Airman4754

I've caught just a stupid number of Chinook and Coho salmon on that exact line and reel, as for bass you're ready for a world record! A piece of advice, undo the three long screws on the handle side and remove the two or six (depending on the age of your reel) little plastic breaks if you're throwing anything over an ounce. The tension knob will do what you need and it will cast forever.

It's a match made in heaven.... Or he will hate it. Either way it will be an adventure!

Every region is different but white in the winter is the ticket here. A 3" white with silver flake tube T-rigged on an 1/8th of an ounce rarely fails. Fish it slowwww.

Exactly! The main Umpqua is a blast for smallies too and you'll be right there. Work from Elkton to Scottsburg in a float tube. 3lb class fish are an every cast type of thing and they'll bite d**n near everything. A normal day at Tahk is about one fish per 100 casts, if that. Tenmile has docks, boat houses, floating garages, mats, pads, creek channels, etc. It's basically the only legit bass lake we have.

I guess I should have given a better description of the lake. It's a canyon reservoir. When I was growing up it was the best big bass lake in the state. The record largemouth has came out of it multiple times. It has a few arms and flats but mainly it's very deep when we aren't in drought years. People illegally planted smallies in it and since the terrain of the lake is much more suited to them they have exploded and nothing eats them. I've tried shakey heads in 60ft of water, big spinner baits, jigs, etc. These little 12" guys hit everything! I'm assuming they are beyond hungry and desperate. If you do catch one of the few largemouth in there they look like an eel. I've attached a pic of what should be a 5lb class fish that barely weighed over 2lbs. Maybe survival of the fittest will take over and it will turn into an amazing smallie lake one day.

I'm sure d**n near everything has been covered but I'll add my little wrinkle. Crawdads molt every full moon, so I if the moon is 80% full waxing or waning I'll throw a jig & trailer with a bright orange or bright red accent to it because they look gnarly when they molt. During the spawn (late Feb to late March) I'll always throw a jig with some purple in it so it mimics an egg stealing blue gill. Most the fish you catch on a jig will make the weigh in, so you owe it to yourself to work one in.

A 10" Power Worm fished weightless with a 6/0 EWG.

I spent ten years between Tucson and Phoenix. If you want to have a blast get a 6" glide bait and fish the urban lakes. You'll see them on their bed. Stand as far away as possible so you can still see them, cast as far as you can over them. Just work the glide bait right up to them and dead stick it. They will usually stare it down for awhile then attack it. It's a blast. Catch & Release is key with those tiny man made waters.

I grew up fishing those lakes in the summer. Tenmile is Oregon's "go-to" bass lake. Every club usually has one regular event there and their final/championship event it there. There is usually a BASS qualifier, the state open is there, etc. It's not all that big and it gets fished a ton, but it's still a good lake. Silt, Tahk, and Eel aren't as good as Tenmile overall but anything in Coos County will be better than anywhere else in the state. If you're coming to Oregon that's the place to be.

I'm 5'10" so I have no idea of your height struggle, but I have a Dobyn's 805 punch/flip and an iRod Bub's Punch Rod. The Dobyns is going to be out of your price category unless you get one used (which is what I did) but the iRod will be there. I use the Dobyn's for actual punch fishing and it's an absolute horse of a rod. I keep thinking I'm going to get some kind of Mortal Combat finishing move where it's just a head with a spine trailing behind it when I pull a fish out of the pads. I use the iRod for pitching, submerged grass, football head jigs, etc. It has plenty of power and handles 50lb braid no problem. The tip has way more flex to it as well. Regardless of height those rods will hold up to any normal human fishing them in a normal method. If you're setting the hook back over your head with your leverage who knows.

I use a Phenix 7'2" M spinning with a Pfluger Supreme reel. 20lb Power Pro braid and 10lb Floro leader. I originally tried my TFO 7'3" ML drop shot spinning rod and didn't like it for shakey heads or Senkos. The Phenix works well so I'll use it until it gives up on me. The whole setup was around $200.

Phenix & Lamiglass. I love my Dobyn's, but I'm not in love with them. If that makes sense.

I have a Phenix 7'9" glass and the only reason I got it is for throwing small stuff like Shad Raps along with medium cranks. I couldn't get enough tip flex with my Duckett crank rod while casting for the light stuff. As far as once the lure is in the water there isn't a lot of difference. I think the glass helps pin them a little better but I don't lose many fish on either.

Hey all, I'm from southern Oregon. I've been bass fishing since before I can actually remember. I don't even remember catching my first keeper. My dad has told me the story and I have a picture. This state overall is pretty terrible for bass fisherman. ODF&W lives and dies by planter rainbows and hatchery salmon. Bass are that unfortunate thing that eats planters and screw with Orvis disciples as they kick around in their float tubes trolling woolly buggers. The best big bass lake in the state is fly fishing only. The second best big bass lake has been destroyed by stunted small mouths. Selmac used to be awesome until the word got out. Tenmile can be awesome but it's fished so heavily it's ridiculous. Overall it's hard for most people to get into bass fishing here. The club I grew up fishing in as a co-angler is about to fold up. The club in the town I live in now folded up in 2013. The north part of the state is salmon, the central part is rich fly fisherman who want bass wiped out completely, and the southwest part is for planter trout. It's frustrating, and you have to drive a lot, but for those of us hardcore bass guys here we catch some good sized fish (for this region). I look forward to learning new things on here and being jealous of people that live in good bass states.

I got to the point where I was fighting with my brain on when to use which so I stopped and made it simple. Any application where I would run a normal rubber worm or craw plastic I just fish a jig. I Texas rig 10" and 12" Power Worms to get that stupidly huge waving presentation and a C-rig on all lizards and creatures. I'm probably missing some fish by not being as versatile, but I'm confident and I'll take that.

In the area I live we used to have smallies in the rivers, largies in the lakes and reservoirs. Well, I move away for a decade and when I get back the bucket biologists have smallies in all the reservoirs and they have taken over. It's fun in the catching sense. You can tie on a lipless and catch 100+ fish everyday no matter the weather or conditions or location on the lake. They are all the same stunted 10"-12" fish though. An example is in July I pre-fished and fished two tournament days in a three day span on the same lake and caught over 200 smallies and the biggest one was 1.3lbs. How do you target the bigger fish that have to exist in there when there are literally thousands of dinks EVERYWHERE?

I have three and they all get used differently. The 8' Enigma M/H Is For XD8 & XD10 types and I also throw up to 8" glide baits on it. The 7'9" Phenix glass is for everything under that size in the diver category. The 7' M Duckett is for jerk baits and square bills. I'm like a robot when I fish (dumb but it's just my nature). I don't take breaks and I never stop casting so I have all my gear set up in a way for what will fatigue me the least after a 500+ cast day. There are so many options out there. The best advice I can give is buy something that can handle whatever the biggest thing you're going to throw is. It's always a way better scenario to have too much power.

1. Boat positioning. 2. Trying to find an unconventional way to catch fish when the bite is off. Living in Oregon that is almost always.