BigAngus752

Hey, that's sharp! Do NOT show that to my wife....I've got too many projects...

We've been visiting potential places for several years. We've been to the Murray, KY area (Kentucky Lake), middle TN (Center Hill/Dale Hollow area), southeastern TN (Cleveland/Ocoee), and NE Georgia. We are 90% certain that we have found where we want to be in Georgia. Somewhere from Toccoa to Lavonia.

I think you'll find that same culture in places you didn't think would have it. I've (unfortunately) been in Illinois my entire life. We live in a county with more than 100,000 people and nearly everyone I know and everyone I work with hunts and/or fishes and/or camps and/or offroads. It's a fight every fall for vacation time because everyone is in their tree stands. Illinois has the best whitetail hunting and turkey hunting in the country IMO. We don't have a huge number of lakes but from spring until fall they are packed on weekends with fishermen. The mentality about Illinois is that Chicago is Illinois. That's not even close. Once you are a 60 miles south of Chicago you are in the real Illinois. I'm not surprised that you know so many people that hunt and fish. I do to. But just FYI, my wife and I are heading south in four years or less!!!

I'm with @Dens228. I think you're looking at two different rods here. Trebles should be on something like a med/moderate with line that has at least a little bit of forgiving stretch (not braid). But a "chatterbait" is a jig with a blade on it. I fish bladed jigs and spinners on MH. IMHO. One of my favorite things to throw (and one of my most productive lures) is a lipless crank. I fish them on a M/M Fenwick using a Tatula SV with Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

I'm starting to figure that out! LOL! I may have hooked myself with the Ned Rig. ?

All of my baitcasters are Daiwa (just a personal preference, not claiming superiority) except for my two frog/flipping rods that both have Abu Garcia Revo SX on them (huge drag and great spools for heavy braid). My favorite spinning reel is a Daiwa Fuego. I bought a KastKing Sharky 2 and was really pleasantly surprised. I would not pass up a Sharky 3 for a great price. Most recently I decided to try Plueger and I bought a President XT. Big mistake. I wish I had bought another Fuego or Sharky. So I guess I am gradually narrowing it down to just a couple brands.

Recently got permission to fish a small pond in an expensive subdivision less than 2 minutes from my house. Today I went to the sweet spot on the west side where I caught a fish last weekend. I threw a Ned Rig with 1/2 of a coppertreuse Zinker Z on it. These three fish represent the first three casts I made. I only made those three casts and then I went home. I didn't want to burn it out. I'm bringing my teenage son back tomorrow so he can have a good fishing experience.

I will try to catch that koi just because it would be hilarious (and I'll use it as fertilizer). Here's something interesting...I went back to the pond today. To the exact same spot where I caught the above fish. I used the same Ned Rig with the same 1/2 Zinker Z. First cast I caught a dink. Second cast a 1.5 pounder. Third cast a 2.5 pounder. I actually stopped at that point and went somewhere else. I did that because I clearly have found (for the moment) a honey hole. I have a place and technique guaranteed to catch fish right now in this season and I want to get my 15yr old son there so he has a positive fishing experience. I don't want to burn it out until my son catches some fish there. I'm curious, though, if this catching spree is a good sign or bad sign for this small pond (it's about 2.5 acres and the majority is 2 feet deep. I'm told that is gets to 10-15ft in the middle but my casting hasn't found anything deeper than 5ft or so). Thanks for the help! You were actually typing this as I typed an update to @TOXIC PLEASE read that post about my experience there today and let me know if that is any kind of indicator to you. Thanks!

I just watched two walk-around videos, one for a '14 and one for a '15. The only thing I noticed in the '14 was the livewell appeared to be different than my '16. The '15 was absolutely identical to my '16. Same color, dual console, it could have been my boat. That's not definitive of course because the '15 in the video may have been a late-year build and the walk around videos don't give you all the specs. Looking at the videos, though, I can't imagine why you would be any happier with a '16 than a year or two older. I think you're on the right track. I've had my '16 for two years and I love it. I wouldn't trade it for anything (except on windy days when I wish it was heavier).

Wow, that was well thought out. Can you Uber to a good fishing spot? Hey! There's a money-maker! Bassin'Uber! Or FishLyfts.

Thanks for the info. I hope I can fish it often without wearing out my welcome. I did see one thing that concerned me while I was there...I watched a bright orange koi/goldfish/exotic of some sort that was at least a pound or more roll on the surface. My wife mentioned it to the guy who gave me permission and he said, "Yeah, we gotta get that out of there". The neighborhood knows it's in there but doesn't know who dumped it. Any idea what effect an exotic such as that could have if there's a breeding pair in there? It's a very expensive subdivision full of houses I could never afford. I can guarantee that if I start pulling numbers of ANY kind of fish out of there one of the other homeowners will complain. I'll have to talk to the guy that I know and we will work something out so he is present and taking responsibility for what needs to be culled. Thanks again.

1. My son 2. My wife 3. Bill Dance 4. Scott Martin (he's hilarious and I think he would just be a blast to be around) 5. Scarlett Johansson (my wife said if I get the chance I should "go for it". I have a great wife!)

Another vote for Amazon. These work well and actually kind of gently "snap" onto the hook, but are still easy to remove. They don't fall off like some of the cheaper versions. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074ZN38K2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

All of my baitcasting reels are Daiwa...except for the reels on my two frog rods. I love the Daiwas (I own Fuego CTs, Tatula CTs, Tatula CT-Rs, and a Tatula SV) but the reels on my frog rods are both Abu Garcia Revo SX (one Gen 3 and one Gen 4). Both will throw a hollow body frog a country mile, handle 50lb braid beautifully, and they have 24lbs of drag to haul bass out of the lily pads. I also throw my Whopper Plopper 130s with one of those rods. Perfect reel for frogs. Never had a single problem with either of them.

Thanks guys. I'm confident that at least part of the problem was poorly spooling technique to begin with, probably in combination with one or more of the other things you mentioned. I appreciate the tips.

I feel like this is what happened. I knew when I was spooling that reel that I was being lazy about it because it was "only" a spinning reel with braid on it. I just checked it and it's perfectly even top to bottom but I'm feeling like the braid is too loose on the spool. I am going to redo it now. Thank you for the help.

I recently received permission to fish a nearby neighborhood pond. The guy told me that it was stocked 20 years ago with crappie and bluegill and no one has done anything with it. It's less than 2 minutes from my house so I planned to use it to try new gear and practice techniques. It's been completely frozen for more than two weeks but a few days of warm weather and rain opened it up. I hardly took anything with me as I was only trying out my new Terex MH spinning rod. I worked with it for awhile and then grabbed a M/XF Powell spinning rod (the only other rod I brought) and put the smallest thing I had on it in the hopes of catching some panfish. The smallest thing I had with me was a Shroomz jig head and I cut a coppertreuse ZinkerZ in half and stuck it on. I've only tried the Ned once before but I was moving too fast and setting too hard and kept missing. I've been reading and watching videos on it and this time on the third cast I caught this one. I had to leave at that point but where there's one, there's more. Looking forward to telling my friend that his lake has LM in it! I always love catching on something new. Looking forward to more Ned fishing!

Odd. The wind was almost at my back and barely 10mph. I always close the bail by hand too, but this line was in a tangle before it hit the water. I'm sure the "thump" I felt was this tangle going through the guides...or the guides causing the tangle somehow. But I saw the tangle hit the water as the line was still sailing with the bail open. Maybe the wind caught a loop during the cast. Thanks for the info.

Duckett Terex spinning rod M/H Fast; Pflueger President XT (size 35); 20lb Power Pro braid; Texas-rig, 1/2oz weight (not pegged), 4/0 EWG, Zoom Trick Worm. Sorry the pic is blurry but you'll get the idea. I've never had this happen before. Went to a nearby pond to try out my new Terex spinning rod for the first time. On my second or third cast I felt a "thump" during the cast and when I looked out I saw a big tangle in the middle of my line about 15 yards out in the water. I reeled it to me and spent five minutes weeding it out. What happened and how to I prevent it? I cast it 20 more times with no problems after. Thanks in advance.

Carolan's Irish Cream BLEH!!!! ? I would literally drink a Coors Light before I drank eggnog!!! Okay...maybe that's a little extreme...

Good call. I've had the pull-out-your-hair tough days and I go straight to a lipless (Cotton Cordell, Rat-L-Trap, or Red eye Shad) and a Zoom Trick Worm. Those are my "Not going to take a skunk today" baits.

My Xmas tree is as real as my wife's ta-tas. So....not so much.

If this is accurate then I am exactly opposite of 'most' fisherman. Once I started upgrading rods and got my first "good" rod I thought I would want to stick with a single manufacturer. I was wrong. I've found that there is such a wide range of rod power, taper, and "feel" characteristics that I'm gradually collecting a variety of brands that work best (for me) for different techniques. Best case scenario would be that you have retailers in driving range of your home where you can go handle the rods before you purchase. @roadwarrior is giving his usual great advice. Find three good rods as he suggested to get your start and branch off into other techniques/rods from there. Enjoy! Oh, and you're penniless for the rest of your life now...

Well yes, but now you'd probably throw in an SMH and/or a LMAO. Tell them you're shook 'cause they're being so extra. You know...since it's 2018 now. ?

Whoa, slow down there. I've met quite a few spineless humans...