T-Billy

Black Ol Monsters work well for me in any color water.

^^^THIS^^^

Exactly why I quit using it. XT and 832 serve me well. Breakoffs are rare indeed, and breaks at the knot are even more rare. Palomar for braid, and Trilene for mono. Edit to add: Flippin hooks get the Tharp Snell Knot. Easiest snell I've found and have never had one fail.

X2

Glad you got the info you were looking for PotatoLake. That rod should serve you well. There really isn't a right or wrong on this question. Simply a matter of what works best for you. With the little exposed hooks involved, a reel set is all that's needed even with a fairly limber rod and mono. The SLX I use is rated fast but, feels more like a mod/fast. I fish a ned on 6# XT, and just reel into 'em. Not many get away. I'm with ya 100% on this site. Great place to hang out.

I'm in the fast or modfast camp. A soft tip helps keep from tearing the small hook out, and does a better job of keeping them pinned. 7' SLX ML works great for me.

I have 5 impoundments within a hour of me that I've been fishing my whole life. All between 1k -2k acres. All HEAVILY pressured. This year basically out of boredom, I started fishing areas of them I either hadn't fished before, or hadn't fished for years. It's really paying off. I'm finding fish in areas that don't get beat to death, because there's no obvious structure or visible cover to attract anglers attention. I'm having a ball searching out new stuff on old familiar waters. It kinda makes these waters new to me again. Sometimes I spend time graphing, sometimes I just go junk fishing. Some days I leave some gear home to force myself to work on the weaker areas of my game. It's all enjoyable, and I don't view any of it as wasted time.

^This^ From the thermocline up to the shallowest I mark large schools of bait. That's generally only 4-5 feet above it. My other most reliable option is to go real shallow into the THICK stuff.

You might consider a 7'3" or 7'6" MH Veritas too. The Abu rods are on the stout side for their ratings, where the Dobyns are on the lighter side. My MH Veritas rods in those lengths are stouter than the 735 Fury without being pool cues. Either will handle jigs n rigs just fine, but the Abu's will be better for the big swimmers. Both brands have proven durable and very capable rods for me.

Fury 735 was my first thought too. One of the most versatile in my lineup. It's on the light side for those big swimbaits, but everything else you listed is right in its wheelhouse.

Fought a 2# smallie to the boat and had it shake off at boatside. Rigged another wacky worm, threw it back into the same current break, and landed the same fish with half of the first worm sticking out of it's gullet.

I like slow rolling a 10" ribbontail, T-rigged, with a 1/16 or 1/8 weight through and over shallow grass. Any heavier weight gets the tail moving too fast. I want it moving just fast enough to get that long tail waving.

Good video. Thanks Glenn. I agree 100% about the jig heads. I make my own, and have found a ball head works best for stupid rigging. I cast them using the Do-it screw lock flat eye shake it mold, cast without the screw lock. The VMC 7328 hook works great. 3/0 for 3.5" tubes and 4/0 for 4" tubes. The stupid tube is my favorite bait for fishing structure. It comes through chunk rock great, and when it does hang up it can usually be popped loose. It'll catch them all year, but really shines in spring and fall.

^THIS^ + If you want to keep a few to eat, DO NOT take a cooler or a stringer with you!!! I can't stress this enough!!!

I own and like rods in both brands/series you mention. Go with the one YOU like better. Can't go wrong either way.

Stupid tubes come through rock really well, and you can fish wood with them, but they don't come through brush or grass well. For thick cover, I switch to a T-rigged beaver style bait. They'll come through near anything clean, and they have an erratic fall like a tube does. You can T-rig a tube, but a beaver will give you a better hooking percentage. Also make sure the jigheads you select for stupid rigging have an EWG hook.

Double dipped are just that, dipped twice.. This gives them thicker walls, and makes them fatter and more durable. I'm not a fan of them personally as I usually rig tubes stupid style, and single dipped or injected give me a better hookup percentage.

Lots of things over the years. Catfish, bowfin,carp,mudpuppies,gar,mussels.... Last week I got my butt kicked by a big Flathead. It hammered my T-rigged beaver and ran back into the tangle of blowdowns I was fishing. I had the drag locked down on my Lews super duty, loaded with 40# 832, and it didn't even slow it down. I clamped down on the spool with my thumb but had to let off as it was about to snap my flippin stick. SLX 7' 10" heavy. Bent the reel handle, braid burned my thumb, nearly snapped a stout rod, and that beast ran back into the tangle and wrapped me up in probably 5 seconds flat. After about 20min of messing with it I gave up and broke it off. That big cat KO'd me and my gear early in the first round. LOL. Fun experience though.

Sound advice above. Spool braid on tightly and focus on making smooth fluid casts.

Let's not forget those stealthy overhanging limbs.

Megastrike is the same way. I just keep it in the cooler on hot days.

I've settled on a #2 hook too. Tried everything from #4 to a 1/0. #2 seems to be the Goldilocks size. Just right.

Yep. Release to the grease.

Presto pots work fine for large batches. I prefer ceramic coated cast iron pots on a hotplate. You can buy them used on ebay for a reasonable price in any size you want. They work great. Nice even heating and easy cleanup.

I'll second that. Cosmetic stuff has never killed any of my reels. Bail springs, thumbar parts, and pinion gears are another story. I don't mind that either. It takes a lot of days on the water to wear out a reel, and when ones done, I get to buy another. All good.