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Years ago when you bought a new product from a manufacturer you bought it because you had dealt with that company before and you knew what you were buying. Today with all the big companies trying to cut costs you never know what you are going to get. For me, brand loyalty is dead. I look around on the internet to see what others have to say before I make a purchase. If people are going to give the next Shimano line a good review I will buy one, but I will not buy one just because it is a Shimano.

Recently, while I was working in the flower beds in the front yard, my neighbors stopped to chat as they returned home from walking their dog. During our friendly conversation, I asked their little girl what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?" She replied... "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people." Her parents beamed with pride! "Wow...what a worthy goal!" I said. "But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that!" I told her. "What do you mean?" she replied. So I told her, "You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and trim my hedge, and I'll pay you $50. Then you can go over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out and give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house." She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?" I said, "Welcome to the Republican Party." Her parents aren't speaking to me anymore.

Metal, plastic, or rubber. Heck, I don't care what it's made of as long as it's durable and performs to my liking. It could be made out of spider web for all i care.

None!

This is ONLY two of the new colors we came out with this year and I will post the others as the photo's become available! The first is Peanut Butter n Jelly and the other is one of my all time favorites and "FINALLY" Green Pumpkin Purple/Gold/Black Hope you like'em!

My family and I just got back from a SWEET fishing trip near Hayward Wisconsin. We spent the majority of the time fishing for walleye, and that was a lot of fun, but my personal goal was to catch a smallie on that trip. After consulting various guide books, this forum, and the old men who hang out at bait shops, we went to Grindstone Lake to fish for smallmouth. I used a drop shot slug-go in a red shad color and caught 4 of em that day. I am now and forever hooked on smallmouth fishing. My best of the day, and thus my personal best smallmouth, was 4 pounds 6 ounces. I was ecstatic to say the least. Now I just need to convince my Dad to put the boat in on Lake Michigan so I can keep catching those bronze buggers.

You could always build a sand castle. I mean its not like there is a shortage of it over there.

Zillions went from $229 to $319 with no improvements/changes. Where's the outrage? lol.

Chronarch... and I WAS an Abu guy.

If not for the E series Curados, we'd never be hearing these gripes. It's all about your viewpoint. Mine is that you can buy an E series Shimano at a steeply discounted price from its original $199 MSRP. I paid $145 new in box for a 50E, which is essentially a Chronarch with green versus white paint. What's not to like about that? Otherwise, the Shimano lineup and prices are back to what they were 5 years ago. I know confusion breeds discontent, but ya gotta reason your way through that. I'm just happy the Shimano price/model realignment provided the opportunity for a deal.

No one can sell me a story as to they MUST have a cell phone. I didn't have one until 1997 and I was 30 years old.

Yeah, I was thinking drop shot, but C-rig would probably work out better if there's a lot of weeds. Not many places don't have at least a few hawgs in them, just a matter of taking the time to figure out what works, and be willing to leave fish to find the bigger fish. Many people don't get that.

90% 3/0, 4/0, 5/0 or 6/0 EWG Offset Worm Hooks. Gamakatsu, Owner, Trokar, Moaner (Mustad) 10% 5/0 Gamakatsu Offset Round Bend

fish what is comfortable for you. i know some guys who never go lighter then 30lb braid and others who won't fish heavier then 10lb braid or 8lb mono. the way i bass fish i don't judge my reel rod and line on how "big" the fish are i adjust accordingly to the structure and baits i fish. if i could get away with using a light action 6'6" rod with 6-8lb test and a 1000 size reel i would do it all the time!

Rock, he was asking if how they compare to those rods, not saying they were more sensitive

You still have to figure out what depth the fish are holding at, what areas they're holding in, what they're feeding on, what speed you need to troll, and a host of other variables, just like when you're casting and retrieving. I get what you're saying, sort of anyways. It sounds to me like you're talking about people that just pick the first bait out of their box, put it in the water and just drag it around and hope they stumble across a fish, a lot like a lot of people do when casting and retrieving a bait. However, some people have it down to a science. In a larger body of water I might even argue that it's more difficult to troll because you're structure fishing, not casting to visible cover like most anglers do. So you have to be good at reading your electronics, topo maps, and knowing where the fish should be on a given day and what baits will catch them where they're at. Personally I can't stand trolling for anything. Probably why catching marlin or sailfish has never appealed much to me, because trolling is one of the main techniques to catch them. I'm getting a hint of "holier than thou" mindset, like a fish caught trolling is somehow less of a fish, like some guys think of livebait/artificials or flyfishing/traditional gear. Either that or someone is trolling your lake and catching fish while you're struggling and it's hurting your pride.

Can't go wrong with Shimano or a Garcia.

Very easy. If it's a casting reel, the name should start with a "C". If it's spinning, the name should start with an "S"! Just kidding, never fished any of the 3, but I know which one I would have bought if I had the money.

I'm an Abu guy so you know where my vote goes.

I fished it today as a trailer on a 1/4 oz white swim jig. Menace color was pearl. By far the best swim jig trailer i have ever used. My favorite thing was the way it planed on the vegetation. I actually came on to start a new thread and saw this one. I want to give a big thanks to Big-O and strike king. Another great Rage product. The action is perfect for a swim jig. I didnt like the bulk of a rage craw for a swim jig, but the Menace is a perfect fit.

"Redneck bass fisherman" can do what they want with their legal catch like anyonne else

I've got the most confidence in black and green pumpkin; those are the plastics that i buy exclusively and work in all the water clarities that I encounter. Stick to a few colors and spend your money on new types of baits rather than colors.

I’ll take a stab at this. A little background first. I consider myself primarily/ first and foremost a plastics fisherman. I mainly fish deep, clear water reservoirs in Southern California with maximum depths of 200 feet plus (see Diamond Valley Lake). I primarily use 6 and 8 pound test due to the gin clear water and 20 plus feet of visibility. 10 pound test is “heavy” out here for everyday worm fishing. Lol. It kills me when good ol’boys back east talk about deep water crankin’ or offshore structure fishing in 15’ of water and having to drop down to 10 pound test. Deep water structure fishing for me starts at 40 plus feet! Lol. As far as brand goes, I exclusively fish my own brand plastics now, but more on that later in another thread. Colors are usually matched to the lake/ water clarity and conditions. I prefer “natural” colors i.e. Green Pumpkin, Watermelon, Pumpkin, etc although we all know location and presentation are by far more important. Techniques overlap with the different plastics and colors. I exclusively use Gamakatsu hooks as I feel they provide the best quality at price point and offer a hook suited for every technique I employ which are primarily Drop Shot, T-Rig, and C-Rig. High speed reels are the norm and technique specific rods are standard issued with set ups dedicated to only a single technique. Below I will list a generalized list of baits that I swear by. Like I said I exclusively use Rude Baits® now but for years used and drew inspiration from Zoom®, GYBC® and RoboWorm. In no particular order of importance as presentations vary from day to day, hour to hour, and spot to spot here is a generalized list of my top producers; 4.5” and 6” Finesse Worm – I primarily use these type of worms for Drop Shot and Nail Weight presentations. Drop Shot generally in 10 to 50 foot plus. Nail Weight for 10 foot or less. I use my own version of finesse worm with a size 2 Gamakatsu Drop Shot/ Split Shot hook with ¼ or 3/8 oz. ball style Drop Shot weight. Out this way very light, subtle and translucent versions of Purple, Pink, and Blue work very well. 5” Stik Bait – Weightless and weed less. Always! Texeposed weightless weed less presentations for generally 20 foot or less. Although as painful as it may be sometimes, this technique can kill it in 20 plus foot of water if you can stand it! Usually a Gammy 3/O EWG gets the call. With best producing colors being darker naturals, Green Pumpkin, June Bug, Grape, etc. 5.5” Creature Bait – I use these for primarily picking apart pieces of visible or metered cover although they are great for covering structure as well. T-Rigged for cover and C-Rigged for structure. Gammy 3/O Round Bend with a 3/8 – ½ oz. Bullet weight for the T-Rig and ½ - ¾ oz for the C-Rig. Junebug has always been a top producer for me. 6” Straight Tail Worm – Used primarily with a T-Rig for picking apart isolated pieces of cover. Although the Drop Shot is a So Cal go-to, this may be the most versatile of the whole bunch. Works from one foot of water to 40 foot plus. Gammy 2/O O’Shaughnessy or 2/O Round Bend with 3/8 – ½ oz. Bullet weight. Any of the aforementioned colors will work as long as you find the fish. 6” Lizard – This is both my go-to C-Rig and sight fishing bait. 3/O or 4/O Gammy EWG with either a 3/8 oz. weight for a sight fishing T-Rig or ½ - ¾ oz. egg weight for C-R-rig. I have had the best luck with Pumpkin and Junebug for the C-Rig and Chartreuse for sight fishing. 3’ and 4” Swim Bait – When I say Swim Bait I mean “Swim Tail” style threaded on to a triangular style lead head. The same style you see on all of those A-Rigs. ¼, 3/8, and 1/2 oz. get the call. I primarily use them to scrape the bottom working uphill on long, tapering, main lake points from 50 foot of water back up to 10 foot. A great search bait. Also good for breaking fish in wolf pack when burned back to the boat. Shad (Smoke) pattern is my favorite. Probably the bait of the listed above I use the least in fresh water but is an absolute go-to killer in salt water. It is the standard bait in which all Calico, Sand, and Spotted Bay Bass fisherman use the most. Honorable Mention – Soft Jerk baits, Grubs, Curl Tails, Tubes, and Large Worms have all produced for me throughout the years but the six listed above are my go-to bait day in day out. I hope the post above was informative as you can see I take pride in fishing my plastics. Whether it’s soaking a Drop Shot in 40 foot of water off a main lake point or Flippin’ and Pitchin’ tules pockets in the back of a cove I love fishing plastics.

Alas, no Cabelas in South Eastern Virginia... Sigh. BPS needs some good competition down here. Nothing against BPS, just like competition keeping prices down :-)

i have a bps near me. i like the store & the employees have always been super helpful. my thing is i like supporting locally owned small business. the 2 local shops are awesome. C&C outdoors & edgemore outdoors are more in tune with the local scene. they can and have price matched stuff from tw & bps. on some things they have been cheaper. all i'm saying is give your local tackle shop a shot. more than likely they'll bend over backwards to earn your business or help you with any warranty issues and can probably put you on some fish. btw, i dont own a tackle shop

1: Jay Cutler 2: Jay Cutler 3: Jay Cutler 4: Jay Cutler 5: a tie between Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall

This doesnt help for the brand, but I use the nylon mesh ones that Bass Pro sells. No problems with them. If you do get a hook caught in them, its not that bad to get out, you just have to see how its in there, and carefully get it out. Also, the hook wont damage it due to the thickness. I have them for all my rods, and they are pretty tough.

Same as above, except I don't kick the dogs.

I never don't catch anything

If I dont catch anything I get on the internet and find out why. Whenever I get skunked, I always feel there was someway to catch them.

Nice shot of Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old Bourbon! Takes the edge off! In fact, I didn't catch anything today and I'll pour one right now.

I don't have a dog in this fight because I am not a tournament angler anymore. B.A.S.S. has made some good and bad decisions over the 45 years that I have been a life member, banning the A-rig from Elite events ranks near the top of the bad decisions. Most of you may not remember that B.A.S.S. banned flipping from their tournaments when Dee Thomas won events. B.A.S.S. made the 8' rod rule and added the rod must have a functional reel. Dee got together with Fenwick and return to B.A.S.S. tournaments with his flipping stick, Dave Glebie joined him, followed by Gray Klein and flipping/pitching became a main stay with the tournament anglers. Banning the A-rig, a castable umbrella rig, along with banning any other multiple lure rig, will not last long. Like flipping the anglers will adjust the presentation and B.A.S.S. will adjust their rules. The A-rig is here to stay. Under the new rule a twin spin (Shannon type) spinner bait with 2 wire arms and blades would be legal. The number of attractors is not controlled, like a 5 bladed safety pin spinner bait is legal. The next generation of tournament A-rigs will more than likely evolve to a single hook lure with several attractors on multiple wires. Where B.A.S.S. draws the line is anyones guess at this time, but it's been my experience they will change and allow versions of the A-rig. Tom

I think wacky rigged Senkos are unsporting. The incidence of deep/gut hooking is very high, they take zero skill to fish, they pollute the waters, and any left in the lake can kill fish if eaten.