DaubsNU1

I have owned the following rods since the mid to late 1990's: - four bait-casters (three Cabela's, one Berkley) - seven spinning rods (all Cabela's brand) All but two get used regularly...one is a very light spinning rod that is a duplicate, the other is a heavy spinning rod that needs guide work. I don't want to spend $$ on new rods and reels...what I have seems to catch fish. I would rather spend money on lures / tackle, or boat upgrades. Now, ask me about Gore-Tex coats, pants, rain-gear, hats, gloves, waders, etc. I have a PROBLEM : )

I appreciate the link and the words of wisdom @Ski. I will certainly have a watch of Glen's video.

Yes, I was out of the game for 10+ years until I started back fishing last summer. But that is no excuse for violating one of my basic principles of bass fishing...heck, fishing in general. That rule is: Never grab the line when landing a fish. Always, I mean ALWAYS keep the rod tip up, and use as a shock-absorber if the fish makes a run. My home lake is just a few years old, and holds a lot of small bass (<12"). Sure, there is the occasional 2-3 pound bass...but they are few and far between. I've been getting in the habit of grabbing the line just above the lure to land small fish. Easy. Convenient. Get that fish in the boat. Get the lure out. Keep fishing. Two weeks ago I fished lake for the first time...it's known for having big bass. Five and six pound largemouth. Guy at work claims his fishing buddy landed a 9 lb. bass from this lake. Okay, I'll give it a try. I fished for 7 hours and caught a few...one went 3lbs-6oz. Nice fish. Saturday I gave it a another try. Wasn't doing great, just two fish in the boat, a 13" and a nice 2-1/2 lb. bass. Fishing was slow. I decided to start pitching a Senko under boat docks (not a technique I'm super familiar with, or even good at). The sun was getting higher in the sky, winds calm, warm day...and I found a nice dock with plenty of shade and was relatively open back to the sea-wall. I casted the black and blue Senko and managed a perfect skip, landing the lure just a few inches from the wall. I did not feel anything, but noticed the line moved just slightly to the right. I reeled up the slack and set the hook. Bam, fish on! I did make one good move...getting the fish clear from the dock I whirled around the trolling motor and got the fish clear. She made two good runs, peeling line from my reel...but it was all over pretty quickly. She surfaced and I could see the hook buried in her mouth...I relaxed (big mistake)! Instead of keeping the rod in my hand, rod high...and lipping the fish...I reached down and grabbed the line. She thrashed once and I heard the "plink" as the fluoro snapped. I just laughed, knowing the rookie mistake I had just made. It was a d**n good fish...I hope we get to dance again one day!

Blue fleck power worm...been catching bass on this color since the early 1990's...

d**n good list!

A simple lead-head-jig with a white Berkeley 2" power grub.

My favorite rod is an old Cabela's C44x, CDH 602, 6' casting rod. It has the spiral-guides. Great for texas-rigged soft plastics. Super sensitive.

Wife think's I'm crazy for not drinking coffee. I usually wake up naturally around 4:30-5 AM daily. L O L ! She had to stop eating dairy and wheat (gluten) about four years ago. I stopped eating gluten about that time...pretty easy to do...lots of meat, veggies, cheese, fruits, etc. And there are lots of gluten free things out there. Felt better. Never was a bit sweet's guy...so slowing down in that area was pretty easy. Cut way back on dairy about four months ago...feel even better. I can still slam down the meat-n-potatoes with the best of them!

This is going to sound crazy, but I have had exactly one coffee in my entire life(!) Never liked the smell...I know, I'm crazy!

30lb PowerPro braid on all my bait-casters 10lb bright yellow PowerPro braid to 10lb Fluorocarbon leader on all my spinning rods. Simple. Effective.

Excellent!

I wouldn't worry too much about the perfect set up. Sometimes I think we "overthink" things... I'm still fishing rods / reels I purchased between 1990 and 2001...and I agonized over every purchase back then.... And.... I'm still fishing those same set-ups today. Get the best equipment you can afford ("buy-once-cry-once"), and get out on the water.

Agreed! I scored my aluminum at Lowe's and Menards with gift cards and 11% discounts.

Agreed! I learned a lot, and got some great ideas for my build. They also have an Amazon store, pretty d**n useful.

I've been running 30lb braid on my bait-casters since the early 1990's...plenty strong. Ran one spinning rod with 30lb braid and didn't like it one bit. Never a fan of braid on spinning rod...until.... This spring when I made myself fish spinning rod with braid to fluorocarbon leader...and loved it! Now all my spinning rods have the following set up: - 10lb Yellow Power Pro braid - 10 or 8lb fluorocarbon leader I fish timber, lily pads, heavy vegetation...no issues. When I do get a big snag and have to break off...~80% of the time i can break where the leader meets lure. About 20% of the time I break at braid-to-leader knot.

Here is a build-thread...with before and after pictures. I purchased in 2000 for $600, boat / motor / trailer. It had nothing...I added the front casting deck, front trolling motor, both seats. Fished like that until last Christmas...daughters got me a new fish-finder. What started off as a Garmin install turned in to huge renovation / re-design. Replaced transom wood, created framing and decking.

I've owned this 1974 Mercury 20hp 2-stroke since 2000. Replaced the plugs every few years...replaced the water pump. That is it. I have never done anything else to this outboard. Starts, runs, stops. It will make 20MPH with my added decking.

Outstanding!! Looks very much like my 1960 Rich Line, 14' A few pictures of the old set up...and recent upgrades / decking. The 20HP Merc was getting 23MPH with setup in the first picture...I'm getting 20MPH as it stands right now. I still have work to do...hatches on front deck, carpeting. I fished out of a canoe before getting this boat in 2000. Very stable, great fishing two people, love it! Enjoy your new boat!!!

Congrats! Read up on "birth-order." Interesting stuff. For the most part, first born will be reliable, structured, cautious, careful, carry the family flag (achievers). Second kids will tend more towards people-pleasers, rebellious, thrive on friendships, large social circle, peacemaker...and fearless (I had two daughters...my second daughter was bound-and-determined to to EVERYTHING her older sister did!) I can remember holding them in the hospital...@jimmyjoe is right...time flies. Mine are 23 and 21! Enjoy every minute!

I've been hammering largemouth on the standard TRD at my home lake. Catching everything from 9" up to a very nice 18" | 3lb-6oz fatty. Tried Big TRD yesterday...nothing. Not even a nibble. Back to the standard...and continued hammering them.

Trilene XL.

#Truth! I scoped out a new spot last week...got to talking with a couple of anglers...we ended up standing by our trucks, talking fishing until around 10:30 PM. They shared good information on this lake...and I shared information on some other lakes in the area. Fished a new lake on Saturday...got to talking with guys at the boat dock, and later in the morning spent about 30 minutes talking with them on the water. They were super friendly, offered some good advice.

For me, fishing is a whole lot different than public waterfowl hunting. Duck hunting: wake up ass-crack-of-dawn, make sure I'm there, in my "spot" before anyone even thinks of getting out of bed. Critical! If someone beats me to my spot, more power to them. Enjoy. I will be back, even earlier tomorrow... Fishing: I do like to be the first one on the water, and try to hit my "spots" first...but there are sooooo many places to fish, and so many fish to catch. I really couldn't care less if someone comes along and fishes near me. Or fishes after I move on to another spot.

Fishing before sunrise = TOP Water, 100% of the time!