Bluebasser86

The Pro Qual is a great reel for the money, I have one on my deep cranking rod. Haven't used the slower speed Lew's but I have the 6.4:1 for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits and I really like it. I've got a E5 Curado on my squarebill rod and love it.

A friend of mine got a couple for really cheap when they went on sale. He tossed spinnerbaits and traps on them for awhile before he upgraded and gave them to his boys to learn with. As for a cheap rod to put one on, Berkley Lightning Rods are tough to beat and the Shimano Sellus is supposed to be really nice for the money.

X2, seems there shouldn't be any assembly required with a bait that expensive. As for the bait floating, it's all going to depend on water temps. A bait can sink one week, suspend perfect next week, and float the week after that because of water temps changing. There's times when a slow rising/sinking bait will get more bites anyways.

I have 2 pairs of Costas that I wear fishing and nowhere else. I've got some of the $5 Berkley polarized glasses from Wal-Mart for everything else. I've tried my buddy's Solar Bats, they seemed really nice for 50-60 dollar glasses.

Most of our local lakes are tough, some of the only lakes that I still occasionally blank on. It's more and more rare for that to happen and it's taken a couple years to get confidence on them but it's been worth it because they have nice fish, there's just a lot of pressure so they get pretty picky at times. One of the power plant lakes I fish during the winter is at times the toughest lake I've ever fished. It's stocked with Florida strain largemouth along with northern strain and the cold wintertime weather in Kansas does not mix well with Florida strain largemouth. It has some of the biggest bass in the state so I keep going back, but it still beats me more than any lake I fish regularly.

I like to go through all my baits and admire the battle scars. Remembering all the fish you've caught on those baits can be a real confidence boost.

My wife goes with me pretty often when the weather is nice. She's not much for going when it's really hot or cold but she'll go in worst conditions than a lot of folks will. I bought her a really nice combo a few years ago so she could have more trouble free fishing so it was easier for her to enjoy. She's still looking for a big bass, been close a couple times, just can't get one in the boat.

Since we're coming down from the north would Hudson be any good this time of year? I've heard it's a really good lake and wouldn't be too far out of the way for us and since it isn't a huge lake it may be a little easier to find fish I'd think.

That's what I normally pay attention to but I somehow missed that the biggest fish sampled from the "lakes" category was not from Nebo but from Critzer with a fish over 8.5lbs! I wasn't impressed with that lake but if it really has fish like that in it I may have to give it another chance.

As long as you aren't trying to drag a big fish and 10 pounds of slop in with it you should be fine with that rod. I use a 7' M/F Premier with 50lb PP with Horny Toads and hollow frogs around what little grass our lakes have and have no problem hauling fish out with it.

I couldn't see it even being possible to fish with that rod? It would have to be extremely uncomfortable to hold for very long, and how tough would that rattlesnake head be? I love St.Croixs but I'll pass on that one.

I pour and tie my own jigs and chatterbaits and very rarely use a store bought versions of either anymore. On the downside I now carry way more of both than I would ever need because I have so much fun tinkering with different designs and colors. As for all cranks being custom painted mass produced baits, if you've never fished a hand carved/sanded and custom painted bait you're missing out.

Don't usually flip them but they do make a great jig trailer.

Jerkbaits, wiggle warts, jigs, or shakyheads will probably be your main bait of choice for LOZ that time of year. Either get on the points and throw jerkbaits or get parallel to steep rock/bluff walls and fish a jerkbait. If it's a team deal whoever is closest to the wall fish a shallower running jerkbait and whoever is further away fish a deeper running jerkbait or a jig. Docks over deeper water can hold lots of fish that will suspend just out of sight under the dock and fishing a jerkbait in the stalls or along the sides can account for lots of fish. I haven't had much luck on an A-rig at LOZ but I certainly wouldn't rule that out of the equation unless they're prohibited. I like the area around PB2 and I'm assuming that is where you're gong to fish. My best tournament out there I caught all my fish about half a mile from ramp.

It's only $80, and how do you know how much the reel cost? Still not convinced that isn't my reel

The stick O is my go to stick bait. The 4 and 5 inch versions are great on a shakyhead, 5 and 6 inch for weightless T-rigs, wacky, or weighted T-rigs, and the 7" version with a weighted T-rig when I'm looking for a bigger bite.

Does it make it back to the boat in one piece if it hits a rock during the retrieve? That's my biggest hang up with Rapala cranks, a 7-10 dollar bait should not fall apart that easily.

I haven't gotten to fish them a lot but they've done well the couple times I've used them. Seems like they run just a tad deeper than similar sized baits.

The clown and avocado shad colors are my favorites in the rogues.

A couple nice fish and an a very good looking jig set up! Looks like a Calais? The handle looks great too.

I cast right handed with everything except close quarters with casting gear, then I'll cast left handed. I reel left handed with spinning gear and right handed with casting gear and can not interchange the two.

That sucks to get them on a crank. A jig or soft plastic I'll just cut the line but I'm not losing a crank to a turtle. Hooking one in the mouth like that just makes it that much more interesting.

It's going to be tough and fishing will probably be really slow but I've caught some really nice fish during post frontal conditions. You can't catch them at home.

I caught a really nice diving knife in the sheath with the leg strap still in very good shape on a crankbait. Took it home and dried it off and cleaned it up a little and now I use it whenever I'm running set lines for catfish. Thankfully I didn't catch the diver too.

Other than the color, it's a stock Curado 200B. Original handle and 6.2:1 ratio, one of the best workhorse reels ever made.