EmersonFish

One thing to remember is that "Pro Staff" stands for "Promotional" staff, not "Professional" staff. There are a lot of people these days who are on a company's "Pro Staff" who are mainly guys who produce You Tube videos, "product reviews" and things like that, and in exchange for getting rebates on a products, they endorse the heck out of them. They may not even fish competitively, but if they can get a lot of clicks and views, they bring some value to the relationship. Of course, there are Pro Staffers who run the gamut from guys who travel to all of the trade shows, to high level professional fishermen. In the case of the latter, the distinction between sponsorship and pro staff might be a little more gray, and may be more about semantics; but I can't say. There is probably someone here who would have a better understanding of how it works at that level than I do.

Don't know how many I have, but my goal for next year is to take it all the way down to 3 baitcasters for tourneys (co-angler and solo); one of those being for big cranks. So with one spinning rod, I'll only have 4 in the boat. As of now, I'd typically have 6 to 8. So I have to figure out how to get 2 casting rods/reels/lines that cover everything I do except the deep cranks and the finesse stuff. Good news is, I don't throw swimbaits; but it still could be tough.

Personally, for fishing deep cranks, I prefer a lower geared reel. I've never found myself feeling like I needed to reel unreasonably fast, and I feel like I have a better feel for the bait. There is probably a little less tension in my hand and arm as the reel is doing more of the work. It could also be my imagination. No one has ever accused me of being an elite crankbait fisherman.

Bombing big crankbaits is a special situation. You'll obviously have to treat reels you use for that differently than others. I suggest, when it comes to leaders, backing, etc... that people do what they are comfortable with and gives them confidence, even if it costs them a few extra bucks. If I put 60 yards of fluoro on a reel, it's because I intend to essentially fish straight fluoro with it, so if my line gets down to where the fluoro might become a "leader," it's time to put more on. The last thing I would want is a tweener situation where my line to line knot is coming off the reel, but I have way more fluoro out than I'd ever use for an actual leader; if that makes sense. To be honest, I'm still in that trial and error stage with a lot of this stuff where I'm not using my line as economically as I can. Hopefully I'll figure it out and save some money over the long run.

No simpler way to mess up a good reel than with bad knobs. Luckily, Lew's knobs are easy to replace. I can't stand the stock paddle knobs on those reels. I've always taken knobs off of other reels I have around the house and used them. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to call Okuma. If the knobs are not great, and not removable, it may be a call they get fairly often, so they will probably be willing to make it right somehow to keep their customers happy. Otherwise, you might have to get creative with the clip-on washers. They probably won't hurt anything.

That should do ya.

Not sure how experienced you are with baitcasters. The BB1 in the 5.1:1 ratio is a great cranking reel for the money. It's a little less user-friendly than some other reels as far as the brake system, so if you are using it for a wide variety of lures, and would normally make a lot of adjustments based on their weight, it might not be the best option in that regard. And yes, it has way more line capacity than you'll need: but pretty much all bass casting reels do.

I have a Powell Diesel, 7', MH, CB rod I got off of TW for $58 bucks. Decent little rod for squarebills, semi-shallow to medium divers. Too short for my taste, but darn sure worth $58, if you can get one at that price.

That's tough to say. I can tell you that outside of bass fishing circles, '13' isn't particularly well known. Berkley sells a lot of Lightning Rods because you can buy them anywhere from Wally World to BPS, anywhere in the country; and they are very affordable. They are probably a distant second to the Ugly Stik, but well ahead of just about anything else. There may be some other low-end Shakespeare or Berkley combos I'm not aware of that people buy a lot of just right before a vacation. I see a lot of people in line right before a holiday weekend buying combos, and you know they are not spending much.

Depends on how specific of an answer you are looking for. Ugly Stiks sell like crazy, but they only make about 1000 different models in both spinning and casting, for fresh and saltwater applications. I know Tywithay is right about those Ugly Stik Catfish rods. Those things are everywhere. They sell a ton of the basic 5'6"(?) "ultralight" Ugly Stiks too. That's probably the rod the OP is thinking about.

I only have a BPS "Sportsman's Warehouse" near me, which is not nearly as nice as an "Outdoor World." The selection is not what you would hope. DSG is fun to check just to see what may be on clearance. I've saved a fortune there this year, particularly on terminal tackle. I wish there was an Academy close by for their bargain stuff, and a Cab's for their not-necessarily fishing gear. All things being equal, I buy whatever I can at the little local bait and tackle shop in town. They need my money more than the other guys do.

I get more excited about a nice new rod, because in my opinion, it's the more important part of the equation, and I can't wait to see what it feels like in use compared to the countless other rods I've used. Maybe if I get into tweaking reels some day, I'll be more into them; but I keep everything pretty much stock now (except the handle knobs).

I have that little St. Croix Rage 6'8", MXF rod. It's a pretty sweet little rod for the money. I've read some complaints about the quality of the build not always being top notch, but I bought mine in person, looked it over pretty thoroughly, and didn't see any issues. Put a $60 Shimano 1000 on it (I think it balances perfectly with the smaller reel), and I have a pretty versatile set-up that is fun to catch bass on, but is still enough stick to move fish around if you need to. I prefer a bit longer rod typically, but this Rage will get me by until I can afford to upgrade, which will have to be a really sweet stick to justify spending the money.

Don't try and learn every technique known to man right away just because you are hooked on bass fishing and can't get enough. I see guys who want to fish all the time, and when they can't fish, they are reading about it, and when they read about all of the latest techniques they have to go out and buy every lure and every piece of terminal tackle made. They never become particularly proficient at the basics. They may know how to do a lot of things (by the book), but are not well practiced at any of it. Then they see other guys who are using the same techniques consistently outfishing them, and they get discouraged.

The drum bite really seems to be on for me this year. They have developed a taste for Baby Brush Hogs.

I drop shot from the bank a lot. Works great, but weeds and moss can be an issue since you are not able to fish as vertically. Try fishing a finesse worm, weightless with a light wire hook over the top of the weeds and see how that works. You'll give the fish a fairly similar look as the drop shot without as many issues. It takes patience to fish that way, but it's fun. You can always throw a split shot on if you need to speed up the presentation.

I live too far away to help you, but you live in a great area to get into the bass fishing game. I'm sure there are folks that are willing to help you out. I look forward to watching the 'personal best' on your profile go up and up.

Usually, when I am bank fishing, I go to proven places where I know there are fish. I only have a couple of hours, and I'm just trying to have a nice time before I have to go home for the evening. So in those cases, I usually have a pretty good catch rate. Not really fair to compare my boat fishing. I have a whole lot more water to explore and usually a lot more time. I'm searching, trying new things, trying to get better. The bottom line is, it depends on the lake, how much shore access there is, what time of year it is, etc..., but for the most part, if I had to catch a big bag to get paid that day, I'd rather have the boat.

Good combo you have there. I use Lew's reels, and you can't beat them for the money (my opinion, of course). You won't regret the investment in higher quality. And I see you have Butler State Fishing Lake listed as one of your favorites. That little lake has some great channel cat, and some pretty darn good flathead that a lot of people overlook. Don't go telling too may people that though. Don't want a lot of people making that drive out there.

I'm another vote for a plain old tarp and some bungees. I don't get the blue one. The ones I get are silver on one side and brown on the other. They last quite a while, and once you get a system down, they are actually easier to put on than a lot of purpose made boat covers. I just labels the grommets with the color bungee that fits tight. Plus, once they start to wear, you are not out a lot of money.

Table Rock can be a real bear of a lake if you don't know it, and/or don't like deep water/structure fishing; particularly if you're not an early bird who can take full advantage of the morning bite. It also helps if you appreciate the joys of spotted bass fishing, which not everyone truly does. As far as TRL vs. LOZ: The way most people fish (including me), LOZ is a better lake as far as pure fish catching goes; but I'd rather be fishing at TRL because I prefer the overall experience there.

It would have been very rough on me with the boat I have up here. It's a fairly light weight, aluminum boat. It's a v-bottom with the front deck raised up (probably raised too high, if I'm honest). But my biggest concern would have been the runs across the main lake to the weigh in site. If I fish it in the Spring, I'll go down and get my boat that lives at Table Rock. Not that it's ideal. But it's a reliable boat that would be much better for the job. If I don't fish in April, I'll definitely do the Oakley Big Bass Tour event at Table Rock, assuming it happens around May as it usually does. Not as much money at stake, but good hourly prize money, and this year the grand prize was a Nitro Z8.

7.89 won it. Weighed in the first time period this morning. A lot of nice fish were weighed in. I was going to fish this but opted not to because I have not got to fish the lake at all recently due to my broken foot, and I still am not comfortable spending all day alone on the big lake in my old boat. Not that there wouldn't have been plenty of help out there if I needed it. There were probably close to 2000 entries. Not sure what the actual number is. I'll have to check that out.

The serious answer is that regulations regarding such matters vary a great deal from state to state, and even within a state, can vary in certain areas or bodies of water. And the rules change a lot. Most states have changed a lot of rules recently as it pertains to transporting bait due to invasive species concerns. I'd first look at the regulations outlined on your states Parks and Wildlife website; and if there is still some question, which isn't unusual because the regulations can be somewhat ambiguous, you should call and ask specifically about what it is you want to do.

Never used Tatsu, but have the other 3. If you are use to "mono" and will be using 6# on a spinning reel, I think you'll like the Invisx. It's manageable. Might stretch a bit more than some other FC's, but not like mono. I use it in 6# and 8# on spinning outfits, and even 8# on a light casting outfit. I've never used Red Label at 6#, but have used 8# up to 20#, and for the money, I haven't been disappointed. I still use it for leaders because I like the knot it ties when joined with braid. A little more memory than I like for mainline, but at that price point, I think it's really good line. I've only spooled one reel with AbrazX and have not been a huge fan, but the sample size is too small for me to be too critical.