ww2farmer

I was a big fan of the Hmx 10 or so years ago, and with each "new and improved" version I liked them less and less than the previous model they replaced. The current ones I am not fond of at all and couldn't get rid of them fast enough. I had the 7' M, 7'6" H casting, and a 7' ML spinning,and of the three the only one that I even tolerated was the spinning rod. My best description of the whole series is heavy, poorly balanced, inconsistent power ratings, and they felt odd in my hands. I am generally a fan of pure fishing rods/reels, but this line is a dud. For the same money, staying with pure fishing, I'd take an Abu vendetta, and I wouldn't think twice about grabbing a Berkley lightning rod, or lightning rod shock over the HMX.... Or Eagle for that matter (I don't like the latest version of those either). Seems like pure fishing is underachieving in the value rod market pretty badly with Fenwick, which is odd, because they knock it out of the park with Berkley and Abu.

Same things I catch them on all year, for at least the last ten years.

10??? I don't need 10, I use about 3-4 different things: Havoc Pit Bosses in the "regular" and "Jr" size, Yum Dingers in 4", 5" and 6".............yes..............a stick bait with a sinker pegged to it's nose is a very effective punch bait when they are being bombed with jigs/big plastics and not biting My own put-together punching jigs made using the Boss Invader heads, Boss skirts, and a Havoc Pit Chunk trailer Colors? Green Pumpkin, or Black and Blue.

Yes................I like them better than crappies. I don't mind me some Rock Bass fishing, I love to catch them on the small Booyah Pad Crasher Frog, they just blast it, and I even hold a Rock Bass tournament before "black" bass season opens here in WNY.

Works with bullheads too.

At first glance, I'd say about 3".

Ok..............since last report. Worked all weekend, trying to beat the rainy weather of the last few days, so I was only able to get out for a few hours Sunday evening on Silver. Not great, but not a bust, from 6pm till darkish, I put 8 keepers in the boat, most 12"-14"er's but a couple over three. Rained out from work on Monday, and decided it was time for the first road trip of the year, so I headed down to Waneta-Lamoka. I started on Lamoka, and it was on fire. Power fished a complete lap around the place alternating between, a frog, chatterbait, and squarebill, never had to put a "moving" bait down. Best five were 4-3, 3-11, 3-9, 3-7, and 3-4, with 25+ more between 2-3lbs. Ended the day in Waneta, doing the same things, and while plenty of fish were caught, they did run smaller, with only two of the 20+ I caught there over 3lbs. Rained out again today at work, but with an already soaked boat, and instructions from the wife to pick the kids up from school today, I stayed home at Silver. It was also on fire this morning. From 10am-1pm, I boated over 20 fish, with the best five a 4-5, 4-1, 4-0, 3-14, and a 3-12.............like yesterday power-fishing was the name of the game, but the baits were not the same, and I plead the 5th on the details LOL.

I do well on Conesus and Silver in the summer. Each lake while similar, has it's own quirks. Silver will be 100% un-patternable day to day. Even in the heat of summer, one day they will be in 12' FOW, the next day under docks, the next day suspended, etc...it's very rare to go more than 2-3 days there with them doing the same thing, in the same spots. Why?.....IDK....it's not a bait issue, because every where they go there is bait, and maybe there is the problem. Conesus on the other hand, get's very patternable. It took me a couple years to figure out on my own what works there, when, and why, so I am not just going to go blabbing it over the interwebz. BUT.....remember where we crossed paths last year at Conesus? You were in the right area, at the time, just not the right depth...at the time. And if there is one thing I have learned about Conesus , is there is no such thing as a bait/sinker combo that is too big and/or to heavy.

Somewhere on here is my "chart" for replacement trebles for all SK baits using Mustad KVD's...I'll look for it.

I tend to use the pit boss in calmer conditions, and/or clearer water....and almost exclusively for punching heavy, matted stuff. When the wind picks up or the fish pull tight to harder cover in dirty water, like docks, I reach for an action craw type bait. Although,both bait's work well for me in grass, with a nod to the pit boss, rock and or/deeper water out side the typical grass lines that form here in 12'-18' FOW, I like the bait with more action, especial if I am doing a drift and drag with a football jig/trailer combo, or the plastic by itself on a swinging jig head.

This.... or they are ticked off that somethings in their "space", and since they don't have hands to smack it with they put it in their mouth. Heck,for all I know we could catch them on wacky rigged strips of tire tread, or a pine cone, but what fun would that be?

I don't know how any one else does it, but this is how I do it.............spool tension loose, looser than "normal" for regular casting, and mag. breaks set high enough to keep overruns to a minimum. I disagree that the rod is not also an important part, a little pit of a tip that loads helps greatly. YMMV, but I can skip weightless plastics doing it my way better than most guys can with spinning gear, and skipping jigs/frogs/weighted plastics is almost a breeze.

I must have a horse shoe stuck up my butt when it comes to finding .22 around here. Since late last winter, I have been in the right places, at the right times, not actively trolling for .22 ammo and have lucked my way into over 5000 rds. of various brands (Win., Rem., and Federal.........but no CCI) in bulk packages, at "normal" prices. Only once in the last 6 months have I gotten a "tip" from a store employee on when they would have it, and went to buy when it was being put out. With the stuff I had before this winter, and what I have been able to find since, I am nearing "life-time" supply amounts, or at least enough to NOT feel compelled to buy it every time I see it now. And I have tried small lots of each kind I have and it all has run 100% in my 10/22, so for some reason the .22 gods have smiled on me.

That's not a frog problem, that's a you problem.

I was there last night too....I think I saw you on the east side by the water tower. Not a bad evening for me....2 largemouth over 4lbs, another couple over three, and then a bunch of small keepers.

I have caught fish out of dirty water with greens and browns, but I have more confidence in darker colors in that situation like black/blue or junebug. I don't think it matters to the fish.

I am a big (literally) fan of the Berkley Lightning Rod shocks. I have been fishing them for several years now. They are not as light or refined as the Vendetta's and Veritas's I have been using the last couple seasons, but when it comes to feeling bites, they hold their own with those rods. I have been on some kind of bizzaro, backwards gear quest the last few years, downgrading tackle to see how cost effective/cheap I can fish, and still fish at a level acceptable to me, and these rods (the LR shocks) have scratched me where I itch.

I use left handed casting reels, but I stay away from the left handed rods because you have to tighten the reel seat nut down with an expensive metric pipe wrench.

Same here.

Green pumpkin....but that's the wrong question. You should have asked, the when/where/why I am using it, color is not important. Any color I picked would have worked.

FWIW, when my wife and I visited DC circa 2002, we stayed quite a ways out in Winchester Virgina, then drove down Rt. 50 and parked at the Vienna/Fairfax station, which is or was at the time (maybe still is) the end of the "Orange line" and had no issues. Plus the drive from Winchester was very nice, and the hotels that far away from DC are much cheaper, and the extra cost of gas to get there from that far out was peanuts compared to the lodging savings. Again all from 13+ years ago...so....it might be irrelevant.

Yes

And then there was today...............clear bluebird skies, post post front LOL, and it was by the book.............IT sucked LOL. Thank god for a few straggler late bedding smallies, caught two 3.5lbers, and looked at A TON of water for more but I didn't find any locked, and just a few more idiots that spooked off never to be seen again. Plus I caught a handful of spawned out 2.5lb largemouth hanging around bluegill beds. Deep and finessey didn't fly, and not much of anything else worked either. I called it a day mid afternoon and took a nap.

I don't need five, I can make do with two. A 7' M power spinning rod, and a 7'MH power casting rod. Duct tape and super glue of bass fishing.

Same here. A rod that can handle an A-rig is going to be miserable to use with a 3/8oz spinnerbait, and the same in reverse. Things vary greatly between rod mfgs., but I would be hard pressed to think of any rod I own now, or have owned in the past that would be acceptable to me for either of these tasks.