flippin and pitchin

Lures are tools. Each lure type should be applied to deal with a specific situation. With that, if you are covering water, changes will be fairly frequent. Sometimes, a subtle change might be made while working the same area. I fished a tournament a few weeks ago and was pitching a jig to heavy cover behind my partner who was working a top water frog. I got bit on the jig but the fish just weren't on it. I switched to something long and slender with more action ( keep guessing ) and picked up two quick keepers and eventually caught 6 and my last fish culled one of my earlier fish. That was an important cull. I could have just kept dropping that jig but felt a different profile, slighter more action would entice a reaction and it did. The lure I switched to was a Rage Space Monkey. Sometimes switching lures will happen pretty fast depending on the concept, are the feeding up or feeding down. This applies to smallmouth often. Drag a tube for an hour and don't get bit, throw a jerk bait in the upper water column. Bingo. That's partially how I approach lure changes.

That's it

Sometimes it not about color, it's about the shade. In stained water contrast is also a factor. Why is it black and black blue is such a hot " color " for jigs. Sillouette, speed and action is also important. A couple of years ago I was catching fish, good fish really well on a trip with a specific color pattern crankbait. I broke it off and was sick. I had the same lure in a much different color pattern, not near as bright and figured I would hope it worked. The fish bit it better. I try not to get worked up over color like I used to. RW has a point though.

You didn't say how deep you were fishing. The jerkbait in a translucent pattern and or a shimmer shad skirted double willow spinnerbait is where I would have started. A crankbait would have followed and then a heavy tube dragged. A carolina rig would have been my last resort. And ?????????

Dee Thomas showed the split worm deal in his video back in 79' before the trailer craze thought of starting. Good then, good now. Great tips and welcome to the forum if no one has told you !

Oh the days of pork. Uncle Josh had a pork strip and twin tail which I used as spinnerbait trailers. The frog and lizard were jig trailers. I never fished the eel although some guys I know fished it on a long hook with a wire weed guard. I used to throw a 1/4 ounce jig with a Gator tail worm shortened about two inches. Back then there were about three colors, black, black and black. Pork was a pain but when a bass ate it, it held on. So, WRB, did you fish a 5'5" pistol grip and use the over the head hook set back in the day ?

My dad died 14 years ago after a 31 month battle with cancer. I can relate to you as I also watched my Dad as he went from a strong and active carpenter to weighing just over 120 pounds. My dad and I were never, what you would call close. He divorced my Mom when I was 27 years old, remarried and I saw little of him for many years, although I tried to keep in touch. My daughters never really knew him. His wife wanted nothing to do with me or my family. I never doubted he loved me, regardless. When he was diagnosed, had surgery and the cancer was found to be all over in his torso, his wife couldn't even tell him. A distant relative called me about my dad having surgery that day so I drove and arrived in time to talk to the surgeon. I told my Dad he was not going to live much longer. I was very lucky he was determined to live because he stayed with us for two years longer than expected. I took that time to spend every minute I could with him even though I lived a days drive away. I was with him the day before he died and promised him I would see him in a couple fo days. To this day, it kills me I wasn't with him when he died. I can't seem to forgive myself for not being there. Enough about that. You will never get over the loss of your father. He is embodied, in part, in you. The weirdest things, a smell, a sound, a song, driving by a hamburger joint, something you say without thinking ,will trigger a memory of your Dad. Grab hold of that and cherish it. There are so many kids who never knew or will know their father or have the blessing of a father who is there and loves and nurtures them. We who had our Dads and lost them are the lucky ones. I had to do a repair on my house yesterday and it required some tricky angles and measurements before I cut the materials. It went perfect. I used some of my Dad's tools during the job. When I was done, I had to say "thanks Dad" out loud to myself. You taught me how to do this.

Both reels will service you very well. Both comp out about the same. Some tangables to consider are palming and handle length and grip style. Grab one of each, spin it and buy what feels good in YOUR hand. DVT makes some very good points. I have several Lews including the T-Pro and owned two G-2 STX's and both perform extremely well. If there was a time when personal preference played into a purchase choice, this would be it. One huge positive you have going for you, which ever you choose, you will have a reel that will perform very very well for you.

Stopped by a Dicks on the way back home from Oregon and picked up some Outlaw Baits Gitter Tubes on a mark down. The colors were actually good. Reg. 4.99 for 1.93, not bad. They had some Terminator spinnerbaits like A-Jay bought for 49 cents each. I bought all 17 of them. Same color too. Who'd a thunk it?

Buy a spool of 3/16 inch hollow core pencil lead. Cut a section that gets you the contact you want. Crimp it on and when you hang up it should just pull off. It's a rigging anyone who drift fishes for steelhead is familiar with. The upper Columbia River eats DS weights so this is the best option I know of.

Do your research. Not all suspender type vests meet Coast Guard ratings as a standard PFD. If you don't have it on, it's an infraction. If you fall and hit your head or suffer some other type issue that prevents you from pulling the manual trigger cord, you drown. Mine is the auto inflate and the design rights you in the water to keep your face up. If your going to invest in one, get the best you can afford.

I used to fish a Loomis 844 CB rod and made the switch to Lamiglas SR705R and the Crank-N-Blade 705. I still have them. If you want to improve sensitivity but maintain the parabolic action of glass and keep the weight low, at least look at the Dobyns Champion 705CB Glass. It's a composite blank. I fish the Dobyns almost exclusively now. It's a great option, fairly well liked and should be in your price range. There are a number of good crankbait rods out in the last couple of years. Good shopping.

It doesn't rain in Washington. Spinnerbait with BIG willow blade.

When I work graveyard patrol, I often run through hotel/motel lots where guys park their boats with all their equipment loose and there for the taking. I leave a business card on the windshield with a polite warning and suggestion to park in front under lights. What really fries my cheeks is stupid idiots who leave firearms in their rigs and have them stolen. You can't fix stupid.

Work with me, I have three: My best friend, who is closer than a brother has a son, Ryan. Ryan has Deshauns, a form of muscular dystrophy. Ryan was 11 and had already been in a wheel chair since he was about 5 years old and had littler use of his arms and hands. Ryan wanted to go bass fishing so we loaded the boat, removed the back pole and set his push chair up with tie downs. The life jacket helped him to sit upright and we strapped him in after the run down the lake. I helped Ryan to hold the rod and he caught a three pounder on a Senko with his Dad's and my help. If your ever in Medina Ohio and see a handsome young man in a motorized wheelchair wearing a Ranger Boats Hat say Hi ! It's Ryan. I remember my first club trip (fish-in) in 1979. I owned one combo and about four lures total. I caught a keeper about 13 inches and the worm did turn. I was like a little kid all over again. It was special. Three years ago I went with my buddy to a lake I read about for years and he did brag it up. I fished my butt off on the " large mouth" end of the lake. I caught two decent fish while my buddy picked up 10 or so and two over six pounds. I threw the box at em' and just could not make it happen. I asked Tom to patronize me and spend the last hour before dark near the dam in hopes of catching some smallmouth, regardless of size. We pulled up and I landed 37 smallies in an hour and lost a really nice largemouth at the boat. Four of my biggest broke 5 pounds and the 5th was 4-14. It was freaking wild. I have to look at the pictures now and then to remind me those kinds of magical moments ( unless your Dwight or A-Jay ) can happen on any trip.

Lews Super Duty 7.1 to 1 #50 Power Pro Dobyns Savvy 735C

Only with braid. Only with straight shank flippin hooks. only with weights 3/4 or more.

I use two rods, one with braid and the other flouro. Dobyns Champion 702 and an Extreme DX742SF. Both have moderate fast actions and plenty power after they shut off.

My SX's were G1 with the straight handles. They are very smooth, just touchy for lack of a better word. My Lews MG's are much much easier to set and go. It's still brakes for me.

Why move away from something you love ? That's why the divorce rate is so high.

The greatest ability an angler has is to process information and apply knowledge while on the water. Have options and don't limit yourself or put yourself in a box. 90 percent of the fish are in 10 percent of the water. Find that location (ZONE) even if it takes 7 of your 8 hour day. That one hour may be the fishing experience of a life time. Never find yourself competing against another angler. It's possible to have too much stuff and actually impede your choices. If you don't ask the question, you may never get the answer. Most 5 pounders are generally about 3 3/4.

Don't discount treble hooks as trailers on spinnerbaits or buzzbaits. I watched Gary Dobyns win an event on Shasta many years ago and the spots were slashing at his buzzbait. He added a large treble hook trailer and landed two critical fish as a result. If you fish smallmouth and burn a spinnerbait just under the surface and they slash at the bait, a large Gammi EWG treble will get you a few more fish on. Peppers makes an open water model with a treble as the primary hook. Options are a good thing.

Good topic. Brakes and thumb. The most fickle reel I have ever owned was a Revo SX. It's an excellent reel but getting it dialed was bit more involved than others. For that reason they were applied to pitchin rods. Virtually every reel I own that feature brakes and mags never see the mags applied.

One more time, The quality of gear available to anglers right now is incredible. I could fish any of it and be pretty happy. I just have my own preference as do the rest of you. Just fish.

The mere fact you are excited about your reel makes the experience of using it even sweeter. Enjoy.