Choporoz

Add me to the list of satisfied long-time Cardinal owners. Bought a Cardinal combo in 2006 and it was my favorite light spinning outfit until about 2011 when I loaned it to my wife. It hasn't been back in my end of the boat since. I think her new Daiwa T/Aird rig will supplant it as her favorite, but mostly for heavier applications. I looked at newer Cardinals a couple of times, but I got a strong sense that the variety/range of the model may have diluted the overall quality...or at least confused the issue a bit.

I guess I don't see that they'd be worth less if he's sponsored by them. If allowed by his contract, it's fine with me for him to get fair market value for them. I don't think he should be obligated to pass on any sort of 'deal' to the forum.

FM, Earth was only pointing out that your post didn't make sense as written. There's enough differences and variables discussed here without incorrectly referring to something as basic as 'bait'. Why the hostility?

You should probably heed ANY and ALL advice from someone called "Fishes in trees".....LOL

I don't doubt the premise...or the hypothesis. But drawing a conclusion from the 'test' as described in the article would be nuts. Every single reader of this forum knows that there are thousands of other variables that could be considered when trying to determine why a fish was or wasn't caught at any particular time. This was an excuse to go fishing and get college credit for it. Not science.

Sounds like a great fish and a great day all in all....best part of the story.....

Gotta love the confidence!

While I think it's silly for this to have gotten a little testy, I will say that I don't disagree with Torque. The term 'rage-rigged' was much more confusing to me than 'weighted hook' or something more descriptive. I also had the sense that the term was coined by Rage baits and thrust on this community by RW and others - possibly sacrificing clarity for some association with a specific brand. I don't see it as a big deal at all - and will welcome the term if it achieves some sort of mass acceptance, but for now, if I say 'rage-rigged' to any other fisherman or tackle merchant that isn't glued to BR, I get strange looks and a need to clarify what could have been clear by saying 'weighted hook' in the first place.

Fishin Buddy. One of the best $100 investments I made as a boat renter. Get the carrying case, too. Mine is four years old and works like it did the day I bought it. Like Catt's, it is much more a depth finder than a fish finder, but learning the contours is huge. http://www.humminbird.com/Freshwater/Product-Category/Fishin-Buddy/

No idea who makes them -- but I get them from Tackle Warehouse.

The self psycho-analyst in me says it all goes back to my childhood....lol When I was the kid with the cane pole watching the adults cast and troll, I couldn't wait until I could get out from under the shackles of the bobber. First walleye fishing, then bass....I have always been of the mind that fishing should be an active enterprise; not passive. I began with spinnerbaits, then cranks --- gotta keep that lure moving --- deadsticking a worm on the bottom took me back to those sad days of being the kid with the cane pole and earthworm, I guess....ha ha!!!

I've put a Senko on just about every possible kind of hook. I do like the skip gap hooks. But, I think parasite hooks on a worm or ewg hook is the better way to go and what I go with most of the time now.

The single biggest breakthrough for me was when I found BR. No exaggeration.

ANY color. As long as it is green. I don't care if it is green pumpkin, green watermelon, or green cucumber.....it doesn't matter if it has black flakes, red flakes or platinum flakes. As long as the worm is green, I'm confident and catching bass.

Anybody have luck in Gunston Cove lately? I spent much of Sunday getting skunked. Admittedly, it wasn't the best time of day (10AM to 4PM)....and, I have no familiarity with the water yet....but, it was a rather disappointing day. Wife and I rented a jon boat out of Pohick- threw on an electric motor and made a bee-line for the lily pads - worked all the way around to the piers at Belvoir - then zig zagged across and worked a few hundred yards of shore on the other side....and got nothing but a couple bites. I will say that I was surprised at how consistent and shallow the cove is. I always imagined depths and channels, but was kind of shocked to find nothing deeper than 7 foot the entire time. But, no bass. I don't believe they all run all the way out to the Potomac main channel, but man.....

Before I got on this forum, I thought there were worm hooks and wide gap hooks -- and that all the brand differences were a matter of small degrees. Now, I get on the water and even though I have probably 40 or 50 different hooks, I still find that I don't have what I think I need that day. It's crazy. I never paid much attention to the bends, whether the eye was straight or 90.....if weighted, how the weight was shaped....degrees in sharpness....my mind gets to spinning. I used to think that there there were decent hooks and hooks that rusted. It's a rare evening coming off the water that I'm not searching TW for some different hook I hadn't known I needed. While I am (still) extraordinarily cheap, I do buy better hooks now than I used to -- I have no doubt that I have fewer fish getting unbuttoned since I started paying more attention to using sharp hooks. And, I've been unable to sharpen a cheaper hook to anywhere near as sharp as a better hook.

sigh...... my lack of patience makes bass fishing more challenging than it should be.....tides shmides....I was hoping you'd tell me to throw something in the middle of that mess anyway....lol....puttering around the edges wasn't particularly rewarding

Agree with the frogs. In fact, other than frogs, the only thing I'd probably toss into the pads is a weightless fluke. I have had limited success with weightless finesse worms tossed in and twitched to fall off a pad -- but the limited casting rage and light line required makes it a frustrating endeavor. At risk of jacking BB37's thread, I'd like to also ask for opinions for a little more specific situation. I was on a tidal river yesterday and excited to hit big fields of pads, but once there, I found it nearly impossible. The pads were at least 10-12 inches over the surface and solid for the width of 50 feet and more without any holes. I couldn't do anything but play around the edges and didn't get a bite. I could toss a frog in, but it would rarely even get wet in there. Maddening.

One more non-answer to your question.... I went through a bunch of different flukes this year and have settled on just three. Super flukes and Trigger Drop Dead Minnow, with occasional (regular/small) flukes thrown in. Depending on rigging, the flukes do most any action I'm looking for. The Triggers don't have nearly as good of action, but they cast more accurately than any other, swim upright and dog-walk well. Flukes for searching and Trigger for pinpoint targeting. I honestly just didn't find anything else that would do better.

If they're scarce and/or scattered, I'm usually tossing green senkos and blue/silver rattletraps until I start to figure patterns.

One thing about flukes is that bluegills hit 'em more as much or more than LMB's. Especially, if they're weightless. May not be fish you want to hook, anyway.

Never used the mini....but the regular size work best for me t-rigged; light weight. Never caught a big bass on a lizard smaller than 6 inches, but I still throw the reg zooms sometimes when its slow. There's been days when I couldn't get a bite on anything until I tossed lizards and then caught 1#'ers non-stop. They're a fun filler when its slow. T-rig 'em with no more than 1/4oz; 1/8 better. Bring it back slow, but keep it moving. Unlike a lot of worms, I don't get bites with a lizard just sitting still on the bottom. Also try it weightless and let it flutter down -- if it gets to bottom without being hit, drag it back across the surface just fast enough to get the legs and tail pumping

Maybe I've been spilling and soaking in it for too long....but I LIKE that smell. It is in my car...in my closet...in one of my gear bags....doesn't bother me at all anymore

I've got one of the Rapala minis. Fits well in small tackle box and dead-on-balls-accurate -- however, it's a pain to use. I highly suggest getting one with a gripper

Was given a pre-rigged leech for father's day. Of course, I threw it first and caught a LMB on the third cast. I didn't like the fall or the action well enough to keep throwing it all day, but I will toss it out there again.