kikstand454

shakey heads and drop shots. thats about it. in fresh water that is.

last year i got trilene 100% flouro on super sale and decided to give it a shot. i put it on my t-rig rod as i felt that that would be the best test/use for its supposed attributes. i cant lie.... it was great... and the same spool lasted me most of the year. i liked it alot. however.... i cant talk myself into paying that much for it when i feel that yozuri is as good/almost as good for half the price or less. yo zuri casts better (i was using 15lb.) but then with a t-rig i wasnt making huge casts too often. most of the time in fact i was pitching. in the end im just going to respool with yozuri this year (already did) and maybe if i can get some on super sale again ill pick some up for cranking. other than that i just cant justify the expense.

for deep crankin.... i have a quantum iron ir300c (not sure of the gearing... its slow) on a 7' m/h fast bps gs series rod. its big and kinda heavy. good tip though. im actually thinking of making that my frog rod because i also have a quantum classic 1420mgc 5.1:1 on an allstar 7' m/h that i got at the end of the summer last year that i just love.

plastics ive been doing well with straight black. second is junebug... then any combination of watermellon... esp. redflake. cranks sexy shad and any red craw color is fine with me. i cant catch a fish on a black backed crank to save my life!? i dont get it...its the most realistic. spinnerbaits... its white and chart. everytime.

x2 i caught more fish last year on black or junebug trickworms (carolina,shakey or weightless) than all other lures combined. of course... thats probably cause thats what i was throwing the most......

i personally only by the matzuo baits when theyre in the bargain bin at sports authority for a dollar. then i take them out saltwater fishing and let speckled trout tear them to shreds. if a spanish or shark gets one.... who cares? it was a dollar and sucked anyway.

hmmm.... quality time with my 19 month old. quality time with the misses. playing a packed bar full of happy drunks at 1.30 in the morning and ripping their heads off with "stranglehold". saltwater fishing.

yeah...the strike kings are great! you just have to keep them seperate from other plastics. you canput them in boxes though... you just have to dedicate that box to "3x plastics ONLY". then theyll be fine. dont foget if your shaky head fishing them... heat the spring or stud that holds the worm with a lighter to get it to stick into the 3x material. good news is youll only have to do that maybe 2 times the whole day. they last forever. edit- the zooms work awesome too and typically are cheaper and easier to deal with. you go through alot of them though a day... so it kinda evens out.

fwiw i have fished bandits and rapalas and the like and they are grea! but right now im into the strike king series cranks. thye are pretty good and have good hooks and probably most importantly you can get them for 3.99. any size.

well... i have found two sales in my area that will lead me to using some different things. first one store had their entire zoom stock for a dollar a bag. i about fell over. too bad i got there after all the trick worms were gone. i did get some finesss worms and some toads and i picked up quite a few brush hogs that i havent ever really used. i typically use beavers but this year im going to throw the hogs a bit more and see if i like em. then i went to another joint and got gambler lures for 2 dollars. so i got as many paddle tails as they had and i also picked up some bb crickets that im going to try when punching mats later this summer. this same store had a dollar off xcalibers so i got some of their traps and a few one knockers.... also got some more series6 strike kings that im excited about. all i need is some frogs (i like the scum frog pros) and some more shakey heads... and i wont need anything else for the rest of the year. but then... truthfully..... i dont NEED anything now!

the sr and the revo premier are the same reel arent they? theyre the same price with the same parts and the same weight.....etc. i like the black and yellow. not sure why everyone is scared of color. ;D

i use 15lb for t-rigs and jigs.... im sure 20 would do the job too.... maybe spinnerbaiting and lipless cranks? hahaha..... you can send it to me and ill dispose of it for you!!

i think everyone is of the oppinion that the ugly stick wouldnt be sensitive enough for the job... but truthfully.... they are plenty sensitive. the real problem is that they are heavy... esp if youre looking at the eva foam grip ones and not the cork graphite ones... and most impotantly i think ... all ugly sticks are inherently soft tipped. they just have wayyyy too much tip to be flipping and pitching in the sense of heavy cover. i love ugly sticks and they have their time and place... mostly in saltwater. you should listen to others here and find something else. maybe sell your bps card to a buddy so you can follow ww2farmers advice about a lightening rod and a disconinued accurist pt. you can not get a better reel for what you can find them at now and the lightening rod is arguably the best economy rod made. itll be a good rig. 8-)

i start in the morning with a buzzbait or frog in the thick stuff... move out of the grass as the sun comes up. by 10am im typically in 20ft of water throwing a c-rig with a trick worm or craw on top of a 13ft bar. then get up over the bar and crank the ledge with a big deep crank. thats just how it is round here.

the trick worm can do anything. i texas rig them.. i carolina rig them.. i shakey head them... its endless. one of the greatest little worms ever. just put it on a hook.... itll catch something.

i have heard alot of great things abotu the okumas.... but im going to just go ahead and suggest the compre. its a solid rod for what youre wanting to spend. like grimlin said.. the okuma is a bit flashier... with split rubber grips. the compre is just straight cork. if it was me... i would go for the compre 7' mh/f as your first rod. its warranty is awesome and itll set you on the right course for what you want in a rod. its a good benchmark. maybe get an okuma as your next rod...... the bait monkey will INSIST. ;D

thanx for the advice. i beleive i will. now i just need a rod..... d**n you bait monkey!!

Shallow cranks -12 # yozuri hybrid Mid depth cranks -12 # yozuri hybrid Deep cranks -12# yozuri ultrasoft Spinnerbait - 15# yozuri ultrasoft/ hybrid Jerkbait-12# yo zuri hybrid Texas Rig -15# berkley 100% flouro. Carolina Rig -20# braid- 15# flouro leader Frog -15lb yozuri hybrid Traps -15lb yozuri ultrasoft Jig -15lb berkley 100% fluoro the frogs and traps im switching to 30# braid or so this year... just havent put it on yet.

x2. yo zuri.

yes to all of those and dont forget the beaver!!!

my advice would be to not even bother coming down here without black zoom trick worms and junebug paddletails. lol. throw the trickworms on a shakeyhead or a carolina rig.... throw the paddletails over grass and pads with a 3/16oz. weight.... fish it like a spinnerbait. good luck!!

in fact as soon as i posted that i went to ebay and searched that reel and i just got one for 27 bucks shipped. freakin sweet.

x2. when i got my first baitcaster, i got a left hand retreive because ive been reeling in with my left hand for years on a spinning reel. i thought itd be easier to learn. it took a while but now i cant even imagine fishing a bottom presentation with a right handed reel. its just so much easier and more efficient. you dont do alot of reeling really and hooksets are harder/more involved when fishing the bottom. i like having the rod in my dominant hand for this. i throw right handed reels on "moving" baits like spinners and crankbaits because the constant reeling motion is more comfortable to do right handed. this also gives my hands and arms a break in the middle of the day or whatever when i can switch hands for a while. its nice. jfranco... i like those reels... i think imma try to find another left hand for this year... maybe one of those!

.22 right behind the ear. "two in the head... you know theyre dead"

x3 i catch alot of salt water cats and the easiest way i have found is upside down like described above. once the fish get ove 6lbs or so though.... its hard to get your hand around those suckers. but since youre talkin about freshwater cats... a 6lber is going in the cooler anyway right?