chicagolandangler

Hi, I'm pretty new to fishing and I've been throwing lures for a few months but never caught a bass yet. I bought a medium power Daiwa Tatula spinning rod, but I'm wondering if I made a bad choice because even just a 1/2oz crankbait weighs down the pole enough that it bends and I can feel the action on the pole, so I can't tell the difference between vibration and a bite. Do I need to upgrade my line weight (currently 10lb mono) or is it the rod that's the issue? I'd also like to use big swimbaits that weigh over 1oz (my dad wants to go up to Canada next year and fish for big muskie, so I bought a few big swimbaits for that) and small live bluegills as bait in the spring, but I'm concerned my rod won't be able to handle that weight. I'm thinking about getting a baitcaster for an all-purpose setup, but is there anything out there that's truly all-purpose? I ride a bike everywhere so I really need only one or two rods that can do everything possible (panfishing, jigging, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, topwaters, bigger live baits) while also being able to break down into two or more pieces. I don't know anyone else who fishes seriously so I don't know where to even begin to look. Thank you!

I do see people posting a lot of Beck bass on the Fishbrain app but most of them are fishing from kayaks. I don't have that luxury.

There's a couple of other ponds around the area that I've tried, but no luck there either. I'm very close to Ohare, so far I've tried Opeka, Big Bend and the DPR right next to it, and Beck.

Hi, I'm pretty new to fishing for bass, I've only caught one and that little guy was barely 6" caught on a basic nightcrawler while I was trying to fish the bluegill spawn. I've always wanted to catch bass though, I just never know what I'm doing. I shelled out some money for a Daiwa Tatula 6'8" medium power spinning rod with a Penn Pursuit III reel, equipped with 10lb Berkley Trilene XT mono. My local pond is 100% rock, bank fishing only, and is super pressured. I've thrown swimbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, even Texas rigs haven't had a single tap. I'd like to try and catch a bass before winter sets in. On this pond the main forage is shad, bluegill, and crawfish. What else can I try to get a bass this fall?