Flippin N Rippin

I have had great success with using Strike King Plastics. Mostly the coffee tubes. With and 1/8 or 1/4 tube jig head. I have caught 1211 bass over the last summer and I can honestly say that 3/4 of them were on Strike King plastics.

I have a TFO 7'3" Medium , Fast tip, with a pfluger President for a reel. It is a great rod with back bone and yet sensitive enough to feel a fish breath on your bait. Rod and Reel runs about $200. Great combo that doesn't break the bank.

I have a few questions. I have fished smallies all summer long and have had great success. I am going to my favorite smallie lake in two weeks ice fishing for gills and northern. I was wondering if it is a far cry for some smallie action through the ice? If it is not what is my best approach and what depths am I looking for? The lake has a max depth of 70 feet. I have always caught the smallies in about 8-13 feet with rocky bottom along the weed beds. Any feed back would greatly be appreciated. Do I jig live bait, or plastic tubes???

Earlier this summer I was jigging with a 7'3" TFO rod and a Pflueuger President reel. I recently bought a nice casting rod and reel and it as well works great for jigging. Here is a short video that I put together for a college class Im in. In this video I was jigging with the TFO rod and using Strike King Coffee Tubes.

I dont know if this worked but its a short video I put together for a college class Im taking. If it works check it out. Or does anyone know how to post videos to a form??

I had another great evening fishing with my Calais DC. This was the second day using it and I love it more and more. Money well spent. Bow hunting opens here in Wisconsin on the 14th and I am still going to be chasing smallies till the very end of the season. May be take a day or two for bowhunting but this Calais DC literally has me hooked.

I have been a huge fan of the braided lines. I have used fireline, powerpro, suffixs832, ETC. Is one better than the other? I normally use powerpro 30lb on my spinning and baitcasting reels. I just recently started using suffix 832. Any suggestions? I will not use fireline again. Had many bad experiences with the line breaking resulting in lost fish.

I have a St.Croix Legend Xtreme 7ft Medium fast action($390) with a Shimano Calais 200 DC($650) also add $20 for the Sufix 832 line and you get $1060

I have been using the uni to uni through knot. Its strong small and flies through the line guides with not problem. Check it out. It takes tying the knot a couple times b4 you really get the hang of it. I wont use any other knot>

I had a hard time justifying spending alot on a baitcasting reel. I started with an el cheepo and worked my way into the best of the best.I know have a Shimano Calais 200 DC and could not be happier with it. You can really tell the difference in a more expensive reel. Pick a brand that you like and read reviews and even go to the store and play around with the different reels.

How much is the handle and were can I buy one? Sweet reel bro

Just got home from fishing. Caught 6 bass this morning before I had to get to my college class. It took a little bit to get use to the new reel but thats with any new product. I put 30lb Power pro on the reel. It casts like a dream. I have read and heard many things about this reel. I know it is not the weekend warrior. I worked hard and saved for the gear I have. I would recommend the Calais 200 DC to anyone that can afford to spend $650 on a reel. It is worth every penny. Its not going to catch me more fish I know that. The only thing about the reel I would say is that is the reel takes a little bit to get use to the weight. The coolest thing of the reel is.... How many reels can you cast into the wind and take your thumb off the spool? I seen that in a video and had to try it myself. Here in wisconsin there was 15mph winds. I casted directly into the wind as hard as I could whip the lure and took my thumb off the spool and WALA. The reel didnt backlash or have any overrun. Incredible. While the first couple of casts I did have a few small backlashes nothing serious. I give the reel a 9.8 out 10 rating. Thanks all for the feedback and good luck fishing.

I just pulled the trigger on the Calais 200DC.I have not even put line on it yet. I was told that I shouldnt use braided line on this reel. I am yet to still read anything about this. Anyone ever hear this before or is this just a bunch of BS Ive been hearing? I normally use 30lb power pro or sufix 832 both with a florocarbon leader.

Thanks everyone on the feedback. I have placed my order and I have settled on the Shimano Chronarch 150 CI4 Plus with a 6.2:1 gear ratio. I had an opportunity to use this reel for a day on my pole and it was sweet. Also got to test the CORE100MG and that was another great reel. I caught 7 largemouth that were 6LBS or bigger and 5 smallmouth that were in the 3-5LB range and the Chronarch CI4 Plus is a work horse. I would recommend the reel to any one.

I've been smallmouth fishing for quite some time now. I currently have been using a St.Croix Legend Xtreme spinning rod with a Pfluger Patriarch spinning reel. I love the rod so much I bought a second one only in a casting 7' Medium. I have used baitcasters for a little while but only cheap ones. Ive been looking at spending around $200 to $300 on a reel. Ive looked at Shimano Chronarch CI4+ , Pfluger Patriarch, and some of the Abus. My favorite way to fish smallies are with using plastics. Strike King Coffee Tubes one of my favorites. Any info or feedback would be greatly appreciated