The Rooster

That's an old school tactic that doesn't work now, due to Google's duplicate content penalty; and especially so with the recent Panda update. Does this fall into that category?? www.midwesthuntersoutlet.com www.thegunsource.com www.glockworld.com www.sniperworld.com www.22-lr.com www.coyotehuntingstore.com www.topglock.com www.concealgun.com www.ar15pro.com www.badassguns.com www.smithwessonhandguns.com All of these are the same company. The banner is different under each link but the products and contact information are the same. I'm guessing they run some type of outdoors sporting goods company but are primarily focusing on the firearms. I just want the baits though. They don't have any links on the sites to lead directly to them as far as I can see but if you search for them there then you find them. I found them the first time by doing a google search for a specific color. Afterwards I just did a search on the site itself for just "rooster tail" and found 20 pages of colors and sizes for sale. The word must be typed as two separate words and in the singular form to get 20 pages shown. Typing as one word gets 2 pages only, and plural forms of it such as "roostertails" finds nothing at all. They do sell the baits though, even though they are gun fanatics it seems. I called the company and it sounded legitimate over the phone, as much as a company can anyway.

One difference is how the line goes onto the reel. I put line on a baitcasting reel with it feeding off the top of the spool and winding onto the reel the same way.

I don't know what's actually going on but I found the same site again under at least a dozen different links. Called the number though and it's legit so I'm ordering.

I'm looking for some lures of hard to get colors and I found a lot of them on a website that mostly sells guns and accessories. I've found what seams like 4 different websites, but they all look the same with a different heading at the top only, and they all have the same merchandise. I think it's actually the same site with 4 different internet addresses to get you there being the only difference, and depending on which one you find it under, you see that banner the whole time you are there. I click on "contact" and I can get a company name, an address, phone number, business hours and all, and each site has the same contact information as well. It just seams that the same site can be found at several different web addresses and with several different headers at the top of the page. The phone number is a 1-800 number. I can also send them an email and sign up for email newsletters too. I plan to contact them to see what's up but otherwise, should I be skeptical of them?? On the surface it seems legitimate. I'd hate to get burned though. I'm wondering if they just purchased several domain names and use them all. I just don't know. :-/

When using a baitcast reel, 10 pound line is as low as I'd ever go, and I've never actually done that. I bottom out at 12 pound personally. When I want lower than that I go with a spinning reel. The above advise is all good too. For that money, getting a better quality used reel is better than getting a new reel for the same price. Cheaper reels are harder to use because they simply don't function as smoothly or cast as well. So they can be frustrating to try to learn with since they just don't cast as well as more expensive ones can. Using a heavier lure can make the learning curve easier as well.

I worked at Walmart for 10 years. Here they went to a system where they use paper shelf tags that slide into a holder for them and they can be easily removed and replaced elsewhere. As far as I know there is no marking system here to keep up with who made the tags either, but I quit that job about 9 years ago now so that part may have changed since then. They still use the paper tags though. Also here, they are required to sell the product at the marked price as well, even if it's incorrect in the customer's favor by a large margin, or at least that's what they always told us anyway, so there was a lot of selling at lower prices going on there too. They would limit the amount to one item only though, and any subsequent items bought that were the same would be at the full correct retail price. Personally, I never force the issue, even when a product is missmarked, and it was NOT a result of moving a tag around. Sometimes the tag is for that product, and it has an old price on it that wasn't updated. It's not worth the hassle to me, and I have a conscience about such things too so I just don't do it. But, I think the legality of it would fall in the "bait and switch" area so that's why they sell it at the marked price when it's discovered to be wrongly labeled.

Never used braid before but I just got my first spool of Power Pro. I noticed the paper that came with it states that fingernail clippers won't cut the line. But I made them cut it for me just fine. Granted, I had to clamp them down where I wanted it cut and then pull them for it to work but it was easy to do. But I'd like something a little smoother so I think the scissors sounds like the answer.

I use a 6'6" medium spinning rod, the same one I use for regular largemouth bass fishing, with 8# mono. I fish the Ohio River and here we have striped bass sometimes too. They're very rare to catch but I've seen them caught. None really huge, largest was 8 pounds (and I didn't catch it :'(), but since they're there then you will catch hybrids a lot of times too. White bass and hybrids is what I mostly catch. But all of them feel like a hog since they're caught out in the current so I want a stouter rod than just a UL or L. My number one lure for these has always been a Worden's Roostertail. 1/8 oz. sometimes, 1/6 and 1/4 oz. mostly, with a few times seeing the need for 3/8 oz. just to get the bait down deeper or not get washed away with the current as fast. The place I fish for them is just below a dam and the current can be swift coming through it so that heavier bait sometimes helps. Then there are times when I can cast just a bit further than my buddies who are fishing lighter baits and I've seen it make a difference in size of fish caught too, like there was a school feeding just outside their casting range but I could hit it using that heavier bait. Colors are....anything white or silver, and firetiger and chartreuse does well too. Other than that I don't need much else. Just cast and retrieve and they nearly tear the rod out of your hand when they hit. I saw that some here have never caught one. Just so you know, you can lip them like a regular bass but watch out for their gill plate, it has a razor edge on the back side so keep your fingers out of there.

I've been tying a Eugene knot for fluorocarbon. I read in Bassmaster from Gary Klein that a Eugene knot is a better choice on fluorocarbon compared to the clinch knot. I also tie the Speed knot as of more recently, which as far as I can see is sort of a variation on the Eugene but it's a lot faster to tie. Haven't had one unravel or break yet.

I'd be wondering about the reel seat life shortening too but I guess it depends on how tightly you crank them down as well. I have a habit of tightening mine up pretty good, probably more than necessary, but after watching the Classic yesterday and seeing Todd Faircloth's reel fly off his rod on a hookset, I don't think I'm gonna worry about that too much anymore.

I never did it before this last time since I'm just now trying braid. I filled my spool with backing until I thought it was about 1/3 full. Didn't really know how much to put on so I tried to make sure that when the braid was going on that I'd have enough left over to fill it again later. That was what I was aiming at.

Man, that's buy two, get one free there!! Good score!!

I trim my tags like I do fingernails, a 1/16 inch short of drawing blood. ;D I figure if the knot slips then having a longer tag isn't going to help, it will just unravel anyway. I'm fanatical about making sure the knot seats right and is tied correctly anyway. If in doubt I always cut and retie, several times if it takes it.

When at home, my rods just lean in the corner of my bedroom or family room, which ever place I happen to store them until my wife wants them moved somewhere else. That's gonna change though, I'm building a nice rod rack from wood to stain and varnish for storage on a wall horizontally. I never leave them in the boat unless it's just overnight to go again the next day. After each trip I back the drag off to prevent drag lock too. The reels always stay on the rods unless I take them off for cleaning and relubing, which is once a year for each.

If the tag was long wouldn't that cause it to hang up on the guides as it passes up the rod and reduce casting distance?? I'm assuming you reel the knot all the way in so the lure is hanging only inches from the rod tip though.

Hopefully that means that all aluminum framed reels will become what's considered "cheap" and the price will come down even more. Then they could dump the common graphite framed reels totally and the world would then be a better place. ;D

That's cool that you at least got a rod without having to throw down for one again. Breaking a $100 rod and feeling like it's just a loss has got to suck.

Compre and Clarus, you are not going to beat these for their prices and warranties. All that aside though, they are great rods. I have two of the Compres and would not hesitate to get more. For those who want to save a little, they can go for the Clarus and still not be sacrificing quality though.

You guys posted as I was editing my post. I saw the video. I know to loop the mono now, not the braid. Thanks.

What I was doing was making a loop with the braid, then insert the tag end of the 12# mono into the loop, wrap it around both the main braid line and its tag end, about 6 times, then an equal number of wraps back down again to the loop, and then putting the mono tag end back through the loop the same direction it came out so that they both go through the loop the same way. Then I'd pull it down and it would just come unraveled and fall out. The one thing I can say I didn't do that I saw to do here since then is to leave the tag ends long. I didn't have more than a couple of inches to pull with by time I did all the wrapping and looping. I'll have to try that. Meanwhile the double uni knot was great, I tied it with no problems. I'd like to do the alberto though, it does look like it would be a bit slimmer once tied correctly. **EDIT** I just watched that video posted above. The one I saw before just said to make the loop with the heavier line, so I thought that was the braid. The video J Francho posted says to make the loop with the mono and put the braid through it instead, and then do the wrapping. Would that make the difference there making the loop with the mono instead of the braid?? I gotta go try it.

Man, I tried and tried to tie that alberto knot but everytime I got it wrapped and went to pull it down it would just pull all the way out. I don't know what I was doing wrong. I'll keep trying it but for now I just went and tied a double uni knot and it worked great for tying the braid to the mono backing and also to the mono leader. As a side note, I went to the backyard to try some casts with the braided line. I noticed this stuff is incredibly noisy. Makes a loud zzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzssssssssss sound as it sails off the spool. That's gonna take some getting used to. But it's also incredibly sensitive which is primarily why I bought it for that rod (for jigs and bottom lures). I could feel every little tick and bump as the casting plug came through the grass in the back yard, almost like it was actually tapping the rod instead of feeling it up the line like I'm used to with fluoro or mono. It also seams to cast really easily too, not sure if that's the line, the reel, or what though. I'll have to use it for a while actually fishing to get an idea of how it casts. For now, I was just noticing that it seamed to be effortless to cast while I was out there.

Hmm.....seams the majority suggested a knot I hadn't even thought of, the Alberto knot. Since I'm new to it and have no partiallity then I guess that's what I'm gonna try. Thanks all.

Got some Power Pro 50/12 braided line tonight. I want to know what's the best knot to attach a leader to it with?? I looked at some animated knots online and the uni knot seams pretty easy to tie but I also read on this site that the surgeon's knot is stronger. Then I remember reading that some also like the blood knot, which looks hard to tie. Will I be OK with just the uni knot for everything?? I'm thinking I'll be using a 12 or 14 pound fluorocarbon leader. Also, does anyone here ever use just straight up monofilament for a leader on braid?? Just wondering.

Keep reading about a site in this thread. Where's the link??

Please forgive the total newb questions I'm about to ask. ;D I want to customize some baits with paint, glitter, and/or any other ideas you all may have. I was wondering if I add paint or glitter to a crankbait, will it change the way it balances, floats, swims?? Also, I want to paint some spinnerbait blades and I'm looking for a clear finish I can put on to protect the paint, and maybe also put right on over the plain metal to protect the shine and keep them from tarnishing on blades I don't paint. Is there something that I can buy at the local home center that will do this?? Right now I picked up a can of Valspar clear enamel spray that says it's water resistant. Is this good enough??