The Patriot

Mines also a Lews Speed Spool.

I just got myself a Father's Day gift for topwater, lighter weigthless plastics and some cranks. Im not a dad, but I got when I got my dad his gift 6'10" M/F Duckett Ghost with a Abu Silver Max reel. I put 10# mono on, not sure how that will be or I'd be better off with a heavier test.

Im working on skipping senkos under low laying branches and such. At the same time, Im learning how to quickly fix most birds nests For me, I really have to stay on that line with my thumb. Or, switch to a spinning rod.

I've had this happen. Not sure how, but my reel wouldnt reel and I discovered my drag was off. As in loosened all the way.

I'll have to pay more attention to mine as well. I have a bag of Ribbits and I love the action, but I cant get it to stop flipping over. Really aggravates me to the point that I took them out of my bag so as to not bother annoying myself more. I was going to take a double hook out of a hollow body frog to and try it that way, but I'll try keep a bow to the belly. Im not sure how it'll make a difference, its not diving, just rolling over, but its worth a shot

this is what I do when trying out a new lure style. Go to my local shops and see what they're out of/have less off. In plastics, its always watermelon, black/blue flake and every style of green pumpkin. I've had some luck on some colors that really dont make sense for the water I've fish them with - baby blue in a weedy pond. Im not sure what the bass thought it was, but its nothing that is or should be in that pond to my knowledge. I think in some cases the colors dont matter at all. If its a reaction bite they're not looking to see what it looks like... at least thats my thinking.

I just picked up a 6'10" M/F Duckett Ghost. Poppers are on the list of the lures I'll use on this setup.

Probably. My point in that was about the tension on the fish. If hes jumping, add tension.

I know a lot of people fish a flouro leader on their braid. I also know people who dont fish a leader for certain things, but still are concerned about their line visibility. Does any fish braid with high visibility, and attach a leader of a more natural color braid like the green?

If you already have a MH, go with the M/F. This will open you up to more fishing tactics that a MH might be too much for. Its hard to say what power/action YOU should get because WE dont know what your intended use will be, but if by general purpose you mean soft plastics and some crank baits then a M/F is fine. If you'll be doing more topwater and cranking and less soft plastic, then a M/M would probably be better, but I think you'll be able to do more with a M/F

You can tell when they're about to jump. When they're about to jump, they're moving either straight up, toward you, or to the side a bit. I've never seen a fish jump while pulling away from you. So what I do, is when I see or feel them coming to the surface, I reel faster and pull the rod back with the tip low to keep enough pressure on them. And I pull it back hard. By doing this, if the fish still jumps, when hit it does rather than being able to flop around and throw the hook, it just gets pull toward me at the surface of the water. Using a high speed reel helps in this because I really put some crank on it and get that line in and keep it tight. If you're not keeping up with the slack just by reeling, keep pulling. Take a step back if you need to or turn in to the pull. This has greatly decreased the amount of fish I've lost from a spit out. It still happens some times but I chalk it up to user error and a poor hook set. I dont fish many treble hooks so this feedback comes from mostly buzzbait and single hook soft plastic use. I wish the pickerel would throw my hook my often. I hate those things.

I use Yums 90% of the time Im fishing a soft plastic (mostly dingers or whatever they call their senko). I use green pumpkin religiously. I've tried others and get decent results but green pumpkin is my go-to in all sizes. If Im not using GP I'm using black or black/blue flake. I have been having some really good success with cinnamon lately though... never have liked it before this year.

I'm no expert, nor do I even have any confidence in spinnerbaits as I dont use them a whole lot. That being said if I were to go buy three spinner baits, I'd buy one green pumpkin, one white/chartreuse, one black/blue or another green pumpkin with a different variation of color...maybe some orange in it. As far as blades go, one will produce more vibration than the other. I only own two spinner baits and they're both gold, one has two willow blades, the other has a willow blade and a smaller colorado blade. I'll be watching this thread though for more responses because this is one lure I really want to better incorporate this year.

I've been catching more fish once I put a leader on my green braid. Coincidence? Maybe. I've caught fish when I didnt use a leader but not a frequently. I'm not sold on the line color/visibility being a deterrent but Im no expert nor am I a bass. I can only make alterations based on the feedback the bass provide. I will be stringing my new setup with yellow braid as I fish mostly evenings in to the dusk hours and even after dark at times and I cant see my line at all. I'll continue to use leaders unless fishing frogs.

This is the method I went with. After using braid all last year I decided to switch things up and try flouro. I got all the backlashes you speak of. After a couple outing and spending more time pulling out birds nests, I went home and cut that crap off my reel. I was using cheap flouro, maybe thats the issue, it was Stren 17lb I believe. Put 20 or 30# braid back on and tied on a flouro leader and haven't looked back. I have yet to come across a situation that I wished I had flouro spooled instead of braid. I've read other posts mentioning no stretch in braid which I may want for certain lures. Sure... so I lighten the drag. I'll also say that the flouro I used, would retain its spooled up shape and sit in the water in spirals. Not something I ever noticed when I had Trilene Flouro on my spinning reel. I'd be open to trying it again, I just dont see a need when I use a leader.

This is essentially what I'm going for. I have a MH/F Lews rod/reel combo at 6'10". I throw all my senkos that are 5" or more, weighted or weightless, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, frogs and lighter jigs with trailers. I also throw lipless cranks on this setup and I back off the drag considerably. I have a M/F 6'6" spinning rod that throws poppers, jitterbugs and smaller plastics. I dont use this for the cranks because I can cast farther with the b.c. As I add a couple more rods, I'll have one for just the frogs, jigs, and flipping/pitching cover, a M/M for trebles, and my spinning rod for lighter topwater and finesse tactics.

that would be ideal, but i still need to be able to roof mine. i know people have made theirs so everything can come apart fairly easily, but i dont have a ton of storage. just a shed, no garage... yet, so Im trying to keep it simple. i may be getting a free row boat that floats, but needs some work. it would make a great project but then add in the cost of a small trailer and the work done, and its no longer free. Im sure if i did this, once i got started I'd find more ideas and it would become a not-so-cheap project.

thank you! I love the canoe, but its a bit heavier than what I wanted. I can still manage to load it myself, but I need to make it a point to stay strong enough to get it over my head lol! I wish it was a little more modifiable for fishing purposes, but for its capacity and stability, I wont complain. I have thought about selling it because i do a lot of solo fishing and could benefit more often from a kayak.

I saw the Genuine Indian sticker on it. The guy I bought it from told me that was not the brand... but Rivers and Gilman was what I was trying to remember. He told me they were the company that made it, but when I tried searching for genuine indian canoes, I was searching "indian canoes" "genuine indian birch bark canoes"... i was inundated with hits for how the natives built their canoes... pretty interesting stuff lol

this is only picture i have at the moment. havent had a chance to get anything else taken. hopefully this will help someone. sorry for the upside down pic

I pretty much fish all lures year round. I pick my lure, and lure color based the following: sunny vs cloudy, calm vs windy, clear vs vegetation, clear vs stained vs muddy water, day vs night, and most importantly for me, what is the forage. Other factors may come in to play but those are the main ones. I choose lure type, and lure color based on these factors and will change it up depending on if the fish are responding to what I first chose. I've caught bass on early-August mornings this year on a buzzbait, and I just caught another yesterday on the same buzzbait. 80 degrees vs 50 degrees. Bath water vs colder water. One similarity between the two days - it was windy. Frogs are another one I throw year round because they can mimic a frog, or a trapped bait fish.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I appreciate all the responses. I've never had an issue using lighter braid. I think I'm going to fish this rod (MH/F) with the 50# braid. Once I get this new Abu MH/F, or Fenwick H/F, that will be my rod for fishing the nasty stuff and I will transfer the 50# over to that rod. My current rod is used as a universal rod right now - buzzbaits, senkos, swim jigs, Ribbit frogs, hollow body frogs, and football jig hooks being dragged around, as well as some spinnerbaits. Its my only baitbaster at the moment so these applications will be redistributed sooner or later. I'm mostly a bank fisherman, or fish from a canoe so I plan to carry just three rods.

Heres a question for you braid users. If you're running braid on your baitcaster, no leader, why use 20 or 30# braid when you could use heavier pound test? I had 20# on, and after so many lure changes and cutting line, I started running out the braid and pulling off the mono backer. Therefore, I went to dicks to get new braid to spool on but they were out of the 20# Power Pro and Spiderwire and only had 30# in another brand. I've always used Power Pro and Spiderwire so I opted for the 50# Power Pro. I throw mostly senkos, some jigs, and buzzbaits with this rod and will attach a flouro leader when I feel its needed. So is opting for the 50# going to hinder anything? Why not go for the heavier line if I can? As a note, I fish a fair amount of open water, but most of my fishing is in waters with a lot of weeds, pads and laydowns.

I have this exact setup and love it. Got it on sale at Dick's? Sounds like the problem you're having, sorry to say, is not the equipment. On learning curve I had to conscientiously think about when casting, is that casting overhead with a baitcaster isn't like a spinning rod. You need to make sure you're not whipping it. Its more of a smooth lob., and your release point will be higher than that of a spinning rod. Make sure your tension knob is set right. When I first got mine about 3 months ago (first casting combo) I had the magnetic brake set on 10 until I got used to the casting motion, then I gradually reduced that. Now Im keeping it at 6 for most applications unless Im casting in to wind. Just keep practicing and let your thumb lightly feather that reel. When the lure hits the water, put your thumb on the reel at that same moment. You'll get it, just keep practicing and thinking about what you're doing.

Very simple for me as always. I stock up on these in spring and use them all year... 4 and 5" Yum dinger in green pumpkin, black, black/blue flake, and Carolina Pumpkin/chartreuse tail 6 or 7" Green pumpkin, and in black. These larger ones are killer at night for me. All of these are t-rigged weightless This year I tried and loved the Ribbits frogs. GrnPkn with white belly. Plastics I want to try that I never have are the brush hog, beavers, and yums in tinfoil, cajun neon, and smoke pearl laminate.