islandbass

That should work fine for now. As you gain experience, you will know what you want in your drop shot rod. As for line twist, when a spinning reel is handled right, line twist is is minimal, and I don't experience it at all, even when drop shotting. I personally don't add a swivel because I don't think it is needed. There are measures that can be taken to just about eliminate it or at least keep it to a minimum, like once (maybe) every 1000 casts and even then, its more a result and occurrence of angler (my) negligence. In addition, some reels are better at keeping line twist at bay.

Wow, I am surprised to see Lamiglas on your list! This company is underrated and they make great rods. Given your choices, the Lami or the Shimano. I have the Competitor CC664 and it has a lot of power. I shudder at how much backbone the one you had in mind would have being that it is a five.

Do what I do, the nearest BPS is only a two hour flight away. ;D Or like my friend Pedro and I did two months ago, we are already in MacAllen .... how many hours away is San Antonio ? : Thanks, Raul! I'll keep in mind that no matter how far away I am from a BPS, there are others here that are even farther. How's your pixy these days?

If you aren't using Elite, then I can only recommend Siege. I use both and think this is one of the better monos out there. The grass isn't always greener.

Do you mean O rings?

I thought about that. But then it occurred to me that I don't want the sinker to be an attractant at all. It is necessary to the technique but I want the bait to be the only thing the bass is interested in. I tried using a light jig as the weight, but it was a distraction. I did this, the first time I drop shotted by adding a jig rattle to the rig next to the weight. The first cast resulted in a hook up with a big bass that bent my pole such that the rod's tip was pointing under the dock. As soon as I gave it the first wiggle to sound off the rattle, my rod went down! It was opening day and the dock was lined with trout anglers and all these kids gathered around such that I had little room to maneuver. The bass spit out the hook, but I was definitely sold on both the drop shot and the use of rattles. They probably aren't needed in clear water, but the murkier the water is, the more the use of rattles might shine.

Nope. I have never ever walked out of any BPS empty-handed. As a matter of fact, I have never walked into one! FYI The closest BPS to me is over 1000 miles away in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. :-/

Do you make tear drop shaped lures? I agree with your earlier post. My preferred weight is the tear drop for the same reasons you mentioned.

The only thing that separates you from getting there is quality, focused practice. You'll be there soon enough. Better quality reels do make it easier. Something in the Citica class on up will help you learn this very quickly. As for taking off the extra line, that is just how it is with a baitcaster, and one thing a spinning reel smokes a bc reel. The latter does not need to have lone stripped to attain a more vertical descent. The only thing I can see to circumvent the more vertical descent is to pitch with a heavier weight. The bc reels in my stable are: Shimano Curado 201 BSF Curado 201 DHSV Cardiff 301A Pflueger Trion Abu Garcia 5 Star (round reel) The first four reels pitch superbly for 1/4 oz on up, with the Trion being finicky. The Shimanos have no problem at 1/4 oz. The Abu, well, let's just say that darned thing had better be at fairly heavy. ;D

Gosh, I am glad I am not the only one who thinks about such things! Anyway, I believe and agree that in essence they are the same or at least similar. It is kind of like when I first started fishing, I wasn't able to toss Rapala Floating minnows very far so I grabbed a 3-way swivel to which the main line, leader to lure and 1/4 oz weight was attached. It is fundamentally a Carolina Rig (weight in front of the bait, but I didn't know that for the longest time until I got more into bass fishing. I think where I would notice differences are in what you might want out of the presentation. These are my observations not fact. For example: 1) The Lure's Fall Rate: A T-Rigged Worm with at 1/4 oz weight will drop like a rock compared to a jig and pig of the same weight. Want a faster fall? Use T-Rig. The lack of a skirt will enable it to fall faster. Slower fall, jig n pig. 2) Flexibility: The pegged T-rigged will offer some flexibility if the angler determines that a moving weight would be more beneficial. The varied movement of an unpegged weight will give the lure a slightly different action and motion as opposed to when it is fixed. 3) Presentation: They might be the same in principal but at any given time, the bass might find one more appealing than the other. Therefore the need to have both possibilities at an angler's disposal is important. These are a several of my thoughts. I believe I think too much sometimes. :

X2 on this. I see this more as a twitch bait. You are right in that it does not dive too deeply and I too was not impressed. Heck, it never even occurred to me to twitch that puppy. Since then, I have changed my mind about it and it really works well, with a topwater bite. I would prefer the Rapala knot. If you go with a duo lock snap, try to find the smallest you can get away with. A direct tie will kill the action with split ringless rapalas.

I pitch all the time with my spinning reel. I think people choose and that is the key word, casting gear over spinning because: 1) They think it is more accurate to cast this way -- I disagree with this inasmuch as to say that they just need more practice. Or maybe when this is said by anglers, they are correct that they are better with a casting reel because they do not pitch with a spinning reel! With enough practice, pitching can be done with the same precision as casting gear. 2) It is far more convenient -- I agree with this more. With a spinning set up, you have to open up the bail, then close it manually and ensure you have no slack on your side of the bail, then cast. With a casting reel, you just press down the button and cast away. As I mentioned, I pitch with my spinning rig (drop shot) and what I like about it the most is that I get a more vertical fall than I would when casting the same setup. So there is give and take using either reel to pitch baits. Glad to see you have discovered that pitching with a spinning reel is kind of cool in its own way. 8-)

I also prefer the tear drop shape over all. They have been hard for me to find lately, so in a pinch, cylindrical weights are my second choice.

Wohhh! I didn't know that some people thought of feeding a loop through the hook's eye to start the Palomar. Try that with a size 2 drop shot hook. ;D Anyway, Davis, did you mention what line you were using. It has been my experience that when using the Improved Clinch knot, it can slip with braid. I use the palomar and IC knot probably 99% of the time. I have never lost a fish due to knot failure. I am sure a little practice with the IC knot will solve that. I use the IC over the palomar when tying things like minnow baits and crankbaits. Making a loop with the palomar to accomodate (and waste) line isn't practical for me in those cases so I use the IC knot or the Trilene knot if I feel like it. Good advice was given about when the fish pull the drag. Barring them heading for heavy cover, there should not be a need to horse a fish taking drag. Sorry about the loss but there is always next time.

That saltwater rod seemed pretty good. I do think however, if bass will be your only targetted species, go the the compre that meets your specs. I have the two piece version, but there is a one piece model too. CPS66MHB 6'6" Medium Heavy Fast 8-17 3/16-7/8 1 2.25" 7.75" T+7 (2piece = CPS66MHB2) This rod is capable of setting the hook with single hook lures, fishing crankbaits and topwater, and even drop shotting. Good luck on your final decision. I love the excitement of being in the hunt for new rods, but I dislike the anguish and wishi-washiness of going back and forth between the choices and being paralyzed by indecision. ;D

I would also not go with that reel. Save up to get at least a Cardiff. It has a gear ratio that is suitable for crankbaits. This is also the reel I use for tossing crankbaits. And despite having a curado D DHSV, I STILL PREFER to toss crankbaits with my cardiff. It just feels better during the retirve. Don't get me wrong, the Curado is more than capable, but I prefer the line recovery rate of my cardiff. To me, it seems the fish like it better too. That procaster does sound sweet though. I think I might get one for my little girl.

If a hook is offset, that means that the hook's eye is not in the same line as the shaft. If you look at these two pictures, you can see that the hook eye and shaft are separated by that two nearly 90 degree bends. This is why they are called offset because the eye and shank are not aligned. A hook that in not offset will have the eye and the same in alignment. Click on the link below to see a hook that is not offset. http://www.gamakatsu.com/catalog/worm_straight.htm

Congrats! I walked down that same path and I am glad I have gotten into plastics too. You are definitely right about costs.

Big T beat me to the punch. I have the compre MH that can toss a 7/8 lure. These rods are out there, but you just have to do a little searching.

I don't wish to straddle the fence but depending on my circumstances, I like both. Sometimes I want to catch numbers to beat my record for a day. Sometimes I target big bass. Usually it goes like this: I spend the day goin' for big mama. Then as my fishing liberty approaches expiration, I start praying and hoping I catch anything, even a dink, because I don't like going home skunked. : ;D

I just about fell over cracking up! ;D ;D Poor Ugly Stick!

Oh! I forgot to mention that my wife's uncle only fish's with ugly sticks. When he took me fishing with him, I knew he was a good angler but he smoked me nearly 3 to 1 with two ugly sticks, one of them being sub 6' ultralight. He landed the biggest bass of the day with that rig, 4# test and a frickin' yellow rooster tail. I didn't slouch either. I caught 35 bass that day and lost just as many. Do that math and you'll know I got smoked like a cuban. Old school and the ugly stick ruled that day.

My brother just bought a kit (without consulting with me) but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Could you let me know what the flaw is so that I can tell him? Thanks!

I have used it and they aren't bad, but for about the same price, you can get something as humble as a Shimano Convergence rod. Better graphite, better guides out of the starting gate and a better warranty, which is lifetime vs 5-7 years. It is also probably a lighter rod. I am not knocking the Ugly Stick lite at all. It is sufficiently sensitive for me, but since I am budget minded, I would prefer to invest in other rods at that price point with more enticing traits such as components and warranty.

Well said, Bobby! I second the recommendation about that book. I recommend it every time to those who ask, but I don't know if people take the time to find and read it as you have. Having such knowledge at one's disposable is invaluable especially for someone who is shorebound like me.