ww2farmer

I used the XPS EWG worm hooks in 2005, after 2-3 fish they become very dull, and bend easy,not to mention the 10% of them that had poorly made eyes or already dull points, I went back to Gamakatsu for 2006 and won't switch again. Say what you want about high end rods,reels, and lures, but IMHO hooks and line should not be an area any one skimps on. In the long run you'll be spending more on hooks if you use the XPS hooks. If I don't get hung up and have to break off and retie, I can fish all day on 1 Gamakatsu.

I also am gonna have to agree with Alpster, I don't have a designated SB rod, I like a 6'6" and 7' M rod for smaller spinner and buzz baits (3/16-1/4 oz) and the same length but MH power rods for heavier (3/8-1/2 oz) baits, these rods also are used for many other thngs, jig/worm, top water, etc........in fact the only rods I use for one technique are my crankbait rods.

2007 will be my first year using tungsten. So far I have only bought some 1/8, 1/4 oz worm weights....by the sounds of it I might be needing to get some 1/2, 3/4 oz C-rig weights and some jigs...and some drop shot weights, and some shakey head jig..........ughh it never ends LOL

I often like to use a fast tip rod for ripping Rat-L-Traps or ultra shallow running cranks (baby 1-, sub warts etc....) through grass, with a moderate action rod I don't think I get as good a feel when the bait is just ticking the grass, and the faster rod lets me rip it free when it catches in the grass with little loading up of the rod. I wouldn't buy a rod for just this technique, as my faster action jig/worm rods do the trick for me just fine. Just make sure you use mono.

That is not a nice thing to say about trout fishermen ;D Your right...........that title is reserved for the walleye fisherman

Well the Tracker dealer called today........my boat is in and will be all prepped and ready to go Sat. March 10th. Bad news.........as of today still 14" + or ice on my lake, gonna have to wait a few weeks to use it.

I have one Pflueger Pres. that is 3 years old and has held up just fine. Just my .02. I like Pflueger products alot, very reliable, smooth, not too expensive. They keep cost's low by not beeing a very "inovative" company, but they do build solid reliable stuff.

I don't know about the KVD rod, I suspect it's a pretty good rod, but I can say for $49 the Bionic blade is a DEAL, I would buy the Bionic Blade and not think twice about it.

I have 2 Dick's near me, 1 in Buffalo, 1 in Rochester. The one in Buffalo is excellant, well stocked, large selection, helpfull staff. The one in Rochester is just OK, stock runs low and it seems to be a while before they restock, and the staff is way below average, they have one kid who loves bass fishing, but I rarely see him there, the other guys are all morons.

EXACTLY RIGHT.............thats what I do with every new technique I try. Often times for weeks at a time. Now i have confidence in just about everything I can think of, there are only a few things I can't do, or can't do well (yet). Jigging spoons come to mind.

This could have been some one else's weird catch story, but i was out plowing one day on a feild near the lake, and the seagulls came in like they always do to pick for worms. I noticed one was quite slow and limping around, so I got off the tractor and chased him down and removed a nice near new #11 floating rapala from him, win for both of us. New lure for me, aggrivating hook in the foot removed for the bird. Bout the only weird things I have ever caugth were some bullfrogs on zoom trick worm, they would NOT STOP till they ate it, so I let them have it just to get rid of them. Kinda neat they way they stalked it, bobbing under then popping up next to it ready for action. They were a chore to un-hook, but they were released unharmed. Also had a big bullfrog try to eat (or maybe mate)with my floating frog once too. Did catch 2 small 10-12" bass on a husky jerk once, thought Wow this is some fighter, lol, but they did pull hard.

WHAT??!!??...........now how can a bait that cost's almost twice as much not be any better, or GASP, less effective? And here I thouht lucky crafts were magic, all you had to do was have them in the boat and you were 10 times better than those that use "cheap junk" rapala's. (stated tounge in cheek........lol or maybe foot in mouth)

Beeing reluctant to pull the trigger onthe expensive lucky crafts, I only fish Rapala's. For years I was a husky jerk guy, this year I bought a complete selection of #8 x-raps, can't wait to try them. I guess my "2nd favorite" behind the Husky jerks would be the original floating Rapala.

I keep all my tackle in my jeep, rear seat folded down....it quite impressive, like a tackle store on wheels. When I don't have time for the boat, or just feel like shore fishing I put every thing I perceive I will need in an old WW2 army GP bag, it holds a ton of stuff, and is quite durable.........after all it is 60+ years old and still going strong. Was made for carrying rifle grenades so a few crankbaits won't hurt it. 3500 series plano boxs fit perfectly into it.

It's all about prioritys..........I wanna keep the light's on, food on the table, AND MOST IMPORTANT stay out of credit card debt. I feel pretty fortunate to have been able to buy every thing I own with cash I earned, includeing a new $12K bass tracker this year., without effecting the family income 1 bit. Some guys like me, loath oweing money on everything, and anything..........especialy what ammounts to "toys", other guys', like my brother -in-law, owe money on every thing. Includeing the pack of gum he just "bought". If you have ever been in DEEP to the credit cards (I was at one time and it took 10 LONG years of hard work and sacrifice to get out of it free and clear doing it the right way). It tought me a valuable lesson.........pay cash, or go with out........it's not the end of the world if you have to actually save up to buy that new "toy" you want. I look at my brother -in-law and just feel bad for him, cause sooner or later it's gonna hurt.........I try to talk him out of some of the things he "buys" but..........live and learn is the only thing going to teach him.

I have several Bionic blades, I buy them when BPS runs them on sale......which is often. I have never paid more then $59 for them, at that price the are one heck of a steal on a great rod.

The thing that dissapoints me most about chatterbaits is the overall quality of the lure. I bought one a few weeks ago just to have one, and it looks like a total POS. Dull cheap hook, poor paint job on the head, just over all unimpressed. I will not buy another, I like the looks of the booyah boogie bait much better

ALRIGHT THATS ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!................keep it quite on the Yum dingers. BTW they stink, never caught a thing on them.........buy Senko's insted

Out of curiosity RW, why do you like firm tips for jigs/soft plastics, not a smart-alec ?, I would like to get your thoughts on that. I like soft tips on rods that have lots of "backbone" for weightless soft plastics, small jigs, I think it gives me a better "feel" of what I am doing with smaller presentations. I really only go to a fast tip rod when c-riging, and using big jigs in heavy cover.

Remembering the day Bledsoe got hurt and Tom Brady stepped onto the field. Ghoti, you hit the nail on the head!! UGHHHHHHHHH NOT A PATRIOTS FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laugh it up at me, for I am a BILLS fan, we will have or day in the sun again, and maybe this time we will win a super bowl, thank god we got rid of Bledsoe too..........that alone increased our chances of returning to decency.

I have tried them all.........GYCB, Tiki sticks, BPS stick-o's, gulp sinking minnows, Yum dingers, and on and on............For the $ the yum dinger is the best IMHO period. Tough bite or not. I have never had a day where I couldn't get bit with the dinger, then put a senko on and the fish magicly jumped in the boat. I don't even buy senkos anymore, unless I am out of dingers. I do think the senko is better than the rest I mentioned, I just find the dinger hard to beat. "Original" does not always = "best". I for one would like to see some hard proof that senkos out fish the knockoff's...............other than the typical " Well I wuz fishin with the senkos out the front of the boat, and my buddy was useing super salty slick sticks, and I wuz catching 10lbers left and right and all he pulled in wuz clumps of hydrilla..........woo hoo git-r-done...." :

Soft plastics: Green pumpkin, watermelon, watermelon w/red flake, red shad, pumpkin seed, june bug, black, black w/blue flake, white (two exceptions to this are: I like to use zoom bubble gum trick worms, and zoom baby bass flukes) Spinner/buzz baits: White, Chart.+white, chart., fire tiger, and black cranks (lipless, shallow, and diving): baby bass, bluegill, perch, firetiger, red craw, brown craw, green craw, chrome/blue, chrome/black, gold and black jerk baits(suspending and floating): silver/black, gold/black, perch, fire tiger, clown, baby bass jigs: green pumpkin, brown, black/blue top waters: baby bass, silver/black, perch, frog, fire tiger Those would be the basic's IMHO, even though I have a million more colors ;D

I have all 3 of those rods...............only in casting. I would rate the Fenwick and the Bionic Blade as about equal, and both better than the Tourny Spec. Of those three, I only have the Bionic blade in a spinning rod, a 6'6" MH, it is a super jig/worm rod. Just a word of caution, Fenwick rods are stiff, XF action rods and they feel, to me at least, that they are rated lower than there actual power. I have several Fenwicks and would have to say most of them work out like this M Fenwick = MH BPS MH Fenwick = H BPS ML Fenwick = M BPS

I would vote for the cranking stick, I have 2, a 7'M fpr diving baits, and a 6'6" M for lipless (Rat-L-Traps) and sub surface baits (mann's baby 1-, storm sub wart, shallow shad rap etc.........) Great price. I have handled the Rick Clunn CB rods, and IMHO the action was too fast for CB's.

It would be just fine.....not what I prefer, but I think if you use some good 20-30lb braided line you'll get along with it. Last year I fished frogs on a 7' MH Fenwick Eagle, the fenwick is XF, and almost feels like a Heavy power rod to me. I am switching that rod off to be my c-rig rod, and bought a new St Croix Premier PC70HF, for frogs, that rod offers a little softer tip so I am not so fast at jerking the frog away from the bass, but is Heavy power which I feel is nessacary when fishing the slop. With the Fenwick I paused a breif moment to "feel" the fish before I swung for the fences , at least that was the case on hollow bodied frogs.