Willzx225

I will be forever loyal to Skeeter Boats and Yamaha outboards. I fished 3 years as a nonboater in the BFL's and rode in every boat made and now I am on my 2nd Skeeter/ Yamaha. Berkley Line products, Shimano rods, and Lowrance electronics

I agree with 5Bass on this. Probably the only time I would use braid on a spinnerbait is in extremely heavy cover (IE throwing way back into reeds in FL) or fishing a spinnerbait in grass where you need to clear it of grass. I would only use braid if I was fishing off colored water also.

"don't have to worry about knots" Does this mean that you are tying the braid to the backing and then putting the tape over the knot and around the spool?

Oh yeah the pre-crucial rod I was refering to was the V-Rod. If anyone knows of one they are wanting to sell I have this little furry friend who is sitting next to me and he really wants to have a back up for this rod.

The best spinnerbait rod I have found personally was made by Shimano (pre-crucial days). It was a 6'10" MH but with a very light tip. I love that particular rod for roll casting baits under docks and overhanging brush. I feel that it is pretty important to find a rod with a parabolic action in order to have the most control when roll casting. The slightly longer length compensates for the lighter tip when it comes to moving big fish out of heavy cover. I would agree with the 100 size reel. I had a Curado 200 on mine but swapped it out for a Revo STX mainly due to the size different. The Curado 200 is just too much bulk for me.

I am setting at work right now and as soon as the pictures came up I heard a voice from behind me say "Lets go shopping" -Atleast I'm not the only one hearing voices!! GET BACK I TOLD YOU!

I have a buddy who gets all the trickworms he could ever want for free but he still pays money for the T-Macs instead. I have wanted to try them but for some reason haven't yet. Probably because I can't find them locally yet. I agree that the Paca Craws are probably one of my top two flipping soft plastics!

I think that it really depends on the water clarity that you are fishing. I used to live around a deep clear lake (Smith Mountain Lake, VA) and now I live in the Charlotte area where the lakes typically have more color to them. In VA I swore by my Rico's but down here where the clarity isnt as good, I think it evens it out more and I also believe that a louder rattle helps out more instead of the subtle Rico. I will still through a Rico over a Rebel though. It might be by habit or due to the level of confidence I have built in the Rico from my VA days.

I am having conflicting theories now! On one hand I would think that since the distance light can travel is much lower, then I would think the shorter the distance that light has to travel the better. IE Chrome over Glass since the light would have to first penetrate the first layer of the glass bait. But then on the other hand one would think that the "glass" bait might do what Raul was saying and magnify the light and send out more of a hugh than a chrome bait. Either way, I feel that vibration and water displacement is more important than anything in very murky water.

This is coming from a huge Shimano Rod believer. Do not get the Cumara if you are planning on using it for treble hooked lures. This series is designed to be used for bottom bouncing baits. They are awesome rods but I don't like the actions for crankbaits! The Crucials would be the way to go for me. I also like the Team Diawa TD-S spinnerbait/crankbait rod. I've had one for 10 years that I can not do with out! but it doesn't have the split grip and it would not be my top choice for a spinnerbait.

Dale said ".....I have bought to many hot spot maps and I'll tell you that is not a good paper map!!" Dale- What paper map brand do you recommend?

Oh yeah - I use XPS Fluro at the moment but I am testing out the Berkley 100% Fluro at this time and like what I've seen so far! I use Fluro for other reasons than just for visability. I like it for its sensitivity in bottom baits and I usually get more solid hooksets.

RoLo - I am not trying to be smart at all but I am curious to your last post (excellent post at that- opened my eyes a bit!) But if you say that it is not proven that low visability line helps catch fish then what is the reasoning for using Fluro on your shiners? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Braid floats while Fluro sinks?

Someone left the door open for RW on that one ;D

I'm going to through one out there that I have been throughing for 10 years and nobody has said anything about them... They are one of the best (I think they are the best) clear water baits. I through a Nichols Pulsator spinnerbait 90 % of the time I am fishing a spinnerbait.

This year I plan on fishing Swimbaits more (yeah I hear the baitmonkey calling the credit card info in right now) and I also want to work on transitioning from a "get as many bites as I can" mentality to the five bite mentality. I also want to hone my understanding of my electronics and concentrate more on fishing stuff that is not visable. For the most part though, I will be buying some swimbaits to try this spring.

The one thing that helped me decide on the boat to buy the most was to fish the BFL's as a co-angler. I fished them for 3 years and finally decided on a Skeeter. I had fished out of every major brand and Skeeter fit my style the best. Do yourself a favor and look at a Skeeter. If you have any questions just shoot me an email.

Stringjam - The Little John is more of a Slow Riser - almost neutral - That might be one of the differences in this bait and a Zoom. The Zoom will rise a little faster than the LJ. The Little John has a tungsten weight transfer system in it that probably keeps it down moreso than a wood bait. Believe it or not though, the LJ is a pretty silent bait though. The weight system doesn't allow much side to side movement of the tungsten (hince the silentness). Very well constructed bait from what I've seen with my limited experience. I will keep everyone posted on how it takes abuse!

Man this is why I have a love/ hate relationship with this site! I now have way to many places to buy stuff!!! In response to where to send someone... You might check out your local Divorce Lawyer as well! HAHA Just Kidding Got to love the high-end stuff but I'm sure it has taken its toll on a few relationships if it gets carried away.

Before this last year I would have said that I would normally flip a tube or a baby brush hog but after putting some time in flipping the Paca Craw, I think I have found a good bait that combines a little of both actions of the tube and brush hog. It is a great bait for flipping! I also like to flip a Zoom Speed Craw in river systems and high pressure situations. It offers a good amount of vibration but it is still small enough to not put bass on guard.

Is the prop-darter similiar in concept to the Bagley Bang-o Lure?

When the bit is on, I will usually be throwing a spinnerbait or a shallow running flat side crankbait. If it were in a tournament setting I would more than likely upscale the size of my bait since you can only weigh 5 and I would be able to sacrifice the bites in order to get a kicker. But its hard to beat a 1/2oz double willowleaf spinnerbait retrieved just under the surface when they are on! I can't ever get enough of that.

I was just wondering if anybody has used the smaller vision (95 I believe) or the vision 110 prop-darter?

After moving to the Carolinas I have found that I use crankbaits a whole lot more. My top 5 would have to be: Zoom Hicky (shhhh) DT6 Speed Trap Bandit 200 LC 1.5 I have recently picked up some Spro Little John Crankbaits and I am very impressed with them. Its nice to have a bait that acts like a custom flat side but casts very well in wind! Micropterus - Atleast at the BPS in Charlotte, most of the Bagleys that are on sale are the "Original" Series in odd colors or odd models. The old standbys such as the B2's and DKB 2's are still regular price (unfortunately because the B2 is awesome in river systems)

In '08 I want to work on learning deep cranking, football jigs, and of course the swimbait. Also since we don't have an abundance of grass lakes here in NC, I would like to learn as much as I can about that (I am heading to Guntersville in March - Figured that would be a good place to learn a thing or two about grass fisheries ;D ) I would also like to get a better understanding about what I have found in practice so when the conditions change I can make the appropriate adjustments.