djmax22

All I can say is that the SR 705 blows away any cranking rod that I have used for this application. You can cast DD22 a mile and the rod has more backbone than I ever needed.

Wow.

They look sweet, but if these are the specs 200J will weigh 290 grams. That is 10.2oz. That wont address one of the main complaints that the Curado is heavy.

I had an eyelet fall out and is missing. Do I need to replace the enitre guide or can I just order/replace the eyelet? It is a St Croix rod under warrenty. It seem crazy to pay for the shipping cost in relation to the cost of the used rod. Also it is a two week turn around time is killer this time of year.

We boated deep down to the Niangua arm but it was so muddy and full of debris we returned to Mid-Lake. The water was much clearer and we at least caught a couple of fish.

Jerkbait fished at a snails pace when the water temp is around 40. Long pause b/n jerks.

I was there around March 25. We drove around looking for some clear water. The only clear water we could find was in Mid-Lake. You could acutally see where the water muddy and clearer water merged. Water visibility was around a foot at the time in the clearest water we could find. All of the fishing reports have stated the bite is good around mid-lake on a jig. However, I have still found the bite to be tough.

The mistake is even thinking about getting graphite for cranking It is a great rod for the money.

I have this rod in M. I have it coupded to an older Curado and I use this setup for small cranks. It is a great rod for small mid-size cranks.

Cara's are on sale at tackle warehouse for $99. Last year model.

Yeap. DennY Bauer was talking about how his SK jig trailers float.

I use plastic just because it is easy. I still perfer real pork though. JMO.

I dont have a porble with this jig box. Make sure the weed guard is in the notch. I have carried everything up to 3/4oz with no problems. A few have slipped out but that has to be expected rattlin around at 70mph.

The Meramac river is flooded now. You can find out the water levels on http://mo.water.usgs.gov It is an awesome resource all stream fishman should be aware of. Also I would not fish the Meramac in that area. I would target the some of the Smallmouth Trophy areas further upstream. The largemouth population is very healthy like cart said. You will have the opportunity of landing many fishing around 15". Bring a few packs of Zoom Trick worms and the action can be fast and furious. I am not sure how the fishing will be impacted this year becasue of the flooding. Things are a mess right now. If I had to choose between fishing the Meramac and LeBelle there is no question that I would choose Lebelle. I have fished Lebelle. Besides the bass fishing but the Bullgill/Crappie fishing there is outstanding. There are some quality fish in that lake and there are several other lakes in that area where you can pick up some quality fish (Severs Lake comes to mind). LeBelle is much futher north and I am not sure what direction you are coming from. I do like getting away from hte city.

It will soon be your go to bait! Wait until the weather warms and you can start swimming it. BAM! Good times.

Jig. I can catch fish all year around under just about any condition.

The bite can sometimes barely be felt. Sometimes the fish is just there. If the water temp is over 50 I think there are better options than a jerkbait.

I had the older Fritts model and returned it for a St. Croix fiberglass Mod Med (I think the price is aroun $110). For heavy cranking I have Lamiglass Skeet Reese 705 R ($170). This rod is awesome for Big Body cranks. So the question is what type of cranks do you like to thow? THe St Croix handles everything up to a 5/8 oz well. It does a fair job with the DD22, but you need to put some more effort into it. If you are new to cranking and not sure if you are going to do much cranking I would pick up a BPS MH cranking rod. These go one sale a lot for $30. You cant beat that rod for the price.

Rick Clunn 2.5 Copper Perch. Awesome crank. Norman DD22 color-Slick.

I do not understand this method? Are you saying just reel in line OVER the backlash? How is that supposed to do anything? I reel over a backlash too. I tighten the drag and then reel in over it. This casuses the reel to tighten the spool. I then peel off the line (free spool) and then reel the line back in. This method works great. I saw it on Bill Dance a few years ago and it has helped me deal with some nasty backlashes.

Lake 35 used to be the best lake there until something happened to that lake. I asked them about it early in the Spring of 06'. They said it was because of low rain. LOL. No way 1/2 the lake is drained because of low rain. There was a lot of construction up by the dam. Anyways I go 33. If you go to the west end of the lake it is shallow. However you can still catch them by throwing a jig or a trick worm in the brush. Once the spring hits BIG shallow running cranks and tube baits work well.

I dont have this bag, but I will warn you about the BPS bag that i bought. Two years of fishing and just about every zipper on that bag broke and the plastic sleeves are starting to rip out. What a piece of junk. I am thinking about sending the bag back to BPS with a letter, but it probably wont do any good. >

Per instructions on the Norman Speed clip it states to remove the split ring and directly snap to the eyelet of the lure. I have not tried them yet so I dont know how it effects the action. I am heading out tomorrow we will see.

That 705 R loads up well for casting deep cranks such as the DD22 or DT16. Nothing wrong with the 7'6" either.

I keep opening this thread to look at that Griffon. d**n that is a sweet lure.