J Francho

I bought a pair of these last year, and I gotta say, they are hands down the nicest I've used.

I'm sure they do Muddy. If you got a river or stream that isn't choked with beaver dams, thank a trapper (ask T.U.). As far as the dam being safe. No one can ever say anything to 100%, but I never found a weak dam. I had to rip a few apart. The only ones that I was able to take apart by hand were very old, or very small and just started. I have had to resort to back-hoes and even dynamite. I was authorized by the DNR, and paid by private land owners and sometimes hired by Trout Unlimited. Just so you guys know it wasn't done just for grins. I got a few dams up here you can have at ;D

I'd rather start with matching the primary forage, which is usually fish, not bugs. :

Still waiting for my Certificate of Participation. Everybody's a winner? Oh, brother. Congrats to those that were featured anglers. It was interesting to read their backgrounds.

The same hook concept is on a frog and it doesn't seem to hurt the hook-up ratio. Compare frog hook up rates to jig hook up rates among those that can fish BOTH well.

Spinnerbaits are a reaction bait that are rarely taken deeply and provide their own wire protection, so this is a case where a 20# FC leader will be fine. I fish for Northerns. Depends on the bait. If I feel a wire or sevenstrand leader will inhibit the action, then I go with a heavy fluoro leader. Problem is, its a trade off. You can get away with thinner wire that fluoro. In any case, if your targeting them, you'll want to use something.

Let's make like a fetus, and head out. The world is full of stupid people, and I think I might be one of them. Hey [insert name]! Yer momma! Good, and you? (before someone gets a chance to say anything at all)

Bantam, can you give some alternate recommendations of your products for extreme cold weather use? What I mean is, parts such as worm gears come factory lubed with grease, but this part usually performs better when a single drop of oil is used. Same for roller bearings. I know you have mentioned that what you use is an evolving science, but is there an optimal temperature range for certain lubrication aspects? It would be great to hear it from the horse's mouth, sop to speak, since a lot of us northern guys are using 300DSVs and Calcutta Bs for winter steelhead.

That's nuts.

Let me know fi that Pixy needs a new home

That'll work fine. Figure out a good system for securing your rods, or use a leash. I personally don't care about getting wet - that's what rain gear is for, and in summer, its refreshing. You're generally only talking about little drips from the paddles once in awhile. My kayak leaves me high and dry. And, yea, I'm a stander.

I've actually had some respected name brands just plain fail - some on the back cast. I used to use a snap swivel for spooning and spinners for trout, salmon, and springtime smallies that come in for the alewife feeding frenzy, but now simply use a split ring and simple barrel swivel: http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/252900414_dmtJR-L.jpgBTW, some of the hand made inline spinners I use approach a Lucky Craft in price.

I do not like to wade in soft bottom water - especially ponds. Always gives me the creeps. Paul, I fish Linear quite frequently, but not for bass, and I know where you're talking about Anyway, there is a set of ponds a buddy of mine showed me that feature at least one large active beaver dam, and we've both caught several large bass from there.

I use snap swivels for one thing: Attaching a slinky weight to a bottom bouncer rig. This is for trout and catfish in current, not really bass. I generally remove the split rings, and in most cases, a #3 Duo-loc snap does the trick. For jigs, please tie direct. You will lose connectivity to the bait, causing you to miss bites, and it will foul too easy.

Add back to back snaps to that list.

When they were building a new plaza here, one of the storefronts had a huge banner: "Dick's Coming Soon!"

In most cases, I tie a #3 duo loc snap on with a palomar knot. Thinner diameter line is what will get the bait deeper. I use 8-10# P-line CXX. I suppose FC might get it deeper, but I haven't seen any proof.

Yeah, those Aruka shad really suck. Don't use them I know what you mean though. Honestly, I think these guys believe that anything that gets anyone into getting a fish, and they can get paid for it is probably what drives them to do these ads.

I actually look for sellers with lower sales numbers, like 50-150. To me, that is just a dude trying to move some unused gear, rather than an ebay baron. That doesn't mean that seller is scammer.

I have two Black Widow II reels. They are the old "vanilla" TD-A with some appearance upgrades, which is now sold as the Daiwa Tierra. If you have a Citica, I don't see any reason to swap out, unless the centrifugal brake isn't doing it for you. I also wouldn't pay $100 for it, as they can be found for much less. Great reel though

Sounds like they are recruiting promotional staff members.

That's awesome.

Jig.

No problems here, bought several reels off ebay. All transactions went smoothly. Never had the stones to buy a rod, seems like a lot could go wrong between there and my front step.

If I had that reel, I'd have to buy a matching pair of shoes and belt. ;D It does look like a TD-Z, but who cares. Great to see Shimano's new designs. So far everything looks lean and mean. And light, which is great news to Shimano buyers.