LgMouthGambler

There are better made tools for the trade, but its more or less what feels best to you. Every application is different.

Just so you know, they still died by the club.

Diggy, the only one released was a small one about 12 inches in hopes he will be bass food. The other 5 are fish fry.

Dont go cheap, get something that is going to help you learn better. A quality reel will perform better than a Walmart special. I would suggest a Citica to start. Shimano brakes are the best. Just set 2 or 3 and use the spool tension knob to fine tune it. I live by Shimano, they are made to last. As far as rods, there are many companies trying to market the budget rods. Berkley Lightning Shock for around $40. Shimano Sellus for about $50. As for the line, the best bang for the buck is YoZuri hybrid. Strong stuff, handles very good, and very affordable. So you are aware the I practice what I preach, I use all of the above mentioned, and never look back.

Watermelon Red. Never fails!

BassHunter and I went out today for a few hours. Floated around in the Coconut Creek area off of the C-14, and caught a fair amount of Snakeheads. The one in the picture was the big one of the day at 8 lbs. Gave my 200E7 a workout today, and Im out of frogs. The E7 mounted on the Sellus rod performed very well, a good match.

Huh, good question. Maybe its the fish thats found just about anywhere? Other fish seem to be regional, Bass are everywhere. Just a side note, Id rather fish for Snakeheads than Bass, they fight better.

Makes the challenge harder. This way there is not a massive amount of fish that come in. They have already got their fry on the loose. By the time the tourney goes down the fry will be at least 1 foot long (they grow fast). Dont worry Diggy, its not the size that counts, its the amount total/weight. They will never go away, they will always be around.

Shimano, the majic 2. Set 2 brakes on, and use the tension knob to fine tune it.

I use the 12# for my 50E for plastics. I also have 20# on my SX for diving deep with plastics. Would rather use braid for jig/flip/pitching.

Absolutely! I have a 14 year old Shimano Spirex 500 that is mounted on a Berkley Cherrywood with 6 lb fluoro that I love to fish with still. Its a blast to catch a 3-4 lb LM on. Even better is when I hook onto a Myan Cichlid, they fight soo hard. All I need is a rooster tail spin bait and my UL, and its a couple hours of nonstop catching fish.

Its fun using dinky little equipment sometimes. I love using my old Spirex 500 for bass.

Its all in what feels better for you. I have tried using 7'6+ rods, and I dont like them. I have more accuracy with my 6'6-7ft rods. Most of my rods are 6'6, it just seems to be the happy medium for me with accuracy and distance. I can see where people say the extra length in the rod gives some more give to control the fish. Obvious geometry says that a longer rod will give you more take-up for a hookset, and longer rod with more flimsy tip will allow you to sling a bait further. So, do you have to have this, no. Like I said, I am more accurate and comfortable with a rod that is 6'6 in length to get the job done. Other things to take into consideration is your reel. You can have a 8ft rod, and a crappy reel, and that bait isnt gonna go very far. Again, you need to find that medium. I can fish all day long using my Curado 50E mounted on a M action Berkley Lightning Shock rod. Thats a decent combo, that will give great performance for a reasonable price. I now have it mounted on a M action Clarus rod, and it does give me a little more distance with the softer tip, and is 6'8, so not a big difference in size. It just takes some testing to find out what works best for you. Remember, if there was the perfect setup, we would all be gearing towards that.

I dont think it really makes a difference what rod you use, its all in technique.

He is a different character to the fishing world. I think his show is pretty good, it mixes things up a bit. He came down here and fished with Shane for Snakeheads. My wife loves his show, she thinks hes a trip. As far as being a legit fisherman? Meh.

Wow! I want one! Reminds me of the jointed Rapalas. Cool craftsmanship.

You could just send me that Curado, I have no complaints about those E's.

Another +1 for the BPS Magna EWG. I use them in a 3/0 and 5/0, never had a problem with them. Sharp, cheap, dont break, and dont lose fish.

Same problem. I feel like a out of balance newborn giraffe. What I started to do, since I wait a couple of seconds before I set the hook, I turn my body straight to the fish, and reel down, then set the hook. By the time the hook is set, my rod is not straight up and down in front of me, but rather around eye level.

Keep it simple. Shimano spinning reel, Sedona SE2500FD, and a Sellus M or MH 7ft. Go with a 30# braid for easy castability and maintanance. I personally would say just stick to a Texas style rigging. I catch more fish this way, and its soo versitile. A 1/8oz bullet weight, and a 3/0 widegap hook ( I use the BPS Magna Widegaps). This way you can rig a worm, lizard, creature, just about any soft plastic. Use the Palomar knot, which is soo easy to tie, and you will be ok. Zoom lizards, Zoom baby brush hogs, Culprit worms, Gambler EZ Swimmers, Gambler Ugly Otters, BPS Horney toads, Zoom Frogs. All are great variety to fish, and can be rigged on the same setup. When you get the hang of fishing again, then go ahead and start investing in some crankbaits, and other stuff that have those "trouble" hooks, haha. The rest will come with time.

Ronnie Van Zant

Though not a fluoro, I prefer Yozuri.

Heavy line, and heavy hooks.

Just talked to my friend today. There are lots of vendors that are donating some really cool stuff to be auctioned off. Im working on getting permission to post up on here for companys to donate stuff. working on trying to figure out the date, most likely going to be Oct. 20. Also, trying to figure out a way to pre-register. Most likely going to have checks or money order mailed to either me, or her so we can get a list going. We thought about a paypal, but we have both had issues with that, and dont want a 3rd party mistake to happen. Just keeping an update for you all.

Yes, fish get others excited. One cool thing I witnessed one day while fishing: I had a 4 lb LM on the line. While I was fighting him by the boat, the lizard had slid up my line about a foot. Other bass were trying to pull the lizard off the line while I had the other one hooked. I thought that was pretty cool.