ChrisD46

What are the best times of the year to fish a big worm (i.e. Zoom 'Ole Monster 10.5 inch , Big Bites 10 inch Straight Tail , etc.) ? I am curious if anyone fishes a big worm in the Fall & Winter - or is this technique basically just a Spring and / or Summer technique ?

Primetime : I really like the idea of the bobber stops with weights instead of the bullshot and split shots clamped to the line for two reasons : 1 ) less chance to damage the line and 2 ) ease of making adjustments up and down the line ... Lastly , Tom : it's nice to go back and read split shotting / Dick Trask references to keep a useful bass fishing technique going strong .

Don't listen to Raul ! ... That set up is a ultralight set up in the waters he fishes (lol !!)

Is a 6:4:1 gear ratio the "new" slow gear ratio ? ...Would a 5:4:1 gear ratio be the new "super slow" gear ratio ? ...Seeing as how there are new 8:1:1 gear ratios for baitcast reels - I may not be too far off !

I've had the same nightmare - I got bit only to get spooled by Big Mama using a 1500 series Shimano spinning reel / ML rod and 6lb. FC while drop shoting ... * I even smell the Cal drag grease while getting spooled in my nightmare ... The horror of it all !!

Goose52 - you are to be commended again !! ... Your dedication and effort to provide your fishing peers a five year study of a VERY popular BC reel is simply unmatched in terms of : length of study , information , content and detail provided . Kudos Goose52 - job WELL done !!

I have two PQ's - patiently waited until they were on sale to buy and both have worked well ... That said , for around the same price as the non sale price of a PQ you would be hard pressed not to consider a Tatula .

Below are the MINIMUM all bass fishermen should own : Spinning : Drop Shot , Shakyhead , Small Topwater Baitcast : Carolina Rig , Football Jig , T-Rig , Jerkbait , Topwater , Crankbait The above make 9 combos ... If you have grass then add a Pitching / Flipping outfit as well to make an even 10 .

+1 ... All great comments by Kickerfish1 - use what he suggests . Your greens & browns are good in clear to moderately stained water for above brands of worms - for more deeply stained and / or overcast conditions your darker purples , blues and blacks often work better .

+1 ...This is excellent advice !!

A baitcast reel is only good for : "Power Shakyhead" fishing 1/4oz. and greater weight jigheads on 12lb. FC using 6 inch Senkos on Falcon lake bass . The ideal shakyhead set up is a spinning 2500 series reel , mono backing and either 8lb. FC or 10 ~ 15lb braid + 8lb.FC leader and 1/8th oz. jigheads . Learn how to use this spinning setup and search you tube for Jeff Kriet or A-Mart shakyhead tactics and learn this application correctly ... To use just strictly a baitcast outfit for shakyhead fishing is akin to using the above mentioned shakyhead spinning reel for punching into thick vegetation - there simply is a better way here .

Curious how YOU rig a centipede straight up & down with the ribs on top OR rig it on the flat side ?

I should have added I mainly stay with 1/2oz. football jigs and only use a baitcast combo for football jig work ... Looks to be an application where 12lb. to 15lb. FC is most popular !

What is your football jig line set up : Straight FC ? Straight Braid ? Braid + FC or Mono Leader ? ... I'm trying to decide my football jig line set up for <15ft. open water with scattered gravel / rocks in a Southern reservoir ?

Good alternative if required ... I thought about friction tape but it possibly would build up more than necessary.

Thanks DH - good to know just in case .

You will get a good deal if you stay with a BPS combo as others above have suggested ... Otherwise you should check out a Shimano Sellus series spinning rod in the application you most use.

Alonerankin2 - Thanks ... If I have a good experience I would possibly look at the Sellus Drop Shot model IF there was an opportunity to compare four or five of the same model side by side . You have to remember these rods are made in China and at a $49.00 price point the workmanship , sorting , quality , etc. is going to allow what is acceptable at the price point to go through as "good" versus having a straight rod blank guides with good wraps (it can be done - I just had to go through a few to find "it"). In fairness to Shimano - the initial quality is better than other manufacturers at this price point ... I'm not too hard on my equipment and maintain it well ...Time will tell how the Sellus series holds up - however looking forward to the journey !

Good comment - I actually tried this rod at the store today using a Abu Garcia 2500 series spinning reel as well as a Shimano 2500 series spinning reel : Both worked quite well ... The key (per the salesman) is to center the front "foot" of the spinning reel frame into the front reel seat insert first , then center it and finally hold the reel in place while you tighten up the rear of the reel seat (what we were always taught to do ?) . * This reel seat is very light weight graphite / polymer material and I believe with care and occasionally checking to make sure the reel is snug in the reel seat there should be no real issues . I would also caution against reeling down on a big fighting fish with this rod vs. lowering the rod tip and reeling with less pressure on the line and reel . Finally , the store had 5 Sellus SUSX68M's (Shakeyhead model) so I checked them one by one to pick out the one with the best straight spine , made sure all guides were straight , wraps / epoxy were perfect and no nicks or imperfections .... Hard to beat for $49.00 ! I will pair with my older (but still excellent ) Shimano Sahara 2500 , 10 lb. Sufix 832 braid , 7lb. Sniper FC leader , 1/8th oz. Spot Remover jig head with Zoom Swamp Crawlers or Roboworms on the business end for Georgia spots putting the feedbag on for winter .

Power Pro , Sufix , etc. 40lb. braid is the same diameter as 10lb. mono which for years and years has been the defacto lowest lb. test that most bait casters cared to use (12lb. mono has been the standard) . If you want to use lower than 40lb. braid - just skip the baitcaster all together and go straight to <20lb. braid and a spinning reel . * Gary Yamamoto wrote an article detailing his switch to lower weight braid and spinning reels - basically saving his baitcasting set ups for : Carolina Rigs , Crank Baits , Big Swim Baits , Pitching & Flipping heavier soft baits and jigs ... Everything else is now spinning (mostly with braid) using a Co-Poly leader & braid to match top water applications or FC leader & braid to match sub surface applications .

After additional research - there were only two promising fixes I found : 1 . Is Friction Tape (sold at Home Depot ) which you could use to build up either the reel seat of the reel frame ends . The 2nd fix was a 3/4th inch X 1/16th inch cork strip for rods that could be purchaced by the foot and placed on the reel seat (available from here) : http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Surf-Rod-Building/Cork-Tape-per-ft .

The series of Shimano spinning rods I'm interested in (new Sellus split grip) is nice for the money - but some reviewers complain of a wider than normal reel seat which can cause the frame of the spinning reel to canter a few degrees sideways while reeling and / or cause a feeling that the reel is not locked down and secure . In order to combat this problem I thought about tightly wrapping some electrical or friction tape around the reel frame ends where they secure into the Shimano Sellus rod reel seat to "beef it up" a bit and cut down on gap space between the reel frame ends and the reel seat width space . Your thoughts ? ...Anybody with a Shimano Sellus spinning rod encountering the same problem ?

+1 ...Excellent job Mike - you know your jigs ! Current customer & 100% satisfied !

Baitcast 15lb - 20lb : Seaguar InvizX

All said and done , I'm willing to try the regular PP and Sufix Performance first before moving up to a higher priced braid - I may not even need .