fishballer06

I'm glad to see them back!

I bought one to try out based of JW helping design it. It's a quality buzzbait. However, the one I have doesn't come in straight no matter how I try to tune it to run straight. I know this doesn't affect how the fish bite it, but I like to be able to have a straight running buzzbait for navigating it around structure on the waters surface. I'm sure if I bought a couple more, I would get a few that run straight. However, I'm a Cavitron guy and I've already got dozens of them, so I see no reason to switch.

Are you fishing from shore or boat? That alone can determine what is practical/worth carrying around. If you like frogging, a 7-7'6" Heavy rod would be a good addition. That rod could also work for heavier jigs, carolina rigs, and lighter swimbaits as well. I would also recommend a cranking rod, but you said you're not into moving baits much. If you'd like to get into them, I'd recommend a 7' MH Mod action rod. That rod will be practical for a lot of uses. Cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, topwaters, swim jigs, etc.

The pointer's, Sammy's, and Aska's all came from my local Field & Stream. Bottom left is a gavocho frog. Jackall's new popping frog to replace the previous Iobee. Courtesy of my Fishmas loot!

Have you seen Penn States kicker? The guy has been laying people out in the NCAA.

You'll enjoy the ci4. It's a very comfortable reel to palm, and the spool still has the capacity to allow it to be a great all around reel. You can bomb heavy topwaters, and you can throw 1/4oz baits with ease as well. It's a really sweet spot of a size. The new braking system is also a nice touch. I usually set mine half on, half off internally, and then I can just fine adjust with the external dial throughout the day as conditions/baits change.

Chartruese shiner is my best producing color

I've been investing in Japanese baits pretty heavily this winter...

I've got my 71XG setup with just enough mono to cover the spool and then 50# FX2 for a mainline. I can bomb a 1/2oz frog into the next area code. If you're going to be flipping and pitching, I would still recommend putting a thin layer of mono down like I said, or wrap the spool with a wrap of electrical tape. Braid will slip otherwise.

I grew up in Bedford. Nice to see another local!

Guys use them, but they may not talk about it. I will agree with you that the Jitterbug does produce fish, and quality one's at that. One down fall of the bait is that it must be fished slow and hookups aren't the greatest for a treble hooked lure.

Welcome, Mock! What part of central PA are you from?

Mono and FC I am leary of once it gets more than a year or two old. It can get stiff and brittle with time. Like others have said, sunlight can be an enemy of nylon lines. Braid, however, is a different story. I've used braid on the same reel for years.

Throw a 6-8" Hudd. If a fish can swallow that and get the hook in its mouth, then you've got a quality fish.

You mean to tell me your real name isn't Catt...

In regards to your post @j bab, I see you've only been a member here around 6 months, so I'll give you some of the background story: @FishinDaddy was the one who always organized and ran this Fishmas Event for years. However, he hasn't been active on the forums in months, so no one knows what happened with him. Hopefully everything is ok with him and he just hasn't been online. I had brought it up publicly here that I would like to continue this tradition even if FishinDaddy wasn't around to run it. @deaknh03 was kind enough to step and up put this event on this year without the proper planning or time to run this the way it should have. So I'd like to tip my cap to deakNH for putting on this event for everyone on such short notice. Moving forward to next year, maybe deakNH and I can organize this a little bit better to give everyone a little more notice and get even more participation.

My package just shipped out yesterday to my person. UPS took 11 business days to deliver my Tackle Warehouse package. I do a lot of shipping with my business, and FedEx is the only company that has been on time this entire holiday season.

You can throw a 168 S-Waver on a standard MH rod. They don't have much resistance in the water and you can fish them on standard gear. If you're looking to throw some stuff in the 1.5-2oz range but still want a practical rod, check out the Dobyns Champion 806CB.

It's that d**n Loch Ness

The new layout is going to certainly take some getting used to on a desktop. The layout is a bit wonky and everything feels very compact and things are in odd places. The mobile is very difficult to navigate and do anything that should be a simple task. I'll probably stop getting on here with the mobile site being how it is now.

FX2 is quality stuff. It holds it's color decently too, which I could care less about because I use it for topwater/frogs.

I believe the Ohio River is still soft.

Bill Lewis uses the following terms for the following sizes. Tiny trap - 1/8oz Mini trap - 1/4oz Original trap - 1/2oz

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I like to be safer rather than sorry. Most of my leaders are 18-24", and sometimes I'll make them up to around 36" if it's really clear water with a slow presentation. Yes, it is nice to cut and retie throughout the day, but in my opinion, that's where you can get in trouble. If you have a FC leader, and you cut and retie, cut and retie, rinse and repeat, to the point that your 7' leader is now 1', you should probably be tying a brand new leader knot as well. When using braid, which doesn't stretch, and a fluorocarbon or mono leader, which does stretch, keep in mind that over time, that fluorocarbon or mono gets thinner and weaker with each cast/fish/cover it comes into contact with. So in my thinking, I'd rather have a fresh leader material than having a super long leader that I can cut and retie five/six/seven times.

Raw HTML... I dread the days in high school of having to develop HTML web pages. I have a website that I run my paintball business with. There are so many tools and engines out there that make creating a webpage a piece of cake these days, you'd be a fool to actually take the time to type up all that HTML coding.