Turkey sandwich

How does working out effect anything?

Welcome!

Great fish! Looks like a tiger musky, and 48" is a monster!

If you can, pick up a 3 weight and learn to cast. Fishing mountain rivers for cuthroat, brookies, and rainbows is amazing.

You're supposed to soak the tube in gasoline and burn it off. The flames cure the blank.

Unlikely. They've already discontinued the Rage and have 3 other series at $90-$120. The new Mojo won't be $100 rods.

It'll likely replace the Rage series at the $150-$170 price point. As it is, St Croix already has 3-4 series built on the SCII blank at the $90-$120 price point.

Congrats! Those are incredible fish... And in the same year.

Rage are prob still on sale on the st Croix site for $89. I have two. They're good rods. Avid/Avid X start at $200 and it's hard to find anyone who doesn't love them.

It's awesome that you're seeing some success. Staying motivated without it is very hard. I would stick to the more general advice listed, and not pay too much attention to anyone talking about specific lures,etc. Right now, you need to build patience and learn to take in what you're seeing on the water. Find fishing buddies, and pay attention to what they do when they're successful. There is no short cut. There is no magic lure. There are no secrets. Learn basic techniques like Texas rigging, Carolina rigging, and how to throw basics like spinnerbaits. You'll spend a lot of time obstruction free, and what you'll learn from fishing those types of rigs, you can apply to almost anything else.

The Chronarch is easy to handle, casts well, and is easy to upgrade with bearings if you ever feel like it. Also, it's nearly impossible to backlash unless you try. I've taught three first time/novice baitcasters with them this summer and they all loved them and had no problems. Spooled with braid, they're extremely smooth.

I would tie a C-Rig just like Smokinal suggested. That said, I'm almost definitely not throwing one in a river with any respectable current. The idea that river rocks won't beat up line is totally false. Rub braid on a boulder and bad things will happen. Also, that's asking to spend a lot of time clearing snags. I'll work a jig or drop shot on those ledges, but I wouldn't reach for the C-rig in any real current because it'll make me hate fishing.

There are a ton of threads on River fishing for smallmouth. Give them a look over.

My thoughts kind of mirror most of the comments. Most of my newer rods are "micro", but they vary considerably in size (Veritas, Rage, Avid X). I find that the micros on the Rages are the smallest and the only change I would make to the rods would be slightly larger guides. The sensitivity and control are great, but I feel that casting would be improved with bigger guides. Part of my issue, I think, is that the guides run the same size regardless of the power/action of the rod. If I ran small diameter flourocarbon through all of the rods, I probably wouldn't notice much, but on my jig/worm rod the knot connecting 40lb braid and 12lb mono doesn't flow as freely as my lighter outfits. I think I'm also reaching the conclusion that for future H and MH rods, I'll be looking for more traditional, or at least larger guides.

Learn to identify pools, runs, riffles and bends. The above is all good advice. Don't get on the water without grubs and tubes, and smallmouth on topwater are super exciting.

Pretty much is ^ Frog on top. Jigs and Texas Rigs (worms, craws or beavers. Lizards have always only been a spring time thing for me) through the slop and over any hard cover. Don't be afraid to drag weedless plastics and jigs over stumps - you may get crushed as soon as it hits splashes back to the water). Hit those pockets and edges with topwater. I've gotten monsters (by PA Standards, anyhow) fishing the same type of ponds. If you've never seen a big largemouth blow up a frog, prop bait, or buzz bait through duckweed, it's incredible.

I've seen them in stores and have handled them some. what did they compare to on the water?

This thread rocks. By the time I was in high school, I was spoiled. Through parents, friends, teachers, and my ability to grow a beard and go to bars by the time I was 15, I got exposed to a lot of cool stuff from jazz to metal and classical. Still, had it not been for old Aerosmith, Zeppelin, G'n'R, and the Black Crowes, I would have probably never bought a guitar. Also, I was a 90s kid, so Primus, Soundgarden, RHCP, etc were all in their prime. It was a good time to be a kid who liked music.

I grew up in nepa, just on the oversize of the Poconos from a lot of the folks posting. Rivers: Susquehanna North Branch - still an awesome smallmouth fishery, despite some of the lower river's problems. The river is still one of the best smallmouth fisheries, anywhere. It's also great walleye and musky waters. Delaware River - the trout fishing further up nor and striper fishing down south are what it's known for, but there are some really gorgeous stretches that also have quality smallmouth and walleye. Lehigh/Little Lehigh - great trout stream that opens up to multi species the closer you get to the Delaware River. Lakes - not a ton of bigger lakes, but there are some that are Poconos/Poconos-ish that produce solid fish. Lily Lake, Frances Slocum, Prompton Reservoir, and Shahola Lake are all solid fisheries that haven't been mentioned (I don't think). Other spots like Harvey's Lake are deep enough to produce solid cold water species. I'm also in Philly and make the trip north to fish the Susquehanna on weekends whenever I can because it's that good. Feel free to PM me, and i'llbeglad to help you. Also, whoever mentioned Plattsburgh - the area is incredible. if I recover well from back surgery this month, the St. Regis Wilderness area is a kayak trip I'm all about.

I fish the North Branch, and have had a lot of great days in terms of numbers this year. Not a whole lot of pigs, though. 1) current effects everything. 2) beware of rocks. (I wouldn't be in a hurry to stick even someone else's fiberglass boat in the river for most stretches) 3) regarding current - it brings food, but takes energy to swim in, so look for current breaks, eddies, and transitions to/from pools. Riffles will hold numbers, but quality fish could be anywhere with deep water/slack water access. 4) about those rocks... They're awesome at holding big smallmouth and he Susquehanna is loaded with Boulder fields. Use the search feature for anything else. There's a ton of good river fishing info on here.

Shahola is is killer lake if you like flipping, pitching, and throwing frogs. I don't know if it gets deeper than 10 feet and it grows big fish.

They're great rods. Anything with a SCIII or better blank will be sensitive. If you're going to compare price points, I really like the Avid/AvidX/LTB rods and they're really hard to beat for under $300. Now, if you're looking to compare against NRX/GLX/etc at the the high end price point, try the Elites and Extremes. Both are built on awesome technology, and a lot comes down to grip preference.

Man, I have to talk to you guys more about where you're getting your deals on reels. I looked at a Tatula today while restocking at a tackle shop and I didn't find the body that big or awkward. I may pick up a Tatula for one of my next casting reels. Much like Chronarchs and Curados, it's rare to read anything really negative about their performance.

I remember learning to fish T-rigs and C-rigs before anything else. If you put the time in to learn how and when to use the other tools in your box, you'll see a change. Until then, knowing how to work basic soft plastics will put fish in your boat. Since you're confident with worms, start throwing jigs more. They fish similarly, and the quality of fish typically improves.

Welcome, man! Feel free to ask questions. Beginner's questions are totally welcome as much as the advanced stuff. We were all new once.