fishballer06

Side cutters Peroxide Both of them are like a firearm. You hope you never need them, but if/when you do, you'll be glad you have them.

I'm not sure why the new Curado K isn't on this list... but the SV103 is a pretty good reel as well. I use mine for flipping and it does a great job.

I've fished mornings where my partner and I couldn't get bit on a topwater, and then one of us will pick up a Senko or Keitech and it's lights out. Just because first light is prime topwater time for this time of year, doesn't mean that something else will still be more productive.

My heart skips a beat whenever those big smallmouth jump 2 feet out of the water. Especially whenever I'm in really deep water and I can feel them coming up like a rocket. Nice fish.

I always try to fish shade if possible. If you think about it, a bass's eyes are on top of their head and they can't wear sunglasses, so a bright sun will be blinding to them if they don't have some kind of shade over them. Whether it's under overhanging tree's/bushes, underwater vegetation/wood/rocks, or just going to deeper water. So I always take that into consideration when fishing on bright, sunny days in the summer.

FLW Forrest Wood Cup is this weekend. Anybody watching today?

Somebody raided another site's sale. Those 120's are beastly!

Keep up the hard work and keep sharing your video's on here. I'm sure many of us will all enjoy and learn from them.

Your reel should hold up fine in the mean time, however, you're going to need a specific rod for throwing a 2oz crankbait (I'm assuming you bought a 10xd). Your standard cranking rod that you're using for your 6xd's isn't going to cut it here.

You forgot the age old question that gets asked a dozen times every winter... "If you were stranded with only one lure..."

Great video. Thank you for sharing. I like seeing the walleye and smallmouth swimming side by side, and how the smallmouth positioned themselves on that hump.

Twin tail fat albert grub or a Rage Menace grub are my favorite swim jig trailers.

I would have taken a photo of it and at least told them about it. If anything, it will make them aware of a possible problem with the way they package rods if this happens numerous times to them.

I've got the 7'2" MH and I primarily use mine for wobble heads, 1/4-1/2oz Keitechs on a jighead, and for chatterbaits. From what I can tell with my moving baits, it's got great sensitivity and I like the weight of the rod as well. I would say if you're going to fish the majority of your baits in the 1/4oz range, go with the medium. However, if you're going to be using 5/16-3/8oz jigs with trailers on them, you'll want the MH. In my opion, an 1/8oz texas rig with a 7" worm requires a different rod than a 3/8oz. jig and trailer.

I use the Alberto most of the time, and occasionally I'll use the Seaguar knot but I don't like it as much because it doesn't pass through the guides as easily.

Being from PA as well, I'm going to say the "christmas tree" weeds are hydrilla. Bass love these type of weeds. A 1/2 - 3/4oz. texas rig will probably get down through this stuff. Poke and probe around into the weeds with that. It's painfully slow, but if you drop a texas rigged craw or curly tail worm on a bass's head, they'll more often than not bite it out of reaction. Other methods are obviously a hollow body frog like mentioned above. You can also try using a buzzing toad style bait like a Horny Toad (again, rigged texas style) and swim it across the surface. Another bait worth trying is a weightless Fluke rigged texas style. Twitch it along the surface. If there are holes in the weeds, kill it and let it sink down in those holes. The bass will come up and eat it.

I'll subscribe to this theory to a certain extent. I have a few local small ponds that I know I'm about the only fishermen on them and I have noticed this pattern happen in the past. Whether they got smarter or they just weren't hungry I'll never truly know, but I do know what I have seen work and not work historically in certain bodies of water.

The diameter and weight seem a little different than a standard senko. However, the Rage Tail Cut-R makes a great senko after the little tail gets ripped off.

I prefer throwing Keitech's on a 1/2 to 3/4oz. jighead. I can let it sink to my desired depth and having a single hook helps keep the goby's and drum off.

Having a warranty is a good thing, but it's not the most important thing I consider whenever buying a rod. Generally once you get to the $200 price point, everything comes with some sort of warranty. I own everything from Dobyns and GLoomis (lifetime) to St. Croix (15 year), and a few Shimano Zodias and Expride (1 year). If you use a rod for a year and it doesn't break, then the manufacturer made a good rod. After that point, you did something to that rod that made it break (whether you realize you did it or not). Even still, like @RichFsaid, Shimano still has your back after a year if you were to break a rod inadvertently.

If you have a boat, Stonewall Jackson and Cheat Lake are worth checking out. If you're into trout fishing, West Virginia has some awesome trout streams.

This is America, you can do whatever you want... Yes, you can use fluorocarbon for any topwater bait. I've tried it with a popper whenever I've fished some small local ponds and only had one rod with me. It works, and I've caught fish, however, the action was terrible and on long casts, the long lengths of fluorocarbon in front of the popper really pull it nose down and kill the action.

Try the Strike King Ocho and Netbait Salt Lick. Both are more durable than the GY Senko, but are heavier than the dingers and better built for skipping.