Onvacation

If you want a hand with some basic stuff, I hit Busch Wildlife on a regular basis (I'll be there at 6 on Saturday and Sunday) and if you know a good place near Troy, I could make that work too. I'm always looking for more local ponds and small lakes. Bet I've got some tackle you could try too and if it's still on your rod at the end of the day, so be it.

I am thinking that you and I must be in a minority group of old melted tackle box tray owners. I never have ZMan issue because I keep all of my plastics in the original bags due to past melted tray issues. Pas for TRDs falling off the jig, I assume you are not using the ZMan jig. That keeper has forced me to pull out the needle nose more then once to yank off a stubborn TRD.

She is close. Over the weekend she mentioned vacation home, boat, and Kentucky Lake and her new reel just arrived today.

I've been spending time with my wife trying to get her more excited about "fishing" by doing some "catching." My idea has been to teach her using a Ned rig because it is soooo easy to catch fish. It is also a great way to teach her that bass don't always slam a bait so you have to watch for subtle line movements. Problem is, I try to show her and just start having too much fun on my own catching fish. I'm also starting to favor quantity over quality a bit too much. Time to start mixing it up a bit.

"Our warehouse reaches in excess of 100 degrees in the summer, and we’ve never had any baits melt here." I think the real lesson we all learned here today is never apply for a position in ZMan's warehouse.

I had nightmares just thinking about a baitcaster that would allow the spool to run freely in reverse as well. I woke up sweating and was sure I was still wrapped in 20k yards of braid.

Welcome AndrewJ. There is a ton of information here that will help you take a big bite out of the learning curve.

My wife just started fishing with me this year using an older Bass Pro something or another inexpensive rod. She was blown away when she fished with a BPS Carbonlite that I have which is your typical $100 range rod. She now has a Mojo and loves it. She didn't know what she was looking for but told me she loved how she could feel the bottom with the Carbonlite. That's a move in the right direction.

I also use the BPS Extreme 360. Price is kind of hard to beat

I'll concur with Many of the others. My go to would be a 4/0 EWG on all of those if for no other reason than it works and I don't have to worry about out thinking myself every time I change baits. Was it the bait? Was it the hook? Was it the color? Presentation? My deodorant? Something I ate? Something I said?

I got one for my wife for her birthday. She has the 6'10" mlxf. I got an opportunity to toss it a few times when she was asking me to verify her opinion that the ABU Garcia Revo S I also got her, needed to be replaced. (It did and it was). I even managed to catch a one pounder on a t rigged worm. I liked the rod quite a bit and it kind of has me second guessing my plan to spend more money on the next rod.

I agree with fishballer06, you've got to find something that the fish are relating to and that doesn't always mean the heaviest cover you can find. I fished a local 4 acre pond yesterday and there were about four other people there during the two hours I was there. All were fishing either visible downed trees, lily pads, or just casting and praying. I put on a NED rig (I was the only one using one) and started hitting the transitions from grass to open water and rock to mud. I caught nine and a big bluegill and lost two at the bank, one over four pounds that literally slipped out of my hand. There were two keys. One, using light gear allowed me to find the transition points because I could feel them and obviously grass on the hook is a sure sign. Second, until I found the right retrieve, I wasn't having luck. When I did, I caught a fish every four or five casts. You have to be willing to experiment. Finally, you mentioned one "bite". Out of the fish I caught, only one would have hit hard enough to feel it. The rest were all hooked by watching for line movement. Very, very subtle line movement. Make sure you aren't waiting for a hit and missing fish because of it. I've caught some lazy fish this year. Good luck.

My travel rod, toss in any car, use under any condition, is a two piece BPS M/F Carbonlite. I think it's 6'6". It is sensitive enough that my wife immediately noticed the difference when she used it compared to a $50 rod. I've thrown everything on it and while as you might guess, my other specialized rods are better at their specific jobs, this one has never made me feel like I was cheating myself when I caught a fish on it. I personally think the MH would be overkill in this situation. I've caught redfish in the double digits on this rod and lost a substantial catfish due to operator error but not the rod.

If I were closer, I'd give you some line. I lost more money in tree snagged lures by the end of January this year then I will spend on line.

Looks like some kind of Cheerios marketing idea that went horribly wrong.

Talk to me on Monday, because I just bought the same rod for my wife for her birthday. She is very anxious to get out and use it.

Welcome Jeff. I took a hiatus from grad school to go fishing, so looks like we have something in common....sorta.

Outstanding. Great looking fish. Well done.

If you noticed, I live in Missouri and I'm generally flying the colors of either 'Bama, the Gators or Georgia. Just like bass in southern lakes, if it's southern football, it's got to be good.

From the perspective of the money I've spent, what you gain most from upgrading is smoothness and to some extent, durability when you jump from say the $100 range to the $150 or above. As mentioned above, I am also a big fan of the BPS PQ because it is very forgiving and it's hard to outgrow it. I never feel like I am cheating myself catching a fish on one. Do I enjoy throwing my Lew's? Yep because they cast further and feel smoother when I'm reeling them in. To me, it's a Camaro/Corvette comparison. You will have a smile on your face either way, one is just more refined.

I'll jump in with the Palomar knot crew. I've never had a knot issue using it and it simplifies things when I use the same knot on all of my rigs. I even use it when I'm tying hooks on my four year olds rod to catch bluegill. He almost has it perfected himself now. Can't tie his shoes, but he can almost tie a hook on a line.

If you have limited money, never fish with someone who has a bigger budget and likes to say, "Here. Try this." My wife just had her first bass and first crappie on my gear. She said she loved that she could feel the fish bite. Guess who is getting her own high end gear now. Don't fall in that trap.....or if you are married, make silly mistakes like I did.

Benefit of being the boss is flexibility so I went to a local pond this morning for an hour and a half. Nothing too big, but this guy bit on the first cast of a Live Target bluegill and he hit it hard. 3 pds 2 oz but he had quite a bit of fight in him. I was expecting over four. Maybe in a year or two.

Where are you spending your time? I'm out at Busch fairly often but I try to shoot for weekdays. Fountain Lakes is fairly close so I sometimes even hit there during the work day for my lunch break. I always have rods in my work van.

I think a President and an HMX would be a nice combo. My daughter fishes saltwater with her President. Just rinse when finished.