ww2farmer

Same here on the popping frog. As for hard poppers, I started years ago with a Pop-R, and always caught fish on it, but spent the better part of the last 8-10 years "looking" and fishing others hoping to find something "better", and have come full circle back to the Pop-R.

Lipless: SK 1/2 oz. Redeye shad, it's the most versitile of the 3 sizes of the RES. I can fish it from the bank to 12' deep, and have caught more on it than both the 1/4, and 3/4 oz size combined. Shallow: SK KVD 2.5.............I catch more on the 1.5, but I like fishing the 2.5 more, and especialy the results. Not saying I don't catch big fish on the 1.5, because I do, especialy early and late in the season, but the 2.5 has been VERY good at producing "kicker" size fish when I needed one. Mid: .........typicaly I when I am cranking mid-depth ranges it is with the Redeye shad, but when I do go to a lipped bait the SK 3xd is the one I use. Deep: SK 5xd.....I have caught more numbers AND size with this than the 6xd. The 6xd has it's time and place for me, but day in day out, the 5xd is almost always tied on.

My favorite and most productive trailer on swim jigs has always been a single tail grub, followed by, in a distant second place, a paddle tail swimbait, and lastly a flapping claw craw type bait. The baits of each type I like best are the SK Rage tail grub, the Netbait BK swimmer, and a Netbait Paca craw on standard size swim jigs. When I need to down size my swim jigs/trailer, I go to a 3" GYCB single tail grub. An often over looked swim jig trailer, especialy in clear water on spooky bass, is a fluke/soft jerkbait.

I have not been in my boat.........or any boat.........since early nov. I did make it out onto the ice 2 days last week, that helped, hopefully I get on the ice a few more times,but we just have not had that cold of a winter. I am still looking at 6 more weeks, at best, before I get the boat out again. Then it's pretty much non-stop till I put it away, if I go more than a week without being on the water at least once it's a looooooooooooong time. It's nice to live, and work 15 mins from the local lake.

Same here, I dropped mine in the mail on Dec 30th, had my rod 10 days or so later. What rod did you get?

I'd make a modest TW order on things I "need" like line, terminal tackle, restock baits I have confidence in, and put the rest in my fishing fund for things I might "need" later.

Lipless: 1/2 oz Strike King Redeye Shad, change the stock hooks to #4 Mustad KVD 2x short, 1x strong triple grips. You really only need two colors, one for water with some color to it (Orange craw, Chili craw, Chart belly craw, etc....pick one they all work), one for clear water(Bluegill, Sexy Ghost minnow, Jap. Shad, etc....) Shallow diver: Stike King KVD 1.5, change the stock hooks to the same thing as I mentioned on the Redeye shad, a bluegill, shad, and/or craw color will get the job done. Medium diver: Strike King 3xd, change the front stock hook to the same #4 as the 1.5 and RES, change the rear to a #6 of the same hook, again a bluegill, shad, and/or craw color will work Jerkbait: Excailiber EE shad: Stock hooks are fine, I like a translucent color for clear days, and a flashy color like gold/black for cloudy.

I love St Croix rods, but I just got my first Rage and the waters still hard around here, it will be a little while before I use it. I got the 7'1" MH/F casting, and my first impressions of it just by fondling it in the house are: #1 Has a little softer tip than both my other comparable 7' MH/F St Croix rods (Avid and LTB). Which is good............for me........this will be my new frog rod, and I like having a rod where the tip loads up for casting frogs. #2 Man those guide are small.......not having any previous expierance with micro guides IDK if they are bigger or smaller than most, but they are small to me. Good thing this will be a frog rod and loaded with 50lb braid with no leader knot to pass through them. #3 The handle and reel seat, not what I am used to, but thats not a negative, it's not what I am used to. The handle is a little skinny #4 Balances pretty good with the Citica 201E I plan on using with it. #5 my only grip so far............the hook hanger, it's the older , traditional type. I really ike the style they use on the Mojo, and LTB, IDK why they used this kind on the rage.

Loomis does make a $100 rod, it's called the GL-2................it just costs $190

Some one got some warning points............

I have owned both, and both at the same time. IMHO they were the same reel. No noticable performance differances between them. IIRC other than color/finish, the only difference was the handle. The Tierra had a straight handle, and the Advantage has a swept handle.

I'd like to see Shimano have more LH options for the Citica G and Curado G.

Personally......I use the #4's on KVD 1.5's, and 1/2 oz Redeye Shads, the #6's on KVD 1.0's, and 1/4 oz Redeye shads, and I mix with #4 on the front, and a #6 on the rear of SK 3xd's

Bluegill Chart. Sexy Shad Orange Belly Craw

I am not picky. Something with a green or brown back, with a splash of chartruese, purple, blue,or gold on it, and a translucent belly.

R.I. Sweet Beaver..........all year long.

Life long Bills fan. My family had season tickets from 1979 (when I was 4) till 2005. I went to every home game from 1987 till 1996, plus I travled to Cleveland for the 1989 divisional playoff game, and the 1990 regular season game, went to the road game in Tampa in 1991, the Pittsburgh playoff game in 95. My first game was the home opener in 1982 against the Cheifs. I have not been to a game since the monday nighter against Cleveland in 2008. I have had it with them. Still a fan, but after 13 years of this crap, I am on a "show me" basis before they get anymore of my money. We have been sold a lot of "we will get it right this time" lately............we'll see.

Not really a way I "used" to fish but.........for quite a few years I have been, based on how well a "Good" friend of mine catches them, tried to adopte the way he catches smallmouth on our home like. And I would catch them, some times have pretty good days, but never with the overall results and consistancy he has. This year I said to heck with it, and fished for them my way....and what do you know, turns out my way is pretty good.

I use the $20 handheld Berkley 50lber. It is pretty accurate. It consistantly weighs fish exactly the same as my $300+ Equalizer scale that I use in the tournaments I run. If it does differ from the tournament scale, it 99% of the time weighs them a tad lighter so I am always pleasntly surprised at the weigh-in. The fish in my avatar weighed 6-10 on the hand-held in the boat, and 6.68 (6-10) on the tournament scale..........good enough for me.

My wife is pretty understanding, as long as the bills are paid, and I am not taking money out of our savings I am free to buy what ever I need, with my share of our disposable income.............which with two kids isn't what it used to be. The key word is "need", I imagine if I started collecting stuff just to have it, there would be some dissagreement. As it is now I have 11 quality combos geared to specific techniques but with enough flexabilty that those combos can do other tasks (except maybe my deep cranking setup), that all get used (or will) on a regular basis, and I don't "need" to have 30 different rods. The only thing I stock up on is hardbaits, soft plastics, and terminal tackle, but thats simply for the fact that I would rather not have to waste valuable fishing time during the season by having to travel to get it, as the nearest stores that stock stuff I use are often an hours drive. Or I don't want to run out of stuff when the bite is hot and be caught with my pants down waiting for an online order to come in. The stuff I actually use, and have faith in is pretty tame compaired to a lot of people, but I do have lots of it. Every year I add a few new to me things to try, some make it to the regular rotation, some don't, and the stuff that don't gets sold. The funny thing is the longer I have fished...........the less stuff I have.

Makes you want to run right out and by one of there used boats don't it............LOL.

I use 15lb Power pro on a 2500 size reel on my wack jig/shaky head set-up. No problems. I also use 10lb Power Pro on a 2500 size reel for dropshotting, and 20lb on a 2500 size reel for dock skipping.........also zero problems there. I used to use 30lb for dock skipping but it was tuff to break when you get those hang ups you just can't free, and the smaller 20lb line flies off the reel better for longer skips.

I have that exact rod, and while 90% of the time it's my dedicated drop shot rod, I will use it to fish small 1/8 and 1/16th oz jigs and it works great for that.

New to me for the 2013 season will be: Strike King KVD jerkbaits Strike King Swiming Caffine Shads Strike King 10xd Strike King slither rig Spro Fat Poppa 55.........loved the 70 last year. Spro Little John Baby DD......got them too late to use last season Spro BBZ-1 baby shad, and 4" Swimbaits Jackall Giron Black Dog small shell cracker

Best is subjective, if the jerkbait does what you want it to do, on the line you choose, who cares what anyone else thinks what is "best" or "right". I toss mine on casting gear with 20lb braid with a 10 or 12 lb fluoro leader, and on spinning gear with 15lb braid and an 8 or 10 lb fluoro leader. Works for me, I don't care what anyone else thinks is better.