fishballer06

Well, this should certainly shake things up a bit in the bass fishing world. BASS is allowing competitors to use rods in length of up to 10 feet next year. The rule has been 8 feet maximum since 1976. What are everyone's thoughts on this? http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bass-rod-length-92616.html

I've had terrible experiences with Red Label on spinning gear. It just springs off the spool for me. Switched to multiple different Sunlines fluorocarbons and I've had no issues like that at all. For me, I use either straight fluoro or braid with a leader.

Don't get too frustrated. Keep at it. The water being 85* is half the problem. Fish just don't bite well whenever it's that warm. Soon the water will be dropping to 70* and below and the fishing will get better.

I've never heard anyone call a walleye a pike. Maybe that's a New York thing? Around here, pickeral refers to a chain pickeral, as in an offbreed of a northern pike. However, the Canadians call walleyes "pickeral". This can lead to a confusing conversation if you don't know that someone is Canadian. However, I can usually decipher what they mean after I hear them say "eh?"...

I bought a spool of this whenever it was released, then I saw a few bad reviews, so I decided to give it to my buddy. He is using it now. He gets a lot of tip wraps/wind knots with it, but other than that, it's been fine so far.

This should help.

Hackney, Van Dam, Ashley, Swindel, Gribsby, Biffle. They've certainly got a great pro staff and those guys win with them. Like I said and many have probalby noticed, I'm pretty much a through and through Shimano guy, but last week I snagged a Tour MG for a steal of a price on the big auction site. This reel has caught my eye ever since it was released and I've been wanting to try it, and for the money I picked this reel up for, I couldn't go wrong. I mean, if Quantum is going to charge $280 for a reel, it can't be that bad, right? So I got my Tour MG in last night. I spooled it up with some 12lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid, set the tension knob and drag and mounted it on a SC LTB 7'1" M-F and went to a local pond to test it out. First cast, poof. Terrible backlash. Second cast, poof. Third, fourth, fifth... I knew I had to figure out how to open the side plate and adjust the brakes. Couldn't figure it out on my own, so I had to search YouTube. Got it figured out. Why on earth Quantum ships these from the factory with the brakes on 0 is beyond me... But I set it to 3 and started throwing a weightless Senko texas rigged. It handled this lightweight rig well and the reel felt good in the hands. I ended up catching one small one doing this. I switched over to topwater right before dark and threw a Pompadour Jr. No luck on that, but the reel casted well and had no issues. Now that I've figured out how this thing works, I'm curious to really test it out and see how it holds up. I doubt I'll be selling all my Shimano's, but it seems decent so far. It bogles me that Quantum's flagship reel doesn't have an externally adjustable braking system in 2016... Maybe once I put this reel through its paces I'll post up a full review.

When in doubt, downsize your baits. Best advice I can give for smallies.

Fathead's. Perch, crappie, bluegill, white bass, rock bass. They will catch them all.

The level of your competition doesn't change anything. You still need to catch the fish. It's you against the fish, just like any other normal day on the water.

I don't think he was referring to the fish... On a more serious note, 30 lb. braid with a 12lb. fluoro leader is my personal choice.

I feel like this topic was just asked a week or two ago... Either way, my answer hasn't changed. Shad Rap Wiggle wart DT Cavitron

As others have said, and as I have done with PB's of mine, get a picture or two of it printed out, put it in a shadowbox frame, and you can hang the lure you caught it on in there. I should take photo's of what I've done with some of my fish and post them here.

I'm a Shimano guy myself, but last week I snagged a Tour MG PT for an unreal price. Should be delivered today. Can't wait to test it out!

I recently just upgraded my wader game, thanks to Francho's advice. I went with the Frogg Toggs Hellbender stockingfoot breathables. They were $84 shipped. And then I got myself a pair of Cabelas wading boots on sale for $47. If you go with a stockingfoot wader, you'll need some kind of shoe/boot to go over the stocking. An old pair of sneakers will work if you're on a budget, but a pair of decent boots will give you better grip and ankle support in the water.

$70 is a fair chunk of change. You're talking 6-7 boxes of 9mm with that difference. I try to haggle with mom and pop shops all the time whenever it comes to purchasing a firearm. If they won't come down in price, ask them if they'll throw in ammo instead. More often than not, they'll budge some for you. Especially if you're a loyal customer.

That's a hog of a trout!

Gantarel (and Jr) are great baits. S Waver is a great bait, and you're only hurting yourself if you refuse to buy this bait because it's made by R2S. Keitech Swing Impact Fat, LF Magic Shad, or BPS Speed Shad if you don't already have some of these are another staple that BPS should carry.

Just went back and read my first post. I talked about the Rapala BX Minnow jerkbaits and how I was doing so well on them. Funny thing is, I don't think I've caught a fish (or even used) on a BX Minnow in probably two years.

I have no problem paying for custom painted work. I have dozens of custom painted cranks from about 7-8 different guys who I know either personally or from online. I also have quite a few soft plastics from Doyles Custom Baits, which I have been very impressed by. I guess I've always shy'd away from Krew's stuff because he's significantly even more money than most of the custom painters/pourers that I have experienced elsewhere. But it's good to hear your recommendation, which I value. Perhaps I'll have to try out some of his stuff and see for myself.

A-Jay, Have you ever bought any of Krew's stuff? He makes some great looking plastics and painted cranks, but his prices are much higher than I'm willing to pay.

I had an evening like this last June in Canada. The bass were busting the surface everywhere in the shallow, weedy bay that I was in, and I quickly realized it was dragonflies they were chasing. I put on a black buzzbait and I probably caught 30+ fish in the next hour or so.

You also need to understand that these guys get all the free line they want from sponsors. Most of them will respool after a day or two on the water with every reel.

Great action and durability. The tail isn't as widely booted and the body is thicker where it connects to the tail, so it has a more subtle/natural kick to it as it swims (compared to the Impact Fat). I think this also helps with durability because there is some more material there and it helps whenever you get short strikes and those bluegill/crappie bites that suck the tail right now. I know whenever I fish the 2.8 and 3.3 Keitechs on a fishhead spin, the tails get sucked off by the bluegill/crappie/perch faster than you even know it. The 5" baits are big, beefy baits. They're for fishing like a large swimbait with a large jig head type hook (kinda like a Hudd). They're not meant for a chatterbait trailer or anything like that.

How do you avoid pike? Move south... Commenting on the braid thing, I've noticed significantly less lost lures using braid than I have with mono or FC. The musky guys are using 100-150 lb. leaders, which is basically rope, and even those can get torn up.