jrwerner310

I was at Dicks Sporting Goods yesterday taking to a salesmen about upgrading my rods for this year. I got to feel a St. Croix spinning and casting as well as a Lews casting. Told the salesmen what i do, how and what i fish and the problems I was having. He told me what he does and showed me what he uses as well. I got so hyped about it but there is so much information to breakdown and choose from. The only thing i know for sure: 1. I dont know near enough about fishing as i thought i did. 2. I do want to upgrade at lease one spinning rod and add a finesse spinning 3. I need a casting rod for jigs because the ones i have are not near powerful enough I do watch way to many fishing videos. HAHA. But i am going to watch that video tonight after work. That is a good idea. I have had some luck with that setup but maybe I do need to focus more on it.

I would. But married with a family has it challenges and nights are few and far between to come by lol. I have to plan a day or two ahead for the wife and have to not let my kid know cause she always wants to go. I love fishing with my kid no question but she will only fish for about 20-30 mins and even thats a stretch. We did get a day of Bluegill fishing in for about 2 hrs but they were no stop hitting the worms and we had the occasional small rock bass hit. I want to concentrate on what Im doing so I can eventually show her how to fish for bass and maybe she will want to go more. I go get out on my kayak and have a short drive to my lake of choice and Im going to try a few others this coming spring and summer.

I have to say that I've been sitting here taking notes and looking up ideas through this whole conversation. All of the advice had helped a lot, so thank you very much. I've only been fishing for a couple of years and don't get out much. Half of the rods I use wither have braid and a FC leader or just have FC on them. I should just start setting up the rods on one kind of style and fish it for a bit and if nothing happens, move on to the next one. Maybe I should make a log of what and how am fishing that day. I only fish one little lake since its so close to my house and i dont get much time to go.

Im just having troubles detecting those bits. I normally find out i have a fish when either i feel the weight on the line or when i go to pop the bait, the line goes crazy and there it is. maybe i need to pay attention to my line more before i buy a new rod? It could also be that im over thinking it and there is just no fish lol. Plus all i really fish is the ned rig, spinners and weightless texas. I want to try more cranks, shaky, wacky, flipping, jigs and weighted texas. i just figure if im going to branch out on other techniques I should upgrade a little before I do.

i do mostly bass fish. havent caught any Smallmouth bass tho. would like to get into trout and walleye. i do have some nice gear but i dont feel that they are that sensitive. but maybe its just me and i dont know much or my setup is wrong. I just feel like im missing a lot of strikes. im going to keep using the same gear that i have and just add to it or replace it. I have heard nothing but good things about St. Croix and just have to hid the price tag from the wife lol.

Are Lew's and Fenwick nice and sensitive rods?

I do like my Ugly Stik. i have no complaints. I just feel like the current equipment i have is not sensitive enough for how i fish. Here is my current setup: Casting Abu Garcia Silver Max 6'6" Medium with 12LB FC - Fish Spinning, some jigs and top waters Shimano Zebra Medium 6'6" with 15LB Braid and 10LB FC Leader - Fish spinning, cranks and swimbaits I want to upgrade and or add a flipping stick and another versatile rod. Spinning Ugly Stik Medium 6'6" with 15LB Braid and 10lb FC leader - Fish weightless, ned, neko, texas and carolina Cabelas (Forgot Name) Medium with 10BL FC - Fish weightless, ned, neko, texas and carolina The cabela rod has a broken tip but repaired. Looking to replace at least the rod and maybe the reel. Looking to add a finesse Rod. any advice on what i can improve, add or try would me much appreciated

Not huge budget. If I'm going to start buying these higher end rods, it might take me a bit to replace and add to the arsenal. I have been looking into St. Croix and Lews rods. I want to replace a spinning rod for an all around rod, get a finesse spinning rod for drop-shot and other light weight applications and get a pair of casting rods for jigs, spinners and other heavier weighted baits. i dont do much with hard baits since i havent had much luck with them. Mostly fish from the bank and sometimes fish from the kayak. I did break a tip of one rod a couple of years ago and glued it back on but its never been the same. I do feel that i have a nice understanding of fishing and feel that upgrading my gear might help a little bit with fine tuning what i do.

yea it does. that why i like it but its not that sensitive enough for me. Im looking more into the St. Croix or the Lews rods now. Has anyone tired the favorite brand of rod?

Is anyone a fan of Ugly Stik fan? i have one with braided main line and a fluorocarbon leader. works will withe the lighter baits. i mostly us it for my weedless/ weightless and ned rig setups. what are your thoughts?

I have always had a hard time detecting bites. The four main fishing rods that i use are all medium action and medium sensitivity, with either a moderate or fast action tip. i have two with 8-10LB fluorocarbon or 10-15lb braid with a 10lb fluorocarbon leader. that setup seems to work but im still always struggling it seems. i am guessing that i need to do a better job at matching up some of my equipment better before i decide to splurge on yet another fishing rod lol, especially since i dont get to fish as much as i would like and im mostly fishing from the bank or the kayak. im wondering if a brighter main line would help with some of those detecting some more bites tho?

One of my best days fishing was with a Booyah 1/4 oz white spinner. Caught two 3LB bass and a 2' Pike.

really. Blue? ill have to try that. is that used in the same way as a bubble gum color?

well that looks fancy

i had a mepps spinner this past fall, but had a bad luck day with it. bite was really slow. texas and ned rig both didnt work. so i figured i would give it a shot. nice 1-2lb bass hit it on the 3rd cast. nice fighter. went to snap a quick picture, he made on hell of a quick flap and snapped my line with the lure still in his mouth. saw im swim away with the mepps hanging from his mouth as a small rock bass came to swipe at it.

jrwerner310@gmail.com no need to apologize for the hijacking! lol its always a good time for a little boozing. Hoping to get a crown in myself after work. pup has to go to dog school tonight tho.

its only 33 degrees here, sunny, no snow tho. not even any ice to go ice fishing!

I could us one at my desk right now! ?

Does anyone us inline spinners for large or small mouth bass? if so what do you recommend? Also, what are your favorite small mouth bass baits?

for the green pumpkin with chartreuse, whats your favorite way to fish it? weedless/weightless texas style?

Thanks for all the information. I've never tried PB&J but i think i will. i do have some variations of green pumpkin and junebug-red and purple. one or two black and blues but not many. oddly enough i haven't had any luck what so ever with crank baits of any kind. i haven't seen any shad in this lake, bluegills are what the bass mostly feed on i believe. they don't allow minnows or any kind of live bait expect worm, leaches, etc...

Looking for some new colors to try out. the lake i fish has about a 2-3 foot visibility. green pumpkin neg rig and wacky rig work well but not all the time. i have had some luck with a mepps spinner as well. any different colors i can try? also what works well in a stained lake with heavy grass?

the lake i fish is really clear. ive had really good luck on a ned rig. ill have to try a finesse jig then.

i guess i was wondering more about when and where to throw a finesse jig or a traditional one? i do not get the difference between the two.