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If a rod rod truly has defective materials or workmanship or has been damaged in transport it will fail the first few times it is flexed. I doubt very much that if that happened Powell or any other manufacturer would not make good or they'll be gone. What is often referred to as a warranty is really a replacement program type of insurance. Like all insurances everyone pays for the few who use and abuse the system. I'd much rather pay a fair price for a good product than overpay and maybe collect a benefit later. I don't see lack of a warranty replacement program necessarily as not standing behind your product.

Side imaging/down imaging is unfair for the fish. Scents are unfair to the fish. Rattles are unfair to the fish. Live bait is unfair to the fish. Boats are unfair to the fish. Awww hell. Let's just ban fishing all together. I mean, it's certainly not fair for a bass to be tricked into eating a pretend fish, is it? I stated in another thread "Maybe we should catch the fish with our bare hands or our teeth as that would be the only REAL way to show off a fishermans skill." No? No disrespect Raider, but what does it matter if you release a fish immediatly or at the end of the day 5 miles from where it was caught(spawn not included) Fish will seek food and cover. They have an instinct to survive. They're not going to just hang out where they are released and die if no one comes around and feeds them. As many of us know a "good spot" is a good spot. Good spots replenish themselves. AND all the fish are being released during these tourneys. Everybodys freaking out. Why? The fish are still going back in the water. It's just another tool. Can't wait for open water!

I really like the Bandit Cranks, and I'm sure others do so I thought I'd share some info I got earlier today...Might be old news to some. They are releasing NON RATTLING cranks in the 200 series, and square bills. Should be hitting shelves in select colors in the next week or two.

If you're ever in Chicago, you can try a foei dog. I really want the fries done in duck fat: http://chicago.serio...-neighbors.html Edit for new link: http://www.hotdougs.com/default.htm

Thanks DVT, you beat me to the punch. I would like to see more companies do this. Or, make it optional. I'd be perfectly willing to buy a good rod, say a St Croix, without a lifetime replacement guarantee, if I could buy it for a lot less. Why should I have to pay for somebody else insurance? I have never bought a rod with a manufacturing defect that caused it to break, and I've been fishing a long time. I have however, broken a lot of rods. Every one of them was my fault. I've stepped on them, slammed them in doors and tailgates, dropped one across a sharp edge, broke two when the braid was wrapped around the tip when I set the hook, etc. I did NOT send any of them in for a free replacement. All were my fault. Why should a rod manufacturer have to pay for my stupidity? Even worse, why should I have to pay for yours? Defects in workmanship are fairly easy to spot for the most part. You can spot them before purchasing. Some defects are not so easy to see. A poorly glued seat, or badly mixed epoxy are some problems that may take a while to show up. But they will show up quickly. A defective blank will break during the first few casts, and if not then, it will break on the first solid hookset. I have seen a lot of rods with defects. Crooked guides, messy or cracked epoxy, dorked up reel seats, bad cork, mis-aligned components, warped blanks, you name it. I've never bought one. If you bought one like that, it's your fault for not inspecting it in the first place. If a rod breaks after being used for a couple of years, then it is your fault. You did something wrong.

Wait. You have a boat with an 8-track player in it? How awesome is that?!

I've been here full time for 7 years, previously from Michigan. Anything under 75 I'm wearing long underwear and thermal socks now...........haha.

If you can get Steve Daniels on the South or Angie Douthit or North end. They are both seasoned angler with years of Lake O experience and can put you on fish!

Ha! I lived Fl for almost 12 yrs now. I am spoiled. A 60 degree day makes me shiver. Sunday morning with a temp around 40 when I went out and I thought I was crazy to be there!

I believe there are times when it matters and there are times when it does not. I think the profile and size of a bait far out weigh color in most cases.

So, apparently some people like it and some don't lol. I agree that it is a specific tool, with a lot of other potential that many people haven't yet found. And, I have no problem with them banning it in the Elites and Classic (1. because it doesn't effect me like J. Francho said 2. who should really care enough to argue it all day long if they aren't actually fishing the classic or elites?) It would have been awesome to see what them guys could have caught on the rigs because it has the ability to catch fish that do not relate to much cover or many other things people key on when fishing. On the other hand I think it may eventually hurt impact the fisheries in some way. Not because of fish kills, or fish being hooked, etc... but really because more people will see it, buy it, and use it. The striper fishermen have been using, and catching BASS on it for years and years and I haven't seen an uproar of that yet? Guys were fishing this thing for an entire summer before the publicity hit it. Noone complained about seeing massive amounts of dead fish, or fish with hook scars all over them at weigh in. The media made this thing the bad guy. And everyone thinking they had to have one and use it. I do not think there was one thing wrong with it if it followed states laws. I do NOT think it would be right for a state to amend laws because of this lure, but thats not my call. For the people thats bashing it--- Why? Have even half of you tried it? If you have, I would bet that over 85% did not slay fish on it and did not catch ANY doubles. So what is your bases for not liking it if it follows laws, and why weren't you complaining about it the last 10 or more years that striper fisherman have used it? And, are you afraid that someone is going to go pitch this in your favorite flipping bush, or finese it along your designated piece of rip rap bank? Of the people that have tried it, how many have caught doubles, triples. etc?? I've used it probably 18 or so outings, and had 1 good day. 12 keepers. No doubles. Only one time were there multiple hooks involved on one fish...and that was a 14" smallmouth that killed two baits in one bite and had 2 hooks in the mouth...not his sides! The other times, I caught a couple fish on it...big fish ;but not a lot of fish. And I would consider myself to be an average or above average fisherman. I would be let down to think that the Elite guys are being so dramatic over this (because I really don't think they mind it nearly as much as most of you people do). The Elite guys didn't use it before, and half of them wouldn't have used it anyway. So, nothing has really changed for them. But why are so many people against change and new innovations? There are many more things out there that could be worse than the A-rig. (I can drive by a point or a brushpile and watch my bait go down to the fish and watch the fish eat it LIKE A VIDEO GAME, and people have more of a problem with a stupid fishing lure than a $2500 sonar) Whats wrong with this picture lol I have heard some good cons and reasons why this bait should not be used for tournament and recreational fishermen. But most of them just sound like they're afraid to spend time and learn how to fish it. I'd have much more respect for someone that just flat out don't like and don't wanna use it just cause.... There's no need to make up silly excuses and reasons that could hold true about other baits that you're already using ==> Double/triple flukes? (are you afraid the shiny 200lb wire will get more bites?), Double/triple fish catches? (while this happens more often on the a-rig, it doesn't happen that much, we are just hearing about it all the time now, and its happened with other lures, Tim Horton actually had this happen multiple times in a tournament on a bomber), over fishing? (if you don't like it, don't use it, that solves 30% of fishermen, people that bought it but can't/won't figure out how to fish it effectively is another 50%, the other 20% have been smokin your tails before the rig came out anyway) Here's an experiment--Someone use only this rig the whole year and compare it with someone using other methods and see who catches more fish at the end of that year!

Try fishing it on a weighted hook!

The Elite angler tournament committee that made that decision because it may cause injury to the bass should do some more soul searching about their fish handling practices. Boat flipping them to the carpet, then putting on a show for the camera before putting the fish in the livewell sure doesn't represent any concern for the fish's well being.

Would you prefer it if tournament anglers nailed all their bass to a board? As it stands, 100% of bass caught in tournaments is given more than a fighting chance to live, and be caught again. Can't say the same for all recreational anglers.

Interesting idea. To carry it a little further, what if you could get an NRX rod with no warranty for, say, 1/2 the price of the current rod?

What is up with that green shirt? I have a great tailor that can help you out.

Here's a copy and paste from another post I made elsewhere. Sums things up fine for me. This will sound crass, and I know, consider the source.... I'm not condemning anyone for not liking the thing. Hell, it makes my shoulder ache looking at the tainted *** box full of them in my living room. But here's the straight talk. Guys that claim the Alabama rig, or other multiple bait or teaser rig are cheating are the same guys that don't always catch a limit of keepers every outing. They see 3 lb. doubles or triples, like has been posted on the interwebz ad nauseum, and cry outrage. I mean, it MUST BE cheating. It's not, if it's legal according to local fishing laws. I catch 20-40 fish per tournament day. I catch less during my personal fishing time because I'm not focused on a bag better than yours - my mindset is elsewhere. Sorry, it's a case of the have nots pointing the finger at the haves, and using some weird self righteous argument to condemn the bait. It's not the bait, it's the angler. You cannot assign motive without spending the day fishing with me. I might be learning a new bait or technique. I might be learning a new lake. I might be figuring out how to not break off using light line, without killing the fish. That might be another whole book. Tie up your usual baits and fish your usual spots with real 3 lb. break strength line. You're strike count will astound you. Anyway, off topic... I guess I am wondering why it's "cheating" of it's legal. I hear, it's not sporting. Same guys say don't play your fish because they'll die. OK, that's not sporting either. I hear the that it's like running a net through the water, and fish can't resist biting it. If that's so, why are MULTITUDES complaining about it not working, and asking how to catch with it. The Senko or Slug-O should be banned before that thing should, LOL. It's a VERY specific tool. Suspended fish, open water, feeding on bait balls, match the hatch, depth and moment. Geez, sounds a lot like fishing to me. As far as the Elites and Classic goes, CUT AND DRY RULES ARE EASIER TO OFFICIATE THAN ANY STATE LAWS. To me, they took the easy way out. And they satisfied the incessant complaints from the have nots, both following the sport, and on the tour. One thing is fo-sho, the ban ain't my problem. I don't fish the Elite or Classic.

Brothers from anothers mothers?

I have seen that all black thing yo call a bass boat. Is has 2 warp drive engines. No wonder you take the time.

I would go with the vendetta or the veritas i have a few of each, great rods for the price.I would stay away from the carrot stix imo,I had a mh gold series and it broke it took me almost 2 months to get some one to answer the phone there to get it replaced,had my verdict break sent it to them and less then two weeks had a new rod.

I am with anybody on nailing tresspassers on ANY private property. I simply call the State Police. What is the difference if the land is or is not posted ? If YOU DO NOT OWN IT. YOU ARE A TRESPASSER. PERIOD!! No signs means I can walk on anybodys property and treat it like my own? BULL CA CA

Well It is simply a way to kill as many fish as fast as possible. If you are after MEAT. Every body should agree it catches more fish in a 8 hour period. No real abilities needed. Not a lot different than netting to pick out the biggest ones . Increasing your odds by at least 4 to 1 sounds very professional. The GOAL of a contest is to win by anything ....NOT BANNED.....in the rule book. I agree for PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENT fishermen. You are supposed to be FAR FAR better at catching ANY FISH with a ROD, REEL, LINE & a HOOK / LURE. Barbless would not be to bad either. Considering the speeds a fish is brought in on + 40# line. Could all the boats go to catch.. weigh... measure... & release. The sponsors will not pull out. That will stop the stripping of all breeders from their prime food spots....under all structures...& dumping them anywhere it is Quickest for the angler to get out of the water. I watch a pro bass tournament guy fish the same docks I did. He caught 5 X the fish I did. I waved him in to let him make a living that day. I sure wish he could have left those fish there. The day after a big tournament. There are NO bigger fish in my area to catch.for several days to weeks.

Awesome!! Bandit 200 is my #1 crank!!

Well, that made my day, much like a couple of signs I saw a few years ago. The first was at Home Depot. It read thusly. Snow is forecasted for this weekend and not to be forgetting the rock salt. The second was at a cosmetic store. It read: Custom blended pure fumes

IMO, i'm glad.

I appreciate that really. I thought I was doing horrible out there wandering around aimlessly looking for an area that "looks" good. I also figured that a 30 pound bag that took the win, many others probably weighed in 20 pound bags. You're absolutely right about "ton of water" as soon as I left the canal and hit the main lake I was completely overwhelmed! I had no idea where to start and what to do, I motored around for awhile and the depth kept reading 4 feet, since I could never find deeper water that I was looking for with the cold front I moved back to the shoreline. How far out do you have to go to find 8-10 fow? My little boat was getting bounced around bad Sunday and I'm sure that was a normal or calmer day. I noticed the area I came out to looked like it was just full of eel grass but the water was very dirty. I was thinking this would be a good spot if the water was clean but I have no idea about the bottom composition, although with the grass I think it would be good to hold bass. Now I see why alot of guys out there have 200 plus horsepower motors, it would take me an eternity to travel long stretches of this lake! The cattails looked good but I had no idea where to flip, so I just flipped everywhere when I was on the main lake. I can't wait to start learning this lake although it is intimidating!

The potential exists to have a single fish hooked on an a-rig become tangled up and foul hooked with the other hooks on the rig. This could really be a problem. Had BASS stated this as a reason for banning the rig, I could easily agree. Their stated reason is nothing more than a steaming pile of what drops out of the south end of a north-bound bull.

Giants over Pats in OT.

The big one got away! My buddy had a monster on in the deep pool under the power lines. We got caught between a rock and and a hard spot as we were screaming towards the jetty. As we tried to manuever out, the fat girl dove under the boat and was gone! Otherwise, we caught some good fish, both brown & green. Good day had by all. p.s. We both tried fishing an Alabama Rig. I fished a shallow presentation for a drift without a strike. Later, in deeper water along the channel, we both fed the rocks in short order. Overall, it was a bust.

Couple of Quick sidenotes: As with any lure or technique you have to experimant with retrieves and speeds. Keep changing it up. yes we all love the instant grab as soon as the bait sinks but I have found sometimes you have to pretty much deadstick it for a few seconds and maybe lightly jiggle it. Another thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is there are times when after pumping it once or twice you may want to try lifting it to the bottom of the mat and play with it there for a few seconds before lifting it out. These can be exciting strikes as you get a visual and the fish almost take it topwater. Though I get more of that type when flipping brush or thick cattail clumps. Just keep changing it up and almost always once you get a strike or two stick with that method. As always a slight change in weight can make a difference of course depending on how thick the cover is. But if you can penetrate with less it is worth a shot at times. They may want more of a flutter or a heavy weight will get that violent reaction bite. If your really into it rig 2-3 rods with varying weights. Punching? you can pitch the bait basicly straight up in the air and then stop it with your thumb and make it cash down. if the mat is thick it really doesn't make that much commotion,it just kinda sucks it in. I mention that because just say you hit a spot where the weight your using doesn't quite seem to be enough,you can make it through sometimes by pitching it up in the air. It can be a pain to flip where its windy but I like to definitely hit spots where the wind has been beating and especially if it is gathering large clumps of floating vegetation. Many times in these situations if you catch one then pick the hell out of that area! A lot of times bass will congregate within a small key area based on wind current,or bottom composition,or where more than one type of cover or vegetation meets.I find that harder bottom areas if you can locate them are usually better than very silty muddy spots. If the bottom is all the same then well it doesn't matter. Not sure what everyone elses opinions are but i have very often found that rattles can make a huge difference at times. Using a Paca craw? I like to stuff small pill shaped rattles inside them. Not to get too technical but sometimes the action of the bait makes a difference too. A bait like a paca or a rage are pretty much my number one go to's around here but sometimes they may want something more subtle with a deadened action or more of a gliding effect. Brush hog,zoom critter craw,sweet beaver type,gambler b.b cricket. Experiment.

Check out Alumilite Puddy. Most hobby shos will have it. Working time is fairly quick though. Check out tackleunderground.com. All the info you need is there.

Maybe the people against the A-rig just can't afford to drop $20 or $30 on a lure, or $20,000-$50,000 on a bass boat and another $40,000 on a truck to pull the boat that catches fish on the A-rig. Jealous??? I'm a mechanic by trade.Tools cost money. There are tools that work and there are tools that work better. I can use a butter knife to turn a screw, I can use a screwdriver, or I can use an electric screwdriver. The tool that makes my job the easiest, normally cost the most, in turn makes me the most money. What's the difference?

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. Let me see if I get this strait. When the guy on Erie offers to buy his co-anglers fish-A BLATANT FORM OF CHEATING, YOU DEFENDED HIM WITH SEVERAL POSTS. BUT THIS SHOULD BE A SUSPENSION OR FINE????? I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to see this justified. If for no other reason than for entertainment purposes.

I also have a 7'6" veritas, I call it the compensator and I love it. The 7'6" Veritas has some other good uses also other than Flipping. I've used it for Catfishing, Swimbaits, and Froggin'. Another Veritas I own is a 6'9" ML spinning rod that I use for just about everything when it comes to extra light tackle 1/8oz and below I broke my old Abu Garcia Vendetta on a fish last year but I have high hopes with the new ML just because my 7'6" fishing pole has held up pretty well.

I catch the majority of my bigger smallmouth on a 1/2 or 3/4oz football head tipped with a 5" Hula Grub in color #176 (cinnamon/black flake). A sweet beaver works great on the football head as well. Green pumpkin is always a good color to start with.

Worth a shot...I figure that its a bait they dont see too often.

Sweet Beavers and any 4" stickworm. Dragged on a fb head or dropshotted

I've been using a slip bobber/Senko set-up for the last two seasons and this one as well. It allows to fish two rigs at the same time - legally - and with a partner, it gives us four presentations. I'm usually working a drop shot on my second rig and a partner might be working a spinnerbait or tube. Fishing alone, I've had many doubles; fishing a partner, we've had 4 "quads" over the years. Talk about a lot of fun! H The bobber stops can be found at any sporting goods store - even WalMarts. They have the stop set-ups & small plastic beads in the package. You can find the cigar floats at Dicks; you can use all kinds of slip floats in this application, but after trial & error, I've pretty much settled on this one. It's about 4" long and the bright colors make it easy to see, even in a decent chop. I've chosen Fireline Chrystal, as my main line, because it stays on the surface of the water, between the float and your rod tip. This makes slack retrieval much easier, as well as hook-sets. And, for me, it's easy to see! The glass bead under the float prevents the eye of the crane swivel from sticking in the bottom of the float. (There actually is a method behind my madness, believe it or not!) It also ads a little weight to help get your Senko down faster. Do NOT use a barrel swivel! You know....the kind that are used with "snap-swivels". Use a quality crane swivel or ball bearing style only. These turn much easier than the barrel types. The Senko hanging below a bobber, has a tendency to turn....so you will need to avoid line twist, as much as possible. I really like to use the Spro Powerswivels, size #8 or #10. They work as well as any ball bearing swivel, but they are expensive and not easy to find everywhere. You can use any hook you want; however, I would highly recommend you give this one shown a try (crush down the barb!). I've had excellent results with it. When the bobber goes under, you just start reeling her in! The leader between the hook & swivel is anything you want it to be. If I'm fishing fairly shallow in weedy/wooded conditions for LM, I'll beef it up to about 10# test - or more! But for open water SM fishing, the 6# test cited above is about as good as it gets. Now....the most important part! How far up the line do you set the bobber stop? This is what I do. I find bait on the structure I'm fishing. Then I attach an ice fishing depth finder - the lead weights with the alligator clips molded into them - to the hook. I lower this boatside until it hits bottom. I adjust the bobber stop so that the float is about 2' underwater. This will be correct, for having your Senko presented 2' ABOVE THE BOTTOM. Got that? Simple...effective. Remove the depth finder, slip on a Senko. Cast it a short distance from the boat. The float will lay flat, until the Senko is at the end of it's travel. Now the float will semi-stand up, bouncing about and imparting a rather dramatic action to your wacky rigged Senko. Lots of folks have a prejudice against bobbers. I guess they automatically associate it with live bait fishing, but it's quite different. You still need to present your Senko in front of fish and and you have to find them! I've posted here, previously, my technique of how I wacky rig these Senkos, so you can do a search on that. Hope this is of some help to some of you folks.