deep

Follow-up to my post. The BBZ DVD (warning: not much actual fishing going on here): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnRg-dVtteo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czwtk7ZB7PY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmyY2a3vCOc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcc8hgoWXKQ

I love spinning rigs. But for lures weighing more than 0.5 oz - deep divers, big spinnerbaits or topwaters, swimbaits, I use the baitcasters.

I caught precisely 3 bass, all under 12", one crappie, and one bluegill that somehow managed to foul-hook itself on those Storms. And I ran through 6 packs of threes. Hmm, maybe I wasn't fishing them right. Being gear-challenged, the only "swimbait" I ever had any luck with is the 4" SPRO BBZ shad. (Yes, it's whole body swims; so by definition it is a swimbait.) If any of you have been following the trend of my recent posts; I hope to update my response in a few months.

This: Also, the BBZ DVD that somehow found it's way onto the youtube, and the recent series of Vlogs on TW about all the SPRO BBZ's with Bill Siemantel. EDIT: and this too, This has to be my all time favorite. Not very educational, at the first glance, but if you read Ike's book, he caught that bass on a follow-up bait.

All through the winter, I've been thinking about my bass-fishing future. I read Siemantel's and Murphy's books several times over, and one point Siemantel mentioned so many times struck home: You have to be tired/ bored of catching dinks before you feel the need to step up. I caught maybe a thousand bass last season, give or take a hundred. I wish I kept scores like goose52 does. Anyway, with the gas prices as they are, and a recent pay cut, I figured I won't be able to fish as much as I did last year. So when I do go fishing, I'll chase the big ones. I'd rather not catch anything than catch a mess of one pounders. At least that's the way I feel right now. Let's see how long I can keep it up. I found some good deals, bought a Mattlures signature SB rod for a hundred dollars (that was a steal), a Curado 301E for about a hundred-seventy, some 20 lb Ande mono. I bought a 6" Spro BBZ jr rainbow floater, a 6" foiled trout wood lunker punker, a 6" Matt tournament light trout, a Matt soft male bluegill, one 7" and one 8" mission fish in baitfish and rainbow respectively. And with this meagre collection, I plan to catch a DD There's two lakes nearby which yielded me a few 5+ fish last year. I know there are bigger fish. I know some key areas in each; points, ridges, humps and so on. I know the spawning flats where I caught the biggest bass. I intend to keep throwing those swimbaits until I stick the big ones, or my arms fall off. That's no joke. I am determined to get something meaningful out of the several hundred dollars I spent on the swimbait rig and the baits. Next week, the weather forecast looks pretty good; We'll break the 50 degree mark. If there are big fish to be caught, the top-middle-bottom approach will catch them. I don't care if I have to fish for 8 hours to get one good bite. But I'll be there when the fish will bite.

Went to my local Dick's Sporting Goods to see if they had any Sufix Siege in 17#. No luck. Instead of going to the Walmart to pick up some Sufix Elite, on a whim I decided to try some Ande mono. Never seen these in my Dick's before. So I picked up a 1/4 lb spool of Ande 20lb test in green. They had pink, green and clear. The funny thing is the 1/4 lb spool of green had 650 yds, and the 1/4 lb spool of clear had 600 yds? The clear line also seemed to be stiffer. I didn't check the pink though. The stuff is pricey, too. I paid $23. That's more expensive than Sufix!

No one definite right answer here. I use and will recommend a Powell Max M/XF.

Just echoing other members here. That Powell/ Shimano will make one sick spinning set-up. I love mine. For crankbaits though, maybe you could look for a longer rod. Like 7'6" or longer?

Thanks Matt for your email earlier today. And thank you for your fantastic customer support.

GYCB Fat ikas, GYCB 5" and 6" senkos, GYCB kut-tail worms. GYCB flappin'g hog for jig trailers. P.S. And no, I'm not sponsored by GYCB (or anyone else for that matter). EDIT: As far as color is concerned, it's really simple. I like "dark". Baby bass works too.

Hallo there. I never fished Big Ikas. Hence the question. The killer technique with Fat Ikas though is weightless T-rigging. Search out some of RW's posts. They outproduce senkos, at least as far as quality is concerned.

Vinny Chase: Yes, they never got me too many strikes. A bad mojo, maybe? IDK. Anyway, different strokes for different folks. I'm happy with the 6XD, and I got confidence in them. Maybe that's the big factor. Bluebasser86: I believe I'm the one you sent a bunch of Fat Free Shads and DD22s to. I (will) put them to good use. Cranking season hasn't started yet for me I unashamedly will root for Rapalas. The prices are rising, but most Rapalas are consistent, meaning most suspending baits will suspend, and most DT14s will run at 14 ft and so on. And I almost never pay full retail. Deals are to be had here and there. I also buy a lot of used. LCs though, are prohibitively expensive for me. But that's just me. If you can afford LCs, forget Rapala. I would, if I could.

Start with Rapala, for shallow and mid-depths. The Strike King 6XD for deep. I hear good things about the Norman DD22 and the Fat Free Shad, but they never caught me a lot of fish; the 6XD did. Get two colors for each depth range, light and dark. Expand from there. Edit: Try the Rapala Countdown.

Update: Matt says that the sinkers on TW are slow-sink.

I just called TW. The guy on the phone confirmed the "sinking" bluegills are the fast sink models.

Well, yes. But I'm looking for the slow sinker, not the regular fast sink.

Could someone direct me to a store that has this for sale? Matt, if you're reading this; when would these be available again from your website?

Okay, I did some more searching, and what I think is the Fat Ika weighs slightly more than the Big Ika, since it's a little shorter and a bit fatter. A Fat Ika, Big Ika, and a 5" senko all weigh around 0.4 oz.

Thanks for the link (the particular link didn't work though), but I got my answer. Idk how I missed that when I googled "big ika". 1inStripes: Could you elaborate please? I'm more concerned about overloading my Powell Max; I'm pretty sure it won't break. Sorry for the overstatement. Just looking to do some regular weightless T-rigging, and maybe some wacky-rigging (an experiment I started with the fat ika).

I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, but I searched to no avail. I want to know what the GYCB Big Ika weighs. The point is figuring out if my T-rig outfit, which is rated upto 1/2 oz, can handle this beast. If it's of any interest, it throws fat ikas (4") just fine. EDIT: Money is tight and I don't want to buy a pack of big ikas only to find out my rod can't handle those. And of course, I don't want to break the rod.

Flipping: no suggestions Spinning (shallow cranks I believe): 8 lb sufix siege or 8 lb seaguar invizx or 8 lb yo zuri hybrid ultrasoft (I won't go over 8 lb test with spinning unless it's a monster reel, I use 6 lb) Baitcaster: 10/ 12 lb sufix siege

Mono: Sufix Siege, Sufix Elite, Trilene XL (in that order) Fluoro: Spiderwire Ultracast Fluoro, Seaguar Invisx (in that order) Copoly: Yo-Zuri Hybrid Braid/ Superline: Daiwa Samurai

What's the big difference between the XF tip and the F tip? Is it really that big of a difference? Here ya go: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1296662575

Rod: You can't go wrong with Shimano, BPS, Powell Max, Pinnacle Perfecta (the lure ratings on the one Pinnacle I have are grossly under-rated). I hear good things about St Croix, Dobyns and Falcon as well, but never used any one of these. Figure out the length/ power/ action, go onto TW (the suggested uses they put up are pretty spot on) and choose. Reel: Shimano Citica and BPS PQ are both great reels. I don't own a Daiwa baitcaster, but I think most of us have a high opinion of those. Curados can be had for around $150 new, and supposedly Carbonlites are good reels. I never liked the one Revo I ever owned, and will never buy another one, but figure out for yourself. EDIT: **With so many different ones on the market it makes for a really difficult decision** Yes; but options are good. I'll give you an example. When I was looking around for a soft plastics spinning rod, I narrowed down the choices to a 7'2" Med Xfast Shimano Crucial and a 7'3" Med Xfast Powell Max. I went with the Powell in the end just because it didn't have a fore-grip, and was an inch longer. I don't know how good the Crucial would have been, but I'm very very pleased with my Powell Max. EDIT 2: I'm assuming this is your first baitcasting set-up? What spinning rods do you own? Is there any one you particularly love? Start looking from the baitcasting line for that manufacturer. If they make a rod in the specs that you want, buy it. You'll almost certainly love it.

I don't have ANY MH/XF baitcast rod, so I'm probably not the best person to offer this advice; but idk if an XF rod would make an all-around rod.