Fried Lemons

Consider the type of fishing you are doing eg what type of cover, what kind of lures you are throwing. Heavy cover calls for heavy braid to quickly overpower your fish and drag it out. Open water with light to moderate cover go for something with low diameter to maximize your distance. Texture can also be a factor here. I like something rough like FX2 or maxcuatro for cover fishing to saw through weeds. For open water smooth line like j braid casts better.

That spot has some big bass but they are very pressured. I don't know anything about flies but I recommend upsizing your presentation to represent a bigger meal. Fish them slowly as the big fish are lazy and do not want to chase. Here's one I caught a few weeks ago on a hudd 68.

Good for slow rolling baits on the bottom like spinnerbaits and big soft swimbaits. It's much easier than cranking a high speed reel for one turn every 5-10 seconds.

Daiwa Ryoga 1520H. Thing is just so smooth and refined it makes my other reels feel sloppy. The only one that comes close is the conquest.

Caught it sight casting with a weightless keitech. They get extremely wary at times and it was the only thing they would hit. Harvested for dinner.

Caught my PB snakehead at 8.2lbs exploring the potomac.

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I carry 1/32 and 1/16oz unpainted ballhead jigs, mainly because they're cheaper than painted and catch just as well. It is good to have options for trailers. The traditional 2" grub will catch sunfish when they are aggressive but I have found that at times they will ignore it for a smaller offering. It is worth carrying 1-1.5" plastics as well as marabou jigs for those times. I believe it is the smaller profile combined with the slow sink rate which makes these baits effective. To cast these tiny lures you want a true ultralight rod and 2-4lb test. I recommend 2lb test because it casts and handles significantly better than 4. Usually I don't use bobbers when fishing with artificials. The key is to retrieve them as slowly as possible, letting them fall naturally through the water column. I start off reeling as slowly as possible until I feel the jig tick the bottom. Then I will speed up the retrieve just enough to avoid contacting bottom. From my experience I have also found that bluegills and crappie seem to prefer a steady retrieve without any added action from the rod. As others have mentioned you will catch pretty much every species present in your body of water doing this. Make sure your drag is set light and is running smoothly.

I reel in just enough slack to feel for the bait. If it's a fish generally you won't feel the weight of the bait and it will feel 'mushy' on the end. If it isn't you will feel the bait contacting the structure.

Hot walleye bite. Caught 5 in a 30 minute period.

Thought I'd follow up on this thread. Was trying originally to ship a 96" cardboard tube. USPS quoted me $96. I cut off 4" which still left 9" of clearance for the rod and the price dropped to $30.

I prefer 6'-6'9 UL rods. I fish 2lb test which I find handles light baits much better than 4. However with line this light you need to tie solid knots and cast accurately. Longer rods will get you more distance but you lose accuracy. For the people who don't like noodles I'd recommend looking into rods built for "light rock fishing". These are made to cast tiny lures for small saltwater species and have much crisper actions than your typical UL sold in the states.

What dimensions are you guys shipping for $20-30? I wanted to ship a tube that was roughly 96x4x4 and no matter where I looked I was getting quoted $140 or more for MD to IL.

Jerkbait was killing it yesterday. The bass liked longer jerks and hit on the pause. Pickerel liked short rapid jerks with no pauses. Pickerel are fat this time of year.

Basically this. The absolute "best" braid has the highest ratio of breaking strain to diameter. Most braids stated breaking strain is so much lower than the actual breaking strain that it's basically false advertising. Find the diameter you want and pick the strongest line. Alternatively find the weight class you want and pick the thinnest line. This doesn't have all the brands but it's a good start. http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/4linetestingbuy.htm

FG is good but inconvenient to retie if it breaks. I’ll do it at home but on the water I’ll tie an Alberto.

I sometimes sightcast male channels up to 10lbs on beds. It is kind of like bed fishing for bass except channels are way more aggressive. They will hit anything that comes near, doesn't seem to matter what it looks like.

Saltiga has a zaion rotor.

If the plastic is strong enough for big game saltwater reels I think it's good enough for bass.

I have an exsence dc. Compared to the lews mb I previously used for bombing frogs it casts significantly farther. Like 20% or so. With 50lb braid I can cast almost down to the backing which is almost out of my hooksetting range.

I understand the concept behind the new frame and how it would make the reel more rigid. That being said, does anyone ever notice their other baitcasters flexing under load? I never have personally.

For moving baits, consider a calcutta conquest for the ultimate smooth retrieve.

Don't pay much attention to the line ratings on a rod. Avoid doing things like jerking free from snags and flipping fish with braid as the shock will not be mitigated by line stretch. You need to set the drag properly to protect your rod from breakage as it is almost certainly the weakest link.

Hollow body frog/ buzz frog. Not that versatile, but when the bite is on there is nothing I would rather be doing.

If you compare breaking strength to diameter (actual, not the published one) seaguar smackdown is among the best readily available. Keep in mind most braids break far above advertised and this is not really to your advantage. For example take sufix 832, a popular braid. You might buy 20lb test for a spinning reel for finesse applications. What you might not realize is that 20lb sufix breaks at over 40lbs and has a diameter to match. It’s best to choose based off diameter rather than breaking strength, which is grossly understated.