Boogey Man

Megastrike is the only attractant I use now. No spraying, no dipping, no mess. Do I believe any attractant will cause a bass to swim over and eat it? No, but I use it because I believe it makes the bass hang on to the lure a little longer giving me more time for the hookset. Cavitron buzzbait are great as well. The only problem I had was if I don't get them on top quickly they tend to dive the first six to eight inches on the retrieve. I bent the head down just a little and problem solved. The Evo II and Shakey heads are good. The only drawbacks are the design of the heads tend to hang up more around cover and bigger rocks. I suppose it's a trade off for the lure standing in an upright position. I tend to use them more in open water/slicker bottoms. Overall, good products Bobby

1: Shimano 2: Quantum 3: Abu Garcia. That would be the order I'd pick 'em.

I had one for a couple of years. It was an OK reel but it seemed to require a lot of TLC (lube and grease) to keep it smooth. They originally sold for $169 so $100 is not bad.

Bandit 100's and 200's, Strike King series 1 and 3, and for super skinny water Manns Baby 1 Minus.

I have a 6'6" medium power. It's one of my favorite rods. I throw everything but worms and jigs on it. For $66, you got one heck of a deal.

Unless you're throwing deep cranks I'd get something a little faster like a 6:1 with HEG/oversized gears which will give you more cranking power but will also allow you to speed up when you're using shallow or lipless cranks.

I was a big time Abu fan until they were bought by Pure Fishing. Anyone who had one before knows those Swedish built reels were a completely different reel than the one's now. They had a distinct feel. Yes, they were bigger and heavier but they were built like tanks. To me, the last good reel they built was the Torno. Some of their reels (Tournament, Tournament Pro, Royal Extreme) even had dual cast control, which is popular nowadays. I know some will disagree with me but that's cool, to each his own. I'm not bashing Abu Garcia, I'm just stating my opinion. Another thing, I've read people talk about Bass Pro and Pfueger reels and lack of parts availability because they change models so often. But what about parts for Abu Garcia since they roll of the same line now? Anyway, back to the original question, my vote is for Shimano.

I can vouch for the 7 footers. The one I won is lighter than some company's 6'6" rods and the sensitivity is great. These are nice rods.

I got my first baitcaster when I was 13, I had the same problems and put it back in the box until I was in my early 20's. Hang in there, you'll get it.

I saw it yesterday. They killed everybody except the people out in the lobby selling popcorn.

I've caught many1-2# bass on 12" worms. Last weekend I caught a 7" bass on a 10" Rage Tail Thumper. It wasn't one of those "tap-tap-tap" hits, it was one those where they pick it up and start swimming off with it. Since that worm is so big, of course I'm thinking I'm going to set the hook into something huge. The Thumper probably outweighed the bass.

Match your lure color to the water conditions. If it's clear, try shad-colored crankbaits or spinnerbaits with transucent skirts. In worms, try lighter colors like cottor candy. If it's muddy, try darker colors in your plastics and jigs and chartreuse in crankbaits and spinnerbaits. As far as must have baits for me: Bandit 100's and 200's Zoom finesse worms Jigs, black for muddy water, olive green for clearer water Spinnerbaits clear water, translucent skirt with silver blades, chartreuse skirt with gold blades in muddy water. For topwaters, chrome or silver for poppers and prop baits. Buzzbaits with white skirts for clear water, black or chartreuse for muddy water.

Probably an in line spinner like a Mepps or Rooster Tail. It'll catch fish of all sizes plus multiple species.

This thread makes me miss the Rooster ;D

Except for the micro guides part, you may want to check out Bass Pro Shops Carbonlite combo.

Fantastic reels for 100 bucks. When they're on sale it's a spectacular deal. Have you had your hands on a BPS Carbonlite baitcaster yet? It looks like the PQ gone lite. X2 on the Carbonlite. Dual breaking, 6:1 gear ratio. BPS catalog lists the IPT at 29" but the manual says 26".

I don't follow BASS like I used to so I'm a little lost on the "post season" events. I thought they shortened the regular season and replaced the last two events with these two post season tourneys. If that's the case, if Skeet and KVD would have finished in the same positions in these last two events (and these last two tourneys had been "regular season" tournaments), would KVD still have passed Skeet and won AOY?

X2. I like a 3/8oz. in shallow water.

I'll usually switch to faster search lures like crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Then I'll go to a worm or jig. If all else fails I'll break out a shakey head or split shot rig. It really depends on the conditions though.

Congratulations to the winners. These are nice rods.

Hey, Bobby, maybe you need to expand your scent line-up. I can see it now...Carp-o-strike

I try to use light, more natural colored lures in clear water, and darker, more visable colors in stained or muddy water. If color didn't matter, we could use, for instance, a cotton candy colored worm in muddy water or a black worm with a chartreuse tail in gin-clear water. You might catch fish, but maybe not as many if you used the appropiate colors. Different colors do have their place.

Look for bass to be around shallow cover like stumps and laydowns. To me, bass in dirty water are easier to pinpoint. Think about if the lights are out in your house, you don't run around much, right? Try darker colors for jigs and plastics, chartreuse crankbaits, and chartreuse or a black spinnerbait with Colorado blades. You may also want to consider a black buzzbait if you try topwaters. Good luck!

this one? http://reeltimedesigns.com/DropShotWeightKeeperSystem.html I was going to wrap it with thread and epoxy but I kinda like the tape idea. I never thought about the warranty, but I guess you could just take it off before you returned or sent back the rod.

Baitcaster with 6:1 gear ratio, 6'6" MH rod, 12lb mono.