hatrix

Usually I would of said jig. Recently I have been loving the grass minnow.

Fluro is more sensitive then braid? What fluro/braid do you use? I would be interested in a line that is more sensitive.

Well I got home from work and this was sitting on my porch

@DVT they are sending me a BNIB one and I have to return my old one to them. This time the shipping is paid by them but I still have to go back to the post office. It's not to big a deal but still is something I shouldn't have to do again because of there error or lack of caring what ever the case. I am more bummed about them sending me back the same broken reel. I love my Lew's and want every aspect of them to be exceptional and I feel let down. I thought they might of offered me a upgrade because of the whole situation but I didn't ask and they didn't offer. Not that I expect they should but in hind sight it seemed as if maybe they should have.

I know some of these guys say get some cheap line cause you will have to cut some out and what not but... Consider getting some decent braid and start using that. Never ever ever have I had to cut braid. Its d**n near impossible to mess it up with kinks and knots like mono. Any thing that does happen to it really is not going to be significant enough to make it break when you have a fish on. In my experience there is 2 types of backlashes. 1 you can just pull straight out and that will fix it. 2 it gets wrapped under you line and you have to find the piece that is you main line and pull it out from under the line wrapped over it from inside the spool. If it is really bad you can cut you lure off and feed it back through till its untangled. I can always fix braid and have never had to cut it.

Last year I bought a speed spool and about 3 months later it started taking a dump on me. It would grind and the handle would slip sometimes and make a grinding noise and not turn the spool. Any ways I stopped using it and about a week ago sent it in to be fixed because my warranty runs out this month (if it even matters) the woman I talked to said they will fix it even if I never sent in the warranty. Well they sent it back to me and all they did was oil the bearings and grease the main gear. I was a little bummed they would send it back to me like that and further more that it was even a acceptable fix when clearly if you turned the handle you could feel it was still not fixed. I ended up calling to complain and that is something I have never done. I just felt like it was a slap in the face they would send it back to me like that. In the end they are sending me brand new one and I have to send that one back again. I just couldn't believe they sent it back to me like that and thought that would be acceptable. FYI I have 2 other Lew's reels that work flawless still and I still believe they make a great product. I just was not very happy with there repair department and how they sent me back a reel that was still not fixed.

They are probably my most productive C-Rig bait.

A trick I use to measure when in a pinch is my shoe. Or you can use your cork if you know how long the handle is and you have room to lay your rod down. A lot of times when bank fishing all I carry is a empty pack of plastics with a hand full of lures and maybe a pair of pliers.

Right now i got a serious case of Bass Thumb. Sometimes it seems like there teeth get down to the bone. I think maybe you could get a note and some pain killers for that from you doctor

Hmm this might sound weird but a Kwik Stik Classic 6'6" Medium 2 piece glass spinning rod. I found it in a trailer last year after I lost all my rods. Even though I have bought new rods I can't stop using it. It has big heavy eyes that just seem to enhance the wobble huge on cranks . It's a really ugly green and slightly rusted so the people I fish with hate it expecially when I out fish them with a beat up rod I found in a trailer.

I have more Xcaliburs then KVD cranks and I like the KVD ones better. The Xcalibur looks better but doesn't fish as good for me. The KVD seems to search and deflect better for me. You can give it a quick burn and it will shoot out to the side or even just grazing the side on a tiny piece of grass makes it swing out left or right. I will take a KVD 2.5 any day and it has been my favorite crank for a couple years now. With practice you can go through any thing.

2.5 maybe 3.5

If I can reach the other side then im looking for a new pond to fish

Unless you got a target to hit or a place you want to pick apart try something moving. Just throwing a worm any where and working it all the way can be slow but still works.

Its usually a close to top water bait for me. So I never use weighted hooks. Thin wire off set and heavy EWG hooks make a noticeable difference to me in how easy it stays on top. I use some kind of pearl usually so I can see it. I work it depending on what it just did last time I jerked it (if I can see it). That way is way more effective for me then doing some kind of set rhythm.

X2 There mouth is so big you don't feel when they grab the worm or jig. I lean forward a bit then reel in a couple times and stand back up.

X2 on the 6" hudds. The grass minnow has been killer for me also.

30# and 65# braid

I use spinning for light cranks. Really what's the point trying to use a BC for everything. In the end for me it's way more efficient using spinning for little cranks.

I fish super nasty ponds with fat bass all the time. As long as there is no slime on top that will foul your bait instantly I will try a square bill. My favorite is the KVD 2.5 and the 1.5. I try to just tick the tops of the grass or stop and go. With braided line a slow rod and practice you can go through any thing and come out clean. Also if you can try a Red Eye Shad. If its really bad and you keep getting weeds remove the back hook not the front in my experience. Finally Huddleston Grass Minnow and 6" weedless. The Grass Minnow just simply catches and lots of them (at least for me). These baits all catch tons and tons of fish for me.

So I read that little study and I'm calling total BS on those numbers. As for the death rate of fish caught for a tourney I have no evidence to dispute that figure. I think we all know there is a good chance any fish will die in that situation. As for just fun fishing and immediate catch and release the death rate is extremely low from what I see every day. Unless you really got it good and you know it's hurt it's a very slim chance of death. I live on a 10 acre pond that I fish all the time and in the 4 years I had this house I have seen 3 dead bass. I have caught thousands of fish from my house over that time and I never EVER see a dead fish. Almost every day I check out the lake be it fishing or riding around with the dogs on the boat after work. Take into consideration animals will grab dead fish at night and I never see them but I also throw 100% of all catfish I catch on the bank and sometimes it takes 2 even 3 days for it to be gone so think about that. Don't get on me about the catfish. They take up a insane amount of weight that could go to total weight for the Bass/RES population. Not to mention the amount of food they eat. Big catfish are the apex predator not the bass and over times it's a problem that needs to be controlled.

Those are my fav shallow cranks to throw. If you give them a quick burn they sorta will shoot out to the side and it works really well for me. They generally run around 3-5' for me depending on line size and what not.

There is a camp ground a friend and I go to in the summer time that the clacking crank destroys them at. Her parents keep there ridiculously nice RV there over the summer and we stay in that. I have tried that crank many places but this place more then any it just flat out catches fish non stop all day ever day.

I need to start going out on Erie for smallies more this year..... Screw trying to catch dinner I would rather catch those and starve then fish for perch or walleye. I need to get like Dwight and start catching tons of monster smallies.

I only read your first sentence and saw the issue right there. I am not so sure how 17# would work on spinning but I can't imagine it being any good. I have never gone over 12 and even that is a little heavy IMO. Any more I just use braid on spinning gear besides for a drop shot. You can get 30# Power Pro and it is the same as 8# mono (I think) either way its small with excellent strength.