MIbassyaker

In-line spinner fans represent! 👊

I think you generally want them to be about the same, but I tend to err on the side of more $$ into the reel for baitcasting, and more into the rod for spinning.

I was thinking about how I'd answer this, and realized I agreed with the original post and all the replies. So I guess I have a boring answer: It depends. I bring 5-6 rods in the kayak and 2 rods on foot, rigging carefully chosen ahead of time for presentations I expect to be successful based on place, time of season, and conditions. Often those setups are chosen specifically for double-duty, expecting to change lures. For instance, If I think a topwater bite is likely to slow down once the sun is up, I'll expect to change lures on that rod to something else if and when that happens, and plan accordingly. Sometimes those carefully-chosen plans work out, and sometimes I get to the water and discover I was completely wrong, and I have to make some changes. I don't carry that much tackle anywhere I go -- In the kayak I have a small zippered bag of plastics, and 4 or 5 3500-sized plano boxes of tackle in a crate behind me. On foot, about the same in a backpack. And that's it. On some trips I never open any of it, except to replace torn-up plastics, and never change lures. On other trips I'm digging in there periodically to, say, switch weights if I decide to move deeper or shallower, fish different kinds of cover, or otherwise change to a different presentation if something isn't producing, or to take advantage of a change in conditions. I also have to replace lost lures or hooks that have been bitten or broken off with some frequency. I fish a variety of environments that pose different hazards for lures, including heavy vegetation, rock and rip-rap, trees, bushes and submerged wood, docks and other man-made structures. And most of these places also have toothy beasts swimming around that could be encountered on any cast. So while I would often prefer to not switch lures (and sometimes I never have to) there are a lot of things that simply end up making me dig into my tackle at least a few times during a trip, and sometimes pretty frequently.

It's tough out there. It's been 2 years since I caught a 5lber (pike, bowfins, & catfish excluded).

What if the water is...in the woods??

I don't weigh every fish, but I can estimate a 5-best weight based on a conversion formula from length. Keeper size minimum for bass in MI is 14". This year, out of 31 trips, 8 times I caught five keepers, and 12 times I caught no keepers. Six times I had a bag of 10lb or more, and my biggest bag is estimated to have been 14.2lb. My average bag of all trips would have been 4.6lb. Average bag of just the 8 trips where I caught 5 keepers is 10.6lb

Relax, guys. Nobody is going to make you read a book.

Yet here you are, moderating a forum!

I know it's not Winter yet, but I can't resist giving this old thread another bump, as I think about how I'm going to occupy myself for the next few months... A few recent acquisitions: I don't know if these are any good, but they all looked interesting. The Grand River book (my home river system) is written from a fly-fishing perspective, but includes bass and has a lot of detail on the food chain and habitat in different river sections and major tributaries.

There are a number of adjustments you could make if they will follow but not commit. This sort of thing can mean their activity level is right, but something about your presentation turns them off upon closer inspection. Changes to bait size, color, or retrieve speed can sometimes help. But it may also be visibility: if you can see them, they can see you. It might be more useful to just be stealthier. Try to stay low, avoid casting a looming shadow from above. Avoid sudden movements, and try to walk quietly and carefully on the bank.

As resident King of the Two-Pounders, I welcome you to our land.

I always forget about this thread -- a few odds and ends from my season this year:

Interesting. By that rule, all but one body of water I regularly fish would be a pond. People here think of "ponds" as manmade bodies of water, usually small, but not always; usually behind a dam, but not always. Two of the larger bodies of water near me, impoundments of the Muskegon River, are known as "Croton Dam Pond" (1230 Acres) and "Hardy Dam Pond" (2775 acres). Whereas most natural standing bodies of water of glacial origin here are "Lakes", regardless of size, and can be anywhere from a dozen acres to, well, millions of acres.

Interesting -- I found this: https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/fishing/fish-warm-water/Tiger-Muskies-Brochure-2014.pdf Apparently, stocking Tigers in a couple lakes has improved the trout fisheries there as well, because the muskies control invasive suckers and goldfish that were causing the trout to decline.

That's why you buy more than one.

that's what I use too -- they're dirt cheap, as accurate as anything else (or better), and fit nicely in a zippered pocket on my pfd. May as well buy 3 or 4 for that price.

I've visited all 50 states (and 6 Canadian provinces), but only fished MI, MN, WI, ND, SD, MT, CA, NJ and PA, mostly places where I have lived or had family in the area. And about half of those only once or twice, with limited success.

...and in addition to ice fishing, a number of Great Lakes rivers get a big run of Steelhead that continues all winter where the water isn't still enough to freeze.... So the fishing doesn't necessarily end, just the open water bassing (or most of it, anyway)

Single colorados have at least three potential presentation advantages over a double-willow or tandem style that can be useful in colder or darker conditions: 1. They can be fished more slowly 2. The blade puts out a higher-amplitude vibration 3. They can be "helicoptered" vertically by letting them fall through the water column

Eh. You don't "need" anything. Unless you're a pro, fishing is recreation. If you're not feeling it right now, then take a break and do something else. I mean, I like live music but don't always feel like going out. So I don't. Sometimes I'd rather do something else. So I do that instead.

#1, Back to Basics: "When you first started bass fishing, it may have been with simple lures like a spinnerbait or Texas-rigged plastic worm. " Hey, spinnerbaits and plastic worms are not as simple as they seem -- easy to learn, but a lifetime to master!

...and the hits keep comin'