The Rooster

I don't know that I'd agree they've had a hard time convincing people about their low profile reels. I think at one time they weren't known at all for them, even though they did make a few. Their round reels were much better. But since the Revo first hit stores I think they've been right up there in popularity with the rest of the pack.

On this I'm torn. I was just thinking about this same choice the other day and I think I decided that I'd rather put $200 on the Chronarch over the Lew's, but that's after fishing for several days in a row with my Curado E in hand. I love that reel. If I had to choose today, it would be the Chronarch. The VBS braking is just flawless. The Lew's only has 4 pins, not 6, but it does have magnetics to back it up also. The 6 pin needs nothing extra though. Just your thumb.

If you like the President reels then why not get the President combo spinning rod at Walmart for $80. The reel is $60 alone. The rod is decent, so for the extra $20 you'll have the rod and reel together. I think it's only available as a medium but it would fill one combo out for you. Cabela's offers it in UL and L also, so there are a few more options.

I recently had the motor shaft of my power drive 55 bend on me but not break. I'm guessing I got it stuck in some shallow water and did it but the weird thing is it ran fine for two more hours before it suddenly quit. When it did quit it was in 30 feet of water with nothing to hit. I've gotten it stuck before but never had that happen. I thought the prop would have broken first but somehow a 1/2 inch thick steel shaft bent instead. It didn't stop me from buying another Minn Kota though. Just got the Edge 55 to replace it with. I didn't end up liking that electronic steering so much. I'm guessing the repair for yours will be the same as with mine. A new motor armature. I took mine out to look at it. Seems simple to replace, but might cost a good bit as its all one piece, motor windings and all. Then it's a pain to reseat it again between the two motor brushes but it can be done with a little effort. When mine is fixed its up for sale.

I look at color based on water clarity and light penetration but I like a variety of colors. Each has it's own unique look in the water. Citrus shad appears to almost glow on foggy mornings. Love it.

I'm just getting into jigs but I trim my weedguards just like the OP does, and I trim the skirts to about 1/4 inch passed the hook bend. I fish them with trailers but I'm not opposed to fishing them without. I check for sharpness also, and sharpen as needed.

Do you get most of your crankbaits in one series, or a lot of different models and types from multiple brands?? My dilemma with multiple brands is that I want to start collecting all the same colors and types in each brand when I get them. I don't like to waste money buying one brand's square bill in a certain color and then repeating it in another brand's square bill again, though, unless it had a different wiggle or something. So far I've been buying Bandit baits for most crankbait needs, with the occasional Bomber or Rapala. Would I be ok just sticking with Bandit for about all of them or are there some special ones out there that most would agree that we all should have one of, or do I just need to repeat types and colors from one brand to the next??

Chatterbait is a jig with a blade on its head. Buzzbait is a top water lure with a spinning blade, like a triangle shaped prop. They are different lures. And then there's the spinnerbait to throw in there too. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits can be used in the same places, but there are times when I'd rather have one over the other. Spinnerbaits I feel deflect off of stumps better due to their wire frame making them very snag resistant. Chatterbaits have more vibration than spinnerbaits do most of the time. Sometimes you want that, sometimes not. At night I use either bright white, chartreuse, or a combination of them, but only if there is enough light that I feel they can be seen. I much, much, much prefer black or black blue, even dark blades over shiny metal. Black silhouettes great in the water and I feel the fish see this easier. Of course, science constantly changes, but I once read that bass see color in the day, and mostly have black and white vision at night. It also said there is about a two hour period where their vision isn't adjusted fully as it transitions from color to black and white, or back to color again, so adding vibration to the bait helps a lot. For reference, this was in a book from the late 90's about largemouth bass behavior put out by the North American Fishing Club. Also, baitfish don't change colors, but anything we can do to help bass find our bait is a good thing.

I'm guessing what I bought then were jigging spoons. They were compact and 1/4 oz., sort of heavy for their size. This is what I bought. http://www.walmart.com/ip/South-Bend-Kast-A-Way-Trophy-Pak/17119585

Shimano is a cult. But it's a fun cult to be in. They make some fantastic reels. Recently, I took another look at the G series Curado at a tackle shop. I still think the E series was better, but the G is not a bad reel at all. It's going to be judged and compared to the E series though, so for many it's going to come up short. For me, it comes up short because I'm one who has an E to compare it to, but I think I could learn to like it better if I had it on a rod and spent some real time using it. By itself, uncompared to the prior models, it's a good reel. I don't have anything specifically against Quantum but I haven't been impressed by their reels in a long time. Just from comfort in my hands alone, they haven't impressed me at all. I used to fish them but I got into others and found that they were just a lot better. BPS branded reels, Abu Garcia, Shimano, and especially the new Lew's reels, all of those would be first considerations over Quantum for me.

I'm not sure if any of those are corrosive enough to melt plastic or not. The PB Blaster might act as a solvent if left on too long and might damage plastic side plates on reels. Again, I don't know but it's something to think about.

Im going camping for about three days starting tomorrow, and fishing also. It is on Yatesville lake in eastern KY. We are having early fall weather, it's in the upper 50's at night and upper 70's to low 80's during the day. I have no idea if the bass are still on a summer pattern or are beginning their fall transformation yet. The water is usually pretty clear in this lake but can be murky in places, and it's an average of 6 to 12 feet deep in the creek arms, tapering out to less than 2 feet in the backs. These arms are long, wide, and shallow at the back. The water is in the 20 to 30 range on the main lake. Cover is mostly wood with standing timber in some coves and lay downs in other places. Not very rocky at all, but there are areas where some rock can be found. Mostly the shoreline just gently slopes into the water with not a lot of places where it just drops off. Its a man made lake where they just flooded a valley back in the hills. If you were fishing this lake, what lures would you try first??

If thats a spinning reel then that spring is related to the anti reverse lever.

It's been proven that when people have to wait, they perceive it to have been 23% longer on average than it actually has been. So it might not have been quite as long as it seemed that the guy was gone. Also, he might have gotten up there and noticed the damage to the other two trucks and spent some time inspecting his own to see if it had been tampered with, which could also explain why it seemed he was gone so long. Bottom line is, that could have happened at anytime during the day and also to other people who returned and had the same thing happen but left before you ever found out about it happening to you. It could be a coincidence that that guy was returning at the same time as you and his truck wasn't touched. If you're going to steal, would you waste time trying to get into a truck that didn't have anything in it to take?? Maybe they saw his had nothing. There are a dozen ways to look at this, and none of it makes the guy guilt free but definitely doesn't prove he did it either, nor does it prove anything at all except that two trucks were tampered with by somebody at sometime during the day. I wasn't there, so I don't know if he had anything in his truck or not, or if you did either. So don't take this as me trying to prove something. I'm just offering other ways to look at it from a 3rd party, unbiased person with a clear mind on the matter, able to see it in ways that you may not think of for being upset by it all. Having said all that, I'd get away from that guy totally. Leave him as a friend on Facebook, so he doesn't suspect. You can also monitor his posts that way too. Maybe you'll know when he's going to the lake, or has been. Also, speak to him when you see him in passing, so you dont become a constant target of his. But riding to the ramp with him, fishing with him, and other outside contacts, I wouldn't be caught dead doing that. Anyone with that record, I would not associate with at all, ever, as they are beneath me and not of the same caliber of person that I'm trying to be. I'd also be aware of him in the future as well, that even while being friendly to your face, he would still steal from you behind your back. Maybe next time, he'll get caught by you and then it can be proven if you are aware and do not let your guard down. As to what you might have done in that situation that night?? There were two of them so it was stay with the boat and let the first guy attempt to vandal your truck, or tie off and go to the truck and risk the second guy stealing from your boat. Bad situation. Unfortunately, the answer is to have been off the water before dark and maybe not even going alone to begin with. People are sometimes targeted based on how easy they have made themselves to be targeted.

Premier reel seat is way better for me. I like the guide better too, I'm more traditional that way.

Ok, so there are flutter spoons, casting spoons, and jigging spoons. What does each one look like?? The names seem to tell me what they do, I think. flutter would sink and flutter back and forth as it did so, jigging is just as it sounds, but what does the casting spoon do??

Thanks. I went and read that article and it gave me a few ideas on how to start. I also bought a three pack of spoons from Walmart, the ones that looked angle cut from bar stock with a treble hook on them. Seems the article gave more tips on the weedless type than the open treble, so, back to the store I go.

I really like the looks of that Ruger SP-101. Guns like that I think would probably be best for me. Thanks.

I don't know a thing about spoons other than guys at the river are catching white bass on them. I want to get into this too. There are different kinds for sale. Some look like they are long and straight, others actually spoon shaped with a wave in them, and some look like they were cut diagonally across from oval shaped bar stock so that they have flat sides with tapering tips towards the ends. These all look like do nothing lures, like they would just sink if not reeled in, and might twist line if they were reeled in. I know they do work though. I'm thinking you just work them like a jerk bait. So if any of you use them, what types do you use, and how do you use them??

Man I'm glad it isn't just me after reading all this. I've fished for 16 years and never caught anything over 3 pounds, and that was just once, the fish in my avatar. All the others were 1-2 pounds with plenty of dinks mixed in there too.

Unless you're wacky rigging or nose hooking, then ram rod straight and centered is the only way to put a plastic on the hook. Try not to even have any sway in the plastic between the hook eye and point.

Yeah, ziplocs suck! Can't tell you how horrible of a mess you'll have if you use those. Leaks like crazy. It's like they just bleed right through.

I experience this when spooling up and reeling fast. Sometimes burning baits back can cause it too. I'd swear that the way I hold the reel with the line resistance being to one side of it rather than straight out in front can even affect which side gets heavily wound. But, I can't see the level wind being on one side when starting causing it. It's just one more trip across that one side than the other. The knot you tie around the spool might contribute. It would create a high spot on the reel's core and gather more line there on subsequent revolutions as you crank. For this reason, I try to center the knot and make it lay as flat as possible.

That combo you have now can be used for spinnerbaits, jigs, Texas rigs, buzz baits, and chatterbaits. Being a medium power I would normally find it limited for overall lure weight in these categories but I think the St. Croix rods are a little stiffer on average than comparable rods from other manufacturers so it probably isn't as limited as some others would be. I'd probably still prefer a medium heavy for most of these baits in the upper weight ranges though, such as 1/2 to 3/4 oz spinnerbaits, which weigh about twice what they're rated at. But overall, it's a good rod. You could get a medium heavy and still keep that rod to use along side of it. Keep a jig or spinnerbait on one, a Texas rig on the other. A good spinnerbait rod is a medium heavy capable of up to 1 oz. or more. I like a fast tip. Some like extra fast. Extra fast makes it stiffer overall. Might me useful for pulling fish from heavy cover or ripping through grass. But I think a fast tip is strong enough, and being slightly softer makes it easier to load up and cast farther, especially with lighter baits. 6 foot is good for short casting distances, around docks or overhanging tree branches where you might want to throw back up underneath them. Makes it easier to do so. I think a 6'6" size is an all around rod though. I can still cast under objects (with practice) and still make longer casts also. After these, you may want a cranking rod for treble lures. A medium or medium heavy, depending on average weight of baits thrown most. This rod will have a moderate action as opposed to fast tip. It will flex more. Treble hook baits can tend to tear out of the fish's mouth if the rod doesn't give enough to keep from pulling the bait out. That's what these rods do. You can fish crankbaits, jerk baits, top waters, and other treble lures on it. For reel ratios, slower is better for deep diving crankbaits, it helps get the bait down deeper since it takes longer to reel back in, giving more time for the bait to dive. Faster is better for jig fishing where taking up line quick might be needed (fish takes bait and swims toward you, can't set hook until slack is out). Also is better for fast burning baits through water. I think a 6.x is an all around good ratio. Easy to slow down some if needed without going at a snail pace, but not too hard to speed up without wearing you out in the process. This is the ratio I'd get if the rod was for multipurpose use. More specific use, like jigs and plastics only, I'd get a 7.x. For deep diving cranks only, maybe a 5.x. There are more rods also that you may want but to keep this from being so long I'll let some others offer up some suggestions.

I will have to try this out. On paper, I'm with the 70 to 80 feet of fluoro making a difference until proven otherwise. As far as presidential candidates, my stance is I'm gonna be voting for one of them in November.