ClackerBuzz

I wanted to get in to cranking more and picked up the Powell Glass Crank Rod 7' Med Hvy 703 for a steal $60. Amazing, light weight, quality, great moderate fast action. But when I hit the water I realized I'm around weeds ALOT. I throw lipless cranks and chatterbaits religiously and get viscous strikes from popping/ripping them free off the tops of grasses. I use a 6'7" MH EF tip Powell Endurance which works better for the job b/c can rip free of the grass. I can NOT do the same thing with the crank rod b/c its mod action is too soft. It drags the bait thru the grass. For me the moderate action crank rods are for deep diving cranks or rocky bottom composition. What type of water & structure are you going to be fishing? I'm throwing shallow square bills in weedy areas so I don't like the typical crank rod. If ur around weeds I'd recommend a FAST action tip. With the extra fast I have to be gentle about not ripping the treble hooks out when playing a fish. But for now I'd rather be gentle reeling in a fish than not get the strike bc I can't rip free of grass. Hope this helps.

Don't buy the Graphite series b/c the eye's come out. They replaced all 3 rods for me. I proactively super glued the eye's in on the new rods and they still blew out. BPS gave me credit for all 3 to buy something different. Reviews on their site all say the same thing. He will do fine with any other series they have. Good luck.

welcome tom!

That makes me 62yrs old b/c I have a flip too! ha. I use my phone for exactly that=talking. And I text which is covered. I can't justify paying the money for a $martphone b/c I use my computer everyday. I check everything on my computer=email, weather, traffic, BR. Its easier and much faster for my taste. I'm must have ADD b/c I have 4 gigs of memory/speed and its too slow for me. Small screens and slow internet pages loading on a phone would drive me insane. If I HAD to be connected to the matrix b/c email's I would get one. As stated the apps are GREAT...and addictive. You are pretty much guaranteed to find a bunch of apps you'll love and will never look back. The only time I really wish I had one is when I'm lost b/c Google maps is great but for $800 a year I'll keep using old fashion paper maps. Bottom line> If you have the extra money...get one. It will be your newest favorite toy. If money is an issue...you can't miss what ya never had.

now thats a NY pig!

Ha good stuff. Was it Hannibal from the A-Team that said "I love it when a plan comes together".

its not the 'what' its the "where". focus on the deeper water and channel that runs thru the pond and you will find your lunkers. they like having access to deep water. if you don't have electronics use a jig to "feel" the bottom and you will learn were the deeper water is. always take note of what is getting stuck on ur hook. clean grass and dark mulched leaves=good healthy aerated bottom. stay in those areas for the big fish. algae/ muck on hook=stagnant water. hard bottoms are better than soft mush. once you find a few good areas make distance casts with a reaction bait of ur choice to fan cast the area. if they aren't taking reaction baits move to a different quality spot and finesse. are there small streams feeding the pond? if so start working the area 25ft out and working ur way to shore. think of it as an under water triangle/delta where the bigger fish get food, oxygen, and air conditioning. good luck!

Do you use Mend-it to repair soft plastics? It saves me boat loads of money. Any time a soft plastic tears or even rips in half I put it back in my bag. After a week I take them all out and fuse them back together with Mend-it. I say fuse b/c 'glue' is misleading. The stuff chemically melts the plastic back together. I have fun and even make Franken'plastics fusing different colors and plastics together. Like others I didn't believe it till I saw it with my own eyes. Best $8 I ever spent and one bottle last years. Here is a pix of my lure knocker. Its really for boat use b/c its too heavy to slide down the line from shore. I found its easier to use a heavier pound test line to not lose lures. I was gonna make a shore knocker I would go to HomeDepot and only buy a few 4" sections on their light 50lb mini chains. You'd have a better chance of them sliding down ur line from a 45 deg shore angle. Or buy the commercial knocker suggested. I use 80lb braid as my line but have seen guys us a carpenters chalk line for ease of storage/retrieve (I believe they have to be100lbs test).

I’m becoming a big fan of shorter rods (for accuracy) and more power (for hook sets). Any recommendations for a rod company that has a nice line of 6’6” to 7’ rods with Heavy to Extra/Mag Heavy power and extra fast tips. Let me know if you think the company underrates or overrates their rods. I’ve read through tons of old post and see people sometime comment on how a company rates their rod power and whether they think is it underrated/overrated. This is very helpful b/c I have to pay for return shipping if I’m not happy with the rod. If they overrate their rods I will step down and get a Med Heavy. I like stout rods b/c a lot of the time I am off balance and need the rod to do the work for good hook sets (from shore I will hang from a tree to get in a good cast; and my kayak is 8’ so I can’t swing for the fences w/o tipping it). At this point I paying $100-200 for a rod. I’m now searching below $99 just to find the right rod. I’m looking for: Short Stout/Heavy Power Rod with Fast Action: 6’6”-7’ heavy to mag heavy power rod with fast to extra fast tip. I bought a 6’7” Powell Endurance MH XF that is underpowered for me so I use it for senkos and light utility work (awesome light weight rod with nice fast tip). I LOVE Powell but think they underrate their power so now I know to step up when buying from them. I returned a Powell 7’3” Heavy and a Dobyns Savvy 7’3” Heavy b/c for me they were both basically longer version/light utility rods that I don’t need in my line up. I just ordered a Powell 7’ Mag Heavy Max rod to give it a try for heavier cover jigs. Are the power ratings accurate on St Croixs? I just saw a post on their bargain room which has some steals. If they are stout their Legend Tourny 7' MH XF looks good at $168. Anyone know if they are light and balanced in ur hands? Frog Rod: I’d like a 7’1”-7’3” frog rod. I see a lot of guys like the Powell Frog rod and Dobyns 735 or 736. They are both the perfect length but I’m worried they might not be enough power. Does anyone like a really stout frog rod w/ EF tip? I will buy a 7’6” if need be. If the Dobyn 736 was Extra Heavy I’d buy it in a minute. Does anyone know how the power rating is on the Lew Tourny Speed Stick 7’2” Extra Heavy? Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

I was a bartender for many years so I'd always be in a situation like yours. And didn't have health insurance and would end up with cut/burns/funk in my hands. Your hands are always wet working behind a bar and you constantly have citrus on them so you get what we called "bar rot" under ur fingernails. So bad you could squeeze puss out of them. The trick to cure it was to not be a wimp and scrub them hard to get fresh water and soap under there. Then it would go away fast. People who couldn't take the pain would end up going to the doctor for antibiotics. It sounds like your hand healed fine and you are out of the woods. Yes it will be sensitive just like a splinter under the surface but your body will break down any debris. As opposed to touching it even lightly sending you up to the ceiling=go to a doctor.

i agree with the theory that fishing in the heavy cover produces fish. but i think most fisherman use WAY too light of a line when trying to do so. i fish from shore 50% of the time and only use 12lb flouro, 20 lb braid and 65 lb braid depending on the application. All my reels are spooled with braid so I can tie direct (very convenient) or add a 6ft leader in finesse situations. I rarely lose lures OR break off fish. the other 50% of time i'm in my kayak or canoe. 99% of the time i can get a lure free by paddling over and/or using a homemade lure knocker. also from a boat i can get away with lighter line b/c its easier to fight them in open water. i've noticed the guys that brag about how light a line they can use are also the ones that spend a fortune on lures and always have stories about monster bass that broke their line. when really a 3lb girl wrapped them around a rock/timber and snapped their 6lb like a twig

everyone likes reactions baits b/c their more fun. when this happens to me i've learned to change my mind set. 1- i'm out there to enjoy a nice day in nature. 2- i cast a wack rig senko. 3-i look around and enjoy nature some more. 4-i set the hook when a tug interrupts my relaxation. once you've got a bite take note of where, when, how, color etc and try to build on it.

swimjig and cranks are much easier/cheaper and you should have just as much success as hard swimbaits. if you do decide to drop the money on higher end hard baits make sure you have the right rod/line set up and learn how to cast the heavier weight properly w/o a back lash. nothing worse than the sound of a backlash followed by the "crack" of ur line snapping (aka use mono; i had braid with mono leader but braid cuts itself in backlash) followed by the "PLOP" of ur lure sinking to the bottom of the lake. also recommend casting hard baits from a boat/canoe/kayak b/c you can paddle over and use lure knocker to un-snag them. then you won't be faced with the question "do i want to take a $60 swim today?"

Man do I wish I had read this when I was starting out. But then again my family would be smaller w/o the bait monkey.

did you ever try powell? the Powell Endurance Casting 6'7" Med heavy 673 is on sale at TW for $109. so light you don't know its in ur hands. extra fast tip which is amazing for distance casts and hook sets. when i'm shore fishing and only carry two rods its a must. i can use it for jigs, spinners, buzz, lipless traps, cranks, even texas rig plastics. lifetime warranty. i can't say enough good things about it. feels like a $300 rod

very well said Sam.

move to deeper water. doesn't matter if ur in a small back yard pond or lake okeechobee, the big girls will relate to something that has access to deep water. are you fishing from shore or boat?

i'd reach for the frog immediately. no fuss no mess. then move on to working the holes as suggested

her husband finally left her after 50yrs

2x Radisson. Love my 12'. Light and tracks awesome. Plus has oar locks so I can out row any canoe/kayak guys on the water. And I can stand up and fish. As Goose said, do not use in the rocky rapids. Its made of thin airplane aluminum. they are hard to find on craigslist so if ya come across one jump on it. also search for 'sportspal' for similar make.

I had the same problem Tom. Last year I drove to Cabelas and BPS Harrisburg and they were both out of gear I wanted. This year I bought 4 rods online from BPS and had shipped to Harr. I took my reels and got to feel them in my hands. Also I made sure I went before any special/tourney weekends b/c stuff gets cleared out then. They had stuff in stock, I got to test what I bought online, and I immediately returned the rods I didn't want in the store. Money right back on my credit card. If ur willing to put out the money up front it works awesome. I have a love/hate relationship with the in-store experiences. Bad-they are always out of gear I want. Good=They always have in store specials. I got tons of Booyah 3/4oz football jigs for $.99!

Post more pictures! I'd love to see close-ups of ur dash etc. Kayak guys have Radisson *** and give me compliments every time they see me standing up fishing or stretching. I have a I2' Pointed ($300) and a 14' Pointed ($200) at a local quarantined reservoir. Is ur's pointed or square back? I was thinking about trying the transom if I come across a bargain on CL.

type 'transducer' or portable in the search of forums. there are great set ups. some guys that rent jon boats for the day are using a beer cooler for their set up. (great if ur moving from canoe to buddy's boat, to renting etc). keep the battery in cooler and mount sonar unit to top of lid. webertime, i guess the transducer works ok thru the kayak plastic. wondering if it would work thru an aluminum canoe

nice set up Goose52! I want to do the same thing to my Radisson when I get some time.