hooah212002

I picked up a Citica 200E NIB at Gander Mountain the other day and I have had it out a couple times. I have noticed that the drag knob/star sorta wiggles a bit, resulting in the handle doing the same. I can push it towards the spool, but only slightly. It is not noticeable when I am fishing, only when cleaning it (which I do religiously). I have not yet taken the handle off because I am not very good at that stuff (my dexterity is terrible). I've only done so much as take out the spool and clean/lube in that area. (excuse the crappy video. Taking one with one hand on a cell phone is not easy task) Is this something I should be concerned with, or is it normal?

Not sure.

Buzzbait for top, then run a spinnerbait at multiple depths, then try a fluke at multiple depths/cadences, then a jig/texas rig/carolina rig/senko. All of these WILL catch fish, are weedless and cover all columns of water. Fan cast each bait until you feel as though you've covered your little section, then switch. Conversely, if you feel like going for a walk, rig up one per rod and walk around the lake hitting one part of the water column, then switch and take another walk.

Great advice here. I would add that you need to take a mental note of where your bait is when you do get a bite, then hit that spot again. If you consistantly get bit there, try to determine what could be there that is holding fish. The water surface gives away clues as to what is going on underneath, so keep an eye out for what it does when the wind blows.

The Gander Mountain by my work has a ton of them, not that that does you any good.....

A spinnbait binder takes up even less room if you have that many spinnerbaits.

No receipt/proof of purchase = no dice with Abu from my experience. You will likely have to pay their repair fee. I have an email from them that I will try and find. :abe: Here you go. Pertinanant bit bolded:

I take it you haven't seen big buff lately? Dude ballooned up to like 300 pounds!

Yea, I forgot. Ray Emery has been in goal the whole playoffs. Good idea to put him in in GAME 5 of the finals. Should Rask sit too?

Yea, pull Rask too. Both worthless goalies. Trade Kaner while they're at it. Heck, Handzus should take Toews spot. Get out of here.

A carolina rig, a jig or a texas rig dragged sloooowly across the bottom.

If you do, make sure you start with a reputable brand because it is VERY easy to write off all fluoro due to a bad experience with bad line. Typically this does mean spending a bit more.

Afraid of counterfeits perhaps? Too lazy/poor/stupid to get the marker to check for said counterfeits? Also: "manky slag" is now in my vernacular. Thanks.

Next up is JJ's for me, too. I wonder if it would be overkill to use multiple different scents or if you should just stick to one per bait.

I noticed the same. If the fish aren't there, no attractant in the world will make them come to you. But once you find the fish, you will certainly have a better chance at catching them imo.

I gave up actually bidding on stuff long ago. I immediately select "buy it now" as my only buying option when looking for something for the very few times I buy something there.

Tips? Bring your patience. That place gets hammered. I've heard there is decent fishing there, but I've heard MUCH more that it's not worth the trouble. Have you checked the Lake Link on it?

Is that difference only noticeable when wacky rigging or is there significantly different action when texas rigging?

It comes with experience. the best sensation via words is like a "tap-tap" that eventually is distinguishable from the other crap you run into, provided you have quality gear (sensitive rod and line).

It could just be small fish that aren't taking the bait. Drop something small down there like a small jig and grub or a crawler on a small hook to see if it's some bluegill (you say you're on a dock, so I will guess they are bluegill).

Braid: Power Pro, but I have yet to try Sufix 832. PP is good enough for now, so I save $8. Fluoro: Invizx hands down. I doubt I ever fork over the insane asking price for Tatsu, but I probably will because the bait monkey controls my every whim. Mono/Top water treble hook stuff: Yo-Zuri, Yo-Zuri and some more Yo-Zuri. Ultra light: Sufix Elite is excellent mono for spinning gear. It is supple beyond belief, cheap and strong.

I've never been one to fall victim to hype surrounding a particular product or a particular brand for brand sake and this causes great many problems when it comes to fishing since 99% of anglers will tell you what BRAND rod/reel/bait to get instead of what TYPE or even why that brand. The suggestions and reasoning behind why so many of "you guys" recommend Mega Strike sounded solid, so I took the plunge. I did this mainly because my strike to hook up ratio with my flukes this year is abysmal and figured I could use an extra little kick. So today I went out to put my new gear through it's paces in an actual fishing session rather than setting it up, as well as to test Mega Strike and see if it lives up to it's hype. I set out to my difficult as heck to fish, but guaranteed at least one 4+ pounder spot. Not so fast, I guess, since they were clearing the weeds in the lake right at my spot (the weeds are what makes it so good!). So it was on to spot #2: Congdon Park in Delavan. Just a smallish pond that is where I go when I get skunked looking for bigger fish because I know I can get bit with almost anything I throw, just not any size. I have had VERY good luck here this year with both watermelon and pearl flukes. However, like I said earlier, I have been missing a lot of bites. So today I set off with ample time to do some good fishing and hopefully find out where the bigger fish are (I normally only have an hour or so and hit one spot). I started out working over the spot I normally do. I got nada. So off I go, hoofing it around the entire pond. No easy task, mind you, as most of it is lined with 5 foot tall reeds which are inhabited by vicious monsters that think they are birds (ok, they're just birds, but by god are they mean!). I spent a couple hours walking around, jumping spot to spot and came up empty. My bait options were limited to weedless applications because it is a very weedy body of water and I don't have my jig rod set up, so I stuck with flukes (why mess with what works?). I decided to go back to the spot I always catch fish at and attack the entire water column. I start working a green pumpkin senko nice and slow. Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! I start getting bite after bite and the fish get progressively bigger, but only topping out at about 3 pounds if I'm lucky. Here is where Mega Strike earns it's accolades. Every time I missed a hookset or lost a fish, I slathered on some MS and the very next cast got a strike, and every time I had a fresh app of MS, the fish would not let go! So much so that one time, I get a birds nest and something tells me to wait before starting to clear it out and see if I get bit (since I had gotten quite a few bites on the initial fall), but didn't so I started picking it out. As I was reeling in the slack, I noticed some resistance. Meh, just some weeds due to the bait settling in. Hmm, weeds don't move around like this..... You guessed it: there was a fish that sucked down that senko and took off without me setting the hook! For me, this is unreal because I have been plagued with missed hooksets and lost fish. I know this sounds like an infomercial or that I am somehow affiliated with MS, but I assure you I am not. I just wanted to put this out there for anyone on the fence. I have learned a lot from bassresource this season, the main thing being: if enough BR members recommend it, you'd do well to buy/try it. All of my purchases this year are a testament to that whereas before, I was of the mindset that budget gear is good enough and all this "stuff" doesn't actually help you catch/land fish. Oh how wrong I was. Also note that my selection sample is tiny and I make no effort to say BUY MEGA STRIKE BECAUSE NOTHING ELSE WORKS! Instead, I only mean to say that: based solely on my anecdotal evidence, Mega Strike works as advertised. Take that as you may.

A fresh pond stocked with bass? You could probably throw a plain hook and catch something, Like junkyard said: use it to experiment. Get to know how all your baits feel and what the different strikes feel like.

One time isn't enough anyway. You should do it the night prior as well as right before you get on the water.

Yes, go ahead and spray it. It leaves zero residue and zero evidence other than the line being awesome to work with.