ww2farmer

I am cranking against the establisment LOL. I use braid, 6:1 reels, and fast action graphite rods, but I am cranking over the top, through, and along side grass most of the time. When I do crank wood/rock or other hard cover I go with fluorocarbon but keep everything else the same.

100% Gamakatsu for me. Nothing against Owner or Mustad, just like Gamakatsu's better, mainly a confidence thing. I know my hooks are sharp, strong, and won't fail, why mess with it? And as an added bonus if I ever run out of something a quick trip to Wal-Mart is all I need to do to find a Gamakatsu product.

With todays casting reels and the oversized main gears it no longer feels like your pulling a mini-van through the water when deep cranking with a 6:1 + ratio reel. I have no need for reels slower than this anymore. Besides I find it much easier to crank a fast reel slow all day than to crank a slow reel fast.

One thing I have learned is that just because there is "ideal" cover in an area it don't mean bass will use it. I have almsot the exact same situation on my lake some 1500 miles away in the north east. Fish will be in there in the spring and the fall but in summer it's a ghost town. I have a strong guess on why they are not in there on my lake in the summer, but I need a little more info on yours. For instance what is the bottom like, hard, sand, mud, etc??? Whats the PH of the water in there? Water Clarity? What do the feeder streams flow through before they dump into that cove? Does the bait also leave in summer? LOL maybe a few big gar move in there in the summer and the bass stay away.

Avid, Legend Tournament, or Legend Elite. Premiers are OK, but when the rods are offered at a discount go higher end, you won't be sorry.

I like to eat bass................and perch, and crappies, and bluesgills, and any other fish. When they are cut up into "nugget" sized chunks, battered and deep fried they all taste the same to me...............delicious. But to you original question, I keep a few limits of smaller bass (12"-14") each year. Largemouth only though, just can't bring myself to keep smallies.

If they don't have there own gear, I let them use mine. As long as they can handle a baitcaster, they are free to use what ever set up is not in my hands at the time. I want my guests to enjoy there time spent fishing, using my "good" stuff helps that. If I see they are rough on stuff they get a few warnings/pointers on what not to do and told how much it would cost to replace , and that they will replace it if they brake it.............that usually ends any rough treatment of gear.

I don't know what rods he used during the FLW cup, but I do know what bait he used, and it's not what he said LOL. I just got done watching the FLW show of the cup, he "claims" he caught his fish on a 5" Berkley sinking minnow, but they showed a few close ups of the bait and it was a GYCB senko, he even had a bag of senkos on the boat deck.

Casting: St. Croix Legend Tournament 7' M/F "Teaser" rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX, 12lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. Spinning: St Croix Avid 7' M/F, Diawa Sol 2500, 8lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. I'll use the spining rod w/ 4" Senkos and open hooks around light cover, the casting rod get used w/ 5" Senkos rigged on the weedless Falcon K-wacky hooks.

I usually fish 8-10 tournaments a year, a few of them are only 3 hour "after work" tournaments, the rest are full 8 hour affairs. As for non-tournament fishing, I get out after work for 2-4 hours on average 2- 3 times a week from ice out till ice up, and also I get 1 full day in on the weekends when if I am not working or have family obligations.

I own a D and 4 days ago got an E. I have never been in love with the D, but it is a solid, well built reel that I have faith in. Now the E on the other hand, I think I like it better than my Revo's, time will tell, but it's new, give me a few more weeks with it and I'll have it sorted out.

The middle of a hot sunny day can be fantastic on the natural milfoil infested lake I fish. It predictably positions the fish in a few key areas, like deep weed lines, isolated patched of deep weeds, or in the darkest shade you can find in shallow water, like under boat docks.

I guess some one forgot to tell the fish in my lake that spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps, and power worms don't work any more. If you look at some recent big time Tx results you'll see a lot of the old standards still working. Skeet used a spinnerbait to help him win this years Classic, the last 2 B.A.S.S. tx's on Kentucky Lake have been won on 10" power worms, and Boyd Ducket used a Trap in the 07' Classic.

I have flipped with a lot of differant jigs over the past 5 years and have settled on one that has been my go to jig for over 2 years now. The Outkast RT Jig, strong sharp 30 degree heavy wire hook, and pointed head that slips through anything, double barb trailer keeper which IMHO keeps my trailer more secure than any other jig and that's a must, as it keeps my fishing flip after flip, insted of messing with my trailer all the time. Comes in all the right sizes, 3/8- 1oz. (I use 1/2 oz. 90% of the time). And comes in the colors I like (Black/Blue, and Green Craw)

I agree, those two colors will get it done. The other exception for me at least is when I am carolina rigging. I use water melon in clearer water and junebug for stained water. Exactly how I do it.

I only know Erie from the Buffalo end. The NFTA smallboat harbor is an exellant launch and you'll be on prime spots within minutes of rounding the outer breakwall. One good place to start is in front of the windmills, you'll know what I am talking about when you get there. Idle around in 30-35 fow till you see a change in the bottom (humps,shoals, rockpiles, ditchs, etc) some may be only a few yards in size, some may be 1000's. Toss out a marker where you first notice the change, and then again, when it drops back off. Then drift over this spot with either a tube jig, or a dropshot rig. If this spot produces drift it several times, if not find another, there are millions of them. If it's calm and you are marking fish on your graph on any of these spots, it's a blast to lower a dropshot rig down to each fish and watch the arch come up and bite it. I have a buddy who is great at this, and I have done it some. If it's rough on the lake, forget the river, if you were coming in the spring I would say just fish in side the break walls, as they often hold good fish, but I have no idea in the fall. But like I said forget the river, it's not that great for SM, some OK LM in spots, but I don't know it well. My first choice if it's too rough to fish Erie is to drive either the hour SW on the thruway to Chautauqua Lake, or an hour east too Conesus Lake, one of the western most finger lakes, and IMHO the best bass lake of the fingers.

Incase no one noticed, check out Cabelas web site, Fenwick re-designed the entry level Eagle GT, and there mid range offerings, the HMX and HMG. Nothing too "sexy" or cutting edge. But if they are any thing like the rods the are replacing they will be excellant performing rods at great prices. I like my Fenwicks as much as the St Croix's I own.

I have the Teaser, it is the rod you want. I am sure the Avid in that length/power is a great rod, as my other Avids are, but that LT is my favorite rod and as a bonus is a fantastic "general purpose" rod. I have mine currently paired with a Revo STX and 12lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon.

I am really liking the Strike King line of cranks lately, Red Eye shads (lipless) and Series 5 and 6 deep divers have been very good buys.

No need to get fancy with a topwater rod, I use a 6'6" MH Fenwick HMX, an Abu Garcia Revo S-L, and 15lb Trilene Big Game, to toss spooks, poppers, and most all my hard top water baits with trebels. This combo also works great for crashing shallow square billed cranks into cover,baby1- and other subsurface cranks, buzzbaits, 1/4+3/8 oz spinnerbaits. This is my go to rod/reel combo for most any shallow water reaction baits in some what thick cover.

5" Berkley Shaky worms, and the 4.5" Slim Shaky worms are my favorites right now, but I also have/like/used Roboworms, Zoom finesse, and Zoom trick worms.

If you did not register the rod you will have to go with the Gold Star $50 option. Without that card on file St. Croix has no idea if your the original owner or not. I broke an Avid Casting rod that I bought used, and used the Gold Star program, very easy to do, just follow there instructions on the web site. I had the new rod in my hands 14 days from when I sent the broken one in.

;D LMAO ;D

Ok before you bash anything, lets clarify. $300? No, under $240 for the Champion series. Non Fuji guides ? This was by choice, and is partly why the rods are a bit more money. The guides are lighter, smaller, and I absolutely love them over the fuji guides. Not bashing, stating my opinion of why I wouldn't buy one, just like you "bashed" err................gave your opinion on why you wouldn't buy Loomis and Croix rods in your post. BTW the Extremes are $299, hence my $300 reference, if I am wrong about them being made in China, show me and I'll back off that. BTW I think $240 for a made in China rod is a joke too. You absolutely can not refute the fact that his first run of rods were touted by people on this forum as the second coming, and they fell flat on there face after they were total crap. From what I hear they stood behind those rods, good for them, as they should have, but there are far too many other good, if not better rods out there from PROVEN companies that deliver good rods the first time for me to even think about a Dobyns. And to charge $10 MORE for replacement that the proven guys, when the only thing you have proven in the past is that you will need to replace these rods is down right absurd. You like yours, great. Tell every one about it, I am just offering the "other side" of the story.

I have the St Croix Mojo 7' Heavy/Fast................I love St Croix, but I do not care for this rod, it is a broomstick with guides on it, and way too heavy. It's got plenty of power, you could pull a hippo out of a swamp with it, but I don't like it. I went back to my old frog rod, which I should have never went away from in the first place. That rod is a Fenwick HMX 7' H, it's a lighter than the Mojo, which makes walking a frog for several hours alot more enjoyable, has more "tip" which allows it to fling lighter frogs alot further, and plenty of power. It's not as powerfull as the Mojo, but I have had no trouble with hauling "decent size" NY bass (3-5lbers) out of some thick slop. I use 50lb braid, Power Pro is my choice, and a Cabela's Prodigy casting reel on this set up. I really like this reel alot, it's the same as my Team Daiwa Tierra, and I notice ZERO differances in performance between the 2, plus it's a few bucks cheaper.