NYWayfarer

I like 6-8# mono on my size 20/200/2500 reels. My favorites are: Vicious ultimate mono Berkley Trilene XL

Great reel. I think you will be happy. I have the old model before the P2 pinion bearing and a new LFS inshore version. Love them both.

I have dozens of rods, cheap to expensive. Most sit around collecting dust as I have a few favorites that I choose to carry almost every trip. St Croix 6’ ML Avid spinning St Croix 7’ M Bass X casting St Croix 6’10” M Triumph spinning Lews 7’ M TP1 Black

I caught back to back 1 and a half pound Largemouth and Smallmouth today on the river fishing a 1” swiimbait on a 1/32 oz jighead and 6# mono. I was puffing my chest out until I saw your post. ?

40” Gar on 6# mono! Epic!

It was an overcast morning with spotty drizzle. Our heat wave is coming to an end. I hit the river by the dam where the water is flowing strong. Same strategy of casting a T-Rigged Z-Man TicklerZ on a 1/0 worm hook and a 1/8 tungsten bullet weight has paid dividends. After catching a few dink Smallmouth and Sunfish big enough to take a 1/0 worm hook I felt a solid hit. A nearly 16” Smallmouth gave me a great fight in the current.

Hope you can see them now. Some days my pics don’t load for some reason. I see the Aug 1st pics and the ones from yesterday now.

Walmart sells both versions of the Black Max on their website. They are the only place I have seen that sells the red handle, red knob one.

I caught my PB Chain Pickerel today. It hammered a Texas rigged Z-Man TicklerZ on a 1/0 Worm hook. 12# Berkley Big Game Mono held up landing it.

My theory is the one I bought with the red handle and red knobs is a Walmart exclusive Black Max. I have only seen it available there.

Happy belated birthday ?

If I am fishing a Big TRD it’s not on a jighead. I use a 1/8 oz strike king tungsten bullet weight and a 1/0 worm hook and T-Rig it. I used to fish it on a mushroom head jig but didn’t have the success I did with the finesse TRD. Once I switched to T-rigging it the magic started. If I am fishing a Big TRD it’s not on a jighead. I use a 1/8 oz strike king tungsten bullet weight and a 1/0 worm hook and T-Rig it. I used to fish it on a mushroom head jig but didn’t have the success I did with the finesse TRD. Once I switched to T-rigging it the magic started. If I am fishing a Big TRD it’s not on a jighead. I use a 1/8 oz strike king tungsten bullet weight and a 1/0 worm hook and T-Rig it. I used to fish it on a mushroom head jig but didn’t have the success I did with the finesse TRD. Once I switched to T-rigging it the magic started.

Yes. I am experienced enough now to eliminate the session ending backlashes. That is unless I hit a bush on my back cast…

While at Walmart over the weekend I passed through the fishing section. My local store is usually bare in the line and reel sections. For the first time in awhile they had a baitcaster in stock. I wasn’t surprised that it was an Abu Garcia Black Max, what I was surprised at was the price. $39.99! I thought they were in the $50-$60 range. I bought one as I have one that is at least 15 years old. I wanted to compare the two. The one on the right with the red handle is the new 2021 Black Max. The braking systems I paired the new Black Max with a Lew’s Laser HS medium action casting rod to throw some light T-rigged worms. The new reel is lighter and casts better than my old Black Max. No Backlashes and I was able to get great casting distance. I decided to take it out again this morning. I knew I was going to fish in some tight places so I paired the reel with a 6’6” medium Abu Garcia casting rod I had laying around. I also caught a Pickerel and a Bullhead The Bullhead already had a hook in him. I was able to get it out and he swam off fine. Overall I like the new Black Max. It is a surprise to me that the reel went down in price and up in quality and performance.

My 3 dedicated bait combos are: Medium light spinning rod with a small swimbait Medium spinning rod with a Ned rig Medium casting rod with a Whopper Plopper 60 a 4th rod I carry usually has something I want to try from the following list, Wacky rig Chatterbait T-rig Squarebill crankbait Lipless crankbait Dropshot

No. I have stuck with my size 10 (100) reels and 4-6# mono paired on light to medium light rods for fishing lures 1/8 oz and below. I can cast well and best yet no day ruining backlashes.

$99.99 Lew’s TP1X spinning rod. I have the dropshot specific model and it has been great.

I caught some nice Yellow Perch and Redbreast Sunfish big enough to take a Ned EWG hook and a 4” Wacky rigged Senko.

Green Bass Brown Bass It was a good weekend of fishing on the kayak.

I have never smoked. My Dad did and so did my Mom. She even smoked while pregnant with me. She read somewhere that it stunts a baby’s growth. Well I am 6’1” tall and she says her smoking cost me a basketball career. They quit decades ago. My Dad was a hypocrite, but he was scary. He smoked and told me not to ever start and if I did he would break my fingers so I couldn’t hold a cigarette. I believed him and never did. I have lost many a relative to smoking. Most memorable was my Grandfather. He was a chain smoker. Couldn’t go to the local store without a pack, a carton for an overnight trip. When they didn’t allow smoking at the movies anymore he stopped going. One day while mowing the lawn he came in and told my Grandmother he was quitting. It was because he was coughing up blood. They found cancer on his lung. He went in for an operation to have the spot removed and they were successful. However he never woke up. He faded away as the stress of the operation was too much for him. He was 72 years young. That side of the family lives into their late 90’s.

It’s been summed up nicely in this thread but I will reiterate my favorite points: Get to your spot first (set that alarm for before the rooster crows) Have more than one spot (If one is being occupied move on to the next)

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/lews-speed-spin-spinning-combo-2021-20lewuspdspn6ft9mcom/20lewuspdspn6ft9mcom For $100 at Dick’s you can get the Lew’s Speed Spin combo. I have the medium combo and I knicknamed it the “big fish stick” I seem to have luck catching big river fish with this combo. 5 pound largemouth, couple of 4 pound Channel Cats and a fish large 4+ pound Pickerel.

I broke out my old Abu Garcia Black Max last weekend. Still casts great. It’s well over a decade old and heavy compared to my newer reels. If you look at Tackle Warehouse you will see Abu has a lot of baitcasters in the $50-$90 range. They really have the market on budget baitcasters covered.

I usually carry 3 combos with me bank fishing. They are rigged with my confidence baits. Lately I have added a 4th combo rigged with whatever bait I want to try that day. This morning it was the Zman Chatterbait Flashback mini bladed jig. It was the most productive bait today for my target species, Smallmouth Bass.

I love my medium action Bass X casting rod. Don’t know how I feel about the new “hybrid guide system” aluminum oxide on two guides, stainless steel on the rest. I will have to see it to make a decision on purchasing. I liked the blue colors on the original model it matched my Lew’s Inshore LFS perfectly.