Tokyo Tony

I don't understand how this line could have breaking problems. It's by far the strongest line I've used other than braid, and also very abrasion-resistant. I also had trouble with memory, but applying KVD and letting it settle overnight just about eliminates any hint of memory. It is important to let it set overnight though. That said, I still used braid 95% of the time (Yo-Zuri US the other 5%). The long casts and zero stretch are features that I am not willing to give up.

Amen 8-)

My first instinct was 3.5-4, but I guess it could have been more if she was a fatty. I don't know about a definite 5.5, but I know it's definitely a big, beautiful smallmouth ;D What'd you get her on? How was the fight? What kind of tackle were you using? By the way, I know that spot - I can recognize those unique trees from a mile away! Wait...maybe I'm having an acid flashback ;D

Thanks for the help guys Popeye - I went to Lowe's and asked the guy there what I could do. He was very helpful and free with his time - we talked for 15 minutes trying to figure something out. They didn't have a threaded rod that would fit the wheel, and when we were about to give up after some ideas that probably wouldn't have worked, the guy referred me to a bike shop to see if they had any cheap pegs I could use - the things that kids put on BMX bikes so their buddies can stand on the back/front. When he said that, I remembered that I still have my old pegs from my childhood. So I screwed them on (they're as solid as they come), and I strapped them to the footrests with a couple big hoseclamps. I wheeled it around the driveway for a bit, and it works really well. Tomorrow I'll be wheeling that badboy up a mountain to my "secret" smallie pond, but that's not what I'm looking forward to. I'm looking forward to catching 50+ smallmouth on any lure I feel like using ;D The smallies on that lake don't discriminate - they're all about diversity ;D

Hey guys, I'm going up to NH this weekend for some smallie fishing, and will be taking along my pontoon boat. However, the lake I want to fish requires a 1/2 mile hike uphill, and I need a way to transport the 'toon. The wheels they sell at Cabela's don't fit my boat, and I remember seeing somewhere a way to make a makeshift wheel system, but I lost the link and can't find it. Anyway, I don't know if you can see from the picture, but the front of the boat has two footrests, and I bought an old bike wheel yesterday. I want to clamp the wheel between those two footrests (and be able to remove it easily), but I really don't know how I would do that. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks

100% pimp, but that's for the love of the life, not the money. Really though, I work for a large insurance company in the annuities division.

I really don't think it makes much of a difference, and if it did, I'm not sure any of us could accurately say which is better in X situation. I absolutely love using 4" or 5" hula grubs on a little weedless jighead, anywhere from 1/16 to 1/4 oz. The action on the fall is really hard to beat, and it's a great rig to use when fish are suspended in or near cover, and being finicky. I don't believe a bass can resist a hula grub slowly falling, pulsating, with both tails flapping in front of its face. The action on a slow fall, IMO, is at least as effective as the action of a weightless senko, maybe moreso. Colors? Same as a senko - mainly pumpkinseed or watermelon.

I had the ones that don't have the metal insert, so I was gripping the hook with the plastic. These ones are not well-designed (except for the line cutter which cut through braided line like nothing I've ever used). I think the X-Tool pliers with the metal inserts look pretty functional. I just don't like how bulky they are. ($.01+$.01)

You shouldn't be getting line twist with a chatter-style lure. Are you sure you didn't have line twist before you tied it on? As an aside, IMO the Gambler swimblade is not good compared to the original Chatterbait. The only other brand I've found that is almost as good as the original is the Strike King version. The Chatterbait action is tighter, much more consistent, and you can work it much faster and much more slowly than the Gambler. I've also had the Gambler swimblade fail me where the split ring meets the blade.

Because it's fun

If you want to use leader, then why not? Better abrasion resistance around rocky stuff. In my opinion, the Uni to Uni knot is the all-around best knot for braid to flouro. It's really easy and quick to tie, it's smaller than most other knots I've used, and it's one of the strongest. It's stronger than the blood knot, for example, and easier to tie. I've been tying some Slim Beauty knots in my basement to experiment, and although they look a little smaller than the Uni to Uni, they're not as strong, according to my tests. With braid to flouro knots, those are my three priorities (in order from most to least important): strength, small size, and how fast you can tie it. Uni to Uni has my vote. Make sure when you tie it that you make 4 wraps with the flouro and 7-8 with the braid for best results.

Holy crap that is a thing of beauty. Honestly though if I were gonna spend $500 on a reel, it would have to be the Calcutta DC...

:-[ Sorry, I thought it was legal as long as I used asterisks and other symbols...I was drunk with rage at the memory of such severe line twist.

Yeah, it's just a matter of preference. I'm a huge fan of symmetry which may be the cause of my distaste

Have any of you caught fish on the flying lure? That was actually a pretty neat idea for a lure, although I never bought them. My buddy used them for a while, but I'm not sure if he actually caught anything on them...

That lure didn't work out. Granted I was just a toddler when I was duped by the infomercial, but I will NEVER forget the line twist that lure caused. Not only did it not catch fish, but it actually ruined my day of fishing. Roland, how do you live with yourself!!!??? _______________________________ ** Moderator Note ** What's up with the language? It's not necessary, so this post has been edited. -Kent a.k.a. roadwarrior Global Moderator

I'm telling you, the SPRO is unbelievable with hookup ratio. I'm gonna throw it after work today too (one hour and counting ;D ). How about colors though? Do you guys also prefer light colors or what? Do you think it matters that much? I think it probably doesn't matter that much, but I'm gonna keep sticking with light colors and see if my success continues.

Craig, that's awesome - congratulations ;D

I've read (and seen on TV) that some guys fish them in open water with success, but to me it just doesn't seem like the ideal lure choice for open water. When frogging, most of my strikes occur shortly after my frog reaches the edge of or openings in the cover I'm fishing (pads, slop, etc.). I don't get many strikes through the slop, as fun as that would be. I've been meaning to experiment with skipping these lures under docks as well. Try fishing the banks with them though, what do you have to lose? I like throwing them at laydowns, but usually there are weeds around too...

Just sent you an email from my work computer with the original email from my personal email - I hope you get it this time! I've been wanting to try this head on a swim senko.

Hey guys, I remember reading an article on frogging that said lighter-colored frogs were generally better. I was at Dicks the other day trying to get to $50 so I could "save" $10 8-) and picked up two white SPRO frogs. Cut about half of the rubber legs off of one and dotted the underside with a brown sharpie. In the past, I've almost always gotten green or brown hollow-bodied frogs because they look more realistic to me, but I'll tell you - fishing a pond that I had been fishing all week with a green Snag-proof frog, I totally dominated the fish yesterday. They seemed to prefer the new frog color/style greatly. On a related note, I was amazed at the hookup ration of the SPRO frog compared to any other hollow frogs I've used. The strikes weren't huge, but I landed 6 fish over about a two hour period, and got 7 strikes. One thing I don't like about the SPRO, however, is that it takes on water every single cast. Do you guys find that lighter colors generally work better, or could it have been a fluke?

On a related subject...still haven't received my sample. I believe I was one of, if not the first to send the email, sent a couple more with no response :-/

The action is decent, but I can't stand the hook slot in the Dingers. Do any of you guys actually like the hook slot? I use Senkos the most, Dingers the second most. If I get on a bunch of smaller fish I'll take out the Dingers to conserve some cash.

I don't own one, but I was watching the guys on North American Fisherman fighting big bull reds with those reels, and man they looked sweet. The drag was just peeling off really smoothly. They looked like the real deal. That will probably be my next casting reel.

Absolutely 8-) What do you use?