fishballer06

I'm going to try to get my hands on the 96mm Metanium handle Edit: 96mm Metanium handle ordered

She finally arrived yesterday. I must say I really like the reel, all except for the handle length. It just seems a good bit shorter than all of my other reels. I might have to order a longer handle. Any recommendations guys?

I use these a bunch for walleye. They got bought out by another company a few years ago and have been discontinued. I have since been buying them up whenever I find ones that I like for sale online. I can't imagine that a bass wouldn't hit one though.

I can't speak for Red Label, but I can say that I can certainly feel much more with my Sunline Sniper FC while cranking than I can with YZ Hybrid.

I went Monday and bought a few Kastmasters. Checked out and didn't receive any discount. Oh well

I don't own a Phenix, but I do own a Savy 6'9" ML spinning rod. I bought it mostly for crappie/perch fishing, but I also use it for finesse bass/walleye fishing as well. This rod in particular is perfect for my use and I really enjoy this rod. They were smart enough to put the lure keeper down on the blank between the split grips, so that the line doesn't get wrapped around it in front of the reel.

My buddy was down there Sunday and the water was around 49-50*. Given that our tournament isn't until late June, I'm sure the fish will likely be in post spawn (65-70* if I had to guess). There are actually 2 dams on this lake. You can see the big, main one at the very south end, and then right above it on the right (tiny, skinny finger), there is another really small one as well. Interestingly enough, each of those little fingers on the left hand side of the lake has a creek running into them. Not sure how much water will be flowing from them in late June, as the mountain run off will likely be done by then. I know they used to stock trout in it, but I don't believe they have done that since 2001. I think they got tired of feeding the musky and walleye.

Thanks for the info. If you happen to get a water temperature at any of your local lakes in the next few weeks, I'd love to hear from you!

I have a tournament coming up in late June here in PA (once bass comes back in) and it's on a deep mountain lake. By deep, I am talking that you're 20 feet from shore and you're in 35 feet of water. If you look at the attached map, anything that is white is water deeper than 30 feet, anything in blue is less than 30 feet deep. Most of this lake out in the middle is between 50 and 80 feet deep. The giant flat up north that is all blue is a silt basin and is only a few inches deep, and isn't fishable water. And most of those little tiny fingers that come off are extremely shallow, as in 1 to 3 feet deep. This lake is mostly smallmouth, with a few largemouth in it. I have found a few area's where the transitions aren't quite as steep, and there looks to be some fishable 10-25' of water. Not many spots, but a few. Obviously everyone knows to fish humps and transitions, but on a lake that is literally all humps and transitions, where does one start and decide which humps are holding fish? And more importantly, what should I use to approach fish in these 25-40 foot deep areas? Jigs, spoons, drop shot, shakeyheads? I'd love to be able to throw cranks in those crankable water areas, but given that there will likely be 20+ other boats out there, I probably won't be able to get on those spots the entire time. Or is it best to approach a lake like this to cruise around and look for suspended fish and attack them that way? My boat has two HDS10's on it, so I have good electronics to help me out. I'm curious to see how everyone else would approach this. Thanks guys.

Not the clearest picture, but the one on the left definitely looks like a little minnow of some sort. There appears to be a forked tail, which is why I think it's some sort of minnow. Keep in mind, things can change colors whenever they die.

I live in Cranberry and I am not familiar with Cranberry Lake?

Is the employee discount still in effect? I might have to swing by DSG today after work.

I would take the Avid over the Rage any day of the week. If you really prefer the micro guides, the Avid X is the answer for you.

What crank are you throwing on that setup?

I'm headed up to the southern part of Ontario in the first part of June for a 10 day trip. I'll be around the Smith Falls/Perth area at a few different lakes. I was curious if you guys still have ice up there or not? If not, does anyone know the water temperatures so far? Thanks in advance!

I like to use a 6'10" MH-F Crucial for spinner/chatter baits.

Baby bass and tropical perch look great!

Chartruese rat-l-trap

The St. Croix Avid's are a strong contender in the sub $200 range.

Ordered my first reel ever straight from Japan

65 pound braid is overkill for a carolina rig. 40 pound should do you just fine and it will work great on the reel too.

Ok, so I'm inline with everyone else. Just wanted to double check. Thanks guys.

So I bought a few packs of the Swing Impact Fat's over the winter and I just fished them for the first time over the weekend. I must say I really like these baits so far. However it got me to wondering what other people are throwing these on? I was able to sling these things a "country mile" with the setup below, but I wanted to make sure I'm using the proper equipment. Avid 7' M-F Chronarch 51E YoZuri 12lb VMC 1/4oz. swimbait jig head Swing Impact Fat 4.3"

Whenever the water temperatures are low (as with pre spawn fishing), the action usually heats up with the air/water temperature as well. At 7 AM, the water might only be 52*, but come noon, the water could be up to 57*.