MNGeorge

I love the orange tips on the claws...we do that to our beaver and craw baits with JJ's Magic.

For all intents and purposes, braid is all I fished with last year. I might go back to mono on my soft jerk bait rig, but that would likely be the only rig I'd consider not using braid on.

So which ones do you have that you don't like, and are you looking to get rid of them? I've got two and like both. Wouldn't mind picking up a couple more. I have only one Crucial as I stated above...it is both my first and last. It's a CRC-70MH 7 ft. Med. Hvy. Fast action. 10-20# test line, 1/4 to 1 oz. lure wt. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.

I've had 2 Quantum baitcasters and had issues with both...heavy, noisy, hard to cast lighter baits. Likely will never own another one. Also had problems with 2 pre 2010 REVO Premiers...wound up giving them both away as I didn't feel right about taking money for them. Now I have all REVO STX's and they have been absolutely trouble free.

I have a Crucial, actually 2, my first and last. Would never buy another one. It weighs a ton and is not all that sensitive...it's sitting up in the rod rack and will likely never see the water again.

Being from KY, do you also make chess pie??? YUM, YUM, YUM

How about a quick video of that process...I'm having trouble envisioning it.

Vinny, What kind of tournaments are we talking about here? What are the expenses one might expect to incur? What part(s) of the area would we have to travel to? Being retired, I have the time, but I have very little tournament experience.

I also keep them in their original package and I store them laying flat in either a cardboard or plastic box. Before I store them, I make sure they are all straight in their individual bags...then lay the bag flat in the storage container. Even in the boat I keep them laying flat...never have bent tails.

Where did you get "not answering emails"? I posted I have emailed several times over the past few months and have always gotten a response. I think sharkhat may be right...they have several new products out this year and have no doubt been busy selling, writing orders, producing and getting stuff shipped.

Here in MN, Bass season doesn't open until Memorial Day weekend for the majority of the state, so don't be looking for any sympathy from up here. :'( Roadtrip VI, Kentucky Lake, 4/17 to 4/22 is my light at the end of the tunnel.

I don't think I'd put beavers in the same class as Senko style baits with respect to number of bites. That being said however, I'd hate to have to fish without beaver style baits...they produce a lot of fish for us over the course of a season. Why do fish bite them? Why do fish bite any artificial bait? I don't know...I'm just glad they do. How do we fish beaver style baits? We mostly fish them on a Titleshot jig from Fin-tech which we prefer to Texas rigged with a bullet weight. We also occasionally fish them as a trailer on a regular Bass jig. Some of our guys even use beavers as a trailer on swimjigs. If you don't currently fish beaver style baits, IMHO they are well worth trying...you will most likely be rewarded for the effort. The best ones for us, hands down, have been the original Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver followed by the Netbait B Bug. Netbait has a new one out called the Kickin' B which I'm looking forward to trying.

It's been saying that since sometime last year. I emailed them late last Fall about it and got a response saying they were working on it...seems like it should have been done by now. In the meantime, I've emailed them several times with questions and have always gotten a response.

X2...Excellent advice

How about some pics?

Have space for 8 in the boat...4 for me, 4 for my partner, except my wife who has only 3 rods, then I get 5. If I'm fishing by myself, 6 or 7. Shore fishing is always only 1 rod.

As much as I dread the thought, drop shot fishing would be one technique I think would be handy at times, so I'd like to learn a little on how to go about it. I much prefer heavier tackle, mostly jigs, with a good size chunk of plastic or tube on it, but there are times when that doesn't work so well.

X3...not sure how much, if any, a snap improves the action, but it just makes it so much easier to change cranks.

Well said, Rat. I couldn't agree more.

I have heard this attitude toward spots from several different geographical areas. Personally, not really into keeping fish, I just want to catch one, no matter the size, just to say I've caught one. One like the one in Deb's picture would do me nicely.

Never caught a Spotted Bass before...first on my list of "to do's" while at KY Lake just so I can say I've caught one.

Kind of agree with RW...anything that remotely smacks of finesse is absolutely a last resort and I have be down quite a few fish before I'll even consider making that adjustment. Fortunately for me, Mississippi River Smallies can almost always be caught without having to resort to finesse tactics.

Looks like a JJ's Magic target to me.

For hardbaits I use a crosslock snap so a split ring is not needed. However, on cup faced topwater baits like a Pop R, I will add a split ring if they don't come with one just so it's easier to hook up.

We have used both the Fat IKA and the Hydra, almost always rigged backwards. While they both work, we favor the Fat IKA because it falls a bit faster. More casts per day...more opportunities to get bit. We added Neko weights to the Hydra's to get them to fall faster and that worked OK, but was more trouble than it was worth. If you decide you like the Hydra's, let me know...I can sell you some at a decent discount.