Cincy Bach 29

The one xps are nice rods....again not the lightest, but no where near heavy either. Sensitivity is pretty good. I have 2 of the previous versions and both had problems with the guides coming off. I'm hard on rods though and fish 5-6 days a week. But for the money these are nice rods, you won't let him down if you get him one.

The one xps are nice rods....again not the lightest, but no where near heavy either. Sensitivity is pretty good. I have 2 of the previous versions and both had problems with the guides coming off. I'm hard on rods though and fish 5-6 days a week. But for the money these are nice rods, you won't let him down if you get him one.

Good stuff guys! Yea I've been playing around with the shad, grass minnow, 6", and the 8" trout. Swim baits in general is an area I'm focusing on improving this summer. I'm ok with not loading the boat because most of the time I know a different technique or bait might work better but ill still stick to what I'm doing just to get better.

I agree with using the lightest weight you can get away with to a certain extent. I typically start with 1/2 though. But back to my point, there are times when the faster fall gets the job done

Ga Hillbilly- thx for the info...most fish in the lakes I fish around this area are in post spawn already. But I did get a 6" also. In my area there are big bass but not in the numbers other parts of the country have. What ROF is generally the most used?

Just got done playing around with this thing for the tirst time....8" ROF 5, rigged it with a stinger on top with doubled 85 lb braid. Runs great and actually had a few 2-3 lb fish tail it but ended up getting to close to the boat and took off. Anyway I'm in The greater cincy oh area so its not like I'm exactly fishing Falcon or the Cali delta . I rigged it up on my catfish setup .. abu C4, and BPS 7'9" Big Cat live bait rod.....has a nice tip to load up when cast bluegill or other live bait. It handled the hud nicely, but would like to get a real setup that isn't as heavy. But any advice on how to work them would be appreciated...or just tips in general

I know they get bad reviews but I love my E21 Carrots.... Closely followed by shimano crucials

I try and stick to natural colors in clear water, but typically find my self using transleuscent colors. For the most part I work my lures faster in clearer water so they can't get as good of a look at it. Watermelon green zoom super flukes are my go to though along with alot of other plastics in these situations. But if it's fished heavily then I'm a firm beleiver in doing something different or try to stand out. Think about it, the bass see lures come by their face every day in this case. Since it's gin clear water they can see more details even further....So if most fisherman are going by the "natural" rule of thumb they get used to it. Then one day swims along a neon pink or yellow lure and they can't resist to at least give it a little taste

Hook sets are free!!! If in doubt reel down and let it rip. You will lose some jigs when you are first learning, hell I still lose them. But as time goes on and you get a feel for what your lure is hitting on the bottom you will be able to feel the difference between fish, brush, stumps, rock, weeds, and mud. Like other say try the countdown method and if that thing stops before you count is up set hook right away. But concentrate on making a good pitch and letting the lures fall with slack line to the bottom so it goes straight down. there are times they crush it and you see the fish flash or your line just takes off to the right or left. Other times you won't even know they have it if you aren't paying attention. Once it hits bottom try letting it be for a few seconds, try working it slow with a couple short pops of the rod. some times you have to just drag the lure on the bottom for them to hit it. This is a method of fishing that requires 100% concentration and awareness of what you are actually doing. You have to be a student of what you just did when you catch a fish. One other thing I noticed....you are using braided line ( personally i'm not a huge fan). But if you are comfortable with it that is fine. But try this out and you will get more bites.... tie a 2-4ft flourocarbon leader to your braided line. Go on you tube to learn some simple knots for this. But you will have more bites with the invisible flouro compared to just connecting your jig to thick braid. I'd go with 20-25lb test if you want to try this out.

For me it all depends on water clarity and weather. Keep in mind what weather does to fish and how it effects them. For example cloud cover, wind, cold and warm fronts, and the time of the day. I either fish 3/8 or 1/2 ounce jigs. I have switched to only using dirty jigs pitching jigs and hp flipping jigs. I also rarely use rattles unless i'm working with very low light conditions or super muddy water. Clear lakes - Mildley stained Lakes: 1/2 ounce jigs for a faster presentation so they can't get a close look at it on the drop. I like the green pumpkin, watermelon green, or pb & J jigs....sometimes a black/blue. But i like using trailers in either the same color or a similar color with some flake in it. stained to muddy waters: I still start with a 1/2 oz jig if i can get away with it, but my colors only change a bit. I'll still use the pumpkin most of the time or a black/blue. but I try and make the jig have a bigger profile so they can see it better. bigger trailers and sometimes rattles is what it takes. I stick to solid colors for the most part though in these conditions. But all that being said I'm starting to realize it's more about how you work your lure and how quitely and precise you can be with your presentation. If you are not catching fish after you are sure you are doing these things correctly, then maybe think about switching the color up. Another good rule of thumb is to try and match the bottom of the lake, crawdads and fish alike are chameleons. most of the time they will mimic their living conditions and have at least the same base color of the environment around them.

I personally use Strike King plastics most of the time. They have amazing actions and their color patterns are good. There is something about that darn coffee scent too that buys you an extra second especially when they are finicky. But try a rage tail lobster out. I'd go with something like the Okeechobee craw for the bigger craws you were talkign about, possibly the falcon lake color and dip the claws in some blue spike it dye. for the little guys you mentioned you can't go wrong with summer craw.....mostly pumpkin with a bit of chartruse in it. I rig these with a pegged tungsten sinker on a 5/0 wide gape worm hook. Also try the rage craws on a jig.

I have 2 of the 200E7s and 2 of the 200G series. While they do feel different they are still great reels. I also own a Castaic and love that reel for pitching and flipping. But do not let the price drop fool you guys. The only reason it is cheaper is because they listened to what the consumers were saying and a major complain was price. They removed 2 of the bearings from what I've heard and thats about it. But pick one up and give it a feel at the store . You will notice it just feels a bit different than the E series. If I had to pick I'd go with the E, but G shouldn't be completely writen off. If you don't like the G series at the store and prefer the E series just get the new chronarch series.....It's the same reel as the curado E series except for 1 sealed bearing for saltwater.

I use bass pro xps flouro . Anywhere from 6lb test - 25lb. Great knot strength, and it more castable than others I've tried. I have 9 different poles rigged up with bps xps flouro but have a pole with 65 lb pp also. My top water pole has 17 lb stren xl mono.

@ Sam: there aren't many that I know that aren't private. The 2 major lakes o fish at are Landon Lake, and 2 miles away is Sunrise Landing Lake. Both are private though as well. The little Miami and Lake Isabella are very close and those are public. If anybody wants to drop their boat in Landon Lake let me know...since I am a resident there its legal as long as I'm on the boat. There are some nice bass in Landon. It has a healthy population of shad but can be tough with all the pressure and lack of structure. But I would be glad to fish with anybody, just let me know.

Hello all....I just stumbled across this forum and I figured since I fish 5 to 6 days a week it would just make sense to join . I grew up fishing , and to this day strive to learn or Improve skills/techniques to catch fish. Im from the west side of Cincy (Harrison), but now live on Landon Lake..northern cincy right by kings island. I fish for bass 98% of the time , but growing up in cincy I've spent plenty of time battling blue cats and flatheads. But I love fishing! Hopefully I will be able to help new comers to the fishing world, and also learn a thing or two.