JoeDeal55

Small to mid sized is all I have in my tackle. No big walking baits or jerkbaits. And I only fish ponds so I wouldnt be throwing any deep divers. Also, certain limitations I just have to deal with being on a budget. I can deal with it not being the best rod for the job as long as it can somewhat handle it. If that makes any sense.

Nice! Ok what gear ratio and line would you recommend?

Does anyone use 1 rod and reel for hard plastic lures? Crankbaits, jerkbaits and walking baits? Im sure a lot of people use 3 or more different rods for these 3 techniques but for the budget guy is there 1 combo that could adequately cover all 3? Slowly building my rod/reel collection but due to income I have to really put some thought into my next combo. I have a decent 6'6 MF spinning combo for finesse and a pretty good 7' MHF baitcaster for everything else. I was initially thinking about getting a heavy frog/flipping combo next but if theres a versatile cranking combo, I may have to rethink my next purchase. Any and all advice is welcome.

I just caught my first topwater bass a couple days ago on a bone colored Zara Puppy! It also caught a brave bluegill and had a handful of missed strikes. But it was my first ever topwater catch and it was exhilarating! I finally learned how to "walk the dog" I discovered my issue was trying to the walk the dog using reels with right side retrieve. It was uncomfortable and awkward. My dad gave me an old pinnacle baitcaster that was left side retrieve and it changed the game for me. Im right hand dominant and assumed it was best to reel with that hand. Boy was I wrong!

Unfortunately I have yet to try tubes. It has been added to my things to try list.

My brother in law snagged a 6 pounder out of the farm pond. On a small live bluegill. I pulled it out of the water for him. So I know theres at least 1 big one in that pond. The other ponds ive heard rumors of monster bass but have yet to see proof so my quest continues lol.

Lmao! As a new angler, I have lost numerous lures already. I lost a brand new hack attack jig after thinking I had a bite, set the hook real hard and snapped my leader right off my 50lb braided mainline. The "bite" must have been a tree lol. But that one hurt more than the rest because my wife bought it for me. I almost went swimming for that one.

So far I only have access to 3 ponds in WV. One is a small farm pond with mud bottom and few rocks, muddy water color with approx 2 foot visability. Another is a large pond that I assume used to be a brush field before flooding it for a pond. About 8 ft deep max but dense dead brush and trees to where it is difficult to get around in a kayak without getting hung up. 3rd pond is new to me only fished once. Deep deep large pond with 3 coves and a lot of tall clumps of vegetation. Every retrieve I have to remove 2 pounds of weed/grass. These are the only 3 ponds I have access to at this time. Only the farm pond I can bank fish from. The other 2 I have to use a kayak.

Thank you for this info

Would you care to elaborate further on techniques? Or is it like certain techniques for certain times at a specific place? I have yet to try a spinnerbait. Might have to add that to my wishlist. Thank you.

What is your confidence bait and how it came to be? I havent been strictly a "bass angler" for very long. Started this journey 3-4 months ago. I have thrown out every lure and bait I could get my hands on during this time. Crankbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits, t-rigs, ned rigs, weightess yum dingers, swim jigs, arkie jigs (most jigs) wacky rigs, flukes, frogs, poppers, walking lures, and even a whopper plopper. Ive landed 1 bass on a crankbait (foul hooked), 3 bass on jigs, and 3 bass on yum dingers. All under 2.5lbs. Everytime I think im going to get skunked I throw out a ned rig with a Z-Man TRD Ticklerz in Hot Snakes color. Ive landed 10 bass already on this bad boy! It hasnt failed me yet. I actually caught a massive bluegill on this as well. I have the utmost confidence in my neg rig. Although, I havent landed any bass over 2.5lbs on the ned rig I know its gonna get bit. I know I am inexperienced with the majority of baits and lures (for a while I didnt even know what a jig trailer was) but for now I only have confidence in the ned rig. I have numerous bites on a hollow body frog but I havent hooked any yet. Using the wrong rod I assume. Id say the lack of bites using other lures is user error. Struggling with imparting action and retrieving. There is so much more to learn and practice, Im sure I will gain more confidence in other techniques. So, what do you have confidence in?

Thanks for the warm welcomes and the recommendations! Now ive got to decide between dobyns and lews for the rod lol.

Introduction: Fairly new to bass fishing. Im 31 years old and have been fishing since I was a little kid. Maybe once or twice a year on average. Have only used night crawlers on hooks with/withought bobbers. Mainly catching bluegills. For the past year I have done extensive research on bass fishing. Ive fished more in the past year than I have my entire life. I am now an addict. Ive landed 7 bass this summer (all under 3lbs). Ive basically got all the tackle I need. Ive been using old vintage rods and reels (mainly Zebcos) Problem: Here is where I need help. I bought a brand new Ugly Stick GX2 walmart combo. And then I bought a Kastking Crixus 7' MHF casting rod with the crixus 7.2:1 baitcaster. I love both rods and reels and have a blast bass fishing with them. I want 1 more rod and reel to have a nice all around bass fishing experience. Im thinking a heavy 7'3-7'6 rod. But I dont wanna go budget with this one. Im leaning heavily towards Lews from my research. Lets say I want the Lews TP-1 black speed stick 7'4 HF rod, what Lews casting reel pairs with it? Im ignorant when it comes to this stuff. Does any reel work with it or just certain ones? I was thinking the Lews Speed Spool LFS 8.3:1 but idk... any advice is welcome. Also, sorry for the long post. I just couldnt find this info from my research.