Ozark_Basser

I personally think a lot of it is marketing. It matters a little, but not as much as companies would lead you to believe. I don't buy anything according to weight but how it feels in my hand. As far a reels, I focus more on ergonomics and what kind of brakes it has. I love the way a revo feels in my hands, and I love magnetic breaks as opposed to centrifugal brakes. As far as rods, I think sensitivity is getting way too played out. I never have a problem distinguishing between different types of structure and especially bites as long as the rod is graphite, even with rods that aren't as well balanced as some others. Don't get me wrong, I love spending some money on expensive fishing equipment, but you don't have to.

I'm not much on throwing the C-rig. I find it a pain and would rather just drag a jig, but you might as well just throw it with a split shot if you're gonna do that. I think guys that throw it like the beads knocking into each other, the weight, and the swivel for extra attraction. I wouldn't mess with crimping the line with a bullet weight. Seems like you're asking for trouble, but that's just me.

I love throwing a big spook and spinnerbait in the rain. I think that's one thing a lot of people don't know about the rain, the topwater bite can be awesome.

PB for me was caught on a Rapala X-rap in December. I never fished an X-rap before so I took it down to my local honey hole to try it out and check out its action. I remember it was right before dark and I hadn't caught anything yet. I remember looking at a visible piece of cover (a small tree I personally had thrown into the water in hopes of catching a fish off of). I remember casting that jerkbait a little too boldly into the cover and pulling back quickly when it hit the water in hopes of pulling it through the cover safely. A big female grabbed a hold of it as I pulled away from the tree and the fight was on. She came in pretty easy because of the cold weather, but it was still a hell of a fight.

Assuming there is a fishable amount of grass on the shorelines, I'd run a spinnerbait high in the water column through the thickest parts of that grass I could find. Reel it over the top of the real thick parts and let it drop nicely into the holes. This works well any time of the year for me besides the dead of the winter. Make sure that spinnerbait is really going through that grass deflecting off of anything it can find. I like a War Eagle 3/8 oz in the Herring color. I would think there was something wrong with the lake if I don't get a few good bites this way.

I've pulled my 19 foot ranger with a v6 jeep before and it's not the best option, but you could get away with it. Be careful stopping on downhill slopes because that heavy ranger will push that light jeep through stop signs if you're not careful lol.

1. Squarebill 2. Spinnerbait 3. Frog 4. Jig 5. Spook 6. Big Swimbait 7. Deep Crank

If the waters that clear and assuming you know something about the baitfish in the pond, I would throw swimbaits mimicking the baitfish as a good place to start. I would also try some reaction baits. Working them fast with erratic action is a good idea in clear water. This works a lot better for me. Another option I like in super clear ponds is to take the skirt off of a buzzbait and stick a paddle tail on there. This slays them in ponds for me. Also after looking over your map, I'd say those two "mini ditches" that make a teardrop sort of shape in your map are the most predictable places to hold some bass as far as structure goes.

I don't care what anyone says. If I don't have the money to fork out for Seaguar, I'll buy Berkley Vanish all day. I never have problems with it like a lot of people say. It has a little more stretch too, which I like when I fish it with reaction baits.

Just to note, you don't HAVE to go by those certain rod characteristics to get what you want out of what you're fishing. I personally can throw every technique I want on a 7 foot MH St. Croix premier except for a handful of techniques. A lot of guys like ex-fast rods for jigs and what not, but I'm kind of the opposite. I like the rod to have a little more bend for fishing jigs and every other technique for that matter. If you like a rod with a little more bend that covers almost all of your bases, then the St. Croix premier line is a good place to start.

It depends on the circumstances you are faced with in my opinion. It just depends on what you prefer and what the bass prefer. The only way to know is to try different techniques. Through this process you'll find what your strong points are for the different situations you've been faced with, but it's different for everybody. If I troll up to a spot with shallow grass, the first thing I'm thinking is spinnerbait. Some people might be thinking they need to break out a texas rig, or pitch to the holes in the grass, or run a crankbait along the deep side of the grass line. It's all preference, but if I start catching them on one technique I'll stick with it until the bite slows or If I see another tecnique that fits better with where I'm fishing.

I never need a big weight to feel the bottom. Just cast out and hit the bottom and drag. It just takes some practice to learn what you're dragging your bait through. Once you get pretty good at it you can decipher what you're dragging through pretty easily. If it's a pond you're probably not gonna feel a whole lot on the bottom because it's probably just packed down mud on the bottom as with most ponds.

As far as time preference, I would say any time with low light conditions. Whether that's dawn, dusk, overcast days, or windy days.