksets. and as long as you're checking your line regularly for damage (which you should always do anyway), and retying if necessary, I don't see why you'd have a problem with line breaking. An MF spinning combo with 6 or 8lb trilene is what I use for small keitechs (3"-4") on jigheads and underspins, and I don't have those kinds of issues. Stay within the lure-weight ratings for the rod, and it should work great.

Cool. Your posts inspired me to look up the rods in more detail, and I've put them on my radar.

I don't know yet -- I don't own a baitcasting reel! Total impulse buy. I'm a long time spinning-junkie, never even cast a baitcaster. I've known I wanted to get a nice mid-tier Fenwick for some time. And I've wanted to get a first baitcaster some time soon and start learning it. What I did not know was that my first casting rod would be a deeply-discounted, discontinued mid-tier Fenwick. So I now find myself in the market for a beginner-friendly casting reel. I have heard the seat on these rods doesn't fit some reels very well (some Shimano models in particular, if I recall), so we'll see.

That wasn't the Ike rod you were talking about on the other thread, was it?

I got a copy of that book this summer. Haven't started going through it in detail, but even just flipping through, you can tell it is a book that deserves to be studied closely, not just read.

Ordered Tuesday, arrived Friday. Man, this thing is lighter than air:

Hyperpigmentation. Not uncommon at all. My understanding is that it's probably natural, doesn't affect the health of the fish, and hasn't been linked to any kind of disease or particular environmental condition.

haha, I understand -- my approach is usually just to locate a target price point, and then find the best discount/markdown deal i can on something better that happens to have dropped to that point.

Ah, the famous "Buridan's Donkey" Paradox: A hungry donkey sits between two bales of hay. The bales are equally delicious and equally close. Yet, the donkey starves to death because he never has a good reason to prefer one over the other, and therefore never chooses one to eat. Those are some pretty nice rods. What are the chances, do you think, that after buying any one of them, you'd really wish you'd gotten one of the other two instead? I'm pretty sure I know what the answer would be for me: Slim to none.

A 6' ML Berkley lightning rod, with a older shakespeare agility reel. 6lb trilene XT. Pretty cheapo, but it does the job.

Fishing in South America over Christmas? That's some weapons-grade *** Fuel, right there...

In general, If I bring just two, I want one rod for heavier stuff (3/8 and over), one for lighter stuff (under 3/8oz). Consider shorter lengths than you might use on a boat (especially if you are short, like me -- I don't fish with anything over 7'), and possibly even softer actions. These can help in landing fish, since you are really limited by space and your own armspan. Rod 1: 6'6"-7' baitcaster Medium-heavy power, fast action -- jigs, t-rigs, carolina, spinnerbaits, frogs, buzzbaits, walking baits, heavier cranks. --I'm a spinning junkie and I actually get by with a 6'6" MH-F spinning combo here, but almost everyone else would recommend a baitcaster. --On treble baits like crankbaits and some topwaters, back off the drag a bit. Rod 2: 6' to 6'9" or so spinning, Medium-light power, fast action -- shakey heads, mojo rigs, weightless plastics, drop shot, finesse jigs, lighter cranks and topwaters, light tubes and grubs.

Clearly, the true purpose of the thread has revealed itself as being for groups of victims to support the Bait Monkey. He always wins.

Lol, with all the fancy crafting stuff my wife has in her own personal nook of the family room, she doesn't have the moral authority to question any of my purchases...we have a truce on that front.

Thanks -- I have been looking at those. I have two Pfleuger spinning reels and love them. I was thinking I should have bought two also, one of each of the 1-piece models they had left.

I don't use a net. i should probably get one. I'm also interested in hearing other people's answers. I almost always just lip the fish (or grab behind the head, if it's a toothy bugger), although the majority of the time I'm fishing with single hooks instead of trebles.

What's the weight? You can sort of guesstimate length from width and vice versa.

Maybe you'll be in luck -- actually, I hadn't looked at those before, but they already seem a decent price, as is. I don't know about you, but when I stumble on upon a great deal on something, and pull the trigger, I walk on a cloud for a day. I just ordered, on FFO Tackle (tipped off on another thread), a discontinued Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth Casting rod, 6'9" MH-F. $130 original price with 42% off discount, and an additional -$15 with a current promo code ... so, $60 before tax and shipping. And I don't even use casting gear. I guess I'm going to start. Now I just need a reel...