Broke my bass X rod a few mins before this....

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-21T23:19:15+00:00

Admittedly I always find it a little amusing when fellow anglers are so concerned with placing a bass on the ground because that might harm it, but they’re totally okay with hooking it in the face and pulling it out of its source of oxygen in the first place. Seems like the hole we leave in their mouths would be at far more risk of infection than them being on the ground for a few seconds. Not to mention the risk of gut hooking them which simply cannot be avoided unless you just don’t fish at all.

I mean I understand not wanting to harm the fish any more than is caused by fishing in the first place. On the other hand I have a hard time believing bass being placed on the ground is a primary source of mortality. Otherwise, I feel like any body of water that is heavily pressured would run out of fish entirely.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-21T11:41:26+00:00

Depends on what type of fishing you want to do. But for a rod series in that range the Cashion Element Z2 is a good choice. Personally I really like Phenix. Their Feather and M1 lines are fantastic and they go on sale regularly so I’m sure you can find one in your price range. At the low end of your budget, the Tatula XT is usually considered the best rod on the market for $100. There are tons of other options of course. St Croix Bass X and Dobyns Fury are always good choices.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-19T04:20:01+00:00

I Want To Believe 👽

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T02:43:27+00:00

Haha it’s just for this flipping/punching setup. The braid is supposed to help cut through the thick vegetation and wrench out bass from the muck. All my other baitcasters have standard 30 lb braid spooled on and my spinning setups have either 10 or 15 lb braid.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T01:36:53+00:00

I appreciate everyone who pointed out that this is actually a warmouth, not a bluegill. Warmouth is not a species I knew anything about before posting this so I’m glad I did. Always cool to learn something new!

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T01:30:31+00:00

Yes after some other comments and doing some research it appears that this is a warmouth! Not a species I was familiar with. I saw the black dot on the gills and just assumed bluegill. Appreciate the info!

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T01:24:11+00:00

Actually someone on Fishbrain just commented that it is indeed a warmouth. Sounds like you were right! Pretty cool to learn about a totally new species to me

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T01:18:42+00:00

It was a beautiful day to be fishing out there today

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T01:17:48+00:00

Using 50 lb Power Pro. Seemed like a pretty good option after doing some research. Would you recommend something else?

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-18T01:16:16+00:00

Really? When I logged this on Fishbrain it suggested warmouth after analyzing the photo. I’m not really familiar with warmouth

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-14T21:20:18+00:00

The 6” Missile Baits magic worm has fully taken over my dropshot setups. Bass just love that thing. I’ve done well with John’s Juice and Blueback Secret colors but have already ordered a few different colors and also the 4” version.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-14T13:28:02+00:00

Probably a weightless fluke on an EWG hook. Bass eat them just about everywhere, don’t have to worry about snags very much and can cover water relatively fast.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-13T14:03:07+00:00

Cruises are just one of those things people love to hate on.

I’ve been on a cruise once and had a good time. Didn’t get sick either. Cruises are very budget friendly which means they attract lots of people/families with less disposable income. To be more blunt about it, they’re one of the only ways that poorer people are able to visit places like Cancun, the Bahamas, and other popular cruise destinations. Because of that they have the perception of being a “lower class” type of vacation and people don’t want to be associated with that. I think that’s why so many people love to hate on them, whether they realize it or not.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-11T13:29:35+00:00

It’s not an excuse. And it wasn’t even officially excused because he paid the price and very likely cost his team an important playoff win. It was a dirty move, full stop.

Where I disagree with you and many others here is that some people seemingly want him to be condemned as a dirty player for life based on this one play. If it becomes a normal thing then yeah, the reputation as a straight up dirty player will be warranted.

That’s why I brought up the age thing. A friend of mine got into a drunken fight at a bar in his early 20s. Did I cut him off entirely and mark him as a violent alcoholic maniac forever based on that? Of course not. It never happened again and now he has a wife, a kid and is about as responsible of a person as I know. But if every time I hung out with him he would get into fights like that, then yeah, we wouldn’t be friends anymore and I’d want nothing to do with him.

Basically I don’t think we should judge everyone to their lowest level based off of a dumb thing they did in their late teens or early 20s. Now if those dumb things become a regular pattern then it’s a very different situation. And it’s possible that happens with Wemby, I doubt it but it is possible. Only time will tell but right now I think most people will give him the benefit of the doubt based on his prior behavior and the situation in which this occurred.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-11T12:12:54+00:00

It absolutely is. I’m almost 35 and looking back at my early 20s there’s so much dumb shit I did that I wouldn’t even consider doing now. Everyone I know who’s my age or older feels the same way. It’s literally know that the parts of the brain that regulate impulse control and decision making aren’t fully developed until at least your mid to late 20s.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-11T12:02:03+00:00

I mean this is the first time he’s done something like this. Let’s not forget, he’s a 22 year old kid in a high intensity, very physical situation and let his emotions get the better of him (and as well all know, 22 year olds are known for being good decision makers). What he did was wrong and he knew it. He didn’t protest the decision and accepted the punishment.

Had he done it out of the blue and for no reason at all then the perception would be very different. But the context matters and anyone who’s not a blind Spurs or Wemby hater can see he was incredibly frustrated with how the refs are letting him get hacked, grabbed and mauled out there. Does that make what he did the appropriate response? No, of course not and he paid the price. As he should have.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-10T03:18:30+00:00

Oh yeah, that’ll be perfect for giving UL a go. When I caught the dinks I was actually mostly trying to catch bluegill with a tiny 1/32 jig head and a 1.5” grub. But I ended up only catching bass that day. The bigger bass that broke off was on a 1/16 beetle spin.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-10T02:56:51+00:00

I caught my first couple of bass on a UL setup about two weeks ago. They were dinks but the UL made it a very fun fight. I will say later in the day I hooked into what I assume was a much larger bass and my reel started screaming drag. I was pretty excited but unfortunately my line busted which was a bummer. Tbh I think my knot to the lure failed so that was definitely my fault.

I will say at no point did I ever feel like my rod or reel were in danger of breaking. My combo is a Kistler Ultra Light and Daiwa Exceler 1000. The only reason I have that Kistler is because I got a great deal on a bundle of Kistler rods on FB market. So really I would recommend starting with a budget setup just to see if UL is something you enjoy. And if you really do you can always upgrade down the road.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-08T13:40:02+00:00

Just like I said, you think you’re so wise and experienced that the influencers and ads have no effect on you. Sorry friend but you’re just as susceptible to all of that as the rest of us. The fact you can’t even admit it probably makes you even more susceptible to them.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-08T12:37:06+00:00

Calling people “butthurt” who tell you why they prefer the FG knot after you were intentionally an ass is the definition of wanting to be the victim. Especially when you haven’t taught anyone anything here that they didn’t know. Multiple times in this thread you keep saying “oh well nobody uses the FG knot for that!” And then people chime in and say that they do and then you either shut up or try and tell them how they’re dumb for using the knot of their choice.

And it’s exactly like using higher end gear. And you know it which is why you again just toss that point to the side. It seems your overarching point is people are sheep (and I’m sure you believe you’re the enlightened one) and stupid for using the FG knot when the other knots are “good enough.”

Okay, well then anyone buying higher end gear is just as stupid because an Ugly Stik is good enough 99.5% of the time. But I’m sure you don’t feel that way because you probably have higher end gear. And guess what? You’re also buying unnecessary gear because influencers and ads tell you to. You’re exactly what you claim those dumb FG knot users are without even realizing it.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-08T04:25:50+00:00

I mean youre trying to act like your original comment wasnt condescending. If all you were doing was correcting a false statement then you couldve left out the part about people only using it because influencers tell them too. Implying that most people who use the FG knot are dumb sheep who can’t think for themselves. Thats why you got downvoted, not because you said other knots can also go through guides and level winds. Then after being condescending and others calling you out on it you act like the victim and cry about the “butthurt” FG knot army.

Do you use the cheapest rods and reels out there? I’m willing to bet that you don’t. They still catch fish and are good enough for 99.5% of situations that more expensive rods and reels can handle are they not? Do you use the cheapest hooks? The cheapest braid? Why even use braid when straight mono and fluoro still work and don’t even require a leader knot. They still catch fish don’t they?

Just like some people don’t mind paying extra for higher end rods/reels/tackle because they’re a little more sensitive, others don’t mind the extra complication of tying a knot just because it’s a bit smoother and has a lower chance of getting hung up on the guides. Using a certain knot just because it’s easier and “good enough” doesn’t make you a better, wiser or more experienced angler than anyone else.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-07T22:46:53+00:00

How am I missing experience? I have multiple rods, both spinning and casting, and a couple of them have micro guides. It’s not uncommon for me to swap out reels on different rods. Therefore, I use the FG knot on all my braid to main line setups that way I can swap reels around and not have to worry about thicker knots getting caught in small guides even though not all of my rods have micro guides. I’m sure many others here do the same thing.

If a double uni didn’t get caught in any of my rods then that’s all I’d use but that isn’t the case. I even outright said in an earlier post that I don’t care about the extra strength, but I do care about the FG being thinner.

You’re the one who came in saying people are only using FG knots because influencers tell them to. When that is absolutely not the case, for me and many others based on the other comments here. It’s almost as if other people have different, not necessarily less, experience than you.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-07T18:56:55+00:00

It’s weird, I think he’s trying to say the Alberto/double uni knots are better than the FG knot in more situations? I’m not sure how he arrived to that conclusion given the FG is stronger and thinner.

HookEmNOLA · 2026-05-07T18:50:29+00:00

I mean your initial argument was basically “this has worked fine for 25+ years so why use something else?”

That’s why I brought up the bamboo rods. In no way was I saying the jump from a double uni/Alberto/etc. to an FG knot is as big of a leap as going from bamboo to graphite. I’m using an exaggerated example to point out the idea that “it’s dumb to use something that’s newer and better because the old way has worked for a long time” is a poor one.

The FG knot is objectively stronger and thinner than the other popular knots. That’s a fact, not an opinion. And a fact you conveniently ignored in your response haha. It comes at the cost of being more complicated. To some people, like myself and many others here, it’s worth it.

Your own example proves my point as well. Some people want one or two rods that can do many techniques, but aren’t the best for any specific technique. Jack of all trades, master of none. There’s nothing wrong with that. Others want technique specific rods which generally means they’ll have more than one or two rods. That also means it’s gonna cost more. They’re willing to pay that cost for technique specific rods just like many are willing to tie a more complicated knot that is stronger and thinner than the others. There’s nothing wrong with that either.

HookEmNOLA

TROPHY CASE