SteveF

When fishing beaver style baits, how do you prefer to rig them; do you rig them on a football head, or do you Trig them? What are some pros and cons of each? I have always fished them on a head of some kind, and just wondering if you think that the presentation this way is more natural than Trigging them? Have any of you thought about T Rigging them with a weighted worm hook such as the Falcon's to give it the flat natural fall? How about size, do you have more luck with the 3.5" beaver baits or do you prefer the 4.25" beaver? I fish a lot of tournaments and although a big bite is great, I typically fish with smaller baits to catch fish behind other fisherman, and once I have a solid limit I may go for a big bite but typically I will leave the small mouth at that point and slop fish or try to flip up a big largemouth. Do you believe bass, small mouths in particular prefer smaller or larger beavers? Thanks for your time. Steve P.S. Unless I have some setting set funny the search feature is about useless on this forum as it just comes up as a mangled bunch of previous post that only contain the word I search for. How do I better utilize the search feature?

I can probably tie a palomar knot faster than I can work a small little snap. I also believe that they are typically very weak, and I don't want anything weaker than my line. Steve

I would have to agree with bait color choices being more important to fisherman 95% of the time, however I have seen size as well as fall rates effect the number of fish I catch on a more consistant basis though. Thanks. Steve

Does your method of rigging (wacky vs. texas rig) change the bait color choice that you use? For example do you texas rig a watermelon but only wacky rig a smoke senko/worm? I'm curious to know if you guys that use both texas rigged baits like a senko, and wacky rig the same bait change colors because of the rigging method? Thanks guys, Steve

Could someone give me some information or a link about what is required (products and quantities) to pour your own plastic lures? I'm very interested, but would like to know what is all involved. Can you very the hardness of the plastic, and is it easy to mix and create your own colors? How about safety wise, is it harmful? What is required for space to pour your own lures. Thanks from a luremaker wannabe. Steve

I agree with ghost, I got 2 of the 6.3:1's as they are as fast as most manufacturers' 7.1:1 gear ratio's. I actually prefer my 6 Alpha's and 2 Sol's for almost everything except for frogs, and buzzbaits as I find I prefer to fish slower at any given time than be to fast. At 28 IPT it is hard to get yourself to reel slower 95% of the time. Take care, Steve

I prefer a thin skirt on all my jigs. I have found that in a tank that a thick skirt a lot of the strands stick together and look very unnatural. On the other side a thinner skirt gives a lot of action and natural movements. I typically tie all my skirts with around 30 strands and that is only one length of the jig as I do not believe in the double lengths. They work for me in all my fishing, and I can go behind guys in a tournament that are fishing with "production jigs" and catch fish after fish. That's my $.02. Take care, Steve

Thanks Allen, that is what I was looking for. Steve

Where is the largest selection of skirt material colors and how do there prices compare to other places? I'm mostly looking for options on colors more so than price, however if I can find a place that has both it would be perfect. Thanks guys, Steve

I'm interested in tying my own jigs, my question is this: If I am going to use thread to tie them, what thread should I use? Also, if I am going to be using thread instead of the bands, what is the easiest way to hold the strands in place while I start the wraps? Now I know someone will tell me to use the collars first, then to tie the jig and then take the collar off or cut it off, however I think that is a waste, but maybe my only option? Please help!

I'm looking for a good tube that can be rigged texas style with a 4/0 Gama hook. I'm really interested in the Schurbert Tubes that Kim Stricker promotes but I can not get any length information from the company. Please help, what tube do you texas rig and with what size hook? Take care all, Steve

I will be using my 2 Zillions for flipping, and frogs. I believe that you will be able to do about anything that you want, however it is better suited towards 3/8 oz. lures. Steve

I'm not one of the Daiwa "masters" here, however I only own Daiwa baitcasters, in fact I have 6 Alphas, 2 Sols and 2 Zillions all left handed. With that said all my Daiwa's will totally disengage with the spool if the drag is loosed all the way. As for the oil, I would say a few times a year will be plenty unless you fish everyday, as I fish about 3 days a week and only lubricate a couple times a year, however all my rods/reels stay in a rod locker in the Triton too. For what it's worth, Steve

According to there website they will not be availabe until Feb. 2008. Take care, Steve

I want to use my heavy sticks for flipping mostly, however they may double as a frog rod and a buzzbait/swimjig rod when the conditions are right. Would flourocarbon be a good alternative to braid for these conditions? I'm in Wisconsin so an 8 pounder can be a once in a lifetime fish. Would it provide the strength and low stretch required to get the hook set in, and muscle the fish out of the slop/lilly pads? I will be using 2 St. Croix Legend Elite 7'0MHF both with Daiwa Zillion's. I'm thinking about using Sugoi Flipping Flourocarbon in 20 pound test? Let me know your thoughts, I was just thinking that mono may work, but flourocarbon would give me a little better stretch properties while still being more universal for use as a abrasion resistant flipping line as well. Thanks all and Happy New Year, Steve

My overall favorite would have to be my Japanese Daiwa Alpha Type F 's in left hand retrieve (as I only use lefties). Although my Daiwa Sols are a pretty close second, however this weekend I'm picking up 2 of the Daiwa Zillion high speed reels and hope them to be right up there as well.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I have had great success with the Suffix DNA Pro-Mix mono, and will probably continue to use that for 99% of my fishing. Take care and Happy New Year all, Steve

I've always been a huge mono fan, but have tried braid and just don't like most of the disadvantages to make me use it. I've only used Berkley Vanish and Transition as far as flourocarbon without much luck as well. I'm really looking for opinions on a flourocarbon line that has great knot strength and abrasion resistance. I would also like to hear from some of the guys that use all flourocarbon. Pitching: flouro or mono Senko: flouro or mono Tex Rig Plastics: flouro or mono Frog: flouro or mono (no braid) Thanks again all, Steve

Thanks FishTank, I love my Daiwa Alpha Type-F's (6) and my Sol's (2) however they are both slow speed 5:8 gear ratio's which I feel is way to slow for slop fishing. I wish Daiwa would come out with a Japanese Alpha with a 7:1 gear ratio ... I would be all over that like stink on ... well you know. Take care all, Steve

Flechero, You use Trilene XT for frogs? What made you decide to go mono instead of braid? Thanks bud, Steve

I see what you are say with the warranty, guess because I am a warranty Technician at Mathews I don't think like the "average" guy does, but it does make sense. I won't be abusing it, I will just be using it and I would think that as long as the breaking strength of the braid does not go over the rating of the rod I should be fine. Thanks for the help. Steve

What is everyone's thoughts on using 17-20 pound test for frog fishing versus braid? Reason I am asking and trying to steer clear of braid is that I use only St. Croix Legend Elite's and am afraid that they may be too brittle for the braid and would like some give. I have 14 of these with 2 7' MH rods, and would also like to be able to use this rod for pitching when I am not mat/slop fishing and the mono/floro would be better for that. Thanks for your time guys and I appreciate all of your opinions. Steve

I am looking at getting a new frog reel, and torn between the Daiwa Zillion with the high speed gear ratio or the Daiwa Advantage Super Tuned, and what I would like to know is which one is smaller in overall size or in other words which one is easiest to palm. I will be getting it in left hand as well. We do not have any local dealers here that have either of these so I am relying on you guys. Thanks guys. Steve

I'm looking for a high speed reel for frog fishing, and I love my Daiwa Alpha's and Sol's, but do not care for the coupld TD-X's that I have. How is the Zillion in relation to size comparison with the TD-X or Sol's, as most may not be familiar with the Alpha's? I would really prefer the Alpha other than it is pretty slow on the line pick up department for slop fishing in my opinion. How would people compare the Zillion to the Advantage Super Tuned? How do they compare in overall size? I have small hands and love the Alpha and Sol reels, and would like to know which of the following would suit me best: Zillion 7:1, Advantage 6:3 or even the Aplpha 150 (if anyone has used or seen this reel)? Happy Holiday's, Steve

I have 2 Sol's, 2 TD-X's and 6 Alpha Type F's. THe Alpha's are by far my favorite, with the Sol's coming in next in line. The TD-X's I would like to sell as they are just slightly to big for my small hands. Happy Holiday's, Steve