IowaHusker28

LaCrosse is sweet! Plus upper Mississippi river fishing is an incredible place for numbers and multiple species, sometimes you never know what bit your hook. I would also say Kimberling city on Tablerock, within a drive of Lake of the Ozarks, Bull Shoals, and Beaver. Benton, Ky and Paris, TN are pretty sweet as well. Heck any city that has a major lake or lakes by it, is an awesome town to me.

As of right now, I would say probably not but I like it because it feels like a Lews super duty. Also the pro series was on super sale and was the same price as a regular bb1. That was the only reason I bought it, always looking for the deals man. It does have 2 more pounds of drag and I plan on throwing A-rigs with it, so that was also a factor.

Heck if Shimano is supposedly losing market shares and they have to drop their prices to compete with other brands, although it seems Abu just keeps putting the same reel on the market with a cooler name and selling them. It just means more Shimanos for me

Now I am obviously not going to argue anything here because you have done your research and have personal experience and I am not going to argue opinion and/or stated facts for that matter. I will also say comparing bearings in the terms of number does not exactly correlate to performance, just like you stated with cars, the new Ford GT uses a V6, and pumps out 50 more horsepower than its V8 predecessor. More doesn't always mean better performance; and yes I realize you stated an obvious bearing/bushing situation but that would cause major failure in a car. More/less that is why there are multiple very successful brands, people can buy what they want in a reel. I am more less stating that some companies sell you on the fact you need more, or that a reel with 7 is better than one with 5, because I can name multiple reels that I wouldn't even blink before taking the Curado. Moral of the story. To each his own.

Ratios all come down to personal preference, for example, I like 5:4:1 for all cranks,7:1:1 for flipping pitching and jigs, 8:1:1 for frogging and a 6:4:1ish for just about everything else. Aaron Martens for example uses all 8:5:1 ratios because he feels that works the best for him and he has the control to slow down and he says he can make more casts in a day. But sure smaller reels throw smaller baits easier and large wide spools make long casts a little easier with big baits, but again both can be used for either, it just may be easier with one than another. Hopefully that answers something? BB1's are sweet reels, I have two, picked up a BB1 pro series this week as an early christmas gift to myself.

Just going to try and name a few I haven't seen on here. I've used a few Spro little John and Fat Papa's except I say a few because they are a little pricy. Bagley Diving B1-B2. The new berkley digger and wild thangs look awesome. I just picked up 3 diggers last week in the gilly color and man, they look sweet. Also of course DT's, 3&5 Xds, and other people have said Norman which are awesome. Theres even a few Livingston dive masters in the box when there was a sweet sale at Dicks for 8 bucks a piece. The next on the list to buy are the Arashi deeps. Forgot colors- Chili Craw, Gilly, Sexy shad, Norman Spring Crawdad(red craw with green and purple flake), Bagley sexy shad (purple, chartreuse, white), Citrus shad. Btw norman's color list is impressive.

I can not speak on an extra heavy but I use a 7'6 MH (veritas so it does feel a little stiffer) for F&P around docks, wood, any hard structure, and light-medium grass and a 7'9 H for punching or heavier grass, and that is with weights up to 2oz. To be honest I can't imagine using an extra heavy rod, especially for it being your first one but maybe someone else can speak on that. In my opinion it would be easier to learn with a non XH rod. I would recommend a 7'6 H or MH depending on which rod you are going to choose. A 7'6 H Ghost would not only be a great rod to learn on but one to use for a long time as well.

I use 3 CB rods right now and about to add a 4th in the spring for those 8xds and 10xds but I have two of the Abu Veritas winch rods and I love them. I have the 7' for square bills and shallower cranks and the 7'6 for the deeper cranks and soon to be 7'11 for the super deep divers even thought the 7'6 handled them, I think the extra casting distance is worth it. I also fish a Falcon Bucoo 7' heavy for lipless cranks suggested by the lipless master Chris McCall and it is sweet being able to rip it out of the grass so fast. All under 100 but I own 4 Mojo Bass rods and was very temped to try their CB rods out, because I have heard nothing but good things. Also if you want to hear McCall talk about lipless rods, he is on the FLW podcast, I think episode 87.

Now I fish with mostly Lews reels because I think they are the best bang for the buck and have had great experiences with them. I also own Abu's, Quantum's, Shimano's, 1 pro Qualifier and 1 Tatula because I think it is fun to try other brands and I am a sucker for amazing deals. I totally understand the hype of Shimano and if money weren't an Issue, I'd buy nothing but Shimanos (or Steeze's) because they are an amazing reel. I use 2 Curado's to crank with and I abuse them more than any reel in the box, 10xd's to 1.5's yet they continue to preform like new. I was once told of a story that a customer came into a store and asked why they should buy a Curado that only has 5 bearings rather than a "Insert brand" with 10. (obviously a less educated fisherman but nevertheless) He told the customer, Shimano is so exact and precise they only need 5. They can do with 5 what a different company can do with 10. And that right there is a pretty great point. Shimano is a gear, bearing, manufacturing company, they know what they are talking about and looking for when putting a reel together. A grand following, amazing support, and proven performance. That is all.

An Quantum Exo spinning reel, a Mojo Bass dropshot rod, and a Lews BB1 pro series all for almost half off at Scheels! Now if winter can hurry up and go away.

I always go for at least one fun item a year, although gift cards are awesome. New rain gear, a go pro, that certain rod or reel you've been eyeing but haven't pulled the trigger because you don't "need" it. Performance long sleeve shirts or a buff/neck gaiter, sun protection is always good. Any kind of tackle. Also nicer polarized sunglasses are a good purchase especially in the spring when the ice goes away! A nice pair of needle nose or multitool is always something you use. Sorry, I went for more of a fun wish list more than practical but hey, even one of those things is an awesome gift. Oh and a headlamp, crucial for rigging up at night or in the early morning.

I've always just used Trilene so I can't comment really on anything else, but I switched to braid recently and wow I don't see my self going back anytime soon. Admittedly I was wary of it at first but the casting and no line twist is just too sweet.

Favorite Spinning: Mojo Bass 7' Medium with a Quantum Pt Energy Reel Favorite Casting: 7'6" Veritas Medium Heavy with a Revo S or 7' Medium Veritas Winch with a Curado

I mean you always have to fish the conditions yata yata but if I'm out early enough I always start with top water frog or spook. If they are biting the top water, you can start the day out with some awesome strikes and a lot of fun! I do love fishing a frog when it gets hot enough, usually always can pick off a few fish to start the day.

This kind of happened to us today. Second cast of the day I caught a 3 pounder on a lipless crank bait, thinking I was off to a hot start I stuck with it for about an hour with no luck. I was fishing with a partner so we switched up between a spinnerbait, crank bait, chatter bait, etc, but nothing was really happening; picking off a couple here and there but then we switched to weightless wacky rig (KVD perfect plastics ocho) and just started to smoke em. We easily ended up with over 40 and 30 something came off the wacky rigt. They were mostly males, because of the cold front, the females were deeper but only went after them for about an hour. If you're from Michigan I would assume that most of the fish are still in pre spawn but they are starting to move shallow. Try the first cover off of the flats, maybe even deeper ledges. Could work a jig or something else off the bottom. I know you said you tried the wacky rig, but maybe work a different area, color, length.

Brandon Palaniuk, Ott Defoe, Shaw, Swindle, Kriet and the Lane brothers. But I also love watching the two best in their perspective tours KVD and Brent Ehrler. Its hard to pick one or two I just have many that I enjoy watching.

Dang. Idea = failed. Never really thought about it as a advertising thing, just another piece of info is all.

I didn't really know where to put this but does anyone else think it would be cool to have a "Boat category" on your info? I mean we see favorite lake, pb bass, hometown, ect. I just think it would be cool to see what everyone else is riding in. When ever I'm on a body of water and I see someone with a similar boat its always fun to ask or talk about your boats. In example we have an older 201 Champion and I don't see many around so when I do I always like to compare and contrast. Also if I know one thing, many people are proud and passionate about what they ride in on the water.

I have 3 Veritas rods. I must say they are freaking sweet for 80 bucks. I have both of the winch rods, and a 7'3" one. They are definitely worth a buy at the 80 dollar price point if your on a bit of a budget. I will be adding a couple more probably by the end of the year because it really does preform above its price point. That may be my inner Abu fanboy coming out but I love em, and there is a reason why the pros use them, ie. Bobby Lane and Iconelli.

The oldest rod that I use is 3 yrs old... I had one that was 6 but I snapped last yr on the rod locker. We have a few rods from the 80's in the garage but I haven't even touched them in years. They were the rods we'd take to the various small creeks and farm ponds but neither of those two application get fished much anymore. After fishing ponds and streams for years and then getting a boat all Ive wanted to do the last few years was to be on a lake. As for something being too old? Hey if it works it works. Its always fun to use somethings that are old, they might not be as effective as something new but if it gets the job done, it gets the job done. I love using old golf clubs for kicks every once in a while but I'd definitely take my custom set if i had to choose.

Was born in Omaha and lived there for quite a few years as a young lad and am a die hard husker fan but I consider me growing up in Iowa. 2nd grade on.... Also 28 was my baseball number for 10 years.

I'm not going to say yes or no because, well none of us know what the bass are thinking when they take our bait. I do put maybe one red treble on a lure such as a jerkbait or crank. I have no idea if it makes a difference but I will say the best day I've ever had bass fishing was using a Bleeding Bait 1/2 oz spinnerbait. The size, numbers, and the way they hit that thing was second to none for me. I wouldn't call me a huge believer but there is merit to think it makes some what of a difference.

I do not use snap swivels when cranking or anything really unless it requires it (ex. Carolina rig) It is takes like say 3 seconds to use a snap and it takes what like around +/- 10 seconds to tie a clinch knot? I'll spend the 7 extra seconds to make the bait run true as possible. I mean I do understand why people use them and yea if you can't find a pattern/color I'm sure its nice to be switching all the time but eh If I wasn't catching fish I would blame it not on the swivel and that'd drive me nuts lol

I mean I guess if you think about it, it will do the same thing more/less. You could maybe even argue that one less knot is a good thing, one less thing to go wrong. I don't really see a reason not to use a swivel though, It keeps the bait running true and you risk less chance in losing weights in a break off situation. I mean people use it with a swivel because its effective and proven, no need to fix something that isn't broke!

After fishing the frog A TON these past two years I've really found the combination that works really well for me. I use a 7'3" medium heavy rod with a fast tip and 80lb power pro braid (yea you can get away with 50 but why risk it). With a 7.1 reel. Heres why, Anything bigger than 7'3" to me makes the bait harder to walk, and many frogs work the best with the walking presentation. I feel its short enough to make them walk easier, it also helps when you are skipping the frog into brush, trees, ect. But, with the 7'3" your not sacrificing a lot of power you will get with a 7'6" or longer. The fast tip is important, not only to allow time for the bass to eat the frog but, it also helps with walking the bait and skipping. The fast reel is almost a must. You never know what the bass is going to do in the muck or brush and getting them out as fast as possible really with help landing more fish. Now I'm no expert by any means but I've tried different things and have fished it a lot. Just to further the point that you don't need a long rod. Dean Rojas, one of the best froggers in the world uses a 7' rod. Its all about personal preference and what works for you just like any other bait. ps. waiting 2 seconds may help you get some better hook ups but don't think its the only way to catch bass on a frog.