Willzx225

I have three baits that I use the most in water deeper than 25': Drop Shot, Spoon, and a football jig. I typically find fish below the 25' mark starting in the fall and on through to late winter. I have caught bass up to 70' deep but that is the exception not the norm in my part of the world. The majority of the deep fish I catch during the colder months would be between 25' and 45'. One of the keys to not having to fizz a bass is to bring them up slowly that way it allows their swim bladder to acclimate itself to the different pressures. I agree with oldschool that this is an awesome technique and one that definitely does not get much pressure.

I have the 6.3 and 5.1 and really like them. I believe I actually like them more than my REVO STX's. They are not as finicky as the REVO's and are solid feeling reels. I'd recommend it especially since they cut the weights down to under 8oz.

How deep are you cranking? Shallow stuff the 6.1 would be great.

Give Big M a call and see if he would be interested in moving some of his products in a party atmosphere. It is something that you can't pick up off of the shelf and it would benefit all parties at one time. Customers would get great baits, the middle man could maybe negotiate a small commission, and Marty could move more product. If he doesn't want to do that, I'm sure you could find a custom painter that would work as well. JMO

I have a small rig that I made that works pretty good. I took a 4oz casting sinker and put a small snap on it. I just keep it up by the trolling motor foot pedal and can clip it on my line when I get hung. If I loose it its no big deal. If that doesn't work I then go to the big plug knocker. It is just quick and easy w/o having to wind the line back up on the knocker.

+1. I own the 7'2" M crucial DS rod. The split grip and drop shot weight keeper are pretty cool features. You won't be dissapointed with this rod. I also have the 6'8" MH Crucial DS and highly HIGHLY recommend it for casting a drop shot or vertical down to 30'.

Can't go wrong with the Crucials.

I just recently got back from the Potomac myself and had my first true experience with mat flippin. I had done a bunch of research before I went and here was my set up. 7'6" MH Shimano Crucial flipping stick (actually was probably a little too light for this application) 7.1 Revo STX 80lb Power Pro (recommended by a local friend who had broken 65 more than once) 1 3/8oz and 1 3/4 oz Penetrator weights -depending on tides and location. Zoom Grass Craw or Gambler BB Cricket- streamline bait 5/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus (had the 4/0 BMF hooks but no BMF barbs and it was more trouble than it was worth since I didn't loose any fish on the WGP in two days - roughly 40 fish) Another key to remember when punching mats is when you get a bite, do not drop your rod and give the fish slack. That heavy weight will often cause the fish to drop your bait since it does not feel natural to them. Have fun learning that technique. It is like no other bite. I love the fact that when you get a bite you never know how big it is or if you will ever see the fish. ;D

What size EWG are you using? I use the Yum Vibra King tube a lot and have found that the Owner Wide Gap Plus 4/0 is perfect for that. I used the 3/0 verson last year and lost a few key fish.

Old faithful for me. I love the Albino and Fire and Ice (blue back/ white sides with a little red). The old Fire and Ice color was 100x better than the newer version but I heard a rumor that they were bringing it out of retirement. I use the smaller size most but have been eying the larger for about a year now.

I agree that it wasn't the force that broke their 65lb braid but it was the conditions that they were putting their baits that lead to it. I agree 100% that it was angler neglegence for not retying but by using heavy braid you cut down on the amount you have to retie. The main use for braid in grass, IMHO, is that it cuts through the grass instead of slidding through it. By cutting through the grass it increases your chances on getting that fish out of the grass instead of having him bury up in it. Can you get by w/o using braid in matted grass - yes. Would I put my $200 entry fee and possible 3-5k top prize on the line and use mono/ fluro - no. But then again that is just me. Different strokes for different folks thats all.

I just got back from the Potomac fishing a BFL up there and I was flipping 80lb PP (after being strongly suggested this by my local buddy) and 1 3/4oz weights in the mats. Personally I witnessed 2 guys break off 65lb braid while flipping the grass. IMHO why not go with some goat rope in that situation?! Line visability is not a factor but getting 5+lb fish out of 20lbs of salad is. Braid is a tool just like mono and fluro. Certain conditions just 'require' braid. Mostly heavy heavy grass.

I'm sure that it will be a good quality product. Why else would Skeet switch from Lamiglas, who he has been with since day 1, to W&M without promise of it being a quality rod line. If it was going to be a low grade line I'm sure Lamiglas could have marketed a "Skeet Reese" line that was more of a value line. Skeet has worked too hard on his sponsor portfolio and image to step out that far on a limb without doing some research. JMHO I personally am surprised he didn't end up running the Lucky Craft line of rods.

Braid is just another tool. It is great in some applications (ie. heavy grass) and not so good in other applications (ie. rock) as apparent by this conversation. I agree though that 30lb might be a little small for bottom baits but would be a good choice for moving baits. My vote would be for Suffix or Power Pro in 65lb. Although my buddy who fishes heavy grass year round in LA has switched to Diawa Samuri braid from Power Pro and says it is the best braid he has used.

After I lost two fish that cost me winning a BFL on Gamakatsu's due to flexing and opening up, I switched to Owner and have never looked back. I also had problems with the Gamakatsu points rolling. My question is this. Would you rather pay a little more for a better, more durable hook and use one or two per trip or pay a little less and hope you don't either loose a fish or two that might make the difference between winning and loosing or break the hook all together. Oh yeah and use 3 or 4 hooks over the course of the day? Once you take all of that into concideration you actually pay less for the Owners. In response to the "larger hole made by the cutting point hook" argument. For the most part, if you keep pressure on the fish at all times it won't matter if there is a larger hole. Slack line has accounted for most of the lost fish.

Yeah I just fed the baitmonkey $40 of his elixer to shut him up! Thanks Sigma!

Shooter Defier is an excellent line when it comes to smooth casting. It has a small diameter and is very limp. Add KVD L&L and it can't be beat.

You see a bunch of guys around here throwing the Lur Jensen 3/4oz Hot Lips when they want to reach 20+ on a cast so I would definitely think it would get down there on a long line troll.

x2 on the Crucial DS spinning rod. I have the 6'8" MH (not a typical MH- very light tip) and I love it. It works great also for #5 shad raps and darter head fishing.

Two things come to mind. First, I believe you are talking about the Gerald Swindle situation in the classic in 2007 (I believe) on Lay Lake where he got DQ'd for "aggressive driving". Or it could be the recent Langill DQ for bumping into Boyd Duckett on Guntersville (which was not on TV)

"kicked their teeth in" "Caved their head in" B*tch slapped them they were puking "Had to lay down in the bottom of the boat to tie my bait on so they wouldn't take it out of my hand" <--- My personal favorite ;D On tournament day - "I had a good day" or "We caught a few"

Those are some good looking baits right there! ;D

For all purpose casting to the cover I would go with 15# Trilene 100% Fluro. Hand to hand combat, flipping in the junk- 20# big game or 50-65 lb braid.

Frank- It is a graphite rod. It has the same colors and grip as the Crankbait rods but it is all graphite instead of composite.

They may swim backwards but they crawl forwards