TyF

I have both and personally like the swaver better for colder water and the gantaral jr for warmer water. The slow side to side action of the swaver can not be beat in fall, winter, and spring. I have had some amazing days on the swaver. The gantaral shines in ponds and during summer months. One significant difference that is worth mentioning is the gantarel floats and is almost like a crankbait with the side fins being the reason it dives at all. You can only get it down 3-4 ft. The swaver sinks slowly allowing you to count it down and fish deeper points more effectively. Hope this helps.

I fish whenever I have free time whether it is an hour or 6 hours doesn't matter. The only weather that can stop me is high winds and lightning. For me, I fish smaller ponds most of the time and know what ponds are best for what times of year. I also know where I have caught fish in each pond on what for each time of year. If I have a long time to fish I will generally go somewhere where I know I can catch fish if conditions are just right but it isn't guaranteed and then if that doesn't work I head to my honey holes where I know exactly what they are biting and where. I like to start out with a challenge to see if I can find something different knowing that I have a back up plan if that doesn't work out.

So I have a Shimano Saros 3000F and the rubber on the knob is warn down almost completely to the metal. I know I could just buy the replacement part from shimano but they are not cheap and I am not a huge fan of the design. I was curious if there is an option to get an aftermarket knob for this reel. I looked at hawgtech and like the winn grip but wasnt sure if they would fit on this reel. Any suggestions on brands or what types of knobs fit this reel is much appreciated.

Summer: Lucky Craft Sammy 100 in American shad Winter: Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in chart shad

The only lures lucky craft makes that I would consider far superior and worth the money is their jerkbaits. Don't get me wrong I love all of lucky crafts lures but the ones that stand out as better than the cheaper stuff is jerkbaits. You are paying for their consistency. I use jerkbaits for river smallies in the winter and for that type of fishing you need the bait to suspend perfectly in the water for periods of 20-30 seconds or more. Lucky craft is the only brand I have tried where 9/10 times the bait suspends perfectly right out of the package and runs straight to get there. I have tried other cheaper jerkbaits (1/2 the price) and I have found that 1/10 or so will be perfect out of the package. I do not have the patients to fine tune my baits before I use them on the water every time. therefore I just bite the bullet and spend the extra money on lucky craft.

I keep it simple as well. I use a rage craw or babe rage craw (depending on size of jig) if the fish are really active (summer mostly) and a baby paca craw whenever they aren't. I like the paca craw more and will throw it 90% of the time even if the fish are really active because of the hollow body. The hollow body allows you to get the trailer perfectly straight without worrying about getting the hook perfectly centered in the body of the plastic the whole time. All you need to do is get it centered for the first 1/4 inch then you can adjust as needed.

I like the Zoom Shakey head worms when bass are particularly finicky or in the winter and Biospawn Plasma tail when bass are a little more active or I am looking for a bigger presentation.

Live target all day. One of the only fishing products I am truly passionate about and wont buy anything else. Tried the spro poppin frog one night and missed 7 strikes in a row. they are really stiff in my opinion (not sure if that's what caused the misses or it was just me) but as soon I switched back to the live target I didn't miss another fish. second choice would be booyah if money is an issue.

I'm looking at buying myself a good rain bib as I have been dealing with the $10 plastic ones for years now. So what are your favorite rain pants in the $100-$150 range. I have been seriously looking at buying the Columbia American angler bib but wanted to hear some suggestions first. Thanks, Tyler

I havnt fished it in a while but I did fish it once or twice after they drained it and can honestly say that the fishing was better than my previous trips. before the drain I would go out and catch 1-5 fish most being under 2 pounds and one lunker (5-6lbs). After they drained it they restocked it with many bass in the 2-4 pound range. my buddy and I went for a 5 hour trip and caught about 10 fish each all in the 2-4.5lb range. no lunkers this time but constant activity with decent fish. This was right after they restocked it and I haven't fished it since so I have no clue how the fishing has been in the past few months.

X2 on the 3D Bluegill. I got mine for Christmas and have caught about 20 bass on the same bait including 2 new PBs this year. It is extremely realistic and pretty durable. I have glued my bait many times from rips and tears but it still works great. I throw mine on a H rod and braid (even though flouro would work too).

I fish the golf courses by me in Virginia at night all the time. I have had some amazing nights fishing hollow body frogs and wake baits. I usually use the darkest color I have. Or if the bottom of my frog is white I will just color it with a sharpie. Night fishing golf courses is probably one of my favorite ways to catch them.

Live target. Only frog I use because it is durable, worth the price, and has quality materials. my first one lasted 2 years, hundreds of bass, 3 snakehead, a catfish, and a snapping turtle and still floated every cast. Second choice would be booyah.

Great reel IMO. I just switched to all lews from shimano and have a LFS, 2 TPGs, and a Lazer Tournament. They are all great reels. for $100 I think the LFS is the best reel on the market right now. You wont be disappointed.

Headed to Daytona beach this weekend for my girlfriends sisters dance competition. (I was along for the ride) We got there Wednesday night around 11pm and went straight to bed. Each morning of the trip I got up around 6:30am to get some fishing in before everyone else woke up. Day 1: I only had my bass stuff with me so I was restricted to freshwater or back water reds and such. On day 1 I decided to head to a pond I was directed to by someone on another forum. It was about 20 mins from my hotel and one of the few ponds I fished that had brush all around the lake and no houses around it. I was told there were big bass in there and it sure looked like there would be. I spent about 1.5 hours there with only a few 1 pound bass to show for it all caught on a senko. I decide to head up the road a mile to a neighborhood pond to see what I could do. Right when I walked up to the lake a big swirl left the bank and it looked promising. I steadily caught some 1-3 pound fish (all post-spawn and SUPER skinny) all on senkos. Some of those fish were 20" inches and only 3 pounds because of how skinny they were. I decide to start throwing my Matt Lures 5" Bluegill ( http://www.***.com/Mattlures_Ultimate_Bluegill_Series_Swimbait/descpage-MLUBG.html ) to see if I could get any bigger bites and almost immediately caught another 3 pound 20" bass with a huge head. Then I made a cast to a corner of the lake and saw a huge swirl by my bait that was 20 ft away from me. I set the hook with my heavy flipping rod and she did not budge. I got super excited. I was shaking the whole time as this was by far the biggest bass I had ever hooked. I get her on shore and could not believe what I was looking at. the 5" swimbait has disappeared in her mouth. I think she wanted it. I snapped a few pictures took some measurements and she swam of strong. This thing was a beast. Almost reminded me of the barramundi they catch down in Australia. She measured 26" yes that's 26"(calling it 26" because she was bent a little and her mouth was past the 0" mark) but was so skinny that she only weighed 7.69 pounds. It was a bitter sweet moment because if I caught her a week or 2 before or after she would have been over 10 pounds which is a lifetime goal of mine. Even with being so skinny she was still my PB. but this just means that I will have to catch her again sometime down the road. So enjoy some pictures: Day 2: Tried for some reds in a creek off the Halifax river with some live shrimp and only ended up with a few jacks, mangrove snapper, and ladyfish. I did however find a brackish water pond. At first I didn't know it was brackish and picked up a few bass. I tried for a bigger bass that was on a bed but couldn't get him to bite. Then I saw a monster and tried for him for a while. only to realize that it was not a bass. I'm not actually sure what type of fish it was but it looked like a huge ciclid or maybe tilapia. any info on what it could have been would be appreciated. I found out it was a brackish water pond when I saw a school of mullet swim by with a few bass chasing after them. that was cool. Day 3: I rounded out the trip by going back to the same pond as the first and caught plenty more 2-4 pound bass bu nothing big this time. Overall it was a great trip. Shannon (my girlfriends sister) won the national championship with the JMU Dukettes, I got to hangout with my girlfriend at the beach, and I got some great fishing time in. I cant wait to go back and try to get that fish when she is fat.

Been out twice in the past week near Blacksburg and caught a 19" on a pointer and 3 smaller ones on tubes including a muskie today. They were hanging in the seems. hope this helps.

I like black bellies on my frog no matter wat. if the belly isn't black out of the box I will color it black with a sharpie. In my opinion the fish sees the shadow rather than the actual colors so the black belly adds to the shadow. BTW, I frog fish 75% of the time in the summer and always use the black belly. Works great and catches some hogs.

I use an Avid 6'6" ML for most of my smallmouth applications. When I am just messing around in a creek I use a ST Croix L Trout rod. I have used that rod with a small 4" case fluke with lots of success and fun. My hookup ratio is definitely less with the light rod as it just doesn't have the backbone I need but I have also caught some decent fish (17") on it and that was a blast. I have also had a lot of heart breaks getting a solid hit and not getting the hook in them. I fish on the Shenandoah and Potomac most of the time so yes it is possible but I wouldn't use it as my main smallmouth rod. The ML is still super fun and I have caught some hogs on it in current with no problem.

Thanks man! That helps out a lot! I have been looking around google maps and finding plenty of water but it is hard to tell from the maps if it is posted or not and if they are actually fishable. I will start there and try and find other ponds myself. Thanks again man I will tell you how I do. Did you see any fish in the canal that is right next to it?

Hey guys quick question. I am heading down to Daytona for the weekend of April 9 and was hoping to get some fishing in. Not looking to hire a charter and only have my bass set ups so I'm limited to either fishing freshwater or going for reds and trout and such inshore. Also don't have a boat/yak so limited to the shore as well. Any info on where I could fish from shore for big bass or reds/trout would be greatly appreciated. I would love to find a canal I can walk and catch bass or saltwater species. Ponds that don't have "no trespassing" would be great too. I am willing to travel 30 mins or so out of Daytona if needed. Any other general info about the area would be great too. I plan on stopping by the local tackle shop when I get there and asking these questions but wanted your input first. Thanks, Tyler

Ive worked for a fishing camp for 4 summers now so I know a thing or two about taking kids out and most of the key points have been covered in this thread. first and most important make sure they catch a fish. Doesn't matter how big or what species just a fish. Second is to let them stop when they want to. For me there is not an option of going home mid day so we find other ways to make time go by like bring a net so they can catch frogs and crayfish and such. This kills some time and they have a blast. Next is I recommend going to a small stream and wading it with them. They love to go swimming every once in a while to take a break. If you do this you have to engrave in their brain not to let the reel go under water. we have lost countless reels and broken rods due to kids letting them get submerged. Make sure you take a second before actually fishing to go over the basics of handling a rod and casting with them. Fishing with kids can be extremely frustrating at times but also very rewarding.

WdyCrankbait, Yep! And I'm loving every second of it.

got my first frog fish of the year last night and she went 3 pounds my buddy switched over and caught a 5 pounder right after. nothing on my swim jig or chatterbait.they are definitely moving and thinking about spawning.

This has been by far my best start to a year yet. The 7.5lber is the one in my profile pic and my new pb. Found some new ponds over winter and they have been paying off big time.

Went out 3 times in the past week and caught about 10 fish each day. Most of my bass were caught on moving baits like a swim jig and a rattle trap including a 7.5lber and two 5lbers. My smaller bites were on shakey heads and drop shots. The big ones seemed to be hanging on the deeper grass edges in my ponds.