kikstand454

if youve got crappie and gills and youve seen bass... i wouldnt worry about how small youre going... theres probably some bigger fish in there too. crappie dont really do too well in bad water... so its likely that there are some good bass in there too. like you said though... youre wanting to practice a baitcaster and maybe catch some of those smaller fish in the process... and i personally would through a 3/16 or 1/4oz beetle spin. probably the 1/4 oz/ itll be easier for you to throw and it will catch the snot out of anything that swims. get the black one with the yellow stripes. good luck!!!

x2. and i hate to sound like an ugly stick "advocate" or whatever... beacuse honestly for bass i prefer shimano rods.... but im kinda frustrated because i think most people identify "ugly stick" as those eva foam originals that they sell at walmart for 30 bucks. they have other models you know. there are lighter and more sensitive ugly sticks that are really great rods for the money. such as... http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_22372_100002000_100000000_100002000_100-2-0 and these new ones that have split grips (though in foam )... http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=58283&familyName=Shakespeare+Ugly+Stik+Inshore+Select+Rods just sayin.........

i have a clarus spinning rod 7' ml/fast with a quantum incyte reel on it. this is one of the nicest and most comfortable/sensitive rods i own. not the most expensive... but nicest. i use it for drop shot and shaky heads. sometimes senkos. 8-) you will be happy with that rod and probably never ever need the warranty.

id get the code with that 6'10" rod with the split grips.... jmho

i need to start saving up some money in a jar so i can make you people offers on your used quantums. i love em. *shrug* nice rig btw. really nice.

yup couldnt have said it better myself. i do all bottom lures left handed... and all moving lures right handed.... and that way through a day i get to give each hand a break. its nice.

last years citica and an accurist pt is getting alot closer to that 150 bucks. id take that and call it even.

your citica on the reese rod should throw a senko just fine. esp. with that light pp u were using. the reese rod has a soft enough tip... at almost any action... to throw a 3/8 oz lure. just remember... like said before.. its not going to be a cast as far as your 1/2oz t-rig. but you should be fine with some practice. i throw an unweighted floating trick worm on a 3/0 hook on a 6'6" mh convergence rod with a pinnacle solene on it. the citca and reese has GOT to be better than that right?

ummm... yes....sorta. the last accurist pt. released (two years ago) went for roughly 139. on sale you could get it for roughly 125. now you can get them on ebay n.i.b. for around 60-75. used ones go for around 30 -50. the one your brother is giving you... even if new in the box... even if he paid 150 for it new.. which he could have....isnt worht more than about 100 dollars now. and thats if youre being nice to him cause hes your brother. if its used tell him thanx for the reel and he still owes you 100 bucks. lol. its great reel though. have fun with it. i love mine!

These are the ones? They do look awesome! http://www.roboworm.com/pkframe.htm x2! those look great!!

that is awesome... i hope eveyone takes that advice... so i can go behind them with a beaver and clean up!!! to the o.p. i tend to through rage craws around dirty water and wood cover. i like to throw beavers around grass.

as far as i know... here in florida you dont have to have a liscence... and therefore are not subject really to fines or jail... if the body of water you are on/in has no public access. i.e. gated neighborhoods private land etc. if you can get to it publicly though... then its regulations as usual. trust this though.... the regulations that are put on your lake.. are probably there for a good reason. it is a hard decision for politicians that probably dont know squat about fishing to tell people not to fish and therefore not to spend money on the surrounding area. you know how those people are about money.

im still completely unsure how everyone is getting depth charts of lakes online. i have yet to find a single useful map online of the two lakes that i fish here the most. and they are pretty well known lakes. theres a bass master open on one of them this year. lake seminole and lake talquin have had many many pro tourneys on them.. and yet i cant get a depth chart for either of them to save my life. stores here dont even carry them if i wanted to get a paper one. the "local geological" idea was a bust. nothing. guess imma have to just break down and get a boat... so i can get a plotter... so i can get navionics! ;D

truthfully... i havent been in one nor do i even know somone that has one. but this is my dream rig youre talking about. lol. i fish alot of inshore and i like to chase reds up creeks and around oysterbars. i also like fishing stumpy flats and backwater for bass. a big stable aluminum boat is the perfect boat for me. i can go shallow and scary without worrying so much about my gelcoat. just my two cents.

i agree totally with this.. i dont think matching the hatch applies in this situation because the pond is small and low pressured. more and more i like to think of bass like cats. they respond very simular to what they consider prey. just because your cat isnt hungry doesnt mean it wont jump on that string your pulling across the carpet. bass do the same thing. i agree with tyrius- you need to find the bass. then you can throw whatever you feel confident in and get some fish. then you can learn other techniques and start catching more etc. most baits will catch most fish most of the time. its just a matter of finding them and presenting the lure the way they want it.

wow. i sure am glad i live in the F-L-A. this is similar to liscencing here. in the winter... trout and reds move far up river esp spring rivers and hang out. they will certainly hit some bass lures. also... sheepshead sometimes spend all year up in freshwater holes. many bream anglers and some bass anglers even (my brother has caught a few on crankbaits) catch them on accident. the rule is here if you KEEP it... you have to have the appropiate liscence for it. salt or fresh. if you are using shrimp... you have to have a salt liscence because youre not fishing for freshwater fish. even though you are indeed in fresh water. i think your law of not even being able to target gamefish for months at a time is a fabulous reason for me to never ever move up north:) i will agree with you though... there are lots and lots of people that couldnt care less about regulations on size or creel number or seasons and take what they want when they want and to hell with the consequenses. these people suck. there is no reason at all to take fish illeagally when it costs so much to do so. might as well just go to a fish market and buy some fish. its cheaper and already prepared. people are just stupid though.

yeah.... i mean.. you can use a 1/4 oz. but you better be shallower than 10 /12 feet. i wouldnt go less than 1/2 and i normally (always) throw a 3/4.

i t-rig beavers all the time. but..... you can put any creature bait on a c-rig and whoop up on em.

no no. its not just the chrome. both of my sexy shad colors... and the redish one that i have have lost their paint within the first couple of outings. they still catch fish but like stated earlier... for 7 bucks id like the paint to be a little more durable. btw... the one knocker that i baught lost one eye the first trip out.... the second eye the next. all it caught was one undersized crappie out of grass. no abuse whatsoever. :-/

awesome man- thats how its done!!!

i will take a stab at this one... on your saturday, there were two things going for you.... well three actually. 1. you were fishing during or before a cold front. this always better than after. it has much more to do with barometric pressure than temperature. 2. the water temp had all the bass schooled up in one spot or had them patterned on one type of thing that you were fishing. cold water like that keeps them lethargic and tight to cover. because it was so nice the week before, then the water temp dropped...these bass were probably pulling off spawning flats waiting for the front to pass through. thats why there were some bigger fish...spawners. 3. you were throwing a lipless crank which is the exact right bait for that situation. it was all about your reaction bite. the next time was different because... 1. post front. barometric pressure rising and probably clearer skies. 2. water temp rose dramaticaly in a short period of time... which not only threw them for a loop but then sent them back to "spawn" mode which- 3. the bass were more scattered and spread out/ harder to pattern. the ones you caught doing roughly the same thing the sat. before were probably males moving up for the NEXT wave of spawn, hence the smaller size. thats my take. p.s. nice fish!!!!

i think that this entire way of thinking is messed up. why on earth would you not want to be using the bait that somone else has dialed in as the thing to use that day? i mean...wha? why throw something that isnt working as good or not at all? im all for fishing something different than the other guy in the boat. as a "back of the boat" angler... its life or death sometimes. but after about the 5th fish that i havent caught... i start thinking along the lines of why that lure is producing and not the one im throwing. then i try to figure out a lure thats close or complementary, so i can get the ones hes missing. if that doesnt work then i start looking for the same lure and if its offered to me... you can bet im going to take it. pride? ego? for a bait thats not working? : - thats like not asking for directions when youre lost.

i have neither. however. according to the bps catolog, the drags are as follows... curado 200 series- 11lbs. 300 series- 15lbs. revo premier 20lbs. theres those numbers.

also for what its worth. good call on the drag estimate. according to the catolog, the midas has roughly the same drag strength as the quantum te, and way more (6.6 lbs!!) than the core.

it seems like everyone is talkin you into the powell. thats great. keep me in mind when you go to sell your used compre's. ;D