Ozark_Basser

More info. Where do you fish? What lake(s)? What cover? From boat or shore? In reality, you can use that 7'MH for flipping and frogging, and it will work pretty well, but if you're fishing super heavy cover like punching mats etc. A flipping stick is going to help a lot more. Also, from shore it's nice not to have to lug a flipping stick around, but on a boat its nice to have a stick you can pick up on a whim prerigged to pitch to a laydown etc.

What a monster! I have fished the Bull a lot, but thought of it as more of a lake trout lake than a striper lake as far as those two big fish go. That lake holds Arkansas's state record smallie and spotted bass record along with Missouri's largemouth bass record...... I need to fix my boat.

The FG knot does look interesting, but if the Alberto works fine, I'll probably stick with it. Thanks everyone.

I want to get more into finesse fishing this year. What knot do you guys think is best for say 15-20# braid with a 6-8# fluoro leader? I should add I use the Alberto knot for heavier line. I figured you would have to wrap too many times on light line.

There is no way to answer this question completely without fishing both rods. You can't compare "crankbait" rods to "spinnerbait" rods because the two categories are too broad. Also, what is the brand? Technique specific rods can vary quite a bit between brands.

Most conventional casting rods will not throw a 3 oz swimbait worth a darn. You need to get a big bait rod for anything over 2 oz. I have an xheavy rod I use to throw 2-2.5 oz swimbaits and it is just about overpowered, and its rated up to 2 oz.oz so your MH probably won't do the job to well.

This is almost the exact approach I started taking on a new small body of water I have been fishing. Minus the bluegill swimbait only because I haven't bought one yet, but I have been throwing a weedless Hudd 68 with some success. I've thrown 11" worms and the spro rat both at day and night with little success. The deal has been t rigged beavers, smaller worms, and a bronzeye frog mostly. I also used to fish a different pond where a big worm was the ticket most of the time for fish above 5 lbs. I'm not saying Tom is wrong at all. He knows tons more than I do about catching big bass, and I think his reccomendation is an excellent place to start. My point is that most of the time you just have to keep trying different presentations until you find what works for a particular body of water, and a lot of time it's not your first guess. Like Catt said,

Keep tossing those jigs. If the water is pretty clear you might want to try a t rigged plastic like a d bomb or a kinky beaver. Those have been producing some big fish for me this spring t rigged with a 3/8 oz weight and a 4/0 hook in ponds and small lakes that are clear (4 ft water clarity). I'd pitch them to the cat tails and drag them through cover. Also pay attention to blow ups when you go in the morning. A lot of times that clues me in on where the bigger ones like to hang out. They wont stray far from where they live. It's kind of hard when you have a lot of carp blowing up everywhere though.

Very nice pics indeed. Cool stuff.

My left thumb has seem some turmoil as well. I won't mention the story, but it was my 21st birthday, and a broken jagermeister bottle took a huge gash out of my thumb. I superglued it and wrapped in masking tape.....all good lol.

I owned the gen 2 sx, and I own the gen 3 stx. I also own the curado I. I like the curado I the best. It is built like a tank, and it casts further than both revos. In my opinion, in that price range, Abu Garcia is just not up to par with shimano as far as quality goes. The revos are always nice and super smooth at first, but they tend to go downhill a lot quicker than any shimano I've ever had.

That's awesome! It takes a man to step up to what's going on in his life, and that's what you are doing. I wish you luck.

There really isn't an answer to this question. Patterning fish is a way to simplify your day on the water while still being effective at catching fish. You try some baits in some different spots. If they work, you keep doing it. If they don't, you change it up until you find something that works. You found something that's working, so keep doing it until it doesn't. No need to complicate things.

I like a reel with high IPT with jigs for the reason you mentioned. They also make it easier to keep pressure on the fish.

You will get bit a LOT more if your crainkbait is grinding the bottom or deflecting off of cover. If you are fishing rip rap, just try and and tick your bait off of the bottom rather than grinding it, or you will be spending a lot of money on crankbaits.

Lol for sure! She fought like she was mad too. The reel is a curado I 7.2:1 with 50 # spiderwire stealth. The rod is a North Fork Composites 709HM. It's the same blank that's used in the Zbones.

The frog bite was on this morning while it was raining. Biggest was 23.5" long with a 15" girth and a solid 8 lbs. If you look at the second pic of the big ones mouth, you can see where I ripped the frog out of her mouth on a hookset. She came back for it a couple seconds later. That NFC 709 and braid with the drag locked down is no joke. Lots of power. It definitely helped me winch both of these fish out of the lily pads. Caught a 5 lber as well and lost one that would have been around 5 lbs. Solid morning.

War eagles get bit a lot more for me than strike king or booyah.

I like fishing muddy ponds. The fish are less aware of your presence, and power fishing is generally your best bet, which is the most fun way to fish if you ask me.

For 3/8 oz t rigs on a heavy power rod with a full spool of line, I have two brakes set. The dial set to 2, and the spool tension set pretty loose. I think you're spot on, especially because it is new. I think I used that setting for even heavier lures than you are using when I first got mine a couple of months ago.

I love spooks. Would like to try the duo pencil though.

I watched this the other day. That bass came up and ate his crappie whole. I don't think it was a ten pounder like some of the video titles have stated, but a toad nonetheless.