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All this research and fishing and more research has turned me into my favorite fish! For example: If something looks tasty, I usually suck it right in... When its hot outside, I prefer to stick to cover and shade... Some people think that I have a big mouth... I might be attracted to the "latest and greatest lure", but I'm a sucker for a simple soft plastic worm... And finally...after spawning, I will stay in the bed while my female wanders off.

I'm sure that with all the tinkering and experimenting that most of us do with our tackle, this has been done before, but here goes anyway. I fish a lot of shallow lakes (3'-10'), and in some of these lakes, the spinnerbait is key, one of the most productive lures you can possibly use. I use a trailer hook with some sort of trailer worm (usually a twist tail worm/grub) on my spinnerbaits religiously. I cant count the number of Hawgs I've skin hooked with a good sharp trailer hook with teeth marks on the trailer worm. However, If you fish shallow lakes, you know how difficult it can be trying to fish through heavy cover (patches of pads, hydrillas, etc...). A lot of the time, If I can manage to get the blades and the head of the bait through the cover, my trailer hook comes back with grass on it, ruining my presentation. Its frustrating because most of the time, that heavy growth is where the monsters lurk. Especially on lakes that don't have many docks or much structure for them to hide under & hold in. Over the winter I was playing around with some spinnerbaits, and I came up with a small tweak that has been working like gangbusters for me so far. I'll explain and include a rough sketch. 1. Start off by putting a twist tail worm on the main hook of your spinnerbait, I like to cut off the tophalf of a Powerbait. 2. Put the trailer hook on and secure it with a piece of plastic or rubber tubing. Your trailer hook should move freely, so don't use the trailer hooks that come with a molded keeper over the eye. (If all you have is this type of trailer hook, you can just pull the plastic cover off of the eye, then use that piece of plastic as a keeper on the main hook). Now you have your twist tail on the main hook, and your trailer hook moving freely with a hook keeper in front of it. 3. Take a screw lock and pass it through the eye of the trailer hook. 4. Take a twist tail grub and secure it to the screw lock, then push the point of the trailer hook into the grub but not all the way through. Now you have a spinner bait with a weedless trailer hook, also you have 2 trailers that give the spinnerbait a whole new look and action. Another thing I've found by doing this is that the extra trailer creates more drag, so you can slow the bait down to a crawl and not worry about the trailer hook snagging. Experiment with the types and colors of your trailers. I have a sunfish pattern spinnerbait with 2 painted blades, a chartreuse grub on the main hook, and a dark green grub on the trailer. I can't stop catching all types of fish on it. I have a sketch that I will include also. I hope this info was helpful & tight lines!

Out of all the hobbies or interests that I have, fishing has the most shady and inconsiderate people I have ever seen. Both fresh and salt. I had a guy the other day tell me he breaks off spotted gar's beaks when he catches them and throws them back in cause the are "annoying". Yeah they can be annoying but they belong there and we are the ones throwing the lines in.

A friend of mine has a killer pond that I get blessed with being a guest at every so often. I have been using every combo of swim jig I could find to mimic a bluegill. Not much luck. The last time we were able to get out there, we kept a few bass. I was surprised to see every bass we caught had crappie in the stomach, Some even had crappie sticking out of their throats! That got me thinking, I need a swim jig that mimicked a crappie. North Star had an original swim jig that was close, but wasn't what I wanted. I also don't use the original's I prefer the Flip N Swims. So on the way home from the pond, I called Chris with North Star, and explained what was going on. I couldn't get a bite on any color Flip N Swims that I had. I also went on to tell him that I needed one to look like a white crappie. Chris told me he had the jig I needed. It would be a custom jig so it would take a few weeks. After these arrived, it was worth every second it took to get here. Below is what I got! Chris told me that all other jigs that imitated a crappie were just plane black and white with some speckle. If you look at a crappie in the water, you can see what looks like a purplish shimmer to it. You also see green shimmer as well. I had never seen anything like this before so I was very pleased when it arrived and looked just like I hoped it would. As you can see from the two pictures, there is a green and purplish shimmer to it. For those of you that haven't tried this Flip n Swim jig yet, here are the specs on it. It has a 3x 30 degree round bend hook that is super sharp and really strong. I cannot flatten this hook out. My 65 pound braid breaks before the hook will flatten out. I have a "Mistake" color Flip n Swim that has caught about 60 fish total, and the hook is just as sharp as it was when the jig arrived. My jigs were 1/2 oz and these came with full length white weed guards. The pointed head allows this to be ripped through weeds and grass very easily. The bottom of the head is flat to allow it up stand up straight when it hits the bottom. Comes with 60 strand skirts and 3D eyes that are glued then epoxied over to last. I have never had an eye fall off yet. I got 5 of these to use and see if they will work for me. These were your typical North Star quality jigs. I prefer wire tied jigs and all of North Stars are. The skirts are all aligned perfectly. No empty spots on the jigs. I like the detail on the Flip n Swim head. Life like eyes, great paint job and it has what looks like a gill pattern molded in. I have purchased around 150-200 or so jigs from North Star in the last year and half. Each one has had the exact same quality. Either I have been very lucky or Chris must have some OCD that blows mine out of the water. The hardest part of working with a new jig is finding a good trailer to work with it. I went through just about every trailer online and in a few stores to find some that would work. I needed something that had a somewhat darker body with a salt and pepper colored tail to match the White Crappie around here. Here is what I found. First was the Strike King Rage Tail Menage in Blue Gill color: Next I found the Bass Pro Sassy Sally in Bad Shad: Last one I got was the Zoom Fat Albert in Clear Silver Black: I'm sure these are not the only ones that will work. I am still looking for something that will match up better. I think my favorite is the Rage Tail Blue Gill due to the darker tint in the tail and the green and black speckle. Over all I can't say enough about this new jig. The color is nothing that I have seen before. The quality is 1st rate and it was really nice to be able to pick up the phone, call the owner of the company and have him be able to produce something for me. Hopefully we can get out these next days off and do some fishing. The last 4 days have been storms and more storms.

I found this on YouTube while "fishing video surfing". Six minutes long with some relaxing music. I always wanted to see what the bass looked like when their mouths opened up real big to eat.

Almost felt like the old days Went to Clear Lk. CA, and did pretty well. All on crawlers. Never had a touch on a swimbait. Ended up catching 12 bass, from 3 to 5.30 lbs, and 5 catfish from 8 to 14.8 lbs Whooo Hoo Love those big kitties ! Yep, I'm shoving this one in your face..... but even if I had held it behind my back, it still would have weighed 5.30 lbs LOL I knew when I hooked this one, that it had to be a kitty.... but of course I was hoping it would be a giant bass Peace, Fish

No, but many of us target and fish for other species, and we have an "Other Species" category here as well. Keep in mind this is one person's opinion of what is best, and if one of the criteria is having a product line that suits other species, then that's his opinion. I think we get a little pigeon holed with bass gear anyway. There are a few so called walleye rods in the SC line up that are better drop shot rods than many rods designated as "drop shot rods." There are also holes in many bass line ups. Where you can you find a light and sensitive, 7-7.5', heavy power, fast action spinning rod marketed to bass anglers? I know Rhapsody has one in development (my buddy Jim helped design it). You have to turn to an inshore style rod. That's just one example, I'm sure there's others.

yea man I hope a big curvy bass jumps out of a cake for ya

If you're beating the bank and not catching - turn around, the fish are behind you. A-Jay

Mr. Snooks, please defer to the captain's opening post. and the MULTIPLE claims made. Captains Claims in OP 1.) Customer service superiority with an example 2.) Make the VERY BEST RODS ON THE PLANET!!!!!! 3.) 100% made in the USA.....(this "fact" of the captains has already been knocked down as the Fuji components on their rods are not manufactured by them) 4.) None better than elite, extreme, and tournament. I hope this clears up that the captain was not only speaking of his good customer service experience with St. Croix. There were multiple intents to his post. Boasting about St. Croix's customer service was only 1 of these intentions.

What was the point of that? Diminish somebody else's personal preference because it isn't your own or "every custom rod builders shared preference"? He likes something different. Even Mattman and others at TT build on and like the RX8 blank but they probably aren't considered a "top rod builder" by you I'm guessing. And no, they aren't scv blank quality but to compare them to a premier or put them near a bottom of a "list" is laughable at best. Also, St. Croix makes the rx8 blank. My god close this stupid thread already.

No matter who you are or how much you think you may know, you don't know it all. And this is the best place to learn. I know that I have.

Was talking to my Shimano rep and he was mentioning that Shimano has a few new things coming. First is a Chronarch CI4 baitcaster. An in between reel prices between the chronarch & core, coming in at $280. He also mentioned that a stradic CI4 with x-ship is coming! Good to see shimano changing things up in 2013

She is huge!!! I caught her at 5am and she helped me end in 3rd in my second tournament ever. It was awesome, a tough tournament but awesome. It was a great day!!! She weighted at 4# 4oz and measured 20 inches.

Welcome to the forum! Glad to hear you're getting the fishing bug. As far as rods go, of the two you mentioned, I would definitely consider the Veritas over the Sellus. Two other rods I will recommend looking at though are the Shimano Compre and the ***. I have a Compre and like it a lot. I would personally choose the Compre over all the other $100 rods I've used. With that said, I have not handled one of the new Omens but I have nothing but great reviews about it. They might be worth checking out.

Palomar is not recommended for fluorocarbon lines at all. Seaguar uses to have on their packaging that you were not to tie the Palomar because of its propensity to weaken fluorocarbon. Many, many pros no longer tie the Palomar for the same reason. It may well pass through the eye twice, but it also crosses on itself which is Terri me for fluorocarbon. It loses strength drastically, it used to be considered one of the strongest knots, but that simply isn't the case any longer.

I did the exact thing with mine. the four existing wires are setup to run the batteries in parallel which you are probably not doing. if you are currently using a 24v wired in a series then two of those wires arent connected to a battery. cap the dead wires and then attach the red and black to the respective places on the harness and you should be good to go.... Hope i didnt confuse you but i was in the same situation a few months back.

Several of my setups are with PP. I have been using moss green for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and buzzbaits and hi vis yellow for soft plastics. I have used leader (mono as well as fluoro) and in other cases no leader (used sharpie to color last few feet of the braided line). Catch rate was the same. The comparison was not tested in what would be classified as "clear" water. I prefer to use fluorescent Stren mono for cranking. Sold on Power Pro.

This is a loaded question. It's like asking if you should buy a Ford or a Chevy. It will depend on who you ask. The reality is that most any reel in that price point will be pretty decent. I would suggest going down to a Bass Pro Shop or a place of that nature and try the different reels on your new rod. See what feels right. With that said, personally I am a Shimano guy. They are the only reels that have held up to the abuse I have put them through. As deep suggested I would go with a Curado 200 with the 6.5 gear ratio.

If that doesn't make you itch to go throw a line out then I don't know what will.

Any Lews reel

Same. But I do crank with it too. Can't beat it for ripping cranks out of grass.

LOL, ya, what I have is in my teeth and my retirement watch.

The winch was designed for cranking. It's in a 5 gear slower ratio for what you need. The STX is mainly for your jigs, trig etc. it comes in 3 gears, but nothing slow enough for cranking. The winch also has a larger spool for more line and a larger handle to help with deep diving cranks

The Johnson 1/2 or 3/4 oz spoon was designed to be used with a thin 3" or 4" X 3/8" bass pork strip and works very well with that trailer. If you split the tail about 2" and use either white or chartreuse colors works good for bass and other predator fish.Tom

Protect your fishing spot with a larger array of boating accessories. For your Pelican Bass Raider 10E, check out the thumbnail below.

I know how ya feel... Condolences. That's a muscular blue gill!

Ya' know, this trip really got me to thinking... Sure, I have really enjoyed my "other special lake" for the giant Smallmouths, and lots of big Northern Largemouths, but it has fallen off so sharply in the last few years... And Clear Lk. was always just so consistent. So here I am, after my whole cycle of > I used to fish Clear Lk. a ton, way back in the day. Caught a $#$% ton of fish too, like hundreds of fish in the 5 to 8 lb range. But only like 4 double digits, up to 12-11. And of course, the giant channel cats But this all gave way to fishing the trout ponds, San Pablo Res., Rancho Seco, and others..... And I'm not even going to BS, if any of you had fished those waters, at that time, with big bass, baits / lures, you would almost have been certain to have caught a 13-15 LMB ! But times have changed. Pablo became over ran with dink Spotted bass. Rancho had some sort of a die off, or virus, that knocked those fish way down. And now my favorite giant Smallmouth place trying to fail me another year...... But Clear Lk. has always remained the one constant Not to mention, they bite all year at Clear Lk. CA as well I'm SOOO Sorry Clear Lk ! I always loved you ! If I promise to visit you more, will you please treat me kindly ? Peace, Fish

This was one of my Legend Extreme I got out of the Bargain room even though I don't care for rods with half a handle. It was a steel and now less than $235.00 in it and it is now my way, I like it as much as my Elites. I think I like it better than the Elites! I did the 6'10" MXF first to make sure it is what I want, and now I am doing the 7'2" MHM I bought at the same time. I have to hand it to Kevin and his rod magic, for all the good work he put into the modification of the full cork handle, and balancing it. The only thing I don't care for is the looks of the recoil guides, but I have to say I do think they are a great aid to the sensitivity of the rod, and nothings lighter,,,,,,just don't care for the look. To finish it we mounted the Team Lew's Gold 7.1:1 reel and balanced it exactly where I wanted it, and capped the butt. It holds so sweet and os so sensative you can feel em comm'n!! On the 7'2" MHM I was going to go with a little more mass in the handle but am so happy with the way this one turned out and after fishing it the weekend, I am thinking of doing them pretty much the same. I am going to wait a week or two before I make the final decision. But I am really happy with the performance of this rod, it is going to be a great finesse rod and will be great in deeper water for Smallies and Walleye with small jigs, plastics and most finesse tactics.

Hey guys, I got out with my buddy today at Spofford Lake (that's one for you Irishkid). Caught a lot of 2-3 pound LMB's, and this 4.5 pound smallie off a floating dock with a senko. I'm pretty sure I scared two chicks sunbathing on the rock pier with my hoots of excitement. Beautiful day to be on the water

Everything's cool here in Tulsa. We got about a half inch of rain today, but that's about all that's happened. The funny thing about tornados is that, unless you are in the path of one, you don't really worry about them. They are someone else's problem. That said, my heart goes out to those folks in Moore and other Oklahoma communities that have suffered such tragic losses over the last several days.

Generally most golf courses (unless they are ridiculously nice) do maintenance 1 day a week. Find out when that day is, call ahead and see if it's alright to fish when they are cutting lawns, etc. They might say yes, then no worries about cops!

What's the dark side Dwight? Golf?

I fish one of the local golf courses occasionally. I park in the lot, throw my gear on a cart and take off to a pond... but the owner is usually with me .

We do NOT condone illegal activity on this site. Trespassing is illegal. You properly asked permission (good for you!), didn't like the answer, so you ignored it (shame on you!). You got lucky once when an employee looked the other way, but don't count on it. He could get fired for that - perhaps he already has, or has since quit and been replaced with a much stricter employee. When you are caught and are brought up on charges, you'll have nobody to blame but yourself. So don't even THINK about complaining at that point. Bottom line when fishing golf courses or other private ponds, ask permission. If permission is given, be respectful and don't leave any trash, damage any plants or property, and don't abuse the privilege. If permission is denied, respect that and move on to another golf course or property owner until you find one who'll give you that "yes" you seek. There's no gray area on this. You don't have to like the answer, but you must respect it, and abide by it.

What did you really think was going to happen with such an opinionated post on an internet forum? They are up there in rods but depending on the part of the country you live in, don't have the "top" following as others do. St. Croix does make a great product but to blatantly state "there is no better rod" is just a biased opinion, not a fact. I think hank parker fishes fenwick rods now. at least he does on his show as of recent.

You guys are a HUGE help! Just got a KVD book today and it covers that in one of the sections. :-)

Jtesch, where in Lake Michigan do u fish? Shoreline or boat? I'm in chicago and desperate to find fishing spots near my house. I normally have to travel over an hour to get to any decent fishing locales. I understand if u don't want to devulge a favorite location. Thanks!

The only thing that really matters is the..........FISH !

If you BOLD, ​ ITALICIZE, and make WORDS LARGER than they NEED TO BE, it sounds more IMPORTANT.

Andy...In case you get future questions about how you wired your Bass Raider...Here's the socket type that comes with the prewired Bass Raider 10E. The "pre-wired" version comes with only one socket in the bow/front. Near the stern end, the wires (red & black) exit the hull thru a rubber grommet. The wires have eyelet terminals for connection to the battery. There is a 50 amp fuse/socket installed in the positive/red wire near the battery eyelet. The factory wires are #8 size. Though this minimal wiring from the factory is a nice addition, the wiring you self installed for your boat is definitely a better setup. The pictures I've attached show the model/type of socket installed from the factory. They are still the Mar-lan brand but opposite of the Mar-lan model/type plug & socket types you used. Both plug/socket types are available from Cabelas. As you can see in the pictures, there are three wires...red, black & orange. With the 12 volt prewired Bass Raider 10E, the orange wire isn't installed in the boat. If you add sockets to your Bass Raider, you simply tape off the un-used orange wire. Note: I've attempted to describe the new Bass Raider 10E that I purcased in mid May, 2013. Manufacturers change their designs from time/to time so this may not apply in the future.

Teflon plumbing tape works well and there is no adhesive residue to clean off later.

Just depends on the day. I've had some very productive days with an ear bud in. It helps me to stay focused and keeps me from being too antsy

Maybe put a little electrical tape or gaffers tape around the feet of the reel

Make a shim for it. Last time I had that problem I cut a small strip from a soda carton. Have stopped using that particular rod, but it worked like a charm while I still used it. I checked the forum and seems like it is a fairly common occurrence with various fixes. Good luck

Thanks to this board I've started to try these out. Like JT said, you can work it like a crank and not get hung up.

Nice swim jig

Well to start with we don't have 4 seasons. We have 2. Raining and Not Raining. You will need MH to H casting rods. High speed casting reels. Braid, 40 to 65 lb Some sort of swim bait - Naked Swimmer, skinny dipper, Big EZ 10 Inch worm in any color you like as long as it's junebug Spinner bait - White and Chartruse Top water buzz frog Boyah swim jig with trailer Punch rig with a craw type plastic 1 med rod with 15 lb mono to throw zara spook devils horse aruka shad spro little john These with a few tweaks will get you through the whole year.

My response was purely to get at two people and they know who they are...... :whistle: Nice fish there Ian. Looks to have some girth! Jeff

Solder the wires and then use shrink wrap. No worries about crimp connections and definitely no worries about twisting the wires together.