.dsaavedra.

original and jointed floating rapala minnow could both be considered a wake bait (specially the jointed, it barely dives at all). also, ive had tremendous success w/ the bandit footloose...but its more of a crank than a wake bait...but it does have a vertical lip and it does wake the surface. that river2sea v-joint wake looks amazing...been looking at em for a while now, and i asked for some for xmas. i'll let you know how they are if i get em.

dat chub is pretty. so is the bass! nice catches!

lol thats what im starting to think too.....why buy lightweight stuff if you need to add weight to it to get it to balance....

ok thats good but the shad arent gonna be so heavy that they require any kind of special equipment are they?

oh and how does a balanced rod feel "feather light" wouldnt the added weight just make it be heavier even though it is still balanced?

maybe i missed reading something, but how does a balanced rod make it more sensative?

lmao!!!!

maybe im missing out but the member "bait_Monkey" whats the deal w/ him...never seen him before and now he has like 19000 some posts. are all those posts him telling ppl to buy stuff? thats gotta get annoying. who is he!?!?

ditto :-?

all of these responses are great and very good points have been made. palomar knots are good for hooks and shorter lures, but i find that since you have to loop the line around the bait, if its a long bait then that can use alot of line, specially if you re-tie alot. so my #1 top preffered knot would be the trilene knot. trilene knot http://www.animatedknots.com/trilene/index.php

you should definitley get a medium w/ a fast tip. most versitile. pretty much all of the ones that micropterus posted were good. i would not get him a baitcaster just yet, make sure he likes fishing and will stick w/ fishing before you go dropping lots of money on top of the line equipiment. and to answer your question of why wont the shakespeare be good after 3 months...i'd say that are 2 possibilities: A.) If he really takes off and love fishing, he will soon out grow it and want better stuff....its only natural B.) shakespeare stuff will break...mine broke after 8 bass in one day > but possibility A is more likely to happen.

omg that bait is sick!!!! if i get a tw gift card for xmas i will definitley be buying some of those w/ hooks. i also hope the shads will be near the same price range and not extremely heavy so i can get some of those w/o any additional equip.!

HAHAHA!!!!

you are really tearin em up lately!!! great job man. swimbaits are so tempting....what gear did you thow that king kong on and what size was the king kong, 6" or 8"?

ok that makes sense....i was thinkin what lure could possibly fit in that things mout. well shoot...if your using a spinner fly then what did you expect to catch!

you dont want to use any sinkers on crankbaits, unless they are the stick on kind that you use to make a floater sink to the point where it suspends....but thast off topic depend on what your targeting. i assume since your posting on bass resource that your targeting bass, and i also assume that theyre for your 13yr old boy since you posted about getting him a rod and some tackle for xmas. hook sizes, i'd say go w/ a 3/0. it may look big at first, but really its not. i'd be safe to say its the most standard size for bass....they have big mouths!!! hook design, i'd say you should get an off set EWG worm hook. that may just be a bunch of jumble to you. offset means that right behind the hook eye, there is a little 90° bend. this is used to hold the worm on the hook. EWG stands for extra wide gap. it means that the gap (bend) of the hook is larger than usual and the hook point is in line w/ the eye. makes for easier rigging and more weedlessness and stronger hook sets. my favorite hook is a Gamakatsu (brand name) 3/0 Offset EWG hook. for sinkers, if you plan on doing weedless plastic worm rigs (texas rig), use bullet sinkers...shaped like a bullet so they slide thru cover easier. if you plan on doing carolina rigs, use egg sinkers, shaped like an egg. if you plan on doing drop shots, use dropshot sinkers...kinda cylindrical. you dont even have to use a sinker at all...my favorite way to fish is to texas rig a senko on a 3/0 hook w/o a weight. check out this thread for some info on it http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1194807525

2 piece rods are great. the only difference is that 2piece can be tranported easier! lol. most spinning rods in the price your lookin at are two piece so dont even worry about it. just make sure when you assemble it that you slide the two pieces together straight, not at an angle to avoid breaking the ferrule (part where they connect). also be sure to line your guides up and firmly set the two pieces together so they dont separate during use. good luck in your combo buying quest!

have not had a single good experience with any of their products...not line, not reel, not rod. and its not a name thing either, i seriously have owned and used their products, all of them to my dissatification. never again will i use another shakespeare product. get your boy an abu garcia cardinal on a berkley lightnin rod and he's set!

jake reccomended an excellent combo. i personally hate shakespeare and everything about them. but abu and berkley are great. as for pound test line, spool him up some 12lb berkley trilene XL. as for lures, stick w/ the stardards: -berkley powerworms--junebug, black, black/blue fleck -original floating rapala--silver -yum dingers--smoke/pearl laminate -maybe pick him up a bass jigs--black and blue.

:-? dude the only pic i can see is the fish jumping! i'd really like to see the others.

wow incredible fish! great story too.....i been trying to catch a pickerel for a while and i finally got one on and while it was frantically thrashing at my feet once i had landed it, the hook came out, but he was stuck in the reeds at the waters edge...i did the same thing you did i dropped to my kneeds and grabbed that mofo w/ both hands. turned out to be a nice 16"er. oh yeah when i was holdint it by the gill plate it flopped and my thumb went in the mouth and it "did a number on my thumb" lol....two very similar stories! awesome job man keep it up!

wow those are truly nice fish. i'd take a handful of those fish anyday!!!! i still dont get it how some anglers are dissapointed when they catch 3-4lb fish and call em dinks or say...those are alright...i think theyre awesome! good job

what did you use to land that huge hawg in the first pic?

paul you da man!!! you never cease to amaze me with your fish. you dont know how badly i would love to go on a fishin trip w/ you!!! ;D so you caught em on a super shad rap eh? i always wondered about those for bass...they sure are big! what color was it? i like the golden shiner color i love seeing the fish you catch...it inspires me really...i think im gonna hit the water tomrrow w/ a spook and then probably some suspending cranks and then jigs. that is if my dad feels up to takin me (he doesn like cold ) do you fish alone or do you fish w/ someone? ive always wondered who takes your pictures...cuz it seems to me like you fish alone.

like russ said try and take the card out and put the card in your computer and see if the card survived.