Glaucus

It's been almost all moving baits for me too so far. Spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, and now paddle tails. Can hardly buy a soft plastic bite (excluding the paddle tails of course).

This is how one of the losers feels about his crime. His excuse is that he'd been going there for years and it was overpopulated. Illegally fishing this guy's property and thinking he had the right to manage it. Zero remorse. Doesn't care at all.

You know our laws are a joke when one of these guys is literally on the Facebook page of the agency that caught him bragging about it and not caring. In case anyone is interested, the 46 were caught on a white chatterbait. ?

One of the guys responsible for 46 of those fish is on the IDNR Facebook page bragging about it, saying he's going to pay his small fine and take the fame. He has no regrets. The law is far too lax here.

I see now. Thanks for the edit. Will comment soon. Some literal and actual idiots who don't care about anyone or anything but themselves. Being from Illinois I'm all the more furious and disgusted. I saw this happening on the river one day with Smallmouth but there was nothing I could do about it. I didn't have my phone and we were a long way from the vehicles. It wasn't anywhere close to 114 though. Probably 30 or 40.

I have some issues with Dobyns, but lack of sensitivity isn't one of them. I can feel everything with my Fury rods.

Roland Martin has a set on him. Can't imagine ever doing this in South Florida.

Largemouth for sure. I catch them with those eyes and that coloration and pattern all the time. Nothing unusual.

I'd be using a Heavy Power rod for an A-Rig, heavier braid, heavier mono or fluoro, but what I notice most is that you didn't set the hook. You just kind of leaned/reeled into the fish.

Thanks Tom. I don't really know what he meant by that and I guess I still don't, but good post with reason.

Do yourself a favor and get a Daiwa Aird X for $30-$50 in both casting and spinning. Check Amazon and eBay. Then get yourself a Fuego CT casting reel for $50-75 and a Pflueger President spinning reel for $30-$50, again checking Amazon and eBay. At worst your total cost is $275 retail if you have to pay full price, but you rarely will online if you're looking in the right places. Hands down the best budget rods and budget reels. And you'll be set up nicely.

If I'm fishing for LMB I am slow and methodical during the summer days. If I'm fishing for SMB it's pedal to the metal baby.

You would be wrong, else nobody would do it.

My fleet of Fury rods is also seeing some chipping away of the cork after about a month of use since open water and somewhat decent weather has come our way. I found out that U40 was a thing last night, and my Fury rods were exactly what I had in mind after finding out that this existed. I haven't had much of an issue with cork handles before these rods. I really don't even know how I had never heard about U40. On another note, I was going to make a thread on the power rating of Dobyns rods. Before purchasing I had asked if it was true that the power ratings are laughably exaggerated, and I was told no. What I have found is that the casting rods are weaker than their power rating says that they are compared to what is typical. I know that there is no industry standard. However I went into it know that a MH is more of a M and a H is more of a MH and I have been pleased. No as far as the spinning rods are concerned, I wish I had never bought them. The Fury line doesn't offer a MH spinning rod. The M is really weak. Casting a 5" Senko on it feels like I've got a bowling ball attached to my rod. It's been a grind for me so far this crappy spring, and the handful of fish I have had on the end of the M Fury have either come unpinned and/or it felt like my rod wasn't up for the job and that I couldn't get a good hookset. I bought the ML as well, but that is solely for Need Rigs for river smallmouth and I have no doubt that that whippy rod will be perfect for them. I've casted Ned Rigs on it and it feels great. I did try a wacky rig on the ML but I put an end to that real fast as I once again felt like I was over powering the rod. I was going to make a thread about the above, but I've done nothing but complain about one thing or another regarding them since I've had them, and I didn't want to bog down the forums with yet another complaint thread. So you get it in this thread LOL. Long story short I like the casting rods but honestly if I got to buy a new fleet all over again it would not be Dobyns.

Second time today I'm recommending the Okuma EVX. The 6'8" M/MF-F at $110 would be perfect for both your budget and your requirements, in my opinion. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-OKUMARDS.html?from=basres

6'6" - 7' Medium Heavy Power / Moderate Fast Action The Okuma EVX 6'8" MH/MF would be the only rod I own if I could only have one rod, or the only rod I would take if I wanted a "do everything" rod for the day. $50 left over to line it up and buy some lures.

I learned from the internet.

I'm going to be honest here and I feel foolish and like I've been completely out of the loop: I had no idea about this cork sealer. I'm definitely buying that.

My wife is ordering some shirts online and asked what size I want. I said, "Medium Heavy" thinking 'large'. Took me a second to understand the, "Whaaat are you talking about?" response I got.

These are the Berkley PowerBait Swim Shad in 3 inch Fire Tiger. They swim well (although I had to straighten the tails out in boiling water), they catch fish, and they're only $4 for a 5 or 6 pack (can't remember). The hooks aren't the sharpest and they start to rip out the back of the plastic after one aggressive strike. For the money and instant fish catching, they're good, but they won't last and you might lose a good fish. Is it worth it? Depends on the person. I'll be searching for something similar of better quality but I'll also get another pack of these since I know they work.

6'6" for almost everything, 6'8", 6'9", 6'10" and 7' when I have to. Typically throw a frog on a 6'6". I don't like to walk anything on a longer rod. Others will say you need the longer rod. Comes down to what feels good in your hands and what you can best work with. It's all preference.

It was actually my search for a good pack of Rage Swimmers that triggered this post. There wasn't a single pack of 3.25" that all had good tails at BPS or my local store. I've gotten a couple packs of Trick Worms that were permanently zig zagged. I attributed that to prolonged heat exposure in shipping or storage. I also had to stick the tails of each and every one of those Berkley PowerBait Swim Shads in boiling water to fix them.

2 more caught and 2 more than came off in the pouring rain today for an hour or so. I really need to get my rear to the store the get some better quality similar baits and sharper hooks. Very happy to have found what they will eat.

Definitely buy a Fuego CT. They can be found for 50-75 dollars, especially on eBay and Amazon. Don't get a Black Max. If you ever try pitching with one, you will instead want to pitch the whole setup into the water. The Silver Max is a huge upgrade for a little more.

I've heard River2Sea is really good about replacing lures.