smalljaw67

I very seldom have problems with bands as they are a lot better than what they used to be. I wire tie some skirts but I would rather the band because I usually take 3 or 4 spinnerbaits with me and 3 swim jigs, in my bait binder I carry 2 dozen skirts, if I need to change my presentation I simply change the skirt out, this is much better than retying as it save a lot of time during tournaments. The best part is I still have the skirt, if I tie them well then I have to cut the thread or wire and I'm left with a mess. I stopped using big brand jigs and spinnerbaits a long time ago but if I had the problem the poster is describing, I'd look and see if one of the custom builders would make a skirt up and then change it out to one that won't slip.

The SK cranks work well, when you catch fish using a different bait it is because the size or color or perhaps a little different action was the key to getting the fish to bite. I had the same thing happen when I couldn't get bit on a 1.5 but a Rapala DT Flat 3 was working and I had a trip that the 1.5 was killing but I couldn't buy a strike on a Manns 1 minus and that is the reason we all have a few different brands, colors, and sizes of cranks. As for KVD moding his baits, he does the same thing we do, he changes the hooks and it is my only complaint about SK crankbaits, but for the price you really can't complain.

I had 2 Symetres, one the bearings failed and the other had a bad bail spring, when I contacted Shimano I was told too bad and maybe I should have purchased one of their better reels....WOW, these reels were basically 100 bucks a pop and they told me to buy better ones, well I did, just not from Shimano. I know they make some great reels but dealing with a bad rep sure puts a bad taste in your mouth. The funny thing is I'm not a brand loyal guy, I have Quantum reels, Diawa, Pflueger, Okuma, Abu Garcia, and Shimano up to the point were they lost me as a customer but they do make some great tackle.

What happened to you is what I call short striking and there are ways to get them to hit for real. First thing you need to know is you are on the right presentation, it has the fish excited and ready to commit but something is off. Usually the something that is off is either the color or the size, sometimes it is both so when that happens using a 1/4oz bait I would have changed colors first, nothing big just maybe a silver blade instead of gold or vic versa. That kind of strike is why I like to used banded skirts, most prefer a skirt be tied on with thread or wire but I like the band simply because when you get short strikers you can bring the bait in and pull the skirt off and put a new color on and it is like a different bait without retying. If you change colors and you still get short strikes then you need to change size, most of the time it means going smaller but if I'm using a 1/4oz bait I'll go up to a 3/8oz and try that out. Finally, the last trick that will help is the retrieve speed, you can sometimes make them commit by speeding up the bait like you are trying to take it away from them, this approach will often draw violent hits as a result and because of all the different factors involved with fishing spinnerbaits, it remains as my favorite bait of all of them

Outdoor innovations is the old company and when you see the blades for sale they are usually overstock that was made for them but now Rapala or should I say, Normark owns them and I guess old stock from outdoor innovations probably turns up now and again and gets sold upon approval of Normark. If you contact Rapala they will put you in contact with the division that deals with Terminator.

The power on them is really good, that is the nice part of going with the medium, if you notice the 6'9" M-XF is rated to 3/4oz, but when you pick the rod up you wouldn't think it has that type of power but it does. If you watch the review done by another site they actually show a fish caught using a shad rap, it was a solid 3lb fish that he got in the boat by using the rod. I think the med. lt. rods you're looking at would be a concern around cover but not the Fenwick, as I've said, I use it for tube and finesse jigs and I'm pitching the finesse jigs into limbs and around laydowns and small brush piles and so far so good and the lifetime warranty adds to the sense of good feeling I have when using that rod.

We all have to settle in a pinch sometimes and that reel should keep you fishing long enough to save some cash. Just keep an eye open, like I said, you often see brand new Shimano Citica E reels on ebay selling for 70 bucks and the same is true for other discontinued reels. I think a good fit would be the Shimano Citica or the Quantum Kinetic, I hav a Kinetic going on its 4th year and it performs great.

If you look on Amazon or on ebay you may find one cheaper but I will tell that I honestly believe these rods should have sold for well over $200. My neighbor used my rod when I first got it and he sold one of his St. Croix Avids and got himself one of these, and I'd say for just a drop shot rod the 6'9" ML-F but the 6'9" M-XF is a more versatile rod. Go onto youtube and look for a another site review of the 6'9" M-XF, I know people get sick of hearing me talk about these rods but I'm about to add my 3rd rod from the series, it is the first time in a long while that I've been really sold on a rod, the actions are spot on and really work well for what I use them for. Just so you know, I own 2 custom made rods as well as 4 Loomis rods so I know what good rods feel like and how they perform.

Anything Pinnacle made before the Slyder is pretty much a disposable reel like the Quantum lite. What you need to do is instead of impulse buying take your time and search, you can get a reel like the Quantum Kinetic, the older model that is silver in color for 7o to 80 dollars and it is a quality workhorse type reel. The same deal with a Shimano Citica, find the E seiers at a good price also but truth be told, I wouldn't buy any quantum reel under the Accurist PT, any Shimano under the Citica, or any Pinnacle that was made before the Tounament class series. What I'm trying to tell you is that the "off" models from manufacturers that are budget priced will work ok for a bit but they rarely last very long because they are made up of inferior parts, that is why they are priced low to begin with. I don't want to upset you but if you are going to spend 40 dollars why not just wait a little bit a get a good quality reel that will work better and provide you more enjoyment for just a tad bit more.

I think you can't go wrong with any of those and you seem to have an understanding of what you need but I will add one for you. Take a look at the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth rods, specifically the 6'9" M-XF and the 6'9" ML-F spinning models. I have the 6'9" M-XF, I got it for tubes and light finesse jigs but I also needed it to be able to handle shakey heads, senkos and soft jerkbaits, mostly the smaller variety since I fish the larger ones on casting rods. Anyway, the rod exceeded my expectations 10 fold, I've been talking them up ever since my first one as the performance has been outstanding, extremely good sensitivity, and a price that can't be over looked. I was catching fish on a shaky head in 26' of water using 8'b mono and was feeling light bites in 51 degree water, so while you do have a good assortment picked out you may want to give the Fenwick a look but I'm warning you, if you have a dealer near by that has them for you to hold and check out in person, well you might not want to put it down, the reel seat is amazing.

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. I have the Smoke 150HPT 7.3:1 and it is super solid and I believe the best baitcasting reel Quantum has ever made. I don't own but I have used both the older Chronarch and the newer one and while they did make the new one a little cheaper it is still a very good reel so whatever chioce you make will be a good one.

River Rock Baits 5" Drop Shot Worm, it is 2 baits in one for me as it is a tremendous shaky worm in addition to a drop shot worm. I like the fact that it is a little different than most straight tail worms as the tails thins into a flat point instead of round. I believe that is why you only need to move this a tiny bit to get action, in fact it is probably impossible to have it sit completely still since the tail quivers with the slightest water movement.

I never cared for glass rods as they were too heavy for my liking but a friend recently had me use his glass rod for a day of cranking and I liked it so much I got one. Mine is an old but brand new never used Quantum Tour Edition USA, it was made in America in the 90's using a Lamiglas E-Glass blank, it is 7' MH and is rated for 1/4oz to 1oz. This is great with a 5.4:1 reel for Rapala DT 14s and DT 16s and I don't feel as the rod is struggling. Some like to use a lighter rod so to compensate for the resistance they like to use a longer rod with provides more leverage but either way works. If you go with the lighter 3 or 4 power rod then you need to look at a 7'6" and longer but if you look at a 5 or 6 power you will have no problem with a 6'10" to 7'3".

Hooligan may be right about a different vibration with that blade but he is wrong about the avialability. I contacted Rapala which owns terminator and I was told that the closest commercially available blade is the mag willow or olympic blade, the bevel is a patented design exclusive to terminator and can only be purchased through terminator or one of its approved partners. The blades that Janns gets is the oklahoma blade and they are allowed to sell them as they were excess inventory from an approved source and every blade will have Terminator stamped on it. The bevel design is is made by only one manufacturer and a copyright agreement is in place as well as a patent as to insure these blades are only made available first and foremost to terminator and resale can only happen upon approval from terminator from approved sources. That is why you can't find them, as they are exclusive to terminator. I knew this before as I've been making spinnerbaits for over 15 years and I probably have more than a dozen suppliers as well as 3 manufacturers that I do business with and I was told a long time ago that only a few get sold from certain dealers every couple of years, I tried to get them before and while you can find them it is usually only in one or two sizes and most likely one finish and everyone I ever came across had terminator stamped on it.

Yep, I'm with this too! I use 8lb line, mostly copoly but a friend of mine uses braid with a leader but the leader is made with 10lb mono and the drag is super loose. I make my own shaky heads and I have used Mustad, Gamakatsu and even the 5326 Owner cross eyed hooks and all use the same light wire construction and any of those hooks used with a super line or should I say over 12lb test is going to bend tempered hooks or break forged hooks. I think if you use some lighter tackle you will find the hooks aren't bad.

Spinnerbait is my favorite bait but a jerkbait is a close second. During the summer months I usually start out with a spinnerbait and go from there, if I'm finding fish feeding in the shallows either on flats or points I'll often use a floating style jerkbait. That bait is a confidence bait for me because few anglers throw jerkbaits bast the spring and you would not believe how you can catch fish on it. So I guess the floating jerkbait along with the spinnerbait is what I would consider my lucky lures because I normally can catch fish on one or the other.

I have a bunch of the YUM Buzz frogs, with a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG superline hook I was getting a great hook up rate. I tried a buch of different frogs when they came out as you used them more like a subtle buzzbait rather than a frog and tha Buzz Frog was the one that I was always able to consistantly hook up with. I will admit I got more strikes with the Stanley ribbit but I caught more fish on the buzz frog.

I only use bobber stops to peg my bullet weight when texas rigging worms so I'm not sure if it would work going onto the spool of the reel. I would not try it, and the reason is I've had a small tiny loop, just a bit of line that was loose and rather than fix it I figured I would just make a cast and it would be fine...Nope, big over run that had to be cut and if a little bit of loose line has the ability to cause that type of backlash then I wouldn't doubt that a bobber stop would most like cause a backlash or three.

The MH will work, I just got a 7' MH glass rod and it works on DD cranks as does my 6'10" MH Elite tech smallmouth. The medium powered cranking rods all take less power to make them flex, in other words they are to whippy but a MH has enough resistance. For those that like a really whippy action on a crankbait rod a long rod provide more leverage which makes it easier to work deep divers.

I don't think Eagle Claw hooks are crappy, in fact I won 2 tournaments using a 3/0 lite wire EWG laser sharp worm hook. Eagle Claw gets a bad rap because everyone associates them with those bronze hooks that rusted really quick. Right now that make some great jig hooks and I had a gentleman thank me for a jig I gave him for free. This guy wanted nothing but Gamakatsu hooks used for his jigs and that is what I made for him but I got a new Eagle Claw hook that came in, it was the EL111BP which is a 60 degree EWG flipping jig hook with a black platinum finish. Anyway I made his jigs and gave him an extra for free and told him to try it out, it was made with a new Gamakatsu hook which was really the Eagle Claw, well 2 weeks goes by and I got an email with several pics of big fish he caught and he told me that new jig with the new style gammy hook was the best jig he ever used, he didn't lose a single fish and it didn't bend and after a bunch of fish it still had the same sharp point. He didn't believe me when I told him he was using a junk Eagle Claw jig hook, after all, that is wht he called them but I showed him the box and the hooks and 2 years later he gets his jigs made with the same Eagle Claw hook. The point I'm making is not all of Eagle Claws hooks are crappy, the laser sharp hooks are really good and I would put them up against any Mustad worm hook. The other thing is I have had people that didn't like the junk eagle claw hooks and when I asked what they didn't like they told me they only knew they were cheap and junk because of what they heard having never actually used one.

I'm in the same catagory as you in that I see the advantage the short shank gives but at the same time it restricts movement so it makes it easier for a fish to use leverage to throw the lure. I don't think it would hurt to use the short shank #4 because the added strength and gap size of the hook should make up for the slight difference in the length of the shank but it is up to you, personally I know a few guys that do it all the time and tell me they get better numbers of landed fish versus ones that they lose so it must work.

The length of your bait says 2 sets of trebles, so you go with a short shank #4 or you can go regular shank #6.

I have the 6'9" M-XF spinning rod and the 6'10" MH-MF casting rod and they are nothing short of awesome. I have no clue as to why these rods weren't $200 when they came out but I'm glad they weren't. Anyway, the spinning rod I have performs flawlessly, the extra fast action is spot on and lets me feel when a fish is just barely nipping at a tube or small jig, and did I mention how well it cast light lures, it really is a great rod. The casting rod I got is another great rod, extremely light with a moderate fast action that is closer to fast, you can throw deep divers with that rod no problem but I really like it for larger square bills like the Xcalibur 200 and 300 series and it has become a favorite for larger jerkbaits like the vision 110 and the pointer 100, the tip is a little faster than most moderate fast action rods which gives me total control over the bait but when you hook up it has the flex that allows you to fight the fish without pulling the hooks out. I was at Cabela's today and I got a chance to check out the 6'3" M-MF casting rod and I can tell you I'm going to get it, I didn't really need another rod in the crankbait/jerkbait catagory but this rod is a must have! I want that rod for fishing the smaller square bills on the river where accuracy is needed much more than distance and if you pick that rod up you will have a hard time putting it down, I don't think it is even 3 ounces, just an incredible feel. The final thing I can tell you is the reel seats are the most comfortable I ever used, it makes the rod feel like it is a part of your arm and it is like that on both the spinning and casting models, Fenwick really won me over with this series so if you are thinking of getting one just do it, you won't be sorry.

Don't laugh but the Quantum Energy PT 7'6" H telescopic handles frogs really well and makes a great flipping stick. I know because my friend has that rod and it is hard to believe that it is less than 100 bucks as it not only looks good but it has a lot of feel, if I come across some extra cash I may get one myself.

I make a 1/4oz football jig with a 3/0 Owner 5304 deep throat jig hook and I have never lost a fish that was hooked on it. Those are stout hooks and I usually use them for flipping jigs but a guy I was making this football jig for showed me a neat way of using a football jig. The 1/4oz with the 3/0 hook makes for a small compact jig that is really good in less than 10' of water and I know what you're thinking, why use a football head in shallow water? Well I was shown that the smaller football head is a great tool to fish secondary points that begin shallow and move out to about 12 to 14' deep, fishing that jig shallow and working toward deeper water is a killer and it usually never makes in past 8' befoe it gets bit.