djmax22

Lucky Craft Sammy 100 or 120.

I have the Skeet Reese Lamiglas rod RW linked. It handles deep diver cranks easily and I fish DD22 a lot post-spawn. Something about this rod that just feels right. I am so impressed with this rod I want to get the 7'6" version for lipless cranks.

I like to use the brigther colors such as firetigers and chartruse.

Are you planning to use live bait? Or Jigs and plastic grubs? If grubs I would get some Chartruse 5-6" grunbs for your jig heads. I am not sure how active they will be. I would try casting Jigs early in the morning or late at night sitting around 10-14" water and casting into 4' water. During the day I would try to find a 20-40 ft channel and drift/troll. If the fish are active you should be able to troll and catch them. However, if walleye have lockjaw (I am talking about no one is catching fish) I would get a slip bobber. bobber stops, and the biggest chubs you could find. Sometimes this is the only way to catch them if they get into lockjaw mode or if they are biting light. It is not my favorite way to fish, but it will put a couple in the boat. I dont think you will have a problem though on opening week.

I fish several clear lakes some of which are gin clear. One of the biggest things you can do is to use fluorocarbon line. In shallow water I also like to use the lightest weight possible. Spinnerbaits (natural shad color) and weightless worms usually work well for me.

Count me in for the Shimano MG. I was so impressed after buying one this spring that I bought a second one. I can guarantee you will be blown away by the performance of this little reel.

I actually perfer a feathered tail so I dont believe that is the problem. I never used the Live Pointer, but the Lukcy Craft 100 SP Pointer is pure gold. Try cutting down your line size. Good luck.

You can't go wrong with either rod, but if I had the extra money I would get an IMX. Especially if this is going to be your primary worm rod. If you are looking at the IMX the choice should be do I want a Legend Tourney Bass or an IMX? Then the question becomes what type of fishing do you want to do with this rod.

I own a St. Croix LTB Carolina-rig rod. It is a sensitive rod with a stiff backbone. I think it is an awesome rod for this application. It is a 7'3" telescopic model. More importantly, it handles 3/4-1oz weights with ease. Cabelas Bargain cave has last years model for $180 (original price of $270). I dont think you could go wrong wiht this rod. Also you can use it for pitching big jigs.

I have bashed the Curado for it weight in the 200 models. I do think that the majority of the complaints were the price and the weight issue. However, the new curados have all metal parts compared to previous verison which was a metal-plastic composite. It is unrealisitc that they would be lighter. Is it worth the price increase? I have started to come around. Definately a great deal if you got a rebate.

RW raves about Yo-Zuri Ultrasoft. I can only speak for Yo-Zuri hybrid and I like to use it around rocks. Very managable. It is one of my favorite lines. I cant wait to try to ultrasoft.

Huh, thats the first one I have heard, what didn't you like about it? I own a couple Carrots and love them, super light, and super sensitive. And the price is hard to beat. Fish with an Avid or IMX then fish a Carrot and you would be amazed. The rod just didnt live up to the hype IMO. Yes, it was super light weight but I didnt feel the increased sensitivity that people rave about. Granted I only spent a few hours with this rod (fishing jigs), but it is a stretch to compare it to an IMX. Of course the IMX cost $100 more too. For the money I could justify the purchase. Would I buy one over an IMX if I had a choice? No. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

Save up more and get a Loomis. IMO Loomis jig/worm rods are hard to beat (and I am a huge St. Croix fan). Avids are good too for the money. I fished a Carrot stix this weekend and didnt like it. However, some people love their carrots. Just a personal preference, but I am not a fan.

I have the MG51. Awesome reel! It would go nice on one of those new carrot stix you got. I have mine on a loomis and it just floats in my hand.

I have never had problems with this line. I have used 8-14lb test with no problem. Lightest baits I throw are around 1/8oz. I spool it up without the conditioner. P-Line flourocarbon would be my first choice though. I usually pick up the BPS fluorocarbon when it is on sale.

I built a 8 foot long rod holder out of PVC pipe. On one end is a cap, the other end is a screw end cap. The tubing has a diameter of 4" and holds 4 rods (each rod is in a rod sleeve). It cost about 20 dollar to build and you can paint it any color you want.

X2. When water temps are 38-40 I sometimes wait a minute between pauses before jerking it a foot or two.

I just picked up a pack of Zoom's Magnum Super Fluke. They look awesome and should target some bigger fish.

to answer your first question, yes that rod will handle the Fat Free Shad. I had a medium/moderate St. Croix that I used to throw DD22 on. If you throw it all day expect to be tired. However, I picked up on the SKeet Reese Lamiglas cranking sticks. It is an awesome rod for DD22/Fat Free Shad/Manns. I love it so much that I will be picking up another one in the near future.

G Loomis rods are top of the line. You can get a GLX Worm/Jig rod and a really nice baitcaster to pair with it (shimano MG/Daiwa/ABU Priemier). The possibilities are endless with that price range. St Croix has a good warranty program too and makes quality rods as well.

Havent tried that one. I do have the Female Bullgill LC-pointer that works well.

Here is my 2 cents. I love the Legend Bass rods. However, there are only 2 Jig/Worm rods from St. croix that would consider over the Loomis. The first would be the Big Gulp (one piece rod) I got after talking to you. It is one hell of a rod. It is feather light, responsive, powerful. The second would be the Big Jig. This rod is a tank and is made for super heavy cover (something I dont fish a lot of here). Although I havent used this rod on the water I gave it a long look at Cabelas. The backbone is ridiculously stiff. The only drawback is that this rod felt heavy.

I wouldnt use a parabolic/crankbait rod for plastics. You need to be able to can drive the hook through the plastic and through the jaw. IMO I would use this rod for small cranks/spinnerbaits. I would continue to send it back until they got it right. It is Cabelas responsiblility to make things are right. I would call cusotmer service again and have them make a note you dont want the parabolic action.

Bummer. Just makes me sick.

The problem is that if you have a large population of big bluegill in the lake you can stunt bass growth. The DNR has said on one of the the lake that I fish that there is too many big bluegill which compete for the same food source. Although there are a healthly number of 10-12" bass, bass this size can't get its mouth around a bull bluegill.