smalljaw67

I have 4 and no problems, I have a Kinetic that has been a great workhorse reel for me, a Catalyst that is a solid reel and has been used hard for some time and is still smooth and working like the day I bought it and I have 2 Smokes, a 100 SPT and a 150 HPT, I think the Smoke is the finest reel they ever made. I also have a Revo SXT, a Pflueger Supreme casting reel, and Okuma V system and an Okuma Induron round reel and a Diawa Advantage and a Diawa TD-X 103HVA. The Okumas and the Pflueger have been discontinued but still work and they are both over 5 years old, and the rest of my reels have been great, all of them and the only brand reel I'll never own again is a Shimano as I said before, I got 2 Symetres and both failed within months and Shimano customer service told me too bad I should have got a better reel and while I realize I got lemons It left a bad taste in my mouth. Other than that my Abu Garcia, my Pflueger, my Okumas. Diawas, and my Quantums have all performed remarkably well and I never had a problem and I use my reels hard.

I fish mine pretty much the same way Bluebasse86 does, I like to try and reel just fast enough that the bait stays just at the tops of those weed occasionally ticking the top. I also like to fish them deep on a jig head, now when I say deep I'm talking around 8' to 12'. You can fish them deeper but I prefer other baits but for that 8' foot range I use a 3/8oz jig head and let it slowly fall to the bottom and then reel slowly, just fast enough that the tail goes back and forth. Doing that seems boring and it is until you get a strike because one thing they do is generate violent strikes, you'll be on your third or fourth cast and just reeling slow like you did before and you're expecting to bring the bait back to the boat for another cast and all of a sudden the rod tip goes into a bend and you rear back to drive the hook home and then you realize how much fun it is to use. I have had the most success with one of the cheaper models, the Luck-E-Strike Bass Magic hollow bodied swimbaits in the 3.5" and the 4.5", the smaller version I use strictly with swimbait hooks and the larger one I use both the hooks and jig heads, and when using the swimbait hooks don't go cheap, get the Owner Swimbait hook with the screwlock with centering pin because they don't work if not rigged perfectly straight.

I've been making spinnerbaits for over 15 years and have been fishing them for 25 years and I have spinnerbaits that I design just for moving water and others just for lakes. I'll tell you what I tell everyone just getting started using spinnerbaits, there really isn't one bait to do everything just like there isn't a rod that does everything but if you want to get close here is what you use. A 3/8oz White and Chartreuse spinnerbait with an Indiana blade as the top or main blade and a small colorado as the bottom or secondary blade. That is about as close to universal you can get as it will work in just about all conditions. If I'm burining a bait and can't get bit even when I slow it down the 3/8oz Indiana/Colorado in white and chartreuse is the bait I turn to. I like double willows, but with a colorado main blade I'll use a small indiana blade on the bottom and with an indiana main blade I'll use a small colorado as the bottom but I never use a double indiana or double colorado. If you put in the order then get the all purpose bait, that will catch fish and help you learn the bait and if you like it you can expand on them and learn different ways to ues them like slow rolling or burning but focus on just getting to use it for now.

I think you should do what you want to do, I've head good and bad about them but I've heard the same for just about every other product. I will say this, the reel has a 3 year warrany and from a friend of mines personal experience it looks as if the customer service is pretty good so you will get help if something should happen. One thing you shouldn't do though is try to compare a $150 dollar reel to a $280 dollar reel, when you gert over $250 dollars with a casting reel you get a level of refinement that you don't get in lower priced reels but it doesn't mean it won't work. For example a Quantum Accurist PT for all of the Quantum bashing going on, happens to be one of the $100 dollar priced reels that hold up year after year and work fantastic but it isn't super duper smooth or have 11 ball bearings. Or the Shimano Citica, it too works well with 3 ball bearings but it isn't a calais or Chronarch.

X2!! That summed it up perfect, frogs aren't like spooks or other walking baits as they don't have any built in action so you need to use your rod to provide that action.

Green pumpkin/black and black/purple, those have become my favorites, the greenpumpkin/black is my clear water jig and the black/purple is my stained or dirty water jig. I am still very fond of black/blue but for some reason most of my jig fish have come on black/purple. I will often fish a jig when I think they should work and if I'm getting taps or pick ups but no fish I'll switch out colors, and almost all of the time that works. 2 weeks ago we were out and it was hot, a T-storm rolled through the night before making the water muddy, well we noticed a new deadfall in the water so we started making short pitches to it. My first cast with a black/blue jig the thing hits bottom and instantly its a quick "tap tap" and when I went to tighten down there was nothing, my buddy was running square bill along the outer area so I was free to keep pitching jigs. I made another pitch and the smae thing so I tied on the black/purple and when it hit the water I got a single tap and the line got tight so I set the hook and out came a nice solid chunk about 17" and 2 pounds or so, and the rest of the day was a fish here and there and all off the black/purple jig.

Cabelas has them for $2.99 also, which makes me feel good as I picked up a dozen one knockers, the XRK 50's for $1.99 each in the beginning of June. Every since then when they go on sale they always go to $2.99 which is great since the retail for $6.99 but the $1.99 deal was fantastic and I had to jump on it.

If I lived and fished in Florida I probably wouldn't use a spinning set up much but here in the north it used to a must until finesse casting reels came on the market but for finesse I prefer spinning. I use my spinning set ups for shaky heads, drop shots, and 1/8oz jigs and tubes. When you fish clear water situation when the fish are in a negative or neutrl mood you almost always need a small subtle presentation to get them to bite and the spinning rod and reel is the perfect tool to deliever such an offering. I can cast a 1/8oz bait with my medium casting set up but I'm much more accurate and comfortable using my spinning set ups.

The Symetre is the reel that made me quit using Shimano products lol. I know Shimano makes some good reels but nothing under 100 bucks is worth buying, the Pflueger President is a good reel in fact I would rate that higher than the Symetre just because of the reliability. Take a look at Cabelas, when they run sales they often have the old model Tournament ZX spinning reels and they usually sell for 40 bucks but originally 70. What makes those good is they are basically a Diawa Tierra, they have the Hard bodyz aluminum body and rotor which you very seldom see for less than 80 dollars, and the drag is flawless, the difference between the Tierra and the ZX is Diawa puts 2 corrosion resistant ball bearings in the Tierra while they use all regular ball bearings in the ZX but the bearing count and everything else is the same. I almost forgot, the knob is different on the ZX, it has the power T handle knob with the Diawa logo in the center while the Tierra has the standard knob. That reel is the best bang for the buck, keep an eye out.

Check you local laws like everyone is telling you, you can end up getting you friends parents sued. The 3' from each bank refers to a navigatable river or stream and it was meant to allow boats free passage through areas of private property in which a stream or river goes through. As for lakes and pond, well in he owns the rights then it matters not where you plave a jug or trot line, you are breaking the law, so check the laws. Judging from the way the guy acted and what he told you he probably knows how much he owns so be careful, it may just cost your friend his home if you push the issue and you're wrong.

There are two colors which I call "universal colors" , and they are black and white. The reason they are universal is both colors are effective in both clear water and dirty water but don't be afraid to experiment like Marty said, that is how a lot of anglers find their favorite color. If I'm out and its a day I want to work on my plastic presentations I'll use a few different shapes and sizes but before switching to a different size or shape I often just change colors and see what happens, while most of the time it makes little or no difference there is always that 1 time when you end up finding something that works and then continus working in the future.

You're missing out not using the 1/16oz head, try it with a 6" finesse worm in 10' to 12' of water when the fish aren't biting very good. The super slow fall makes the worm do a seductive little side to side dance on its way down to the bottom, and the fish can't stand it. I made some just to try as I thought I wouldn't use the cavity much but it urns out I make a good bit of the 1/16oz and I have a lot of my frineds that like it too.

St.Croix makes a great rod but there are a ton of better choices for the cost of a premier. I wouldn't buy a St.Croix under the Avid series, if you are looking at a Premier you may as well get the Abu Garcia Vendetta, that rod fishes well above its price point, I have a 6'6" medium poer, fast action and it is a fantastic all purpose set up that is pretty cheap, in fact it is the cheapest rod I own and it goes on every trip. I know you said 120 was your max price but if you make the trip to Cabelas you need the check out the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth rods, they are 10 dollars more than your max but those rods are a pretty high end rod at a low price, I have a few of them and even if they were 200 I still would have bought them so that is another rod to look at.

If I'm buying a lure that I haven't used but want to try I will only buy one and it will be in a natural baitfish type pattern or a neutral color such as black or white depending on what it is and what is available and that is for hard baits like topwaters and cranks. For plastics I usually buy a bag or pack of something new and again it is going to be colors like green pumpkin, watermelon or black if it is a worm or creature type bait and for a swimming bait it would be pearl, white, chartruese, and other baitfish colors. I should say that when it comes to the hard baits, if the price is reasonable I may get 2 of a new bait but no more than that and for existing baits that I use and that work well, that is a whole different game, I usually look to buy 4 or more and I always like to have at least 2 of a proven color.

I think a smallmouth would hit it but I highly doubt you will fish that type of a frog where smallmouth are going to be. I did get one on a Yum buzzfrog but that is an entirely different bait. Smallies will hit the same baits largemouths hit but I have yet to see a smallmouth in thick weedbeds underneath mats, but if you want to see try throwing the frog around boulder strewn flats in the early morning on a lake that has a population of smallies.

I just saw them on sale for 69.99 I believe in the bargin cave, if thats it order it online and have it ship to the new store. A friend that is in the bass club has one and a bunch of us used it, the feel is different at first but after you fish with it for 30 minutes or so it begins to feel pretty good. After we all used it which was 5 of us, 3 of the guys bought one, for me if I was in need of a good all purpose rod without breaking the bank I would get one, especially if you are on a budget. Compared to the Compre which I also fished with, I would say they are close, I think the edge would go to the mag touch just because it is lighter. The disclaimer is the compre I used was the older model with cork grips so I do not know if the new model is lighter or heavier than the old one. If you need a MH-F all purpose type rod and are on a budget, if you get the 69.99 price the mag touch is hard to beat.

Bluebasser, the Mustad 38109 will work, the 1/16oz cavity will not take it, at least in a 3/0 due to the bend but all the other cavities work with it. I use the 3/0 and 4/0 the most. One other thing, be very specific on that number, Mustad also makes a 38108 which is easier to find but this is heavy wire and will only work in the 3/0 size in the 3/8oz cavity, so remember, the 38109 is what you want. BTW, I've made thousands of shaky heads with the 38109 hook so I know for a fact they work. EDIT: You do not have to bend the hook in any way, the EWG bend allows the 45 degree hook to fit in a 60 degree mold.

My advise would be to wait until they have been out for a few months and then look for reviews. The reason is these rods were due out last year after ICAST but ended up being totally redesigned and in a strange coincidence the micro magic was a little behind in its release and when the first wave hit there was a ton of breakage issues with them. Now after 2 years it seems they fixed the breakage issue with the micro magic but the way this white ice has gone through design changes I think you would be better off waiting a bit.

Like most have said, 2 rods is the reality, and while you could use 1 rod for both it would be like trying to use a driver for both driving and putting on a golf course. J Francho gave you the best alternative which is a medium power fast action rod, the fast action will work for single hook lures like the t-rig but it will also be forgiving enough that you can fight fish hooked with treble hooks without pulling the hooks out if you are careful. The biggest drawback to this is you are going to have to limit your t-rig to light wire hooks and small weights in sparse cover because the medium power rod just isn't going to drive a superline type hook through a plastic worm or creature into the jaw of a bass in thick weeds so you will have to make some exceptions in the techniques you plan to use with the single rod for both techniques.

Like most have said, 2 rods is the reality, and while you could use 1 rod for both it would be like trying to use a driver for both driving and putting on a golf course. J Francho gave you the best alternative which is a medium power fast action rod, the fast action will work for single hook lures like the t-rig but it will also be forgiving enough that you can fight fish hooked with treble hooks without pulling the hooks out if you are careful. The biggest drawback to this is you are going to have to limit your t-rig to light wire hooks and small weights in sparse cover because the medium power rod just isn't going to drive a superline type hook through a plastic worm or creature into the jaw of a bass in thick weeds so you will have to make some exceptions in the techniques you plan to use with the single rod for both techniques.

Once you find those spots fishing gets better but they are hard to find as they aren't big and it is often just a small subtle difference that makes it a honey hole. Now that you found it remember, those fish will move up and down the water column in that spot so if the drop shot isn't working don't go away but instead try the shaky head, I found that the shaky head is a great follow up technique when the fish won't come off the bottom for a drop shot.

I'm a spinnerbait guy but it the bite is tough or if I'm finding bass buired in weedbeds I'll use a swimjig. I use 2 different trailers, the main one is a Rage Craw, this has great action as I'm swimming the jig along but due to the craw profile of the Rage Craw I can kill the jig and actually work it slower on the bottom and this is very effective at times. The other trailer is a Lunker City Swim Fish, it is a typical paddle tail bait and I like to use this when fishing coontail weedbeds that have come to the surface, the heavy weeds constantly foul spinnerblades so the swimjig is the perfect alternative. I like the swim fish because it comes in the perfect length and bulk that match my swimjigs and it swims really nice at a slow pace which is a must for a trailer of this type.

It all depends on what length and power you need, right now for the money a 7' Falcon BuCoo 4-17 is a good rod, 1/4 to 1/2oz rating and the only thing I don't like about the rod is at 1/2oz it truly is maxed out, I would worry trying to throw anything over 1/2oz in weight. The BuCoo 5-17 is the MH version and has a wider lure rating at 1/4oz to 3/4oz, I think it is a little to much for a 1/4oz bait but anything 3/8oz up to the 3/4oz would work great and the best part is these are very affordable.

I caught my personal best smallie on a regular old spook before there was a super spook. The old spook was 7/8oz and I used a color called shore minnow to catch a 5lb. 4oz smallie in gin clear water. Walking baits make smallies mad for some reason and the spook is my favorite but now I like the super spook jr, just a tad bit smaller so it appeals to a wider range of fish which is what I would go with in a tourney.

I've been pouring lead for over 15 years, and I never got lead poisoning. While having good ventilation helps lead doesn't vaporize or become airbourne until it hits 900+ degrees which is far hotter than what we do at home which is about 700 degrees. After handling lead it is best to wash your hands and do not smoke, or eat until you washed your hands. I get more lead exposure prepping jigs and stuff because of filing off sprues and flashing but a quick wash with soap and water and all is good. Handling finished lead weights will require a lot of handling for a long period of time before it will affect you.