33oldtimer

I grew up using mono and never had an issue with it. A few years ago I put braid to a leader on nearly all my combos. I liked it initially, but then started having problems. I heard a noticeable crack in one of my rods when I snagged a rock with a jig. That not having any stretch in the line bit me. Then I lost a fish because the braid had a tiny nick I hadn't noticed. Then lost another fish as my double uni knot on the leader let loose while reeling a fish in. Soon realized I was badly missing my old reliable mono. I use mono for everything now except top water frog & toad. I never worry about a big fish on light line coming off. I've caught big catfish while fishing with 6# mono for panfish. I see guys on youtube breaking off fish all the time with flouro. My mono knots hold. Mono takes a beating without breaking. That "stretch" in mono is not a bad word in my book. Heavier mono stretches less and I use that on my heavier rigs. My two cents.

Use whatever is comfortable and works for you. I didn't use baitcasters until a few years ago and got along fine with spinning reels and Zebco 33s. I like baitcasters for heavier lures, faster retrieves, fishing heavy cover.

In the bags. Handy just to stick a bag of flukes or stick baits in my back pocket when fishing for just a little while.

I share your frustrations. I stopped fishing for about ten years because of health problems. I restarted after Covid. I was shocked that my old fishing spots, where I could nearly always catch a fish, were overloaded with people and the bass were in hiding from constantly getting hammered with lures. I couldn't get a bite on the same lures I always caught fish on in the past. I don't have an easy answer for you. What I have done and am doing is using live bait during the worst of times and seasons. By mid-summer fishing is almost entirely with finesse lures. People aren't wanting to tell you much because they are having the same issues. Most youtube videos where they seem to catch fish left and right are after 8 hours on the water and much editing. Or even a couple days of fishing spliced together. I love Jimmy Houston, he doesn't try to fool anyone. Watched his video the other day and he said he had been sitting there for three hours without a bite before he finally caught a fish. Another thing with professional fishermen is that they are often masters with just a few lures from many years of practice. My son in law is a professional fisherman and like him, one of my favorite lures is a spinnerbait. He can skip a spinnerbait around like other professionals skip wacky worms. He drops that thing in cover with the blades barely spinning and pulls out monsters. He works a spinnerbait in ways I likely never will. Find what you are good at and build on that. And give yourself a break, these are tough times to fish in. I try to enjoy just being outdoors in God's great creation. I don't always catch fish, but I have seen eagles, otters, had deer practically walk up to me, and much more just by being outside.

Big Game is my favorite Mono. But I like something a bit less stiff for some lures like Crankbaits. For those I like Stren or Contra Mono.

Caught one of my biggest Smallmouth on a Texas rigged green pumpkin lizard. I plan on fishing lizards much more this year. My thought is that on the heavily pressured waters around me bass don't see many of them compared to other lures.

I use mono on everything except top water frogs and toads, including my jigs. Curious why you use braid on swim jigs if you don't mind me asking.

Caught my first bass last year in Feb. on a Ned dragging it slowly. Spinnerbait just in case they are more active than I expect. Skirted Jig finesse size dragging it slowly, maybe letting it soak a bit.

Red Spinnerbait. Ned. Jig.

Not 100% sure about scent with bass. But I had two catfish slam a Texas Rigged Ribbon Worm with scent added.

I noticed half of the reels on Amazon and Walmart.com are the same as the reels on Temu. First, any cheap Abu Garcia or Shakespear or Zebco baitcaster is much better than the reels on temu. A couple of years ago when most baitcast reels were $10 on Temu I bought too many of them. The best reel I got was an Axis baitcaster that feels pretty solid and works, looks good, but nothing to shout about. The Sougayilang baitcasting reels are generally "the best" they have on Temu as the brakes actually work. 90% of the other reels you can only keep from backlashing by tightening down the tension knob. But the Spinning reels on Temu are surprisingly good for inexpensive reels. I find their spinning reels mostly good, don't buy any under $10 though as they are garbage. $10 and up you can get a usable spinning reel that is often better than Walmart cheapos. Temu had some decent lures. I've got whopper ploppers, bladed jigs, casting jigs, and several nice plastics (curly grubs and swimbaits are pretty decent). Also some great very tiny plastics for panfish. If you can find lures actually made in America by Americans you can get good quality gear and lures. But most of the stuff on Amazon, at Walmart, and sporting goods stores is all from China anyway. Use their online site (not their app), pay with paypal. Pretty convinced that's how my wife's credit card info was stolen: Temu app with credit card #. I only use paypal for online purchases whenever possible.

Fluke or Swimbait.

I'm mostly a bank fisherman. 2 years ago late winter I was fishing on the river bank. I stepped onto a flat piece of concrete that was leaning toward the water. I didn't realize there was wet sand on the bottom of my shoes. My feet went flying out from under me and I was in water over my head. Thankfully the water was not crazy cold and my car was not far away. But that was a wake up call for me. I'm extremely careful now about what banks I will climb up and down, and staying away from generally slick areas. I was very lucky, my balance is not like when I was in my 40s and younger.

Weightless Texas Rigged Stickbait. 3/0 ewg hook, Yum Dinger 4-5" blue/black. If windy, add a 1/16oz bullet weight. That's my go to. Most water I fish is stained, but if clear I use green pumpkin color.

If you like Football Head Jigs Headhunter has some nice 1/4oz jigs. Decent price too.