Flywatersmallie

I throw 1/8oz jigheads with 3" grubs on a baitcaster, then again, I have 20lb braid on the rig I use for that. You might have problems though IF your bait doesnt load the rod. Otherwise you should be fine

So, at the local Walmart today picking up some odds and ends and of course had to roll by whats left of the fishing stuff. Well, The clearance stuff was a bounty of deals, at least this time. I picked up a few Manns Baby -1 cranks at .75 apiece, the last 3 packs of Senkos at a buck, Booyah baby boo jigs at .50, Super Flukes at .50 a pack and I bought perhaps more worm hooks that I will use in my life. A total of 80 packs of Gamakatsu (EWG from 1-5/0, skip gap from 2/0-5/0 and standard offset from 1-5/0) for..... Get this..... a dime a pack! Figured I would let everyone know that now might be the time to get to your local store and see whats out there. Also, Strike King Elite spinnerbaits were on sale for 4 for $3. I spent about $50 and came home with 2 large bags of tackle.

I run 8lb fireline (3 lb dia) on my spinning reels, extra spools have 6lb floro just in case the water is really clear or the fish are extra finicky, thats seldom an issue though. If a fish will hit a jig on 50lb braid, they certainly will hit a lure on line the diameter of hair! As was said, the feel is second to none and line twist is much less of a problem

Biggest here in Wisconsin on record is 11lbs 3oz. The gap is shrinking though with responsible management. I have broken 5lbs a half dozen times in the last week (I fish every day) and 6 twice. I watched a gentleman catch a legit 8lber bluegill fishing a couple days ago. The state record has stood since 1940, I believe.... One would have to think that it will fall in the next few years. These fish are protected better than ever before. How big they get, I dont know but I do know they are getting bigger HERE. Off season purchase will be a swim bait rod!

The one local to me does as well (in WI). Picked up some dog food and a reel this evening. Now I guess I gotta buy a rod to put it on. Thats a shame!

I bought a pack of these things a couple years ago, tried them for smallies in an area I was catching fish consistantly on other soft plastic baits, nothing. I switched back and immediately began catching fish again. Gave them away and will never buy those things again. Plus, they STINK!

Okuma Epixor. Okuma might make the best reels for the money out there. Though they tend to be a little on the heavier side, they are solid, smooth reels and wont break the bank

I never stopped to look at them either. Gonna have to give them a try! I often poke through their $0.97 bin, with the Riverside packs and the YUM samplers while getting dog food and occasionally find something in there. I dont honestly remember ever seeing packs like that, hmmmm.... Maybe they dont carry them at the stores up here (WI)? Will have to keep my eyes peeled for them now!

I've been looking at trying one of these for some time, unfortunately the only retailer that carries them in my area is Dick's and they only have the Select there. If I am going to give these things a fair shake, I wanna hold a Platinum or ASR or even a TAS. Hard to buy a rod without having a real idea what you're getting. I'm in the middle of walleye country.... medium or medium light spinning rods as far as the eye can see, you really have to look for bass type stuff or have it special ordered. One of my local shops is good about ordering single rods so I can play with them first, if I dont buy them, to the rack they go but, they can't get All Star stuff either >

I bank fish too, boat in the budget for spring. I carry 3.... Revo S/Fenwick HMG 6'6" MH for rigs, jigs heavier spinnerbaits and the like Revo STX/St Croix Legend Tournament Drop Shot. Use this for little spinners (booyah pond magic, things like that). tubes, grubs, smallie lures, 1/8 oz jigs. Things that dont weigh a whole ton, its a 6'9" ML And a 6' medium St Croix Avid/TD Advantage for stuff too light to throw effectively on a baitcaster Oh, and roughly 50lbs of baits ;D in a softsided bag with a few extra plano boxes around as well. I generally fish close enough to the SUV that it is essentially my rod locker/storage

Wow! Those are pretty pricey! Nice lookin sticks but at $350 to $400, they are in the same ballpark as a GLX, better be a nice rod! Tackle Direct has them listed for sale

"fried tomato" Whats that look like???? :-/ Here you go http://www.gambler-lures.com/ugotfrto.html

Roland Martin reminds me a lot of this guy! Oh, I saw in the Wally World fishing section (looking for one of those $11 tourney scales, which I found) that those ridiculous rocket rods have crankbaits that shoot out of the tube now. I wanna see that clown use one on his show! I'd watch that one!

I played with one for a little while... Needless to say, it didnt compare to the STX's I use regularily. That said, I played with a Silvermax too, seems to be a much better built reel for another $10 or whatever. I picked one of those up for a spare rod I had around and put it through the paces over the weekend and it seems to be pretty sturdy as well.

That'll get you noticed to be sure!

BLACK.... once in a while, white. Thats it. I have an ice cream pail with all the others I bought over time, no real need to bring them anywhere

This is the first year that I really targeted bass. Until this point it was whatever bites is fine with me. I progressed quickly from numbers to now I only target larger fish (smallmouths anyway, they are 5 min from home). Largemouths I am working on consistant patterns to find them and make them play ball. I am far more successful with them than I was in the spring or even mid summer. Caught my first senko fish, learned how to effectively search, burn, yo yo and slow roll a spinner bait. They quickly became my go to lure. Learned to cast a BC and havent picked up a spinning rod since, I now own 3 baitcasters and will likely add another over the winter. My gear collection has exponentially grew, though I dont buy random baits, I know what I am looking for when I shop. largely in part to all the info here. Recently started playing with jigs (again, I have fished the curly tails for smallies and walleyes as long as I can remember, targeting cover for green bass now). Learned to truly appreciate braided line in heavy sizes (50 lb PP is my friend sometimes). I'm excited for next year as we dont have much of a winter fishery here in the north. tough to cast a baitcaster into an 8" hole. Thanks to all for adding so much knowledge and advice!

Power Pro, pretty much all the time. Even with plastics and the like, then again, I dont fish super clear water often either. For those instances, I have a rod rigged with flouro (seaguar 14 lb) and a spare spool for a spinning rod with the same in 6lb for when they are real spooky or want a very small bait

Oh I will! In fact, going to go play with it today. First truly "high end" rod (aside from fly rods) I ever owned. Otherwise, I've been all about the lower level St Croix stuff, Triumphs and Premiers. This is a different animal completely though!

So, today I was out and about and decided to check sale stuff at a local store. Well I bought the 3rd rod of the week (also got a 6'6" MH Avid and a 6'6" Avid cranking stick earlier in the week). Today I bought a St Croix Legend Tournament Drop Shot rod (6'9" ML). I picked it up for $119, figured I couldnt go wrong. Now I dont yet have a boat (in the budget for spring) so I dont do much in the way of drop shotting. What I'm looking for is possible uses for this thing. I think it will be great for throwing smaller spinner baits like a booyah pond magic, things like that, also lighter tubes, grubs and the like. It sure is pretty with the Revo STX on it! Question is, what would you use this rod for, any suggestions? Also, anyone else have this particular model? What do you think of it? Thanks!

Yum tubes are great! Thick, durable walls and a nice fall rate.

I bought 2 casting models for $96 a piece earlier this week at a local retailer. There was a mix of the old and the new in the pile... I have to wonder if that was an intentional thing or if the intent was to just close out the old models. At any rate, 2 of the new IPC models for under $100 a piece is tough to turn down! Oh, yesterday my local Sportsman's Warehouse has a couple different models on sale when I was in there for like $100. Might be worth a look if there is one in your area

In order.... Watermelonseed Black Neon Watermelon Candy Green Pumpkin Black smoke fried tomato chartruese Of course, there are some other ones that may work on any given day but these are my go to colors for plastics.

Having never used a line treatment before, I was a bit curious about what it was supposed to do. I use braid probably 90% of the time, it is noisy though, might have to give it a shot

Must be those Plano boxes you are referring to. I have both the spinnerbait and buzzbait models by Falcon. Great boxes, hold your baits nice and secure. A bit pricey but worth it. This is what they look like, great setup! http://www.***.com/descpage-FTO701.html