jdw174

I use 20lb Spiderwire Stealth or PowerPro 20lb on most of my reels including spinning. No negatives so far. I use co-poly leader joined with the double-uni knot.

Check out both the Humminbird and Lowrance sites and pick your poison. I've used Lowrance products for years and recently bought the H-bird 898 for use at the console and I'm not sorry I did. The least expensive models will have smaller screens. I suggest that you save your scheckels and get a larger screen version if possible. Let your fingers do the walking on the internet to get the best price. I saved almost $300 over catalog prices including free shipping and no sales tax by doing that. If you want to know where, drop me a PM. I'm still learning with mine and I love it.

[quote author=6769612D0 link=1291351737/19#19 date=1291460917 I don't know about other guys but I never could get the Slug-Go to work as a jerk bait. The action was too erratic and it had an upward movement that would cause it to jump and break the surface too much.

Ozark Mountain made a lure called a "Kingfisher" that is absolutely one of the best baits for fishing matted grass or slop that I've ever seen. I still have 3 of them. Ugly looking thing, but baby do they work!

I use the Lamiglas Excel 703 spinning rod and absolutely love it 8-)

The Bayou Boogie has been around a long time. It may dive some and it does indeed have a tight wiggle since it's a type of lipless crankbait. I haven't seen one in years....didn't even know they were still around.

Try a Jigging Rapala.

Hag's Tornado is my #1.

The best day I had fishing last year came on a morning in late October when the air temp was in the low 40's and the water temp was 53. I fished one 100yd stretch using a Sammy knockoff and my best five fish hit 22 pounds 8-). Don't be afraid of topwater on cool mornings.

Don't think I'd be hooking up a 12v accessory to a 24v system.

and it's everything I hoped it would be. Thanks to forum member R520DVX who did the installation. It's a lot simpler to use than the Lowrance 334ci unit it replaced. The menu is easy to follow. I spent some time setting in the garage playing with it in simulator mode (you can see your adjustments and save them while in this mode) so it was ready when I hit the water. Any regrets? Just one....that I didn't have the money to get the big screen 1197. 8-)

Go to their website and click on the "SALE" tab. They've always got a lot of items on sale that they don't advertise.

I second the Lamiglas Excel rods. Excellent rod that won't break the bank. Check them out at ***.com. Also take a look at the Powell Max.

If I see someone on a dock, I'll give it a wide berth. Saves problems that way. One time I was coming up on a dock that had a big float tube anchored in front of it. A woman came tearing out of the house and said that she'd lost a total of 5 tubes to fishermen who cast around and even INTO it, hooking the tube and deflating it. I assured her that I had no interest in her tube and bypassed both it and the dock altogether.

After fishing for Lake Erie smallies for years, I prefer spinning for "almost" all bottom bouncing lures. Wouldn't use it for CB's or C-rigging or heavier jigs/worms, but for the light stuff I'll take spinning anytime.

I carry 2 or 3 different ones and don't use any of them. Never saw where they made a difference, but that's just my opinion.

Bomber Square A is one of my mainstays.

Called Humminbird. Girl said that all 800-900 series units are being packaged with owner's manual on disk instead of printed and that it was something that their R&D dept was trying out. I told her that was fine, but when you have a unit that was capable of so much it would be nice to have something to refer to while learning how to use it. My printed manual is in the mail.

20lb braid, 10lb leader on spinning tackle. Gammy dropshot hook (#1). Lure can be most any soft plastic, but I've been using 4" shakey worms with good success. I leave the weight on the bottom while working the rod tip, moving after a bit. Love hookin' 'em smack in the old eye tooth.

I read about these in the last issue of FLW Outdoors, then saw them at ***. You have to see the action of these things on a shakeyhead. They are totally sick 8-) !! The rings trap air so that they stand straight up in the water, and if you're kinda dancing them along the bottom they have an action that, well, undulates. You can fish them wacky style, but you'll be able to have a smoke waiting on them to get to the bottom if they're unweighted. The photos below are of the color I've been getting my action on, called California Red. The top is almost a dark brown while the bottom is greenish. It's laced with red flake. IMO, this thing is the cat's behind. Gotta order some more.

Before and during rain I've had some of my best days fishing. I know that they say the day after a front is tough, but again, I've had very good days on the FIRST day after. The second day has been far tougher for me.

My Mad-N's do the same thing on occasion. When casting, try not to put a lot of "snap" in the toss, and when the lure hits the water, immediately pull it just a bit with the rod tip. I've found that doing these two things helps some.

The Lamiglas XL703S for a dropshot rod. Had a chance to use mine for the first time this morning and a couple of 3 pounders cooperated in 16' of water. Stuck on an old Shimano Aero 2000 I had laying around with 10lb SilverThread line. The action is perfect IMO, and at that price point would be hard to beat.

I just bought their 7' heavy action for pitching jigs/worms. Added a Castaic reel with 20lb PowerPro line. They're a good looking rod, and very well finished. Not one of the superlight rods, but nicely balanced. I like mine.

I fish mostly shad finishes. Which finish depends a lot on water color/weather.