AJ in PA

Hehe I'm using a Daiwa AIRX-701MHFB. It's a 1-piece fast action. 1 3/8 oz is definitely over its rating but it's been fine, I just don't swing the heck out of it. That rod with that plopper dragged in a 40" muskie too so I'm pretty confident it'll hold up. I do use a 7'6 heavy/fast when I target larger fish like that though.

Thanks for the input. I have a Pad Crasher in black, but I had 5 strikes in under 10 minutes with a 0% hookup ratio. It was crazy. The first strike I probably set too early, but it was a reflex. The 2nd-4th strikes I waited 2-4 seconds and set hard, but she kept spitting it out. On the 5th I said "not this time" and waited until the fish went to the bottom - at least 10 seconds - then tried to cross her eyes. Felt like I hooked a log because it didn't budge, but then she took off and spit it out again. I was not happy lol. Now I'm not sure it was a bass, because muskies hang out in that area too but that was one heavy fish I lost. There were no cuts from teeth though so IDK. That was on a Daiwa AIRX-701MHFB with 40lb braid. I did bend the hooks out a bit since that day, but haven't really used it much after that because I get way better hookups on Strike King Super Toads or whatever ribbit frogs. I'll give the adjusted Pad Crasher some more time come spring. Also I picked up a Scum Frog Tropy Series to see if that design hooks up better for me. I'm pretty much done for this year though. I'm a relatively fair-weather fisherman lol.

I'm curious what you use for frogging - I could definitely stand to increase my hookup ratio in that department.

Nice catches, AJ! Unfortunately I mostly solo fish, and my pics of larger fish come out terrible (my arms aren't long enough to get the phone far enough away lol) so I basically gave up trying to photograph them. I figure less time out of the water is better anyway 👍

I will mention that I have a fairly light touch when I'm fishing - I don't swing for the moon when I'm setting hooks...unless it's a hollow body frog. With those I swing away 😆

I definitely understand your logic. But I'm never sure what I'm going to hook into - in fact I get surprised a lot! I'll target smallies & catch a musky. Or target musky and catch largemouth. Or target largemouth & get crappies or walleyes. That, and it just seems less expensive and cumbersome to only have a few rods on my measly budget 😂

Am I the only one who uses med. heavy / fast action rods (mine are 7'1") for all of my bass fishing? I use them for everything from a Texas rigged 3" YUM minnow, up to a Whopper Plopper 130, and everything in between. I really like the sensitivity, and I only see a nominal difference in casting distance compared to a 6'6" medium action that I borrowed for a bit. Also I've caught some of my biggest fish on my smallest baits, and I just don't feel comfortable about hooking a 5 lb. bass with potentially an extra 5 lb. of weeds on anything lighter than a med. heavy - the rod bends way too much for my taste. I also have accidentally hooked into muskies while fishing for largemouth & smallmouth, and my med. heavy rods held up fine but I doubt that lighter rods would take that. I have 2 med. heavy setups - one with a spinning reel (for 3-6" senkos and lighter lures, like a Mepps spinner that weighs 0.23 oz), and the other with a casting reel for beefier lures (up to the WP130). The only other rod I have is a heavy / fast rod that takes 2-10 oz lures for when I target muskies with "massive" lures, like a Savage Gear 3D duck that weighs 2.5 oz. or an 8" swimbait, etc. It's definitely nice only needing to own 3 rods, and to only have max 2 in the boat at any given time. Just curious if anyone else sees it this way - or am I totally nuts? 😄🙃 (BTW sorry if this isn't posted in the right place, I'm still figuring this out lol)

I don't fish tournaments, nor do I keep any fish. I do eat fish, just not the ones I catch. I personally love not knowing what you'll pull out of the water each day. Mine are usually not too big, so the larger ones are exciting, and IMO nothing beats an explosive topwater smash. I know that other fish will do that, but there's just something about how largies hit - although my Dad is always targeting largemouth so maybe it's just what I picked up from him. Going for a double-digit largemouth is the goal that keeps me willing to get up hours before daylight to get ready each time.

I caught my PB smallmouth in the Delaware River on 10/30/24, and then an average one on topwater (surprising) the next day about a mile farther up. They might be more active than you think. I've definitely had the same feeling about the cold, but I'm guessing I was just not fishing in the right places those days.