MNGeorge

Who sells them?

Palomar for the lighter braids and superlines. Double uni-knot for the heavier braids. Also, keep an eye on your knot when fishing single Bass hooks. The knot can work it's way around to the niche between the eye and the shank of the hook. If that happens, when you load the line, it breaks at the knot and you think the knot was bad when in fact, the knot gets cut by the end of the eye.

They're all sold out and are not accepting back orders.

In my opinion, the only reason to consider fluorocarbon is if you want a sinking line. It stretches like mono and is not nearly so sensitive as braid or superlines. If visibility is the issue, go to green mono. The fish can't see it either.

6 lb. 1oz. Smallie caught with a Sage 360 spinning rod and a Quantum QMD 20 spinning reel. 8 lb. test Berkley TriMax line and a tiny Big O in brown crawfish pattern. 5 lb. 14 oz. Largemouth caught on the same rod with a Quantum Kinetic PTi-A, size 30, and the same brand line. 6" red shad curly tail worm.

*** free shipping with a $50 order really has gotten them alot of my business that used to go to BPS.

Try this link: They have 3 sizes, 3/8, 1/2 and 5/8 ounce. The webpage says nothing about length.

We've grown to like Black Neon in murky water. It has produced some very nice fish for us this year.

I've been a long time fan of BPS, but this year there have been a number of mistakes with orders. They always make good on them, but it delays receipt of the stuff you want. ***'s policy of free shipping on orders over $50 has had me ordering more and more from them and their orders have all been error free.

I have had problems similar to what you experienced. I tried Trilene 100% this spring with KVD line conditioner and found it to be manageable enough to live with. Then I tried the BPS XPS Fluorocarbon with KVD line conditioner and it is the cat's pajamas as far as I am concerned. I would recommend it to anyone having manageability problems with fluoro.

Yeah...I got that email last night >. I'm going to call them and bich...it says nothing about 'pre-order' or anything else. Why would you put it up on your website for sale if you won't have the item for 2 months?! The new catalog says it's a pre-order for later delivery, don't know why they wouldn't put that on their website as well.

We use 4/0, 5/0 and even 6/0 Gammie EWG Superline hooks, t-rigged and skin hooked on 10# test mono or fluorocarbon. Rods are 6'6" to 7' mostly fast action medium rods. In our group, it's about 50/50 between spinning and casting so either one will work just fine. We're using this set-up for Mississippi River Smallies and they have no problem with the bigger hooks. If you're having hook-up problems, it's been our experience that you're probably dealing with smaller fish.

The Houdini Shad has long been our best producing fluke type bait on the Mississippi River here in Minnesota. The Smallies love them. We also do nothing to modify the tail and agree about the enticing wiggle on the fall. We have used as big as a 6/0 Gammie EWG Superline hook for extra weight to get down in the current and have not noticed any appreciable decrease in the action of the Houdini Shad.

I also leave them in the original bags so when I run low, I know what to buy. I bunch all similar baits together and put a rubber binder around them. All the bundles go into a plain canvas bag. Before a trip, I usually put the ones I think I'll be using on top of the bag.

When T-rigging the Senko, we have had no bottom lip hook ups. I've fished a wacky rigged Senko with an o-ring, a piece of heat shrink tubing or hooked just through the worm. All 3 rigs have produced mostly bottom lip hook ups. I agree about not losing any that have been hooked in the bottom lip so that is a plus. On the negative side, lipping the fish into the boat requires a bit more caution.

My son uses a steel leader on all his hard baits, cranks, topwaters and spinnerbaits. I rarely use one. He gets just as many hits as I do, so I would say use the leader if you don't want to risk losing a spinnerbait or two.

Wayne and all, Home Depot has the GB brand if you prefer it for any reason. MNGeorge

I'm still using some 8# Trilene XT from the early 80's and it is just fine. So long as you keep it from excessive heat, it will last long enough to use it up.

Almost as bad is bringing home a new bait only to discover you already had a couple you forgot about.

We do that all the time. It gives you use of both ends of the line before you toss it.

X2

Tackle warehouse has a nice assortment of Fat IKA colors.

Brian, Did you forget the link? I don't see it.

I've been using the Mustad Power Lock Plus with very good results. The weight is movable so you can adjust how the craw falls on the drop. I tried some Paca Craws today and the Mississippi River Smallmouth liked those also, but I prefer the action of the Rage Tail Craws and the Rage Tails seemed to hold up a little better. Here's a link to the TW listing for the Mustad hooks: http://www.***.com/descpageMUSWRMHK-MPLP.html

I tried this rig on the upper Mississippi tonight. The Smallies like it and got a bonus Catfish on it too.