Matt 825

I agree with RW. I never go over 10IB line for smallies. Sounds like grub fishing to me.

I use lead & steel and sometimes brass and will continue to use lead until the price for tungston is reasonable. $7 for a 1 OZ weight is insane. I will stop flipping and pitching before I fork over $7 for a weight. I care about the enviroment, but dont have the $ to lose 3 $7 flipping weights a day or 5 or 6 $2 drop shot weights a day. I would love to know what the profit margin is on the tungston weights. >

Thanks a lot guys. I just had to place another orders for Living Image skirt material. :'( LOL

That is an awsome fish

Crestliner is 100% correct about electronics. The better you are with your electronics the better you will be with the drop shot.

I would hope the drag on a $500 reel would hold up.

x2

I had all the TV baits. Banjo minnow worked great for me, so did the flying lure. The hellicopter lure was pretty bad. Recently I bought some of the Bass Professor plastic snakes. Never used them, but I wish I could have that $ back. LOL

For $180 I would grab that thing ASAP!!!!

I have done this with some success, especially on a tough day. You really need to tie your own hair jigs on the drop shot hooks. Actually its more like a flyfishing fly than a hair jig, since you do not need the weight on the hook. Or you could buy a few flies. Try a wolllybugger in Brown or Green. You will catch a lot of bait fish, but may get a big surprise also.

I agree that is an icefishing reel. I use Shimano Stradic 3000's on my drop shot rods. I dont see any reason to use a small reel on a drop shot rod. I want a reel to match the rod with a good drag and smooth operation.

I learned to back-reel when ice fishing and while I hardly ever do it when bass fishing, I think it is a skill that should be learned. If you find yourself fishing with 4 IB fluro and catching giant Smallies then you may want to back-reel. Once you get the hang of it, its a lot of fun also.

The Cumara is one sweet rod!!!

I use mostly Gamakatsu Drop Shot hooks. The size I use depends on the size of the bait I am using. I mostly use a size 2 though. But will go as small as size 8 with smaller baits.

Best time to learn would be in the summer. Weather is somewhat stable, and the fish are usaully predictable. I like to fish a drop shot in 20 ft +. Start out on points or humps and move up and down the different depths until you find some fish. Cast it out or drop it straight down and keep your line tight and do nothing with it. If they do not bite it that way then shake it a little. Don't do too much. They will see it and they will eat it!!!! Get set up with a drop shot rod and get some 6 IB fluro line, size 1 or 2 drop shot hooks, some drop shot weights in 1/8 up to 3/8, and some 4" worms in Green Pumpkin or Watermelon Seed. (nose hook them or wacky rig them) Get on a decent smallmouth pond or lake and you'll be good to go.

I have a few drop shot rods and have used a whole lot of them. I think the G Loomis GLX is a gold standard and a great rod. The Gary Yamamoto Drop Shot rod is another great rod and really a good deal at $150 retail. I was impressed with the Shimano Crucial as well especially for the money. I now use a custom built CTS drop shot rod and a custom built Ranishadow drop shot rod, and they both blow away all other retail drop shot rods (especially the CTS).

I am an ebay junkie. Always searching for deals on there. I shy away from buying rods unless it is a steal, but I buy a lot of reels on there. Last week I got a brand new Curado D for $130 shipped, not a super deal but the type of deal you can find eveyrday on ebay. Unfortunatley it did not satisfy the bait monkey!!

I just picked up a St Croix Mojo Swimbait rod ($120) and I am very impressed with how light and sensitive it is especially for such a big rod.

I made up a bunch of Poison Tails with that skirt in November and the fish crushed it. Those Living Image skirts are awesome.

Your rod is good, lots of guys still use mono, but I find it has way too much stretch for me. You get a much better hookset with Fluro or Braid. Fishing a jig you do need to set the hook a bit harder than you do with a T-rig or other soft plastics. Thats pretty good to get a bite your first time fishing a jig. Lots of guys catch nothing thier fist time fishing a jig including myself.

I cant get enough Smallmouth

Merideth Bay has some nice smallmouth water right next to the ramp. There was a ton of bait in Merideth last summer and we caught a bunch on nice smallies within sight of the ramp. I wouldnt worry too much about the speed limit on the lake, especially since there are about 100 speed boats that live right on the lake. (and they do whatever the hell they want)

I like Gitzit tubes prespawn mostly. Or if I am going for a bigger tube, I'll use a Mizmo or whatever I have in my bag. I like GP and a kind of an auburn/brown color. I use 1/8 OZ mostly when 15ft and under and 1/4 or 3/8 to 30 ft depending on the wind. 1/2 OZ deeper than 30ft I havent used tubes much the past few years after the spawn, but years ago I fished a tube all summer long. Tubes are a great Smallmouth Bait!!!! 8-)

I have broke my fair share of rods over the years, most of the time when I was doing something I should not have been doing. High Sticking, Swinging in a big fish, Dragging in a big log can all break a rod very easily. The warrenty becomes very important once you get into the high end expensive rods, because they do break much easier that the less expensive rods especially if you are one of those rough guys. Here is an article by the legendary rod builder Tom Kirkman on proper rod usage. http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf

For tying on a lure to braid line, I use the Palomar or the Trilene knot. Never had a knot break with braid.