Raul

X3

X2

With jigs I 'm as cheap as I can get for a very simple reason, I loose them :-/, the most I can get out of a jig is two or three outings in the best case, lost so many on the first cast that I 've lost count, so I when I purchase jigs I get the cheapest ones I can find with only two conditions: 1.- razor sharp hook 2.- good quality hook I see no point in spending 3-4 dollars in jig that it 's not going to last much ( last time I fished with jigs I lost 5 in a couple of hours, 2 in the same submerged mesquite tree ), that 's why I purchase BPS jigs. As for the trailer, in practical terms, almost any soft plastic bait can be used as a trailer, I use trailers, grubs, frogs, craws, lizards and even brush hogs; all of them are "perfect".

20/08/07 La Sauceda Texas rigged Zoom SS U-Tale Gourd Green worm. 10.54 One of the craziest weather days I 've ever fished.

There are many things I would have said to myself if I could go back in time, some of the things I would have said to myself: 1.- Get a bigger TM before you click "add to cart" on that one you are picking 2.- You ain 't a mechanic, don 't even think about trying to fix that gas pump in your outboard, it 's gonna cost more and the outboard ain 't gonna be the same. 3.- Purchase more of them TDZs ( when Cabela 's was clearancing them for 200 bones a pop ) 4.- Git the next model depth finder, it only cost 20 bucks more than the one you are getting. 5.- Idiot ! don 't purchase that VW Jetta, with the same money you can purchase a double cabin Nissan pick up that ain 't gonna be parked in the garage for 14 months beore you sell it with less than a 1,000 miles.

I fish the colors I like, that being said and given the fact that I 'm a sucker for pretty colors I have a rainbow of colors and I fish them all, I rig a bait let 's say in red shad ( one of my most favorites ), catch a few fish on it, then change for let 's say another of my favorites, watermelon gold & black flake, catch a few fish on it and then change for another of my most favored ones, tequila shad, then catch a few fish on it, change for another favorite like waermelon red & green flake and so on; by the end of the day I must have fished with 7-8 colors. Most of the times color means little. Wanna narrow your choices to a few colors ?: Watermelon ( choose your poison of flake colors and/or laminates ) Green Pumpkin ( choose your poison of flake colors ) There you are, now you are ready to go.

I don 't think Welington is going to be able to just return the reel, if I remember correctly he 's in Brazil.

Most of my fishing is done here:

Where are the spinning rigs ? With little money you can get your hands ona very nice spinning reel ( something that 's not going to happen with a baitcaster ). You only mention Shimano 's Compre, you are missing the Clarus. So with $130 you can get for example a Shimano Sahara and a Clarus rod ( I 've got that combo and it 's a very good setup ).

Ask The Natural, he 's got both.

A friend of mine has a Cara and a Lowrider, I think they are good rods but nothing I would drool for, there are lots of good rods from where to choose in that $100-$130 segment and Falcon rods just happen to be in that segment. The Expert series looks interesting though, but I don 't think I would trade my IMXs for them.

The meanest dog I 've dealt with in my 20 years of practice is a toy poodle female called "Bolita" .... she even bites her owner , I have to muzzle her every time she shows up for grooming. How many mean Pitts I 've dealt with in those 20 years ? ---> 0. How many times have I muzzled a Pitt ? ---> 0 Do I think Pitts are natural born killers ? nope For that matter, the only dogs I pay close attention on how they are reacting when I 'm dealing with them are Rottweilers, Chows, Belgian Malinese Sheperds and those darn chihuahuas and poodles.

Let me give you an example: One day I was at this pond, the water is crystal clear, there 's lots of vegetation rising from the bottom and if you look closely there are pockets and holes on the weedbed, the day is clear blue skies and the pond looks like glass, I cast the popper right next to a hole in the weedbed, I wait until the ripples dissapear, give it a hard jerk and the bait pops loudly ( PLOP ! ), every single fish in close vecinity to the hole runs away at warp speed like if the devil were after them .... bad approach :-/, so after watching the results I change tactic, cast the bait, wait until the ripples dissapear and wait a little bit more, twitch the rod tip gently just enough to make the bait ripple the water, wait, twitch again, wait, twitch again and WHAM !; I repeat the same and catch another fish ---> the fish are telling me they want the bait presented that way that day. Couple of days later, same pond, same bait, same crystal clear water, same clear bluebird skies but now there 's a breeze blowing, tried the same technique I tried a couple of days before, after 30 min with no results I change, cast the bait, let the ripples dissapear, plop, plop, plop and WHAM !, I repeat on the next cast, repeat on the following cast and WHAM ! ---> the fish are telling me that they want the bait presented that way that day. My friend, there 's no "best" retrieve for a popper, you have to find out how they want it for the day by trying different ways and different speeds.

I know big bass hit a jig n 'pig, I know bass will hit a bluegill but a jig n 'pig/bluegill rig ......... don 'tcha think that 's a little bit too much ? :-?

I have two Clarus rods, hard to find better rod for the money, hard to find so many models in a single brand, lot 's of lengths, power ratings and actions from where to choose. Sensitive ? much better than a Lightning Rod.

Live bait rig, that 's how it 's called.

To a fish, never, but don 't ask me how many I 've lost to trees, stumps, bushes, rocks and bullrushes.

"Lockjaw" is a myth, the animal not willing to release is the real reason. Through selective breeding the muscles that close the mouth have been enlarged so a Pitt even without mouth muscle training can create an enormous ammount of force when it closes it 's mouth, now if you add to that training to fight, man you got a bone breaking chewing machine. Pitts are not bad dogs, unfortunately it 's the people who makes them bad. A Pitt should not bite. I 've worked with many Pitts and they are lovely, never been bit by one. Now just ask me how many times I 've been bit by toy breeds and you 'll see who 's meaner.

Not true either, stretch has nothing to do with sensiivity, fluoro stretches as much as nylon. Now back on the subject: The only way I knew it had reached the bottom is because I saw my line stop falling Man, if you can 't feel the bait hitting the bottom changing the line for a denser line won 't help much either.

Not true.

Why did they die out? Cuz all the wear and tear of hooking and fighting a fish ends up in the absolute worst anatomical place possible ---> the wrist.

That would be Redlinerorbert 's gear. ( s*t you not )

X2

You answered your own question: I couldn't really keep in contact with my bait If you can 't keep contact with your bait you do need a more sensitive rod.