papajoe222

I fish 30lb. Seaguar Kanzen on both Geneva and Delavan pitching and skipping docks. The only problem is the pike cutting off, but braid, fluoro, or mono that is going to happen. Landed a 39in. pike with that line, no problem.

It's their version of a Snagless Sally, but I can't remember the name of it. I lost my last one to a muskie and I don't see them in the BPS catalog. I'm hoping I can find a couple on flea bay. It's not that the Hildebrandt bait isn't a producer, it is. It's(or was) also twice the cost of the BPS version and after loosing two of them in one day, I chose frugality to make the choice of baits for me.

I'm in the minority here. I use 30lb. braid with 8lb. YoZuri leader. The braid is yellow and makes it easy to line watch. I fish from a boat 90% of the time, so casting distance isn't a factor for me. Sensitivity is and is also a reason I go with heavier braid. My rod of choice is an 7ft. Med. Fast rated for 8lb-14lb. mono, so it along with the reel handle that combination well.

Which spinnerbait blade style gives off the most vibration? a) Willow b)Colorado c)Indiana A palomar is what? a)Brand of soft plastic baits b)style of flat bottom boat c) a double line knot Which of the following is the fastest gear ratio? a)5.1:1 B)6.3:1 c) 7.2.1 Your fishing buddy isn't a member of BassResource, what do you do? a) Don't tell him of the awesome information available here b)slap him on the back of the head and call him names c) as a true friend, get him to join today

Welcome to the forums. A little more information would help to narrow down things for you, most importantly is; What type of cranks will you be using most often? Shallow, medium, deep divers, square bills, etc. The next thing you'll want to decide is the material. Glass, graphite, or composite? If you're looking for a multi-purpose cranking stick, Bass Pro, Cabela's, and Gander Mountain all have offerings well below $100. I suggest taking the reel you intend to use with you whenever going shopping for a rod. There is a forum here dedicated to rods, reels and line. You may want to check it out, move your topic there, or both.

A rubber core sinker eliminates the need for cutting a slit in the lead with the hack saw. Just remove the rubber, place your hook of choice in the slot and squeeze the sinker around it.

For me, it's a toss up between Minneapolis-St.Paul and Detroit. Both have excellent fishing within an hour's drive, not to mention multi-species.

WELCOME! I know how noisy it gets in your neighborhood, so I figured I'd give ya a shout. Sox fan?? One quick warning if I may, don't tell these guys where the best pizza place south of Cermak is.

OH jeez, another cheese head. Oh well, it could be worse. Welcome aboard from one of the many flatlanders here. Don't take comments to seriously, just the great information exchange the forums offer.

Welcome. Keep a look out on the forums and you can learn, teach, or just give your $.02 There are a lot of great folks here and we even have some fun once in a while. (Just don't take A-Jay to seriously). BTW, there are a good number of old farts on the forums, too. Just saying.

It's a Toyota. I wouldn't think of selling it as it's barely broken in. $2.5K is like $225 a month which, grant you is a little high for up keep, but I doubt you could trade/sell and end up with a payment that low. If you're happy with it, I'd stick with it. Then again, I've 233K on my 2009 Honda and plan on keeping it to at least 300K.

Welcome Both jigs and T-rigs can be rigged with a variety of plastics and presented in similar places. They can also be fished on a five foot rod with success, but to get the optimal results possible, matching your lure/equipment to the cover and conditions will increase the odds of not only catching, but getting bit in your favor. Jigs offer, not only different options for various cover situations (A-Jay's punch rig is the perfect example. It is the best presentation for punching matted vegetation), they can offer different action on the fall, give the bait a different attitude at rest and as mentioned, the skirt adds another attraction to the presentation. Versatility will increase your catch rate and jigs add that factor to your soft plastis.

Welcome to the forums. Bak in the day I used rubber core sinkers. Same idea, but I could put one together while on the water. Jigs with bigger hooks were hard to come by and the ones that were available were expensive.

The first guide replacement I did, I used a thread bobbin like the one pictured. I ended up stripping all the guides off that rod and re-wrapping them. It was easier than I thought and I have since gotten into rod building, I enjoy it so much. The videos on the sites mentioned were a big help. Be sure to check them out.

Congrats! You know, it's not to soon to get him a combo for his first Christmas. I did that with my grandson born on Dec. 10th. Just to cover the bases, I also got him a baseball glove and some infant size hockey skates.

Welcome to the forums. For the lipless cranks, the lighter ones will be easier to keep shallow without having to reel fast. For spring fishing, flat sided baits seem to produce better than fatter, egg shaped cranks as the have a tighter wiggle. However, you may want to add a Mann's -1 or other wake style crank.

One question I didn't see asked was; Are you having the same difficulty using the other reels that you have when casting that bait? My first suspicion was the rod and not the reel. Check the specs on the rod you're using. If it isn't loading up when casting, any attempt at getting distance on the cast is going to produce backlashes.

I don't recommend keeping your rods stored in your vehicle. The temp. inside on a sunny day can get very hot. That, along with the line cooling quickly can have an adverse effect on, not only the line, but the rod.

More than likely, the lake will experience early weed growth. If weed beds normally appear after the spawn, it could affect the fish's choice of spawning location. I've seen it with largemouth, though I don't believe it will alter the smallies habits as much.

Question: If light can only penetrate to a certain depth and color perception is indescernable pass that point, why are there fish that live hundreds of feet below the surface so vibrantly colored? I guess the other fish can't see them

Hats off to you. I'm well aware of the time you and the mods put into the site and hopefully some of the changes you've made will also speed things up for you and make keeping this the most informative bass fishing, information sharing site around.

The old Strike King Diamond Shad was my favorite chrome crank. Similar to a hammered blade on a spinnerbait, it would reflect the light in multiple directions and outshone any of my current baits.

I, too, have the green lenses and I fish mainly clear, natural lakes. They also double as driving glasses as they reduce glare so well.

Welcome. I use 50lb braid for both my flipping and muskie bucktail fishing . Grant you, I use different rods and reels for those applications. The heaviest test I use for muskie is 80b. and I have never had line breakage on any of those set-ups.

I picked up a Lew's LP1SH at Cabela's for well under $100 and love it. However, it is geared at 7.1:1 with 31in. line recovery, external brake settings, 10lb. drag and it's only 7.4oz. You may find that a little fast for spinnerbaits, but it really shines when you need to pick-up line fast when a fish is rushing at you.