FishTank

Good luck and come home safely. My cousin has been in the Middle East for eight years; Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We hope to bring him home soon.

I too watch very little TV but 24 is my favorite show. This season is OK. I think that they always have a filler show that pretty much means nothing. It drags the show down so the next episode is just that much better. Just a side note, I got AT&T U-Verse this week and was able to set my receiver to record from a computer while I was on the road. When I got back I was able to watch it in HD as it was broadcast. As my son says "Bitchin' Technology" (I hope the language is OK).

Soft Plastic: The Zoom Lizards I got from Dick's for $1.00 a bag or maybe the any of the GYCBs, I also got from Dick's, for $3.78 a bag. Hard bait: XCalibur Lipless baits I got for $2.00, again at Dick's. Spinnerbaits: The old fashioned Roster Tails are my favorite.

I have to agree with Alpster as well. I have tried 10lb, 20lb, 30lb and 50lb in either PowerPro, Sufix or Firewire. The heavier lines just worked better, especially the 30lb Sufix. The Sufix casted well, not great, but it held up longer than the rest. With that said, I like 50lb PowerPro better for my baitcasting rods. :-?

I tend to use 10lb P-line floroclear more than anything but I use alot of different lines for various specific things, like 50lb PowerPro braid for heavy cover, 14lb Gamma (just purchased) or 15 P-Line floroclear for worms and jigs, 6lb P-Line or 6lb Yo-Zuri for light cover or open water with my spinning reels, and 10lb P-Line Evolution (also new) for just whatever. I guess, I'll use anything as long as it catches fish.

My choice would be a Quantum Energy Pti-a 20 and a St. Croix Avid AS66MF. I have two of these the Energy reels and with a full season and half of use, both have performed perfectly. They have been an excellent reel for the money.

XCalibur has been my favorite. They have very sharp hooks and they tend to hold up better than most.

I like both as well but I tend to use Gamakatsu hooks more than I do the Owner. I just tend to have more luck with the Gamakatsu EWG hooks.

If you could share a little more info, such as what equipment you are currently using; rod length, power, and action; line type and weight; and what type and size of cranks you want to through. You might be able to work with what you have or just a slight modification such as changing line.

Just thought I would share a good idea. I tried a G-Lock 4/0 hook based on a friends recommendation and I found it to be a perfect fit for Fat Ikas. It was as if it were made just for this bait. It has a wider bend and the tip of the hook curves down slightly to hold the Ika perfectly. If you fish the Ika, I would highly recommend giving this hook a try.

I caught alot of fish on the Chatterbait last year but then I tried the Booyah version and I liked it even better. The problems I found with both of them were knots breaking and snags. I fixed the line breaking by changing the way I would cast them and by using a braided knot. As far as the snaging goes, I found that if you leave some slack in the line the bait will turn over. So a slow retrieve with no slack line and no hard jerks works well for me. But bottom line, there are better options out there to catch fish.

Before I bought a high speed Zillion, I used a Shimano Sustain spinning reel. I have found that this baitcaster to be the best for jerkbaits. I love the Sustain but for a specific purpose it boils down to how much slack line I pull in to get a quick jerk and short pause. Of course this is a personal preference.

For under $200, it would have to be the Johnny Morris rod from BPS or the a St. Croix Avid.

After today I don't care who knows about the Ika as long as the fish bite on it like they did today. I caught so many fish on the Ika, including an 8lb channel catfish, that I lost count. I went through a whole bag of Green Pumpkin with Black Flake. I was rigging it backwards at first but when the bait started to look tore up, I rigged it the other direction. Just an awesome bait.

I looked at both and decided on the Zillion. It just looked and felt like a better quality reel. So far it has been just short of perfect.

Up until last year no one I knew fished the Ika and they were always easy to get at Dick's or Gander Mountian but now everybody is using these things and they are getting harder to find. For example, I bought the last 3 bags they had at Dicks tonight. So I guess the secrets out.

I stopped at Gander Mountain tonight to pick up a new bag(refill) of Fat Ikas Black w/blue flake and some other odds and ends and as I went to pay the for them a guy in line told me that Dick's had them on sale. So I went across the street and they had them 20% off. Not bad. But when the cashier scanned a bag of Senkos I had also picked up, the price on those was $4.78. He then said that all of these are $4.78, meaning all GYCB. I asked him to hold on so I could go get some more and as I went up stairs, a guy hands me a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. Bottom line, I paid $41.58 for 11 bags ($3.78 each). I bought Ikas, swimming senkos and laminate senkos which are all normally $6.99 a bag. I have often spoke out against their lack of customer service but when they have a sale I am nothing but .

I have to say the Senko is my favorite of all baits but like Avid I tend to mix it up. Sometimes, based on what mood I am in, insticts kicks in and says "One fish, one bait." I usually have three rods set up for a specific bait so once I catch a fish on one rod/reel/bait set up, I put it down and pick up something else. Of course, this depends upon what conditions I am fishing in and sometimes when a particular bait gets hot, I won't stop until fish stop biting.

Terminator has to be favorite and maybe Booyah second. I don't care for Strike King. I have a few that have rusted and in general, I was not pleased with how they performed.

Topwater: Sammy or a Zoom Lizard with a light weight and slightly faster retreive.

For me it's a tie between the American Shad and the Misty Shad in the 100sp size.

I have not fished or seen a TD-Z. How does it compare to other reels on the market?

The Swimming Senko has become one of my favorite baits. I have been T-Rigging it with either a 4/0 ore 3/0 EWG and a 3/16 bullet weight. I have yet to fing a color the fish won't bite on. I caught nine LMBs today on the Purple with Emerald flake. I have also fished them with a screw in bullet weight but have had better success with a regular bullet weight. I tend to very my retreive and sort of fish like a jerkbait sometimes.

For me they are money well spent. They run true, catch fish and for some reason I don't tend to loose as many as I do others. For example, I lost 5 Rapala Silver DT-4's last year compared to loosing only one LC and I tend to fish LC's more than anything else.

I'd go for the MBR843C.