Jeff P.

Sunfish make up a significant portion of the forage base where I am, so I find that there are some lures that are very effective with some orange on the belly. The ones that I find most effective are jerkbait and lipless crankbaits.

I have the 16# on my jig rod and so far I really like it. It's very easy to manage, not stiff like some others. Fished mostly around rocks today, but also pitched some laydowns and never had any issues with abrasion.

I picked up 2 of the new JM carbonlite baitcast reels. I have owned many BPS brand reels, and just like all of them I highly recommend taking it apart, give it a good cleaning, and then lube with good quality product. Straight out of the box, they are ok, but after I cleaned mine up they are much smoother. I use Ardent Reel Butter for grease on the gears, and I use the Ardent Bearing Oil for the bearings. I have only fished once with them, but so far I am very pleased with the performance, and I have them paired with Carbonlite rods. It's amazing how light those setups are, and a real pleasure to fish with. I plan to use mine for several purposes - topwater, jerkbaits, shallow-med crankbaits, spinnerbait.

I like to use a baby brush hog, and fish it similar to a carolina rig, or as an alternative to a traditional football jig.

I have been looking hard at this product for the past couple weeks, and I think I will give it a try on my spinning rod. I normally have 6# mono or fluorocarbon spooled up. I use this almost exclusively for shaky head and throwing small jig/grubs. Question I have is this - would you spool with 12# nanofil or 6# nanofil? 12# nanofil has a diameter of 0.008", compared to 6# Berkley 100% fluorocarbon which has a line diameter of 0.010". Or would you go with the 6# nanofil in order to have the thinnest line?

I really love the gunfish, it is my favorite topwater. What I like about it is the versatility. You can work it in different ways, either by "walk-the-dog" or similar to a popper. You can also fish it fast or slow, depending on what the fish want. But what I like best for the places I fish is that it can be subtle, and you can get good action from it with just minor twitching of the rod. It also casts nicely even in the wind due to it's shape.

I am also interested to hear if anyone has information or reviews of this line. I'm thinking about picking up a couple spools during the Fishing Classic sale. I'm very happy with the original clear line, but have no information on this new product.

These are my favorite bait for dropshotting. The "bold bluegill" color has worked very well for me.

I can't comment on this exact rod, but I have the Lowrider XG Eakins Jig Special which is a 6'10" MHF finesse jig rod. It is very light and sensitive, and is my overall favorite rod that I have.

I use 10# XPS Fluorcarbon.

These new rods caught my attention. I really like the idea of the grips. I am looking for a new 7' M cranking rod, and have decided that I want a rod with a full grip instead of a split grip. Does anyone have any feedback on these rods? How is the weight, action, quality, etc? Any information is appreciated. Here is a link to the rods: http://americanrodsmiths.com/team-series-and-kicker-stix

I picked up a bunch of unpainted football head jigs that I am going to paint. I have some powder paint that I've used before, so I am familiar with that process. But I would like to add some secondary color to the jigs. Something like a fleck of second color, such as black with blue flecks, brown with purple flecks, or watermelon with black flecks. I'm just not sure how to accomplish the secondary color. Any suggestions? Here's an idea of what I'm talking about, similar to this:

Cool video.

Does setting only 1 pin on a centrifugal brake system make the spool un-balanced? If you are going to turn on any of the brakes, do you need a minimum of 2 pins on so that they counter balance?

I have a 2010 Pro Qualifier 6.4:1 on a 7' M/F Carbonlite rod, and I love this setup. I use mine for t-rigs, jigs up to 3/8 oz., stuff like that. Very sensitive and light setup. I am going to look at getting another Pro Qualifier in the lower gear ratio and possibly pair it up with the 7' Med/Mod Carbonlite for crankbaits.

You have several options with the combos listed. It might sound pretty obvious, but use the spinning setups for your lighter lures such as small topwaters, shaky head finesse worms, etc. Your heavier lures like jigs, texas-rigged plastics, and probably crankbaits are going to be better suited for the baitcasting combos.

My 3 favorite rigging methods: Carolina rig, 4/0 EWG hook Texas rig, 4/0 EWG hook, bullet sinker Jig trailer

I completely agree with this. I like the hook keeper design, but both of mine are already rusty after just a couple months. Anyone using the 6'9" trigger rod? I was considering getting one of these for pitching 3/8 oz jigs and stuff.

I bought 2 of the new PQ's a couple months ago on sale, and while I like them well enough, if I had it to do again I would spend a few extra $$ and get a Revo S. If the Revo S isn't in your list of reels you are interested in, then I would make the same recommendation to move up to the Citica. The main reason I would go back and change my decision is that the frame on the PQ is not as sturdy as either the Revo S or the Citica. There is a lot of graphite material used in the frame on the PQ and this has made me shy away from using it with baits that I need to put a lot of torque into the retrieve. Also I feel that the Revo S has a better drag. I can use my Revo S to pitch jigs and do heavy work, but I also use the same reel with different line and a different weight setup on my topwater rod to throw light poppers. Some day I will be able to afford/justify a Revo STX or Premier, and then I will be in heaven...

Good info, thanks. I used to have a Mojo also, but I sold it because I just couldn't get comfortable with it. The Vendettas seem ok, but one part of the reviews that I was concerned about was the lower rating they got for sensitivity. I'm looking to add a couple more setups to replace one of my other older jig rods, so sensitivity is a key factor. I agree that of the 3 I listed, the Bucoo seems to be the best, but I just really like the Carbonlites. I will be picking up a couple more of them I think.

I now have two BPS Carbonlite rods. One is the 6'8" MXF spinning rod and the other is the 7' MF casting rod. I really like both of these rods, and I'm thinking about picking up a couple more on sale for Father's Day. But before I get too far invested in these rods, I just wanted to get some other opinions from those who have used these rods how they compare to other similar rods (Vendetta, Bucoo, Mojo).

Awesome. I don't need any more reels but I have to get in on this deal. 8-) Can anyone confirm that the only difference in the "old" Revo SX and "new" Revo SX is just the new bent handle design? I know the STX has more new features, but I think the only difference in the SX is just the handle...

Take a look at the Falcon Lowrider XG Eakins Jig Special. It is a 6'10" rod designed by Mike McClelland. I have one of these and it is just plain awesome for jigs. I don't throw any jigs over 1/2 oz. so I can't comment on heavier lures, but this is my absolute favorite rod I own.

I throw hula grubs almost always on a 1/4 oz. Arkie jig. I've been thinking about experimenting with a 1/8 oz. or 3/16 oz. shaky style jig for paca craws, chigger craws, etc for a more finesse presentation.

I have the 7'0 MF St. Croix Mojo and I use it for pitching jigs and soft plastics. I liked it better than the MHF because I don't often use very heavy weights, nor do I fish in areas with lots of cover. All the lakes around my area have no vegetation, so I'm mostly fishing structures with cover like stumps, some brush piles, docks, etc. If you were flipping or pitching in grass or heavier cover, then you might like the MHF a little better.