Help a 2nd-Year Angler Build 3 Setups Covering All/the Majority of Presentations

[Sam]

All are great posts and suggestions.

 

Just remember bass fishing rule #1: YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MANY RODS!

 

START YOUR COLLECTION TODAY!

[Deleted account]

25 minutes ago, TotalNoob said:

State record Blue and Flathead catfish are out of the reservoir I fish that's practically in my backyard.

 

 

Blue	2016	--Reservoir	24lb-7.712oz	35 1/2"
*Flathead	2017	--Reservoir	30lb-9.6oz	38 5/8"

 

It's a highly pressured lake with lots of anglers from the Denver metropolitan area (and their 50K bass boats) coming down to fish it.

 

For this reason I try to fish it at night ... I feel like that's MY edge; sometimes I'll get there a couple hrs before sun-up and fish through the dawn bass bite ... sometimes I'll get there for the dusk bite and fish into the night some. 

 

Oh yea, state record Wiper out of here as well

Wiper

2004

--Reservoir

26lb-15oz

37.50in

 

FWIW I literally had no idea I was going to run into all these species when I picked up my Dad's old bass tackle in 2017. I watched Bill Dance and Bassmasters when I was a kid. I just wanted to Bass fish. 

 

Turns out there's some tank walleyes ... caught this post-spawn 30"er last April - thought she was a random toad but this last Fall fishing at night I saw walleyes in the water as big & bigger.  

 

 

This reservoir is supposedly named one of the top Bass fisheries in the region but I have yet to come up with any tank Smallies, Spots, or Largies. It's been somewhat frustrating. My biggest Smally is 17"/2lb, biggest Spot is 16"/2.5lbs and biggest Largemouth is smaller than either of those two. Where the heck are all the Bass at in a reservoir like this? I'm gonna find em this year. 

I meant on a regular basis, not possibly or purposely targeting. You can land a lot more fish on light tackle than what one would think. In the salt it's just part of the game. 

[WRB]

My son caught a 26 lb Channel catfish when he was 9 Years on what would be ultra light tackle today using 6 lb mono and a 3" soft plastic reaper split shot rig, In-Fishman Master Angler Award. That qualities as  big fish on light tackle.

Salt water, I caught world record California Yellowtail 4# line class using my old popping rod and 4500C reel with 4 lb test Maxima mono back in '83, quality tackle works. 

Tom

[bayvalle]

There are many good suggestions here. The power of the rod should be determined by what  type of cover and structure your pond has and what fish you are targeting. If there no dense mats or heavy grass you can downsize the power of the rod. Example I fish large Striper in the Chesapeake Bay in open water so I can use M or ML since there is no structure. Even thought these are large fish many anglers there prefer lighter power for better feel and experience. Sometimes in Lake St Clair we'll use light fiberglass rods for the smallies just for fun. On the other hand Lake Chickamauga has dense pads requiring heavy power rods. 

Also consider if you are going to be fishing tournaments to make some extra cash. For recreational fishing I don't want to over power my rod selection because it takes away from the enjoyment of the experience. Tournament fisherman will always want to lean on the heavy side to bring in fish faster and to not get caught in a situation where they don't have enough rod.

You will want at least one moderate to moderate fast action rod for your treble hooks baits. The slower action allows the rod more give so you don't rip the bait out of the fishes mouth while cranking and it helps keep the slack out of the line.

I use mainly braid and tie on a leader depending on what I need. Braid is thin for it's power rating and last longer so I don't have to respool as often but it can abrade quickly. For this reason I will tie on a fluorocarbon leader if I fishing in an area that will abrade my line or if I'm targeting a species that will twist and rub their dorsal fins on the line. I prefer a long mono leader for cranking and top water due to it's ability to stretch. For light finesse I go straight Fluoro. Straight braid for frogging.

Choose wisely grasshopper.