Some first fish on the new setup.

[vabeachbass]

Not the best, but I settled for a MH 6'6" bps rod - they had so many models I just went by price - it was 60$. I didn't get a reel at the
time. Later on I picked up a shimano sahara 2500. It fits the rod nicely, I was planning on going cheaper but the guy knocked off 10$ so I
went for it. Even not being a reel expert, I could tell a vast difference in quality when I handled a 230$ quantam they had. That thing
was nice.

I've been fishing it for just over a week. I have to say the reel is such a big difference to what I had - an abu garcia 1000 on a 5' UL
rod. Alot of the problems I was having (line twist, etc) disappeared. Line feathering is much easier with the bigger spool. As for the
rod, eh, I want a 6' medium heavy or maybe just a medium. I'll stick it out this season and make it a saltwater rod when striper season
hits. Even after a week it feels unwieldy, but very strong. I feel very confident with whatever I catch. Dropping the leader and just
sticking to straight braid has helped greatly as well. The fish dont seem to mind the change.

My second time at this pond. Last week I caught 10 dinks and one 2 lbs. Last wednesday I didnt want to go to that lake again, but the old
man insisted. We fished for about 2 hours. Dad caught a few dinks. I got nothing. The sun was really getting hot and I was about to call
it when this guy came out of deep water and made my day. I thought this would be my best fish of the season.



I picked up some 4" yum dingers in pumpkin with a chartreuse tail Yesterday. The fish went for it like mad. At my favorite spot. I picked
up 4 bass in 4 casts and they all got progressively bigger. The first pic is #4. I thought okay, if I catch nothing else, I'm happy with that.




I fished the spot for another 15 mins thinking I had cleared it out. Then I got this guy.




I had a crappy spring scale that I didnt know how to use so I measured him. 20". Just 2" shy of my first citation. Please forgive the
tastless hat - my fav hat was being washed and if I dont cover my huge forehead the mosquitos have a buffet.

A few others.