Tokyo Tony

I have the 7'2" spinning version of the Crucial dropshot rod, and I assume the casting version is equally good. I'm very happy with it, and actually, like you, don't dropshot too often, but it serves many purposes, especially for throwing light baits in relatively open water. It doesn't have too much backbone, but it's very light and sensitive. Out of curiosity, why would you want a casting dropshot rod instead of spinning? It seems like it would be an unnecessary hassle...

Great interview Glenn There's some really good info in there.

Haha, that's hilarious ;D As long as he doesn't get lucky and catch a big bass, I could care less if he wants to eat turtles and tadpoles.

Very informative thread, thank you. I understand a lot more about bass management now, and now slot limits make sense to me

I think I was 8-10 years old at the time. The first time I ever went fishing was with my dad, his friend, and my brother. We rented a boat out of Key Largo, and we had no idea what to do. My dad bought some squid and we just trolled around. We ended up catching a couple grunts, but that's it. When we got back to the dock, I put a little piece of squid on a hook and fished from the dock. Cast after cast I kept catching little (I mean really little ) mangrove snappers. I was really young, so it seems kind of like a dream to me, but I'll never forget the inexplicable feeling of catching those first few fish. Although now fishing is much different for me - it's more of a sport, or a challenge, and a quest for good bass - I know that the root of my love of fishing is still that magical feeling you get when you hook into, and land, a fish. The feeling isn't as exposed as it was when I was younger (it's more buried within me now), but I still catch myself smiling and feeling giddy when I hook a bass ;D

I'm pretty sure PartyPoker is defunct. I play at UltimateBet - very high-speed graphics, but the games over the last two years have gotten significantly tougher. Not tough, but tougher. I think PokerStars has the easiest games, but they don't offer rakeback. Can't stand the stupid graphics at FullTilt and the slow-azz games.

Chris, you neve cease to amaze me. Those are absolutely beautiful fish, thanks for posting. I'm so glad you're into photography too - not only are your fish beautiful and gigantic, but the pics are crystal-clear! Congrats, and I'm extremely jealous ;D

Great fish man! I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a run like that. Congrats Hey, you have to let us know when that show's gonna be on Versus...I'd love to see it.

Time is money. I don't drive particularly fast on the highway, but the gas prices aren't high enough to make me drive more slowly. Speeding tickets, on the other hand.... The few bucks I might save are not worth the extra time I'll have on my hands when I do reach my destination 8-) Over a year, yeah, I could save 100 bucks or 200 bucks. But that translates into many more hours spent in the car as well...

Welcome! East Hartford CT huh? I'm guessing you live at Cabela's ;D

Amen - thanks to this forum on this site, I was bitten last fall. Yesterday I went shore fishing with my brother who found a new spot to fish, and all I had was my baitcaster. He was casting a jerkbait out really far to the holding area, which was not possible with the baitcaster because there were trees and brush around. Instead of using his other rod ($40 combo), I walked back to my car (10 minute round trip), got my Stradic/IMX, and went back 8-) Times have changed for me.

Good thread - I'm relatively new to jig fishing, but it's become one of my favorite baits. IMO, not many things compare to the sensation of feeling a bass inhale a jig, and setting the hook into a chunk ;D The other day I was out jigging, unsuccessfully, and I think that's exactly why I was unsuccessful: the fish weren't relating to the bottom. I kept getting the feeling that my jig was under the fish and they weren't interested. It's easy to believe that the jig is an answer-all bait, but as obvious as it sounds, like you guys said, it's not gonna work if it's under them and they're not looking down P.S. My favorite weight for my waters is 3/8 oz with either YUM chunk, GYCB Flappin' Hawg, or occasionally Uncle Josh pork chunk.

I've never used a trailer hook on a chatterbait, but rest assured, after this thread, I will be using them 8-)

IMO, carrying around that much stuff is a huge hassle that usually won't result in any more fish. I do a lot of shore fishing, and use a normal backpack. Inside you'll find a single Falcon box into which I put any number of baits I think might be useful that day (few jerkbaits, few cranks, hooks, weights, chatterbaits, topwaters, etc). In the outside pocket you'll find several bags of plastics, a scale, pliers, camera, and a water temp guage (and a winter hat ). It's lightweight, has everything I need and more, and I can comfortably walk the shoreline casting with it on my back without having to pick anything up before moving on. I'll usually only take one rod so I can be super mobile.

Red fades just as much if not more than the green. I use yellow 90% of the time now, and if it does fade, I haven't noticed it. I used one spool all winter and it looks as good as new.

www.huddlestondeluxe.com

I've been thinking a lot about this lately since the other similar thread. After reading RoLo's posts, I have come to the conclusion that braid visibility is a non-issue. However, there are other reasons to use a mono/flouro leader, and some have been mentioned. Some that I don't think have been mentioned: - sometimes, especially with the heavier braids (30lb), if you get hung up, trying to break off could seriously damage your reel (I think it was flechero who explained that to me). When I'm jigging without a leader and get hung up, I either pull the tree towards me or straighten the hook on my jig. No bass fishing reel is desiigned to withstand 30+ pounds of pressure on the spool mechanism. - sometimes it's beneficial to have a shock absorber (Fish Chris explained that to me as one of the reasons he uses a leader with his braid) Note - if you use a "stretchy" leader with braid, it's still much more sensitive and responsive than using a whole spool of "stretchy" line, so it's not really defeating the purpose.

Look at the second picture, it's hilarious. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346289,00.html

I'll almost definitely be there - I'll know for sure in a week or two. Just thinking of catching smallies makes me antsy ;D

That's a huge bass, and he landed it faster than it takes me to land a 3 pounder :-? Fish Chris - that's a sweet rig man 8-)

Golf monkey usually only terrorizes recreational golfers. Tournament players usually find equipment that feels good and they stick with it until it becomes obsolete, which has actually become a pretty common thing. I fished a ton when I was a kid in Miami, FL, then stopped when I moved to CT. Played golf steady for 8 years without fishing at all, then when I graduated college, all but stopped playing golf. I actually cancelled my golf membership this year because I played so few rounds last year that when I did the math, I was paying $$ per round similar to Pebble Beach greens fees Now I'm all about fishing.

Nice fish How deep were they? What's the approx water temp over there?

...17 of which would be some less abrasive variety of "It's crap" ;D I tried it, and although it is a really cool idea, there are so many better lines out there that don't handle like a slinky.

Roger, you have just given me the confidence to use braid with no leader Very good point with the Zara...I'd never thought of that. I guess I was brainwashed, so to speak, by all of the commercials, fishing programs, and especially the flourocarbon craze, to believe that line visibility is a very significant factor. I still think there may be situations in which a flourocarbon leader may be beneficial, but now I'm starting to think that those situations may be few and far between. Thanks for the info Roger, I always enjoy your posts.

Was thinking the same thing. Well with a 4 foot leader there will be a little stretch, but not nearly as much as if you were just using mono or flouro. I know some people use a leader for the sole purpose of having a shock absorber. I just hate having to tie a new leader AND a new lure after I get hung up because although the uni to uni knot is strong enough for any fish, it's still the weakest link in the line.