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The single biggest breakthrough for me was when I found BR. No exaggeration.

I regret tingly sold my mint conquest 51 shallow special last year, wasn't really using it. Later on, i realized the mistake i made letting that gem go. Thought i could make it work by picking up a used 51 on ebay earlier this year. Ended up selling that to get another mint 51. Sold that last week to a member here, bought alot of tackle and needed to pay some bills. Then... a couple days ago Cheng had to post a new in box 51 shallow special and i couldn't restrain myself... Reel just showed up today and i already have my hedgehog order in We have a gold avail spool, bfs spool bearings, and an avail dragstar coming in....

So last night at three in the morning my sister's house caught on fire. I am on vacation in Florida. I am 17 hours away. I feel like there is nothing that I can do. However at 7 this morning I start getting calls from my family saying that people are just showing up to help her. These are my fishing and golfing buddies just doing anything and everything they can. I am sitting here crying my eyes out realizing how blessed I am. Only 1 out of my 6 buddies that showed up had ever met my sister. I have always tried to help a friend in need. It is just amazing when you love your fellow man when you are at your weakest and lowest how they seem to come to the rescue. I would just like to take the time to say thank you to all of you that post here. Although I have only met a handful of you guys I consider you all friends.

Welcome to the forum! I had to say that my moment was when I realize that I don't catch fish unless I fish where the fish are.

Help those who appreciate your help, avoid those that don't. Tom

Things can be very simple, just purchase Shimano or Daiwa.

Probably my biggest two are Scuba diving. This taught me how bass react under water, hold to structure, and even feed. Learning to use an open mind to all fisherman's opinions and how they fish. There are so many different styles and techniques compiled with everyone different approach to a situation that without an open mind you will not advance as fast or possibly at all. Knowledge is key and the unwillingness to learn or accept opinions will slow your learning curve. Using these techniques you can adapt others styles to fit your style of fishing.

I keep it simple in regards to drag, and every other aspect, for that matter. I set my gear up anticipating a lunker. Then all I have to worry about is a where the scale and camera are.

Yeah, I've been working with Russ Lane for a couple months now. He really likes the handles...has about 20 of them. Bruce, I was trying to get him to come down to Holiday Park a couple months ago when we were breaking 30lbs every trip out. He was trying to work it into his schedule, but it just wouldn't work out. When me and Leo won the Everglades Bassmaster with 37lbs, he congratulated me. Then he went out and got 38 at Lake Fork...LOL.

Alone, Hey, it's Mike from Hawgtech. I'm sending you an IM with my personal phone number. I'll be glad to help you out with any issues you might have.

Had the rod top guide mess up on my Duckett the other day while fishing a tournament I emailed Duckett last night just asking for what size I needed to buy to replace it an they said let us have your shipping address an we will send one right away to you that's pretty good service if you ask me an I had my Duckett for two years

The weather changed all day long. Air temperature on the way to Quabbin was 45º. At times it was calm; other times windy. Sunny, then sun obscured by clouds. On my seasonally adjusted milk run, I calculated these factors into the day"s F + L + P = S formulation. What lurks under the ripples over Heavyweight Hump I wondered as I approached at 7:00. I would really like a smallmouth to thrash a Super Spook Jr. None showed an interest in this sort of violence either on top of the hump or over deep water, all of which I fan cast. Alright, be that way. I'll catch you on a Watermelon/Black Flake Senko 12' down, give or take. No takers! Were there any fish around? As I was entertaining this question a 2 1/2 lber. swam by at a depth between 5' - 10'. It might as well have been towing a banner that read, "Nyah, nyah, you can't catch me!" I watched it cruise into the depths but couldn't bring it back on the end of my line. What now? Well, I had a small. clean, heavy-for-its-size bait, a Duo Realis Swim Bait 80 in their Komochi Wakasagi finish. These high tech engineered and manufactured lures come in color patterns that are on par with the science behind the design. Over and over this season these baits have looked as delicious to smallies as lamb loin chops look to me. Let's have a look at the first bass that fell for this phony forage fish: At 10:30 the surface was fairly calm and I moved deeper, casting into 20+', the Hula Grub and its 1/4 oz. tungsten bullet coming to rest on a hard bottom with scattered rocks to bump into during the drag-and-pause retrieve. There were a couple here, the second of which weighed 3 lbs. and a few ounces by eyeball estimate. Shortly before noon the breeze came up. With the sun approaching its zenith, I set out to find the choicest areas on deep sand flats, the Spin Bait ready to fly. Think of this lure as a "slow search bait" which is a contradiction in terms in bass fishing jargon. Search baits such as crankbaits are generally retrieved rapidly, often with a 7:1 ratio reel. "Burning" a spinnerbait a foot under the surface falls into the same category. I say that this sinking prop bait searches because each cast goes a long, long way due to its clean design - its compactness, weight and an optimum match with rod and line. The Realis Swim Bait 80 is slow because if you want it to work, i.e., make the bass bite it - you retrieve it slowly and steadily. ( There is a parallel here with the past : the late, great Charlie Brewer's "Do Nothing" technique.) Anchored and fan casting the flat I connected in short order. She immediately went airborne, showing me her bronze beauty. I knew not to rush a smallie this size using a 7' ML power rod and 6 lb. fluorocarbon and, in time, she was good weight in the net, 3.6 lbs. according to the scale. Working other areas of this extensive sand flat did not produce. Casting the edge of a breakline at the end a smallie of about 1 1/2 lbs. grabbed the Spin Bait. Nothing in (or actively feeding on Hula Grubs in) the deeper water off the break. On my way back I stopped at the Bass Magnet, of course. Tried a bit of everything but no smallie love . . . Quite the opposite in fact - I was taunted again by a 3 lber. doing a swim by. ("Nyah, nyah . . .") Gotta love it all.

Slip the tube over a grub, use attractant for lubricant and T-rig, it's called a cap & grown. Tom

Reels, I'm loyal to certain brands. Rod, I used to be loyal to strictly St.Croix but now I judge a rod by strictly by its components and avoid all the color matching stylish stuff.

Personally I prefer fishing a slow bottom-contact bait. I think I'm physically addicted to the "tap-tap, reel down, set the hook!!!"

And your smarter than all of us because.......

New from Hawg Tech: 90mm straight carbon fiber handles! We've received many requests over the past year for a slightly smaller, less bulky version of our 94mm "Hawg Handle" But people also wanted the strength, durability and "zero flex" characteristic that you've come to expect from Hawg Tech. So, here it is: our new 90mm straight carbon fiber handle. This handle is extremely lightweight (~23grams, with cork knobs), is very sleek/streamlined, and sized just right to fit those 50/100/200 series reels. Your reel will be lighter, will balance better and perform better. This handle is brand new...we are in the process of updating the website to allow ordering. In the meantime, if you wish to order, just send us an email at support@hawgtech.com. Price is $49 for the standard handle without knobs (includes bearings/end caps/mounting hardware/etc). Anodized colors: add $10. Fully assembled with cork knobs: add $30. Fully assembled with Shimano Septon knobs: add $10. We've got a bunch of these ready to go and all our standard anodized colors (silver/black/gold/orange/red/blue/green/violet) are in stock and ready for fast delivery. Thanks, Mike

Punctuation, sentence stucture and grammar are your friends in life, especially in this section of BR. Congratulations on your accomplishments but your introduction would make me unlikely to email you, let alone look you up to research your claims. Good luck.

In hindsight I would have to agree. This site has flat out made me a better angler.

OK, spinning reel with 10 lb mono, with a jig you should be using a medium heavy rod. Set your drag at 1/3 rd the line strength; 3 lbs with a scale and leave it alone. Your knot strength should be close to 9 lbs or more, the line shouldn't break or hooks pull out. Bass don't make long hard runs, they make fast sharp turns and power into cover or other stuff. Control the fish by keeping the rod loaded, the fish in front of you and be prepared for a hard turn near the boat. Some anglers like to back reel with spinning reels to prevent line breakage near the boat. I just trust my drag and play the bass with using spinning tackle, stop reeling and hold the rod upright when the drag is slipping and follow the fish. If the bass is heading for cover put your finger tip on the reel spool to add a few pounds of extra drag, sometimes the bass wins. Tom

So I picked up a Speed Spool for $69. Then I see the Laser Speed Spool and then there is a Tournament speed spool then a BB1 Speed Spool, then a BB1 Pro speed spool and a BB2 speed spool, then a tournament MG speed spool, and a Speed Spool SS1. I cannot for the life of me tell a difference in all of their reels. A new marketing scheme with better names to tell apart the levels and quality of the reels would do them a huge favor. can someone do me a favor and break it down for me?

Think about it a little bit, if you always matched your rods and reels by brand you would miss out on fishing some of the best rods available. G. Loomis, St. Croix, Falcon, and many, many, others. The best plan is to decide what you are purchasing your combo for and then do the research to find out who makes the best equipment in your budget.

Very cool. I gotta say I'm a fan of the reel handle I have on my Lexa 300HL. I've only upgraded that one reel but it sees the most action of any reel I own. I just ordered another Lexa so hoping to purchase another in the near future.

Hawg Tech for life!

Matt, you fished with Ricky? Cool! I talked to Ricky yesterday...the spot you guys fished, Leo and I fished earlier n the week. Had ~35 pounds on it. You are learning real fast how to fish Holiday Park. I see some chatter on facebook about how "easy" Holiday Park is to fish. It's funny though, that the guys saying it's "easy" aren't cashing checks out there. Even when the FLW/Elite series guys come down to fish events (like Channing Crowders tourney), it's basically the King of the Glades guys that dominate. To me, Holiday Park, is "pure fishing"...every fish (right now) in the system is right there in the canal...now who can go catch em? Those fish are very pressured and they've seen every bait imaginable. Who can make the 6-7lbers bite? Can you leave 5lbers to go find the 7s that you need to win? Not a lot of guys can do it.

I decided to hit the local lake today after work and wanted to keep tackle and rods to a minimum to continue to learn how to fish a jig. I got my rod and jig box packed up with some bags of trailers and put the kayak on the car and headed out. I hit traffic on the way as there is road work being done that I did not expect, oh well no biggie. Then I arrive at the lake to find a local fishing tournament just started, once again no biggie. I unload the kayak and grab the jig box only to find that I grabbed my spinnerbaits box instead....idiot. Well, at least I had a jig tied on and a couple of trailers. I unpacked and hit the lake. I fished for about 3 hours with little success (about 4 bass all near 1 lb or under). The sun set so I put on my headlamp and started to paddle back in. As I was nearing a spot I have had some luck in the past I decide to stop and let the wind drift me by to make a few final casts for the night. After a few casts I hadn't even had a bite so I decided to make one final cast before I called it a night. I tossed the jig out and let it sink. Nothing on the fall so I gave it a drag and hop. I felt some weight so I reeled down and set the hook. The hook set was met with a big pull and I knew I had a decent fish on. After a short fight I see a flash as the fish is trying to throw the jig and I realize that this will probably be a PB for me and I am very excited. I get the fish to the side of the kayak and reach down and get a finger in her mouth and start to pick her up to measure, weigh and photo. I did not have a great grip and the fish thrashed as I brought her out of the water and slipped from my grip and I heard a sickening snap. The line broke. In slow motion I watched the fish slide back into the lake and slowly turn on her side and return to the depths with my jig still lodged firmly in her upper lip. My elation turned to heartbreak as I sat in shock for a while. Not having another jig to tie on I called it a night and packed up and drove home while thinking about that fish. It would have been a new PB for me. My current PB is about 3.5 lbs and the fish tonight was a solid 4.5 maybe 5. Needless to say I am frustrated but also very excited to get back on the water and have another go at it. However this time I will change my leader to 15 lbs and do a better job checking my line for any knicks or abrasions. I am usually pretty good about it but was lazy about it tonight. That being said, remember to check your line and a net never hurts!!

Check the upcoming July 4th sales. Anything Shimano will do. Go with a spinning rig if possible as it is easy to learn how to use it. Also check out yard sales in your area. I have a Quantum cranking stick I got for $5 and I use it for pond fishing and fun fishing on rivers and lakes.

Texas Rig: weighted or un- weighted Only because with a Texas Rig I can throw every piece plastic ever invented!

Kids are the future of our sport. I will go out of my way to help them any chance I get when they have a question. I used to teach fishing classes, have been a mentor to several younger kids, and was a volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sister and fishing was about all my "Little" and I ever did. I also credit fishing as being a large part of why I was able to stay out of trouble when I was a kid.

Also, don't confuse "good" drag with a "strong" drag. Just because a reel says it has 20lbs of drag doesn't mean it's worth a crap. A smooth drag system is more important. Most bass techniques use less than 5-6lbs at most anyway.

Last week I went to a favorite spot and there were already a lot of people there. This kid saw me using a baitcaster and asked me how it worked. He seemed well spoken and respectful so I kinda showed him and cast a few times. He said he had a baitcaster in his parents van so I had him go get it and showed him how to use it. It was a quick lesson and hopefully it will help him and he doesn't forget my instructions. Driving home it kinda made me feel pretty good.

If you want to become a more serious fisherman, I would suggest you invest a little more into your combo. 30 dollars is only going to give you a lot of frustration due to low quality gear.

Id go with the elite tech smallmouth out of that list. I love my 6'3" medium for almost everything but im rhinking about getting a longer one for better casting distance ro replave my powell deisel. Cabelas has them on sale right now. Tje crucial is also a great rod and you can get them on sale right now and can't beat shimanos warranty. Fyi if you decide to get the citrix they have them on the walmart site for around $80 and free shipping to the store nearest you

Whatever the big girls are on or in. Tom

Sweet, Big Daddy is sporting Hawgtech's!!!

Please do not do that.. not only is it illegal in almost every state (probably IS every state), but it will introduce any diseases or non native aquatic life that might be in that pond to the neighboring ecosystem. That could be the cause of the issue, so why ruin the whole area???

Thanks ALL Denny assisted with the DB Craw! It was his request for making TWIN flappers on each of the two claws, then I had to design it and make it work... took us a year to get'r right... and it's RIGHT

A few thoughts ~ the Netbait Paca Swim Jig sports a fairly stout Mustad Ultra Point hook. So fishing it on spinning gear and 10lb mono could be problematic in the area of hook penetration, especially if the rod used is of a lighter action. As for Reel Drag benefits - the concept revolves around allowing your reel to give line instead of the line parting or the hook pulling out. It does seem it's another one of those "personal preference" deals - some like it tight, some like it less tight. Personally, I want (and Hope) that my drag works as it designed when called upon. Lighter line - like 10 lb test - will often require some drag usage on larger / more spirited bass. As an angler gains experience with his / her equipment & fighting larger bass, one can become more familiar with how a rod & reel will preform under stain rather than being surprised by it. This can be a real advantage when it comes to putting a few more of the larger fish in the net. Surely there will always still be fish lost. The ones that come right to the boat and then go nuts, the ones that jump 4 feet high and throw the bait right back at you, and the ones that for no reason at all just break you off never giving you a chance to even see them. Your drag may not play a role in those cases, but it's all fair in Love & Bass Fishing . . . A-Jay

So if somebody uses a $600+ fishing reel, should they only be permitted to fish "in their own class", away from the anglers with $125 reels? Or anglers with expensive rods vs. inexpensive rods? Point is, the same argument could be had for anything.

These arguments are silly. Don't like it, don't use one. My boat is leaps and bounds faster than anyone else's in my club. Do they restrict me? No. I've been with kayak fishing since the start of the boom. Some guys I know have been with it much longer, like decades longer. As more people use them, and builders get input, the fishing kayak will evolve. I see them as personal fishing crafts. I don't make any distinction of whether it's SINK, SOT, hybrid, pack canoe, or what ever, unless I'm trying to describe it to a layperson. If you rig it to fish, be that a bungee fire one rod and a small pack of lures on a lanyard, or full blown fishing battleship with electronics and a dozen rods, then to me it's a fishing kayak. Hobie makes a quality boat, quality that goes way beyond the Mirage Drive. They've sweated all the details, and that comes at a premium. Wilderness Systems, Ocean Kayak, Feel Free, Malibu, Jackson, and many others are building just as elaborately and thought out rigs that don't use Mirage Drive type of propulsion, for you purists. Looking to the future, mark my words. In our lifetime we will see the whole landscape of personal fishing craft change, both in terms of hull design and sheer speed, as the price and efficiency of lithium powered propulsion comes down. "Green" boats are coming.

For spinning rods i most definitely keep it that you can pull line off the spool, otherwise what's the point of having a drag.

I'd been fishing almost 40 years at the time and when they opened things up for C&R that was the best thing that ever happened as far as I was concerned. It started December 1, 2006 and in the spring of 2007 I was keeping track and counted 80 keepers that I wouldn't have had without the rule change and at least 75% of them were shore fishing.

Personally i never mess with the drag with a fish on as it can lead to problems as you noted. Other than that, I don't do anything scientific as it is just by feel for me with it being stouter for certain applications and less for others like crank baits and treble hooked baits.

I think part of life is having some regrets, its usually a hard lesson but changes who you are. A couple quick ones I remember from my youth... 1: Almost a week strait I was hunting this hollow between farms chasing this black squirrel and he elduded me every day. On about the third day I started seeing this gray fox come up the hollow in the morning and into his den. I formulated a plan that the fox was to be mine and I would hang him on my wall. He was so neat seeing him come up the hollow every morning. One morning as he came up I was waiting, I knew his route and I rolled him with a 3" mag. THE VERY MOMENT I pulled that trigger I felt like a fool. Here I killed this beautiful fox that gave me entertainment every morning. I never again shot another fox but I still hunt. 2: The first fall PA introduced the inline muzzleloader into the fall season was the year I had shoulder surgery, I couldnt draw a bow and being that it was fall here was my chance. I got everything ready, up in a stand opening day and here comes this doe. I slammed her with a 50cal. I get down and walk over to the deer and here comes two fawns lookn for mom. I had to chase them off so I wouldnt have to field dress her in front of them, I had a problem with that. I never forget about those fawns. I dont shoot doe's with fawns anymore, Ill shoot a mature one if theyre traveling as a big group and another doe can take over but a single doe with fawns, never again. Lessons come the hard way a lot of times, heck maybe half of them didnt like the situation but went along to save face with the friends.

Now this is customer service....

Sounds like the scene on the bus in Forest Gump when his new buddy lists all the way you can cook shrimp. Go to the Lews site and do some research. Lews makes a nice reel. Only problem I have found is that I have to move the break selection to 8.

I prefer InviszX and Tatsu in FC line. You may find that if you change your mainline for crankbait fishing that it will also require a change in your rods, hook sets, and mental approach to fishing these baits. In my fishing I have not found any brand of FC line to exhibit the stretch of a rubber band, or anything near that. I fished Amistad a while back and we were getting great hook sets in 40+ feet of water with 1/2 - 3/4 oz jigs. I think the talk of how much FC stretches is largely due to the review that TT did a few years back. The review compared the amount of stretch different lines had when they reached their breaking strength. Some experts believe that this information does not tell anything useful about a line, largely because stretch does not occur evenly across the entire range of stress placed on the line. They suggest a better test would be to measure stretch and certain percentages of breaking strength, something like at 25, 50, 75. These same experts in tensile strength also suggest that in normal fishing conditions anglers place stress in the rage of 25 to 50 percent of breaking strength and different types of line exhibit much different deformity profiles at these levels. Back to crankbaits, these baits do not require bone jarring hooksets, they only require a sharp hook and and a smooth sweeping motion of the rod to pull the hooks through the mouth of fish. Where the action of the rod and the stretch in the line come into play is keeping fish pinned. If you have no stretch in your line and your rod has no flexibility something has to give, this always occurs at the weakest point, in this case the cartilage of the fishes mouth. Once you tear a hole in the cartilage it is much easier for a fish to throw the bait, also flexible rods help to keep pressure applied fish in an even and consistent manner without tearing the mouth of the fish. I know this is more information than you asked for , but I am hoping that maybe something I said will help you appreciate how effective crankbait fishing is more related to an entire system, than it is just to a choice of line, all parts being equally important. One thing I recommend if you want to learn more about crankbait fishing is read what the best crankbait fisherman on the planet have to say about it. Guys like KVD, Clunn, and Fritz, then adapt what they say to your personal style and fishing situation. Hope it helps.

I cam see him doing that. I can also see him doing this to the poor kid. Some time when the old lady steps out for a hour.

There are specific slip bobber knots that you buy. they come pre-tied around a tube. then you slide them on your line and remove the tube and cinch the knot. after the knot you use a bead and then the bobber. here is a link http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Lindy-Thill-Premium-Bobber-Stops-40-Pack&i=441836