fishballer06

I pay more attention to what the pro's are throwing that they AREN'T sponsored by... There are pro's out there who don't have reel sponsors. Take a look at what they're using. There are pro's that are sponsored by crankbait company "X", and yet you see them reel a fish in and you notice brand "Y" in the fishes mouth. A minute later the pro is telling you how great brand "X" crankbaits are and how they helped him catch that last fish. Happens all the time...

Still 2 and a half hours until weigh in's start. Lots can happen in that time boys.

That moderate action will not be ideal for plastics, but it should work well for cranks, spinner/chatter baits, topwaters, etc.

Knowing your budget would greatly help us steer you in the right direction. Without knowing your price range, here's a few of my setups for cranking 10'+ cranks. Rods: Dobyns Champion 705CB and 765CB Dobyns Champion 806CB for the really big stuff St. Croix Avid 7' MH-Mod and H-Mod Reels: Shimano Chronarch 201E5 Shimano Stile 101PG Daiwa Zillion CC 4.9:1

Nope

Japan Tackle has them. http://japantackle.com/casting-reels/shimano/low-profile-casting-reels/reg0000216.html

If it's broken, then sure. Take the $14 credit and get a new 2.0. However, if it's still in working condition, I'd rather spend the extra $14 and have a backup rod.

You can get a brand new Veritas for $79 at any Dick's, Field & Stream, and most online stores like TW. You're a fool to trade in a rod and pay $65 for a Veritas 2.0.

I can't say I know of any value to these reels. A quick FleaBay search should show you what they're going for if there's any out there for sale.

Here is a photo of one while it's molting.

Sniper FC is my go to fluoro. InvisX isn't a bad line either, but it is definitely one of the stretchiest fluorocarbon lines out there. I would highly recommend buying a spool of Sniper to try out for yourself. If you don't see much difference, then go back to your InvisX, but I"m willing to bet you'll really like the Sniper FC.

Yes, the Risto Raps were great lures. The Down Deeps are another discontinued Rapala bait. Below is an old Bassmaster article talking about David Fritts and his cranking (David helps design the Risto Rap and DT, along with a bunch of other crankbaits). http://www.bassmaster.com/lip-service-deep-largemouths

As stated, it's a Risto Rap. They've been discontinued since around the late 90's/early 00's. Probably about the time the DT was released.

How are those Big Z's? Are they a balsa equivalent of the Grenade?

These look great Bill. Let me know if you're selling any.

There are quite a few posts on this website asking this same question if you use the search feature. In a short answer: Dobyns Fury 795 Okuma Guide Select 7'11" Heavy

Well Rick, I'm sure you could always haggle them down in price... I mean, that is how you make your living...

The market is so flooded in the $80-130 range...

It's essentially an Aldebaran, but with a deeper spool for use with cranks and other applications that require longer casting, and it has a clicking drag. They also come stock with a 102mm handle, which is great for cranking applications. Here's a good look at my 101PG Stile:

I'd go to Japan and pre-order the Stile 150PG. I got the 101PG Stile last year and loved it for cranking lighter cranks. The new 150 size will be even better suited for deeper cranks because of the deeper spool.

This is a tough question. Better buy both!

I never did well with them. They have long disappeared into one of my Plano boxes of lures I never use...

I threw my name into the ring. Good luck this year guys!

Although it is ethically (and sometimes legally) frowned upon, ripping a rattle trap through a school of shad can usually snag you one or two. If you are in Northern Michigan and you're seeing "shad" in a pond this time of year, there should be some dead one's floating around. As the two guru's above mentioned (WRB and Francho), shad die off once the water gets cold in the northern states. The only way they can survive is if the body of water they are in is deep enough to maintain some warm enough water for them to survive the winter. Like WRB said, it's very doubtful that they are shad in a pond in your neck of the woods, but it's not totally impossible. I know whenever I was in New York salmon fishing in late October this fall, one of the rivers we were fishing (that was connected to Lake Ontario) had big schools of 3-4" shad swimming up stream and some were dying off as they went. I was shocked to see it, but I saw it with my own eye's.

My tournament partner bought a set 3-4 years ago and they've worked great for him. He's never had any complaints about his.