NateW

Yeah, that’s kind of what I was wondering. In my western PA lakes bass over 5lbs are pretty rare. Probably don’t need a true Heavy rod and versatility might win out. Thanks for the suggestions!

Thanks, good stuff to consider. Whats happening Sunday at ALF? Thanks! What are the “secret sales”? Is that something you get with a mailing list?

Should have mentioned it at the beginning, but at the end I said probably under $200. Thanks!

General Largemouth/Smallie fishing in western PA from a 14’ boat and am trying to get as much as I can from a reasonably budget minded 4 rod arsenal. I have three setups I’m pretty happy with for now, but I’m stuck trying to decide where to go with upgrading the fourth. Current lineup: 7’3” MH F Tatula (heavier side of MH) + 24 Tatula 100 spooled with 17lb fluoro (>3/8oz jigs/Texas rigs/swimbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, lipless cranks, etc) 7’ Dobyn’s Fury 703c (M/Mod side of MH/F) + Tatula SV 70 and 12lb fluoro (1/4-3/8oz Texas rigs and paddle-tail swimbaits, weightless senko/yamatanuki, sometimes cranks/jerkbaits) 7’ ML/F Spinning setup with 15lb braid + Fluoro leader (Ned’s, drop shot, <1/8oz paddle tails, tubes, really light cranks/poppers, etc) My 4th rod has been a cheap 6’6” Medium power baitcaster with 40lb braid and I’ve been using it for hollow body frogs, skipping Zman ToadZ, whopper ploppers, Zara spooks, and, well, anything I want to throw on braid or without untying my other rods. So, obviously I need something better suited to being my dedicated straight-braid rod that will get frog use, but I’d love to be able to also be able to skip ToadZ under docks, pitch a jig into heavy cover, and hopefully even still throw my spooks and ploppers on it. Looking at the Tatula XTs, but I’m open to anything under $200 if it will add a lot of flexibility to my quiver of rods. Any ideas? Thanks!

Thank you again!

That's really helpful! Thank you so much. Scott mentioned the water being colder near the deep water at the dam, and seeking warmer water, so, overall, would you say that the areas you pointed out on the maps I posted above would be better than the broader shorelines/secondary points in the bigger, shallower branches and at the at the other end of the lake? The wind at the lake lake is usually blowing from west/southwest to east/northeast. I don’t know much about the baitfish etc, except that there are a lot of Alewife that the hybrid stripers feed on at night. Thanks again for your time everyone! I really appreciate it.

Thanks! There is a dam. It’s on the left/west edge of the last map above, near “duck point”. Sorry, should have mentioned, the lake is in Western Pennsylvania, between Pittsburgh and Erie. It’s is known for Largemouth, Hybrid Stripers, Muskie, and Walleye. Thanks!

Hey everyone! My Dad and I have been doing bass fishing weekends a couple times a year for as long as I can remember (I’m 35 now, so quite awhile!) but it’s always just been random shoreline/visible structure casting with limited success. So now I’m really trying to put some effort into learning so we can make the most of our fishing time together and was wondering if anyone would be willing to take a look at some maps and help me identify some good spots for us next weekend. Lately I t’s been in the upper 30s at night and 50s during the day (with a few 70 plus days) but it looks like there will be highs in the upper 70s for three or four days before we’re fishing. From what I've read, I should be looking for secondary points and structure between deep water and coves, right? I focused on on the deeper end of the lake with the steepest banks near coves. What do you guys think? Looking at the maps, does anyone have any tips? Thanks!