Flywatersmallie

I bought one of those Silvermax reels on a whim some time ago as it was on sale, picked it up for like $40 as a backup. There is a drop off from the Revos but.... Its a decent reel, especially at that price! Its nice and easy to adjust and is pretty comfortable to hold. Good find!

I think I have it good too.... Not to the point where she pays for things but she is unphased when I bring a $400 combo home (happens more often than perhaps it should) AND tell her what I spent. Oh, wait! She just bought be a reel, I guess she buys me stuff too. lol ;D

I got my hands on a "new" Sahara about a week or 10 days ago (as well as an old one, and a Symetre both deeply discounted). That new Sahara (for $79) compares favorably to the old Stradics, in my opinion. Having not used the newer models, I cant really comment. I fish river smallies more often than not and, I'm not a big fan of the fact that the 1500 series size is gone now. Look at the Daiwa Exceller too, for $70 or whatever, might be the most bang for your buck out there!

The 3" version in fried tomato works well for smallies here. As was said earlier, no worse than a sweet beaver (never have caught anything on the YUM Woolly Hawgtail) but no better either. Seems to me that as far as silly looking creature baits go, the Berkley Powerbait Beat works better than these 2. Has a more compact design and just seems to work

GULP!!!!! I have never even seen anyone catch something on this stinky crap. Chatterbaits, swimming Senkos. Also all that gimmick stuff, zip lures, banjo minnows, helicoptor lures, flying lures and the like. Those that said suspending jerkbaits, PM your address and I will gladly send the shipping fees and take those things off your hands.... To dispose of properly.

90% of my fishing is for smallies, I dont generally target anything but bass anymore, largemouth are just not as accesable for me right now. That said, I dont use live bait. Reason being is that I would catch nothing but sheepshead (freshwater drum) on my smallmouth flow. They are numerous and are not at all opposed to grab my offering as it is, it gets expensive burning through a dozen crawlers or shiners in a half hours time. I prefer to fish plastics, all year. My catch doesnt go down a ton, that I can see and my bass catch is way up. Plus I can catch sometimes a dozen or more fish on a single grub or tube. The baits I use catch pike, muskies, walleye, sauger, crappies, perch, catfish and countless other species in addition to the bass I am targeting. Oh, and I hate getting the crusty worm fingernails ;D. To each their own, I just dont do it

I use my avid (same model) much like you do. I do use it for smallies here on local rivers where the possibility of a 5lb fish is there but they are not a regular thing. Works great for grubs, smaller tubes and the like and for fish up to maybe a couple pounds. Otherwise, its a perfect stick for walleyes, whitebass and the like. Enough backbone when you need it but its got a nice soft tip for those applications that call for it.

Just a little food for thought here, you might be far better served to step up to something like a St Croix Triumph.... Will cost like $10 more than the Ugly Stik but you would end up with a LOT more rod. Ugly Sticks are not exactly known for sensitivity. I think you would be happy with that choice.

6'6" ML Avid with a 1500 "new" Sahara. Also have a Saros without a home, likely another Avid.

Not sure if they were magnums or not, but back when I had my little tiller walleye boat, the hard "satchel" style boxes from Plano. They fit perfectly in the dry storage compartments. I had three of them and they lasted for years. It was a lot like this, but beige and amber: I've got 4 of those things out in the garage! The beige and orange ones. They've long since been retired but they sure were great back in the day. They arent worm proof though, I have some interested swirl marks in one of the boxes

i think i can get a 2" 'stick-o' version. not sure how much bigger in diameter they are, but those three inchers seem to be killer baits for lots of folks too. got a pic? b I've got some on the way now, once they arrive, I will post a pic for you ***!

I have one of these, and the smaller (Model T800) red one. The real problem is that they are both really heavy loaded with stuff. In the boat, its no big deal but When I'm walking the banks for river smallies, I go for something smaller http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sanjosebass.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/okeechobee.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sanjosebass.com/okeechobee-fats-tackle-box.htm&h=600&w=800&sz=760&hl=en&start=2&um=1&usg=__iIwHKoXfnF5Sb2yN6YmxDvBEuZw=&tbnid=OfCblK4kepx33M:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dokeechobee%2Bfats%2Bt1200%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLL_en%26sa%3DN When I am on shore, I carry this little guy with me, throw the strap over my head and go. Holds quite a bit of stuff yet is nice and comfortable to carry all day. http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=37386&pdesc=Gander_Mountain_Tackle_Bag_w/_Four_4006_Tuff_Tainers_Boxes&cname=Tackle-Boxes&aID=504A9A&merchID=4006&r=view

Lotta money for some line with nasty memory!

I was speaking with a guy fishing at my local smallie river lately, he was just spanking the fish. He was using one of those "do nothing" type baits rigged on a jighead. Asked him what they were, he said 2" Senkos. Said that he had bought them a couple of years ago and was running low but couldnt seem to find any more. Anyone seen any of these things around? Or something comparable? I dont know if they were something else or what, seemed to have a much "smoother" finish than Senkos normally do. Any idea? Thanks!

I caught my first smallie.... Oh, maybe 25 years ago. Every one feels like the first. Welcome to the addiction, river smallies are the best! May you catch many more!

Let me tell you what I had planned for that rod, well before I sold it to you lol. I used it to throw small cranks, finesse plastics, grubs, rattletraps, little spinnerbaits and shakyhead and jigworms. It excels at stuff like that, unfortunately, I dont do all that much of this stuff so, thats why it ended up for sale. It was cool though throwing a 1/4 oz rattletrap so far! Could cover a LOT of water quickly and not get tired like one would doing the same thing with a spinning rod. Oh, it works well for those balsa minnow baits too, like Rapalas, shad raps and the like

There are times on my local river (a couple weeks in june and a couple in august) when the caddis fly hatches are at their peak that you can literally catch one every cast, all day. I rarely fish longer than a few hours, any time. My personal best was 162 in 6 hours though, at least that I actually counted. Add a few sheepshead, a walleye and a few rock bass to the day as well. There is an older gentleman that fishes there as well, and he told me a few days ago that he broke 100 19 times this year. He keeps track of everything from water temp to bait used to time of day, right on down the line. Lots of these fish are of course dinks. This river has huge numbers of fish, most are 12" or less though there are a few 5 and 6 lbers present.

No experience with the Black Max but..... I have a Silver Max (next step up) on a 6'6" MH Eagle GT, I use it for spinnerbaits and the like. Its not a bad stick, though not as light or sensitive as the Avids or LTB's I have, the price was right and their service is good should something go wrong. For what its worth, both rod and reel are made by the same company so service should never be a problem. Reel parts are easy to get if needed too. As for the reel, they are surprisingly smooth and feel pretty well built, especially for the money.

I cant say with any certainty what the water temps are here but they are most certainly colder than 64°! I would say low to mid 50's. Its been in the 50's for highs and 30's for lows the last couple of weeks. Fishing has been very tough, small (2-3") tubes and 2" senkos have been all that have produced. Smallies are already in their wintering areas, largemouths on certain bodies of water seem to be on the move.

on BC I cast left and retrieve right. Spinner, I cast left, retrieve left

I have one of the Berkley tourney scales, $40 regular price, I picked it up a couple weeks ago at walmart for $11. I've tested it a number of times on known weights and it comes out right on. I use it on every fish I would like to have an idea on the weight. The scale actually carries a written guarantee that it's accurate within 1/4 oz. It also saves up to (I think) 10 fish so there is no going back saying "mine was heavier than the number YOU remember". Its a slick setup

St Croix Premier for right around that price point, Triumph is built on the same blank for $70. Or look for a used Avid, much better stick and you should be able to find a used one for around $100. A couple other suggestions for right around the $100 mark.... Team All Star, Falcon Lowrider, Shimano Compre, Fenwick HMG. All are great rods. Also, if you keep an eye out, I bought both a Loomis Mossyback and a St Croix Legend Tournament on sale in the $110 range over the last couple weeks. Now is clearance time, go get em!

I've been using the improved clinch knot on braid for years and have had really no issues on slipping or breaking at the knot

Fooling around yesterday and I got this guy on a 5" Berkley Hollow Belly swimbait. Just watching my bait and trying to learn some techniques, I didnt expect anything at all, well.... Landed 5, lost a few more, this was the biggest of the day though at a little over 3 lbs on the scale. Swimbaits are cool!

Unfortunately, not going to get a ton for $100. That said, you could check your local Walmart for an Abu Garcia Revo S, they are on sale at some right now for $69 and throw it on a lightning rod by Berkley. Or check around for a sale priced Shimano Clarus. Great sticks for the money even at full price. Best advice with that kind of budget is to shop used. Keep an eye on the flea market