Team9nine

X2 8-) Great rod for live bait rigging and float fishing. Does nicely with small topwaters like Splash-Its, Gunfish, etc. Definitely a more moderate action rod. -T9

It really doesn't matter, which is the nice thing about fishing. You can pursue and be successful with most any type of setup. I've got 2 matching crappie outfits that have $110 reels on $240 custom rods - huge overkill but I absolutely love catching crappie on them 8-) On the other hand, I caught hundreds of bass this fall with a 12 year old Daiwa spinning reel that I found out was worth about $30 today, rigged on a $40 Berkley Lightning rod. The fish didn't care, and neither did I ;D -T9

You're going to get a lot of different opinions on this one, and the comment about using whatever seems right to you is a good one. I'll just say that based on your mention of skipping and smaller baits, you'd be perfectly fine with a 6'0-6'3" MF rod. I've caught a whole lot of bass over the years doing exactly that with a 6' M action spinning rod. This game is only as complicated and fancy as you choose or desire to make it. ;D -T9

I tested the River2Sea Bully Wa's in the 65 size against the Spro's this summer. They're the same length and weight as the popular Spro Bronzeye 65 (2.5", 5/8-oz.). R2S frog casts just as well, and has the same type belly weight as the Spro. On this particular model, even the same 4/0 BN Gamakatsu hook is used. I'd give the nod to the Bully Wa in the skipping category. It also has a softer body than the Spro and my hookup ratio was as good or better. This frog does appear to be a little wider in the body, but that didn't seem to affect anything negatively. It actually helps protect the hooks pretty well from what I could tell. The only negative tendency I had was for the right hook to end up stuck slightly in the right side of the frog's body at times. One of the advertised benefits of this frog is the little keel that runs down the belly from just under the throat. It is supposed to help this frog walk-the-dog easier/better when in open water. I was able to get it to do so with the right retrieve cadence, but I can also do the same with the Spro, so I'd say they are both very similar in that regard. One thing I did notice with retrieves though is that the keel makes for more of a splash on a quick, straight retrieve, almost like a popper. I thought that was kind of cool. It also has a more pronounced vertical rocking to it when retrieved as mentioned. Here it seems like simply a matter of which action will work best for the given water conditions. One other neat little modification on the R2S frog is a small rubber O-ring, similar to the piece of rubber most jig skirts are built around, that is placed over the hook shank and situated right where the hooks exit the frogs underbelly. This helps fill up that hole and limits the amount of water that can get into this frog. On regular casts it works quite well, but I found that skipping will frequently push this rubber seal around on the hook and you'll frequently have to adjust it on the fly. The same goes for after hooking and landing a bass. Price is the same or slightly cheaper than a Spro depending on whose catalog you're looking at. Color options are fairly limited at the moment as I noticed Spro is now up to nearly 2 dozen color versions. If I had to pick just one of each it would probably be "Natural Green" in the Spro's and "Copper Green" in the R2S's. -T9

X2 8-) -T9

I've been testing both leader knots as well as straight braid tie knots for the past several weeks. So far the best I've found are the Palomars (single or double versions) as well as the double line 5 turn uni knot. Most others are highly suspect, though I obviously can't test every knot. Braid is pretty unforgiving under pressure when it comes to knots. -T9

What type line are you using - makes a difference. Of the two, palomar wins hands down in my book for the majority of uses. BTW, for me, the palomar is the easier of the two to tie, especially in low-light/no-light situations. -T9

I've bought a few of those exact same baits, some for a little more than you state and some for a little less. My reason is purely curiosity based. One of the regular bodies of water I fish is a heavily bluegill/sunfish forage base. I frequently talk to anglers fishing for gills that have had big bass either follow or try and eat the very bluegill they were trying to land. As such, I thought it would be rather interesting to see if any of these highly decorated paint jobs might fool some of these larger bass a little better than your normal stock colors. I've had pretty good luck with things like the Mattlures bluegill swimbaits, and thought the custom cranks would be another logical bait to try. I plan on giving them all a good workout beginning next spring. -T9

X2 - Look for reviews stating a particular reel has a great drag system. Beyond that, it's just storing the line. I'd focus more money on a very good rod for that technique, which IMO is the more important component in the system (along with good line) 8-) -T9

Ditto on the awesomeness of the BP Stud Fry. Can't believe they haven't reintroduced it yet since BPS Pro Edwin Evers is a huge fan of the bait. Practically a cult following on some of the local lakes around here, as well as down in Texas. I know I've won lots of $$ with it. If you're willing to pay, I can get you some... -T9

Look local. Check with the guys at the Indiana Smallmouth Alliance. There are several hardcore winter anglers that could probably share a bunch of info. with you. Float 'N Fly and small, straight plastics will still catch fish on the river right now. -T9

Two more words - jigging Rapala's They will definitely work through the ice on greenies and put some stretch in your string until things thaw. Buddy and I made half a dozen forays onto the frozen stuff a previous winter for just an hour or two at a time after work and never failed to land a bass to two (up to 7 in an evening). Was a great way to survive 'mentally' through a long winter. ;D -T9

I usually only carry about a dozen bags or less of plastics with me, and they're mostly just trailers for jigs. Easiest thing I've found is to just toss them 'as is' into a small worm binder bag (I use a Plano one) as has already been posted (see fmoore, ib_of_the_damned, etc.). If you want to get a little fancy just take a paper hole punch and put one or two holes in the original bags to fit your rings. No sense wasting time swapping out your plastics into some generic zipper bags and having to relabel everything, IMO. Just keep them in their originally labeled bags as long as they're resealable (most are now days). If you ever start building your collection of plastics into the 'dozens of bags' category (or more), then you'll need a larger and probably more organized system. Until then don't waste too much time worrying about it. -T9

Definitely a space saver, but overall a huge pain in the rear. Lasted one tourney day in the boat before I made my partner take it out. I'd rather go netless. JMHO. -T9

Another vote for 1 rod, and a very minimal tackle selection. Frequently I'm also one lure class just like RW mentioned. Mobility and convenience is much more important to me than dragging and trying to do everything when fishing from the bank. -T9

As already stated, one and the same. I've even seen the salt content and sink rate analysis' to confirm. Just different names and price points to compete in different markets. -T9

Not sure about the orange ones myself, but I've had a silver series Capricorn (2500) for several years that has performed flawlessly for me. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I came across a good deal. -T9

Redhook, Sent you a PM with some info... -T9

Used it a bunch this summer in 17# test with both football head jigs and magnum shaky heads and had no problems with either. Drug around a lot of rocks and hard bottom areas and don't remember having any breakoffs. Just be careful with backlashes and check frequently for nicking, like most other fluoros. -T9

I've been doing a bunch of testing with leader connections the past couple weeks and the one disadvantage I've found is that if you don't cross the back wraps in sync with the forward wraps they'll end up weakening the knot by cutting the braid on itself costing you about 20% or so in ultimate breaking strength. Advantages are fairly easy to tie, a single knot instead of two and good with the larger diameter braids. Also a very strong knot when tied correctly. As for cutting tools, best I've found so far is a small pocket sized pair of diagonal wire snips. -T9

I've met, spoken to or shared a boat with many of the pros over the years, but if I had all day to spend with just one it would be Rick Clunn. I have to admit Al Lindner would be a very close second. I've met them both before and would gladly spend all day with either. As for the great anglers or biologists locally or within my state, since they are local I've made it a point to speak to or befriend many of them and have learned a ton in the process. The pros just aren't as easily accessed for most of us. There are several individuals I've met or found through sites like this though that I would also enjoy 'picking their brains'.

I also use the Palomar knot with fluoro and have had no problems, but you have to tie it carefully since there is greater chance for line crossover which is a bad thing with fluoro. If you are truly tying a double Palomar, that could be your problem. Works well with braids and superlines but not fluoros. Go to a single Palomar. Other than that, using a knot that doesn't have as much potential for crossover like a SanDiego jam knot or an improved clinch knot might be a better way to go for you. -T9

All the original style flipping switches are darn near worthless IMO, outside of the occasional convenience for vertical jigging. When Shimano came out with the thumb bar switch on their Castaic line though, life got good 8-) -T9

Here's the article which details all the specifics for those interested: Nylon, braid,but wait there will be Zylon http://www.westernangler.com.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=115 -T9

I've got 3 that I've used for many, many years, and they work perfectly fine. I do believe that they weigh a bit more than a single blank construction rod though. Wouldn't let the fact that it's telescopic stop me from trying one if you wanted. -T9