FISHmyst Posted March 26, 2017 Posted March 26, 2017 Hello all! I'm relatively new to the Midwest. Moved to mid Missouri from Washington State not too long ago. Grew up fishing for salmon and trout with my dad. It was hard to leave the chrome salmon and towering mountains behind but the abundance of fishable ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers in Missouri have filled the void more than I could have ever hoped. On any given day I can fish different bodies of water before work, during my lunch break, and on the way home. What the Midwest lacks in Salmon overwhelmingly compensates for with fishing oppurntunities. It's fitting for me because I just love to get out there and spend time near the water with my dog. The best way to explain it to my nonangler friends is that fishing is my happy place. On the unfortunate occurance of me getting skunked, I still have a blast. I find that learning what didn't work on that particular occasion is just as informative as the days where I can't keep fish off my line! Bass fishing is a different beast than what I'm accustomed too so I've been trying to learn as much about it as I can. This site has been a huge help. I've been lurking in the cover for awhile much like the bass I've been going after. So thank you to all the posters out there! Kudos! I will be the first to admit that the more I learn about Midwest fishing the more I realize I don't know haha. Starting out, I kept things simple with weightless and bullet weighted T-rigs on my 6'6" MF spinning rod (St. Croix Premiere series rod with Shimano Symetre 2500fl reel). I found some spots around me where nearly every cast resulted in a entertaining fight with a largemouth. I've since caught bass on crankbaits, frogs, jigs and even a variety of flies on my fly rod. I want to expand my stable of rods (currently 2). Not sure if this is the right thread but I wanted to tie in my question with my backstory to let everyknow how much of a noob I am haha Ms hopefully tailor a response to someone who might not understand all the typical jargon. Until recently I'd never used a baitcaster before. Always stuck to spinning rods because that's what I grew up using. Finally got my first baitcaster last week (from tacklewarehouse). It's a 7'0" MF rod with a low profile lews reel (Mach speed spool MCS). Seemed like an all around versatile rod for my first baitcaster. I've been out 4 different times and already in love with the baitcaster user mechanics. So much so that I never want to put it down for my spinner. What I've noticed tho is that my hook sets while jig'n with the baitcaster have been far from fruitful. I'd like to convert it to a primary t-rig rod while getting a new baitcaster that's more jig specific. When my girl friend isn't using my spinning rod, I plan to use it for primarily spinner baits or even maybe a crappie setup. Price range is flexible. If this his is the wrong place to discuss such things I apologize and will redirect my questions to a different thread! FISH ON!! 1 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted March 26, 2017 Super User Posted March 26, 2017 Welcome .You are right about lots of places to fish . The MDC has lots of well managed small lakes everywhere and often times boats to rent . I take advantage of it .Lots of streams and of course the Mississippi . What part of Missouri are you in ? I use the same rods for jigging that I do Texas rigs . The hooksets should be the same . I use med hvy action rods for T-rigs and jigs . Med action rods for most other lures . 1 Quote
FISHmyst Posted March 26, 2017 Author Posted March 26, 2017 4 minutes ago, scaleface said: Welcome .You are right about lots of places to fish . The MDC has lots of well managed small lakes everywhere and often times boats to rent . I take advantage of it .Lots of streams and of course the Mississippi . What part of Missouri are you in ? I use the same rod for jigging that I do Texas rigs . The hooksets should be the same . I use med hvy action rods for T-rigs and jigs . Med action rods for most other lures . Thanks! I live in the Columbia area. The issue I've noticed is that the fast action on my baitcaster dampens my hookset a bit (been using weedless jigs). My thought is that an extra fast action rod would be more ideal for the jigs I've been using due less bending and more energy directly transferred to hookset. I might just be over analyzing it since I'm still trying to get the technique down but I lost what felt like a PB monster the other day and am still skulking haha. 4 minutes ago, scaleface said: Welcome .You are right about lots of places to fish . The MDC has lots of well managed small lakes everywhere and often times boats to rent . I take advantage of it .Lots of streams and of course the Mississippi . What part of Missouri are you in ? I use the same rod for jigging that I do Texas rigs . The hooksets should be the same . I use med hvy action rods for T-rigs and jigs . Med action rods for most other lures . Thanks! I live in the Columbia area. The issue I've noticed is that the fast action on my baitcaster dampens my hookset a bit (been using weedless jigs). My thought is that an extra fast action rod would be more ideal for the jigs I've been using due less bending and more energy directly transferred to hookset. I might just be over analyzing it since I'm still trying to get the technique down but I lost what felt like a PB monster the other day and am still skulking haha. 1 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted March 26, 2017 Super User Posted March 26, 2017 Theres a real good little lake just north of you by Moberly , Sugar Creek . I use to fish it a bit . Never caught any big fish but lots of three lbers . 1 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted March 26, 2017 Super User Posted March 26, 2017 Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Being new to bass fishing you may find may answers in the BR articles section ~ https://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish/ A-Jay 1 Quote
jbw252 Posted March 26, 2017 Posted March 26, 2017 Welcome to Bass Resource. Enjoy reading & contributing in the forums. 1 Quote
Global Moderator Mike L Posted March 26, 2017 Global Moderator Posted March 26, 2017 Hello and Welcome! Mike 1 Quote
Onvacation Posted March 27, 2017 Posted March 27, 2017 Welcome. Quite a few places near Columbia to fish 1 Quote
Super User Bankbeater Posted March 27, 2017 Super User Posted March 27, 2017 Welcome to the forums! 1 Quote
Jaderose Posted March 27, 2017 Posted March 27, 2017 Welcome to the best managed Conservation Dept in the entire country. I moved here from Illinois 10 years ago and holy cow. Fishing heaven. 2 Quote
evilcatfish Posted March 27, 2017 Posted March 27, 2017 Hello and welcome to Missouri my friend! Other good resources you may want to check out are the MDC's fishing prospects report online and also check out the Ozark Anglers forums for lots of info. As far as your jig issue goes, what type of line are you using? I suspect this could be the issue... 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 28, 2017 Global Moderator Posted March 28, 2017 Welcome! 1 Quote
Yakalong Posted March 31, 2017 Posted March 31, 2017 Welcome to Missouri and enjoy the many places to fish 1 Quote
lonnie g Posted March 31, 2017 Posted March 31, 2017 welcome from Indiana. very jealous, heard its an awesome place to fish. good luck this year. 1 Quote
BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted April 2, 2017 BassResource.com Administrator Posted April 2, 2017 Welcome Home! 1 Quote
FISHmyst Posted April 2, 2017 Author Posted April 2, 2017 On 3/27/2017 at 10:28 AM, evilcatfish said: Hello and welcome to Missouri my friend! Other good resources you may want to check out are the MDC's fishing prospects report online and also check out the Ozark Anglers forums for lots of info. As far as your jig issue goes, what type of line are you using? I suspect this could be the issue... MDC is really amazing. I'm using a 12lb copolymer line that the folks at tackle warehouse suggested. Thanks for the warm warm welcome all! Quote
Coldbasser Posted April 5, 2017 Posted April 5, 2017 Cheers glad to have another fishing brother aboard 1 Quote
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