68camaro

So sorry to hear, prayers and condolances......

What about a t-rigged swimbait on weighted belly hook to keep low in water column? You want to throw it along weedlines, points etc.. look for irregular spots in thick matts like holes or openings. The swimbait will cover water faster and once you find fish you can slow down with flippin/pitchin jig.

Cool. since I have the 2500 I'll get a 1000 and do the braid/mono or flouro, I don't fish deep so mono might be fine.

Darren, on your Stradic 1000, what type of line do you use and do you experience small spool creating more line loops? I have the 2500 but looking at 1000 with 4-6 flouro.

Welcome and pull up a chair, lots of good info and folk here.

Drought has put a real hurt on high mountain streams as well, Trout fishing has all but dried-up, excuse the pun:)

Check out Dobyns site: http://dobynsrods.com/rods/ They have a series from $80 to $339. Each series has a couple dedicated drop shot but some people use others for it. If you are looking for one all around rod for different dropshoting I'd look at: $339 - DX701 or 741 in Extreme series or drop down to Champion series for $90 less $159 - Sierra series, never tried one but people really like them. Not sure how long rod you want I prefer under 7' since I fish out of yak, but others like 7'4", it comes down to personal preference and how will you use it.

There are quite a few choices based on your pre fences, weight use etc. If fishing open water you can get away with ML, but if alot of vegetation/timer I'l look at med. I am partial to Dobyns for under and over $200, plus Megabass for over.

Yesterday I was on lake with a ton of timber and lost 5 lures vertical fishing due to being blown around so fast by wind. I couldn't stay on spot for any amount of time, I also lost my plug knocker in the timber, very frustrating and no fish. Anchor will be new purchase.

The "best" is subjective and at the highest end each has its particulars that will speak to you most or not. I'll take the ultra finesse option as I am looking for a second Finesse spinning rod and considering Daiwa NRX , Megabass Destroyer, Dobyns Extreme and maybe G. Loomis. However for a 1/32 oz Daiwa has the Presso Ultralight series and I don't know anyone else offering a 1/32 oz option. My current Megabass has a 1/16 rating. Megabass is replacing their Orochi series with new line and I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. Dobyns is also coming out with a new high end line up, should be summer and it will be interesting to see as well. For a reel I have the Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500FA 6.0:1 and love it, no idea if its the best money can buy but its high end and I have 6lb mono on it but can easily go to 4lb.

I feel for you, I am finally at point where weekends are free from school activities......

Sam, I stopped by Bass both and looked for someone with your name, my fault for not asking for you. I forgot to the mention the best score I made, Woods & Water booth had two old Briery Creek DVDs made by guide on lake. The seller told me he found two copies he did not have, I bought one so one still there. Can't wait to watch it.

Agree, show was excellent. I met the G-Man and he is super nice. I picked up some Reel Snot and owner of Dave's Tournament tackle made up some of my favorite swim jigs with the yellow eyes. I was looking to get a higher end dropshot rod but noone had the higher ends there. I will say the only disappointment was the Sonar, GPS & Depth Finder seminar, it was my highest priority to see and very disappointing. Guy has all the credentials but it was a 60+min infomercial where we listened to why we are reading the units all wrong and why we don't know what we are doing. I almost left but wanted to see if he got to parts where he helps but he barely touches it. I went to his booth later and found out his DVD's which can teach me the correct way is $90. I have no idea if they are worth it or not but I was turned off by the seminar so I passed. I will research and look for reviews this weekend and buy if really good. Tacklewarehouse has them in stock.

I never had bass boat but decided on kayak over john boat this past summer. I bought the PA12 and outfitted nicely. Its been great to get off bank and I can throw kayak in rear of jeep with bed extender and take it all over. I've met a bunch of good people kayaking and we end up fishing together, I have only been on lakes but will be smallie fishing in rivers this year.

Flu s*ucks....had it once and now religiously get flu shot....not a guarantee though. Hope you get through it quick.

I was at Cabela's yesterday and didn't see many savings, maybe they will start today. Going to Richmond show today to get my fix, hopefully fish Briery tomorrow. BTW Briery was only lake with open water around me on Monday, it was slow but caught 3lb'er on ned rig.

I have never had to test their after sale support, but I have talked to them before every purchase and they are absolutely great to speak with and very helpful.

I hate losing baits but I use what I buy. I have a huddleston 8" trout that I would hate losing but I still throw it. I do keep good plug knocker aboard and it has saved me many times. I am sure it will get lost at some point but hopefully after I caught a 10lb'er on it:)

Also, think about line, I am trying to get skipping down with baitcaster and use mono which is more forgiving during learning curve.

Give them a call, they are happy to answer your questions and will recommend a rod based on your usage and price range......you actually speak to the guys who make the rods and not a customer service rep.

Check those hooks!!! Went out yesterday for three hours, weather 36*, water temp 38/39*. Quickly caught 17" LM on ned rig just letting it sit on bottom then lost ned rig 30 min later on snag, for the next couple hours very slow, couldn't find fish on graph and nothing worked. For last hour had one bite and maybe another but lost both, when I finally shut it down and went to put Ned Rig hook in keeper I noticed hook was almost straight, about an hour earlier I was able to muscle it off a branch but sadly and stupidly did not check hook....

Very nice, we bought our son a couple nice woodcarving knives, book and some wood for Christmas hoping to start him on hobby of wood carving, he went back to school but has outline of backscratcher coming along.

Beautiful fish...congrats. I always hear if you want to find the bass locate the baitfish.

I have Huddleston 8" ROF5 that I started throwing in December, only had it had few times on new Dobyns Swimbait rod I picked up for it. I haven't caught anything yet, I throw in ponds and shallow lake, definitely had a bite in our neighborhood pond but didn't land. In the cold weather it needs to be fished painstakingly slow, I can do it for a little while but not long.

I work with excel all the time and never thought about using excel to help organize tackle, great idea. Over Christmas holidays I organized all terminal tackle in Bass Mafia 3700 and handwrote legend and placed in clear page protector pocket to keep inside it for quick reference.