Micro

Lucky Crafts are easiest to find. Jackall, Deps, Ima, Megabass quality is stellar. Which ones to start out with? What do you want to fish? (ie crank baits, wake baits, jerk baits, etc). The choices are endless. Peruse ***'s website.

I think I met this guy. Last summer I was smallie fishing at Pony Pasture and saw this fellow and his wife with a long net strung between two poles. He was netting fish for a "James River Aquarium." He was real excited because he had caught an eel. He was showing everyone. He stated he ran a fishing school and the James River fishing website. Thin, mid-40s, maybe, with a mustache and beard. Real nice guy and seemed to know the river well. Same guy?

Right now my dealer has Buzz'n Cranks, Blitz MRs, and HPFs in stock. He'll be getting more of the other models soon. In the meantime, I think I'll pick up a few of the ones he has in stock. They look fantastic. They certainly have me hooked. Having a tackle store nearby that carries high end Japanese baits is going to kill me.

The line rating on your Black Max reel is just a guide that tells you how much of that test line it can hold. Generally, if you put a higher test line (which is thicker) it will hold less. If you put a lower test line (which is thinner) it will hold more. You can pretty much put what you want on it. What are you going to use that Black Max for? If it is going to be a multi-purpose reel, my recommendation is Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Roadwarrior turned me on to this stuff and it's the best advice I've ever gotten from him. Yo-Yuri is a co-polymer line - part monofilament, part fluorocarbon. It is low stretch, high strength, and long lived due to being UV resistant. IMO it is the best "compromise" all purpose line out there. I use if for just about everything, from crank baits to jigging. It's not all that more expensive than mono, and a lot less expensive than fluorocarbon. You can get it at Bass Pro Shops, and I've seen it at other stores as well. For the Zebco 33s I'd stick with mono only. 6 or 8 lb test mono, such as Stren Original or Trilene XL is the ticket there.

My local tackle store started carrying them and they look SHWEET. I'm thinking about picking up some. Anyone use them before? http://www.o-s-p.net/jp/products.html

http://hookerbaitandtackle.net/ I know the owner of this store, Darryl Hooker, and he'll fix you up. I was there a few days ago and saw the bluegill version in the store. The website is under construction, but you can still call and place an order.

Exactly, the Pro Spider Slider - 1/16th oz. Like Wayne said, they have better hooks than the standard.

Try finesse worms on a Slider Head. I like to flip these around docks with a 7' m/f baitcast rod. The 1/16 oz spider head is my favorite. It causes the worm to glide own very slowly. I catch a lot of fish doing that.

I think they are equivalent to the Mikey Jr., as you say, without the lip.

I always consider a lake to be healthy if the bass have heads. If I come across lake where the bass have no heads, I move on.

I think it's fine. I think it's an intersting "pet" and I wish you luck with it. I do concur there needs to be some structure and you will need a bigger tank soon. As for feed fish, I'd get a second aquarium where you can keep live food at hand.

I agree. There's a review of the Skeet Reese Revo on BPS website that is based on a reel purcased off ebay at a deeply discounted price (right after it was introduced). The user says he kept the reel because of AG's great customer service. In fact, he did not keep the reel but replaced it with another. Curiously, we haven't seen an updated review or photos of the new reel. Lots of reviews out there that smack of bias by people who appear unwilling to be fair.

I think that same person posted a review on the Curado E (before that reel was available) stating the Curado was all plastic. That review was deleted. I'd ignore the Citica review. In fact, I ignore all reviews on BPS and Cabelas and rely on my own examination and input on this site and TackleTour. You ought to know that even though we all have our favorites, reels from the big companies like Shimano, Daiwa, AG, Pflueger, are at least going to perform competently, if not stellarly.

I see him on Tackle Tour occassionally.

You can try a Berkley Shaky Worm, too.

It's fishing a worm wacky-rigged style on a jig head. Jackall makes a "Flick Shake" worm and a "Flick Shake" jig head. But you don't need to get specific Flick Shake heads or worms. You can do it with Zoom Finesse or Trick Worm, or Senko, on a jig head like an Owner Ultra Head.

Yes, welcome aboard. GREAT to have more VA fishermen. Many of us like to fish the James River in the Richmond area. The area is great for catfish. I was up there 2 weeks ago smallmouth fishing and saw some fellas hall out a channel cat (I think) about as big as the one in your second picture. They caught it on cut bait. I caught a channel cat up there last year that weighed about 5-6 pounds on a 2" white grub that I was using for smallmouth. You can stand on some of the rocks and see channel cats moving around in the pools. Anyway, welcome again. Keep the pictures coming.

Abu Garcia EXT. 5.3:1 gear ratio, 180 yards of 14 pound test. EXTs are fantastic reels.

I've got some Yo Zuri lipless cranks and they are really nice, too. The new(er) Hardcore Drums are super loud. I can hear them reverberating on the hull of my boat 20 feet away. They have great hooks on them. Their Rattl'n Vibes are loud, too. They run very true, have tough finishes, and have a very realistic profile.

I used to be ambivalent towards Lucky Craft. Now that I own some, I can say they are outstanding, well made baits that act exactly as they are supposed to. I think the same thing about Jackall, Deps and Ima, all of which are rather costly, but exceptionally well made and beautiful baits.

You're going to go to all this trouble and as soon as you throw it the bite will be off. The bass will be asking for smoke purple. ;D

That sheepshead looks like a freshwater drum. Is sheepshead a regional name for freshwater drum?

If you live close to a Bass Pro Shop, the Abu Garcia Cardinal 700LX is on sale for $59 - 1/2 price. It's a really nice reel. It's all aluminum - body, sideplate, rotor, bail arms. It's smooth and built like a tank. Best deal out there right now on a killer reel.

I have several All Stars. I have five American Classics and two Team All Star IM-10s. They are outstanding rods. They are very sensitive and are nicely finished. But I wish the cork was a little better. The cork is good, but not as nice as Fenwick's cork. And the black plastic butt cap seems a little cheap. Otherwise, I've got nothing significant to complain about. My rods have served me well and a couple of my American Classics have been abused and they keep right on fishing. My 7'6" American Classic flipping rod is probably my favorite rod. It will lift a Chevrolet out of slop.

I don't know. The color is not on the label on the box. I think it's "holo greenie" (D9) according to the catalog. It was the only one the store had, or I would have bought another. It looked like a good color, so I bought it.