Revo_Carrot Stix

Like everyone's mentioned, the quality is definetly there. I just got the new squarebills and love them. The hooks on $6 squarebill eventually break or dull along with the finish that eventually wears off. The looks alone give me more confidence which does wonders to success vs. the action. It's like gambling - if you don't have the money to lose, don't gamble because eventually you'll lose the crankbait.

Cool. I haven't seen that episode, but we were down there May 2012 when he shot that show. I think he was turkey hunting and didn't have much luck. He caught a big bass when he was fishing for crappie on Long Lake. We didn't have a chance to talk to him. He was leaving the day after we got there.

A group of us had to run to the butcher this week (to pick up our annual beef) and we were 45 minutes away from Trophy Country and decided to make a quick fishing trip. With snow on the strip pit hilltops, we packed up our parkas and gear. We have never been there prior to May. Let me tell you, the water was cold, the wind cut right through you, and the fish were hiding. We fished an afternoon and morning with lows in the 30's and highs in the upper 40's. I managed 14 bass and 4 crappie and never felt one bite. I enjoyed fishing the new SK Jerkbait 4.5" and some new Kopper's Squarebills, but had to fish S-L-O-W which was still too fast for these strip pit bass. The water levels are back to normal after 30" snow this winter. Boat ramps have been moved up on the banks, but the mud and clay made it tough. They've added more boat ramps to a few pits which is better than railroad ties. Sounds like business is picking up. Kurt and Duke mentioned they were booked every weekend in April. I'm glad we tried it this early in the season, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. It was better than organizing my tackle and watching fishing shows. We'll probably plan a trip in another month if we can get out of this cold weather.

We just completed our 3rd trip of the year. Unfortunately, we caught the first signs of Fall going from Sunny 80's to Cloudy 50's in just a day. We all averaged around 100 bass total for 1/2 day, full day, 1/2 day outing. The biggest catch was 23" 6.25# caught on a wind blown point in The Islands on KVD 2.5 Sunfish. This was the biggest trophy I've personally seen at TC in the last 3 years. Mike/Gary - Corrective measures were taken on Upper Duck! Duke and Kurt followed us out there on the first day. We slid down the hill and launched. By the time we came back (6 hrs later), they dug out the clud and lowered the ramps - it made it easier to land which gave us the needed energy to scale the incline like pack mules. We couldn't help but laugh envisioning the bell at the top of the hill!!!! LOL! The bass were scattered on every body of water. We could NOT figure out an effective pattern for the life of us. The most we caught in a single area cranking was 4. The best pattern was on windy banks, we just couldn't hold the boats in position for more than 2 casts. The other days were dead calm with an east breeze. One guy slayed them on a buzzbait going down fingers and channels, but most were in the 10-13" range. I usually end up only using 3 rigs (topwater, shallow crank, med crank) and seldom open the tackle bag. This time around, I had every box and bag open, looking for the "one"... I'm convinced that the best fishing out there is in the heat of the summer when those boats are literally frying pans.

Agreed RW. I think it's perfect for Spots, not sure about the smallies in pit that may go 15 feet at best. Last time I talked to Kevin in July, they were feeding the smallies crawdads and fathead minnows, but the pit wasn't even close to 1/2 full with the drought. Maybe Isaac topped it off. Mike and Gary would have to hand glide probably to get to those boats. I think they may introduce some walleye out there too. I'm headed there next Thursday - Saturday with 5 others, so I'll get the scoop.

Yes, the cut through makes it easier to get to and that gravel road is very steep. I would assume nearly impossible to scale with all the rain you mentioned. Did you happen to hear how the smallmouth pit is coming?

Hey Mike! Wasn't Upper Duck the lake they "renovated" last year and relocated the launch? The launch sites are all ugly - especially when you factor in the drought. They wonder why the trolling motor shafts get bent? You have to hydroplane those things to dock and you still have 10 feet of vegetation to get through. I assume you didn't make it to The Islands with all that rain. We got stuck out there during the spring and we had two 4x4's. I'm glad everyone made it out safe. We are considering a trip in two weeks to close out the year before we trade our fishing poles for shotguns.

That sounds like an awesome day. I bet your thumbs were bleeding and your feet were burning on those boats. I have yet to catch anything over 6#'s out there, so good for you guys! I'm hoping to get back out there in mid-Sept. Hopefully we'll get some rain out there so it's not such a bi*** to get those boats back up on the ramps. Was that miserable or what?

Rock Chalk!

I've gone 3-4x a year for the past couple years. The last time was July 1- 3 (1/2 day, full, 1/2 day) and caught 129 in 100+ temps. As Ghoti or Long Mike will tell you, fish your strength or have fun with a technique that you don't normally use. I tried deep cranking in a few spots and caught more 15" crappie than anything. At this time of year, the grass and weeds are thick in a lot of areas - which makes DD pretty tiresome. I fished squarebills most of the time and didn't get too tangled up. Mornings and evenings were strickly topwater and those bass will knock your plug 2 feet in the air. Although I haven't met up with the BR members (yet), I usually go with 4-6 buddies which gives me a range of what works. Main forage: Crawdads, Bluegill, and Hybrid-Sunfish. Anything topwater - LC Sammies, SK KVD Dawgs, Spooks, Black Cavitrons, and hollow-belly frogs. I've had buddies throw buzzbaits all day and catch 50 before lunch. It just depends on what you're enjoying. Crankbaits - IMHO, Craw-colors catch twice as many as shad-pattern colors. Browns and oranges are best. Red doesn't seem to do as well. On the last few trips, I've left anything-sexy-shad at home. Squarebills - KVD's 1.5/2/5 and XCaliburs Mid - Wiggle Warts, SK Series 4 and 5, DT10's Deep - Bomber Fat Free Shads, DD22's, and LiveTargets [*]Soft Plastics - You could throw an Ika or Brush Hawg all day if you want. You could easily catch 100 Kentuckies 12-14" range, so bring plenty of bags if that's your thing. TC Staff is in the midst of creating a smallie pit - if we would have had normal rainfalls this year - that pit would be ready...but it's not. They are feeding the smallies fathead minnows and crawdads, so that will be awesome next year. I can't imagine the smallies getting as/more agressive than the TC Spots. 1# Spot feels and fights like a 3# largmouth...it's just awesome. Good luck and let us know how it goes! Mickey

BC...I feel your pain. I have broken 2 this year and both were around 3 years old. I broke my 6'6" MH on a hookset and broke my 7'6" H on submerged tree. Both snapped like cane poles. In the past, e21 was not responsive so I didn't even try...moving on to St. Croix now. I'll have to change my name tag now...because I'm done with 'em. Good luck.

The ElaZTech component is awesome. Before Zman came out with their soft plastic line, Strike King had it in their Zero (senkos) and think in their Zulu (fluke). I can average 12-15 bass per worm. 5-pack Zeros will last just as long or longer than 25 Yum Dingers, so I assume the Zman baits are just as good. When the worm/baits start to float, it's time for a new one. I don't think I've ever had one tear on me!

Cut the top 1/3 off a 2 liter bottle and then turn the top upside down back into the bottle. Duct tape it and you've got a spill proof spittoon...not to mention a cool science experiment after a month or so.

Topwater - LC Sammy 115 (American Shad) Shallow - SK KVD 2.5 (Bluegill or Sunfish) Mid - Livetarget Crawfish (Phantom Orange Brown) or Rapala DT10, DT14 Deep - Normans DD22 or Bomber Switchback Shad series

Fat G - I don't want to sound preachy (believe me), but if you can handle "once or twice a day" my challenge to you is to just not do it man. Best case scenario - you satisfy a slight craving. Worse case - you're dipping 18 hrs day. I use to have this "badge of honor" with the fellas because i chewed Copenhagen Snuff and never spit. I was young and thought it was cool. Now, these same guys are telling me that I need to quit while I'm ahead (no health problems). Not so cool anymore. On a side note, has anyone caught those anti-smoking commercials? Man! Although it targets smoking, it makes me think about the long term effects of dipping.

Sammy's and Spooks - shad color patterns (because these lures twist and turn to their sides). Sunny conditions I grab a chrome/foil type reflection. Poppers and props - shad/bluegill color pattern (fishing with a pause gives 'em something to stare at and commit) Hollow-belly frogs - IMHO, green or dark. I seldom get the pleasure of seeing lily pads and most of my water has matted vegetation. Most my strikes are when the frog hits the water - whether from the cast or hopping it off the bank. Buzzbaits - Black in the morning and evening. It's probably more of a confidence thing, but I'm always throwing my black blade/black or red blade/black Cavitron. I seldom fish in the dark of night, but black is best for that time.

X2 on Packman's comment. Rod action should determine how you set the hook. Slamming a M parabolic rod back is a lot different that MXF rod. A quick sweep up or to the side does the job for me on squarebills (6'8" MHF w/ 20# flouro) and topwater plugs (6'8" MXF w/ 14# mono). I like parabolic 6'9" M w/ 12# flouro for mid cranks to smaller deep diving cranks where I'll sweep to the side and keep it there, allowing the rod to do most of the work.

Same boat as you. I'm 42 and dip Copenhagen since high school. I have not had any health problems (knock on wood) but guessing it's only a matter of time. I've tried about everything. Doctor prescribed a few RX in the past: Wellbutrin (sp?) - I guess this was originally used on vets for depression in the 60's or 70's. During the trial, doctors noticed the vets quit smoking. It helped me stop chewing. I got cotton mouth and felt high or light-headed a lot of the time. I didn't like taking it and stopped after 1 month. I was able to quit for about 3 months and just gave in. Chantix (sp?) - I did this for awhile, but really had some wierd/realistic dreams about every other night which feaked me out a little (i'm not big into taking pills/medince to begin with) There is a whole program/dosage/online support fourm that is ok. It worked a couple months for me. To me, it's not about the nicotine. I need to break the habit and associations with dipping (fishing, mowing the lawn, watching baseball, etc.) Part of me thinks - I just need to be a man and stop it altogether, it's not worth it. The other part views it as something I've always done. At this point, I'm only hurting myself. Eventually, it will hurt others around me. there's my two cents.

I tried to fish 3/4 oz Bomber Switchback Shads M7 and D7's on 6'9" M Carrot Stix (parabolic) and it was tough. I bought a BPS Crankin' 7'6" MH - telescopic (which collapses to 7') to use for these heavier deep divers and it does it's job. I don't fish these big deep divers a lot, so I didn't want to spend a lot. At $55, I don't think you can go wrong. My only complaint is how the combo feels - cork power hump + reel = bulky! I couldn't fish it all day. I'm not sure if the 7' has a smaller power hump. If you palm your reel while cranking, you may take your reel to BPS to see how it feels. And I agree with KYWar - these aren't the most sensitve rods, even if you use fluoro.

75% of my fishing is from the bank...and I don't look at it as a bad thing. I fish anytime I can and it's usually for only 1-2 hours when I'm able to get away from family or work. As others have mentioned, stick to working parallel to the shore when at at possible - especially with weeds and chunk rock. Buzzbaits, Spook-type baits, squarebill crankbaits, and senkos work well. My waters are stained - murky too, so I usually stick to something with chartreuse or darker colors along with working your baits slow. If you think you're fishing slow, then slow down a little more. Cast multiple times to areas that "look" fishy (big rock/stump sticking out of the water, weed edge points/cut ins). You've eliminated a lot of fishable water already by walking the banks. Just continue to practice and try different techniques if you find yourself getting skunked. Flipping jigs and creature baits in the weeds from the bank can be a blast during the summer! Talk about hand-to-hand combat! At the end of the day, it easier (for me) to accept getting skunked from the shore vs on a boat with 8 rods and 100 lure choices. Either way, it's better than watching TV.

1. KVD 2.5 Rattling Bluegill and Sunfish 2. LC Sammy 105 American Shad

I have not noticed a difference with bass getting unbuttoned. The Mustad's I use have a "grip" bend to the hooks vs. the typical round-bend you see out of the box. I'm impressed with how sharp they are. By the time I land the bass, both trebles are usually stuck somewhere.

Although I don't make my lures, I replace most of my "walking-type baits" with Mustad KVD Elite Short Shank trebles. I like the short shank trebles because there's less likely a chance of the hooks catching the line when casted. On the larger walking baits with 3 trebles, I was getting tangled on my casts 25% of the time. When I swapped the factory hooks with the short shanked, I stopped having that problem. I have had great luck with #2's on anything bigger than 3.75". For the size you mentioned, I'd start with #4 short shank.

X2 I've used 17# mono for years on 7' MHF rod with no problems. It's hard to cast it beyond a solid hookset which I did a lot using 12# - 14# mono. I want a little stretch when a bass hits it. A lot of my buddies swear by braid, but they are throwing in areas that I don't even consider. I think they also go through 2-3X more buzzbaits than I do - getting snagged or just plain straightening out the buzzbait itself. I prefer to work buzzbaits parallel to weeds or cover. If the cover is too thick, I prefer a hollow-belly frog or Rage Shad on braid.

Stick Worms - Strike King Zeros/Zman Zinkers (both are made with Elaztech material and last 10x longer): junebug or green pumpkin Shaky - Big Bite Bait Squirrel Tail: junebug or tilapia Creature Baits - Megastrike Mega Bug: green pumpkin/copper or Havoc Lane's Craw Fatty: black/blue Frogs - SK Rage Shad: green pumpkin/chart