Primitive fisherman

4th of July weekend was pretty productive. I decided to suck it up and deal with recreational boaters on a small lake and I am glad I did. Working a finesse worm texas rigged right on the weed lines and caught about 20 fish for the weekend averaging 2-3 pounds. Than last weekend I was back in the cities where I don't have my boat so I was bank fishing painfully dragging a finesse worm on a shakey head around for 2 hours at sunset, until one fish decided to bite which turned out to be a 5 pounder making it all worth it.

I haven't had much luck this year with the frog yet in the cities but last night I did have what I believe to be a 30inch northern come completely out of the water like a shark to attack my frog. Didn't catch it, but it was an awesome sight.

Bush lake between eden praire and bloomington. It is heavily pressured but Most people fish the dock but it is usually just northerns there. Gotta go off the beaten path to get on this nice shallow flats.

Did some bank fishing this weekend in the cities and caught five bass over 2lbs, biggest ***.2pounds. All coming on light texas rig. Lake I was fishing was super clear and I was actually able to sight fish every bass. Also caught one 24ish inch northern in deeper water. Going back out later today to a different lake but so far season has started out great. 3.2 pounds since I can't put those letters and numbers together in that order?

So there is a lot of variables here. I'm not a great catfishermen, but I have some experience I personally have a cheap combo that is dedicated to bottom river fishing. If you currently have a rod with a lure rating up to 1.5 or 2 ounces you could just use that. I bought a ugly stick catfish rod combo for $50 that is rated 1-3oz lures. For the rig I only run a Carolina rig. (there will always be debate about type of line) I put 65lb braid mainline to a strong barrel swivel. On the mainline side of the swivel I have a 1.5-3oz no roll sinker depending on depth and strength of river current. Just like bass go as light of a weight as possible while relatively keeping it in one spot. Than I tie about 18 inches of 30lb mono leader from the swivel to a 6/0 or 8/0 circle hook. I use the snell not on the circle hook The bait- if your state allows fresh cutbait from the water source you are fishing that would be the best. Sunfish, shad etc. Cut it into big pieces an put it on your hook. If no cutbait available us chicken liver, hotdogs, frozen shrimp, SPAM as other options Location: Catfish are ambush predators kind of like bass. Find deep holes they could be hidding in. Find pinch points where bait fish move through. Best places would be below dams, around bridge pillars, outside parts of bends of river, where creeks or smaller rivers enter main river etc. Get your rig, get your bait, cast it in, put a bell on rod tip, grab your beverage of choice, sit back and wait. Don't sit in one spot for hours if not catching, but have some patients as catfish will be on the move during their feeding times

Do you have the JDM or USDM version because looking at the two it looks like the the JDM version is slightly lighter and maybe holds more line (My conversions may be way off)

So you guys think the SLX MGL is a good upgrade over the Fuego. My question is the $10 over the SLX MGL worth it for the Diawa Tatula 100 or do you still prefer the SLX MGL? The rod setup I would put it on would be using 15lb Fluorocarbon and 1/4-3/8oz swim jigs

Thought I’d use the Black Friday and end of year sale to finally try out 6th sense next season

Biospawns 7" ExoRibbon is a great ribbon tail worm. Another worm I hope to add to my worm dream team next season is the 6th sense ridge worm, It looks like a killer C-rig bait, but I need to wait because I haven't found a c-rig weight heavy enough to get through the ice... yet.

It was just epoxy. I got it removed. Unfortunately, now there is a little paint missing from the blank there. It is just one of those things that no one else will ever notice and has no affect on the performance, but I know it is there.

Just received a new dobyns Sierra 704c today and when I was inspecting it for damage it had this “bubble” on it. Should I be worried about it and get a replacement or is it nothing?

That is why I felt the 704c was better for my needs warning: almost every time I come to this website or visit TW website or even talk to anyone about fishing is hard on my wallet.

I don't have any experience with Dobyn's because I ordered my first dobyns sierra 704c during TW 25 day of Christmas that I plan to use for moving single hook baits like swim jigs, buzzbaits, chatterbaits etc. plus some casting jigs and T-rigs 1/4-3/8oz, but living in Minnesota I obviously can't test it out for a few months. Anyways, I see all over this forum how great any dobyn's 734c is saying it is a must have and most versatile, and people always suggest the 734 and rarely hear much about the 704c. If the rod line is equal is there that much of a difference between the two? Does it come down to just personal preference or is there an actual difference in action, accuracy, casting distance, etc.? I feel like as a mostly bank and kayak angler the 704c is more versatile to me and I know I won't regret my purchase, but I am curious.

Going to upgrade my weighted texas rig and jig rod before TW black Friday sale ends tomorrow. I have narrowed it down to: -Diawa Tatula 7'1" MH/F -Dobyns Sierra 703C, 704C or 734C -St. Croix mojo bass 7'1" MH/F I'm leaning towards the Dobyns because it is the only one that qualifies for the sale making it cheaper than the others. I know I would be happy with either as i've seen great reviews on here of all 3 rods, Everyone here has way more experience than me and I was just wondering if anyone had any input on the rods for my specific need and which way you guys would go. The main thing things that will be fished on it will be 1/4-3/8 texas rigs with 5" stick baits, 7" curly tail worms, and creature style baits like strike kings rage bug. The jigs will usually only be 3/8oz+ trailer with the rare occasional 1/2oz jigs. Other lures will be 3/8 buzzbaits over grass flats. Also, most of my fishing is from the bank around light to moderate cover Thank you to everyone that keeps answering all our questions during these holiday seasons and helping us inexperienced folks out.

Yeah it seems like everyone is all over the place, I should have asked best mid range brand. Around that $200 and under. My rod line up is small and probably won’t splurge on a high end rod until I’ve built up a collection and found a brand that feels right to me. So a better question if I was to redo it would be “what brand makes the best ‘bang for your buck’ mid range (under $200) worm/jig rod” I know opinions will still very greatly, but maybe help the average consumer better than everyone saying their $300+ Is the best rod because well, for that price it better be a good rod.

It wasn’t so much a post to be helpful in a purchasing decision. It’s more that I’ve seen so many people talk about different brands I was curious if there was a majority vote on a brand with no budget.

If you have to pick only one rod brand to fish bottom contact baits like Texas rigs and jigs what would it be?

That’s right, I forgot about the plastic weight. Honestly, I don’t feel confident right now using a 1oz weight so if I was going to ‘punch’ it probably would be a 1/2oz weight at most into lighter cover

Hello, I’m new to using bait casters. I’ve only owned one for a year and it’s a Lews TP-1 Medium Fast. I’m looking at getting a stronger baitcaster. The techniques I would fish with it would be 1/4oz Texas rig, 3/8-1/2 jigs, and 1/2-1oz punching into light to medium density cover. I like the Winn grips on lews rods and was looking at the Lew’s TP1 black 7’2” Medium heavy fast jig rod. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the TP1 black or if anyone has any other recommendations under $150? Thank you.