The_Natural

CX Premium is indeed a good line, but you better be careful! It isn't overrated like CXX or Yozuri. That CX Premium is very thin for its rated test! I bet the 6lb is like a spider web! Probably a joy to fish though....

As a builder that builds with RM exclusively on the St.Croix blanks. The Mojo rods are just a premiere with a new finish color (black cherry), the guides are the same Batson Aluminum Oxide, only difference is the split grip get into a premiere series rod. The splits use to only start with the Avid on up to Legends. We have been building rods like these for better than 2 years now....Only spiraled for efficiency! Yep...same SCII blank, but in some new tapers. We all know that sweet purple finish will result in more fish...guaranteed!

CXX's hard anti-abrasive coating and Fluoroclear/CX Premium's fluorocarbon coating can severely compromise the line when you get a bad backlash. Any kink will lead to your bait sailing to no man's land. Pline isn't a line you want backlash!

Every time this happens to me, it is due to a loop that formed in the spool that rubs as the spool spins. It will severe, and when your cast gets to that point your lure just flies into oblivion. You can hear the loop rubbing as the spool spins sometimes, and this will give you an opportunity to fix it. The other cause would be a bad backlash that kinked your line.

That's what I was thinking . I've liked the looks of the Mojo bass Croix rods since Tackle Tour showed the first pics a while back. I haven't heard one report on the rods yet, but they did just ship to dealers about 2 weeks ago.

Good to hear from you Joe, and nice post. The number one thing I feel is important is picturing and knowing what your bait is doing under the water. The only way to know, as you pointed out, is to view your jig on the lawn or in shallow water. I will crawl my jig slowly, and then make it dart by giving my rod a small sideways jerk. As you pointed out...you always see angler just doing the usual 10'clock to noon rod movement.

Others may, but I don't. I just fish the reel like I would any other.

Out of those, the Zillion is obviously the nicest reel...very solid with tight tolerances. I've got a few Viento's, and they are nice as well. The Viento is quite a bit better at casting smaller baits when compared to the Zillion due to it's shallower spool. As mentioned; the Viento's twitchin' bar can break. It will not break in use, but rather because it sticks out; the same reason rod tips get broken. I haven't used the twitchin' bar on the real at all, and if it breaks...no biggie. With that said; I would go with the Viento right now do to the unreal deals on them. Daiwa has discontinued the Viento, and they can be purchased brand new for $120. http://cgi.ebay.com/TEAM-DAIWA-VIENTO-6-3-1-TWITCHIN-BAR-BAITCAST-REEL_W0QQitemZ200271993136QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item200271993136&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1207|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

I like the BDS 1 and Moonsault cb100. The first is a wobbler, and the second is a super-tight wiggling crank that is as loud as a trap. They are a great duo...

Wow...this is the first post I've read in an online forum about CXX breaking (seriously...ever!). I've used 15lb CXX for 4yrs, and it is the only line I can't break by hand when I get hung up (even with my shirt wrapped around my hand). I actually have to grab my needle nose pliers. Must have been a kink in it or something...it is quite simply the strongest and most abrasion resistant line out there. CXX guys won't claim it to be a limp line...it's hardcore and unforgiving. If CXX was a smokeless tobacco, it would be Copenhagen. A smoke? No doubt a Camel filterless. These swimbait guys are more man than me fishing the high lb test CXX...I bet I could repel down a cliff with the 25lb . 30lb CXX Fourbizz?! I think it would ruin the cutters on my needle nose.

It's quite the opposite of what you would want for any crankbait. Jigs, soft plastics, basstrix type baits, buzzbaits, or even a c-rig. That 6'9" is pretty stout.

The football jigs I posted are built on an All Terrain Tackle 'Rock Jig' football head. Cabelas had these on clearance, and I bought about 150. The quality on these is second to none. The Picasso Fantasy Football heads I also use have a 'prettier' airbrushed finish, but the Rock Jigs have a thicker paint and harder finish. I don't pour my own like Gman; I just find a good head and buy a quantity of them. All my jigs use 4 layers of skirt material, which makes an 80 strand skirt, or 40 strand finesse skirt. I also secure my skirts with mini zip-ties, which I like because it is easier than tying. Pouring your own is the absolute cheapest way to go, but if you don't want to make the investment; you can find good heads for cheap if you look around. I payed about .40 cents a head for the Rock Jigs, and .31 cents per head for my Picasso heads. The skirt layers are .20 cents each, so I spent about $1.10 to $1.20 per jig. Give it a try...it's fun, easy, and very rewarding.

The Zillions are very nice sticks. As mentioned, the thing to remember is they are VERY fast rods. The fast rods in the series feel more like an x-fast, and the x-fast rods are just super-ridiculous fast. The heavy powered Zillions are broomsticks, and rated up to 1.5ozs (probably could do more). Anyway, like others have said the Zillions are very sensitive. It's pretty surprising.

I'll recommend a Lucky Craft Moonsault cb-100. The Fat Boy is good, but I find it (as well as several other shallow baits) run just a hair too deep for ponds (4-5ft). I find that a shallow bait that runs 3ft is optimal. Switch hit with a Bagley B2 in a shad pattern as well. It is a great combo of big/slow, and small/fast

double post...

I agree, and really liked Ike's book. If you liked it, you need to read KVD's 'Secrets of a Champion', and 'Bass Strategy's'

My wife's 'friend' hasn't visited in 9 years. Depo is the way to go...

Last time I fished with worms, it seemed like they drowned really fast. I'd rather nose-hook a minnow.

That is maybe the most prominent spotted bass lateral line I have ever seen! It looks like somebody went over it with a Sharpie.

My little 5yr old nephew loves to use worms. I hate hooking the darn things, but they are definitely successful. I hook it and cast it out for him...he sits there for a minute....the bobber goes down....and then he reels it in. He loves it! It reminds me of bowling with those bumpers stuck in the gutters.

I honestly don't know, but there are so many species of crawfish....I'm sure they are different in every area. However, in Oklahoma and Texas....they definitely have a red hue at times (see above), and I think the crawfish use it to match the red clay/dirt of this area. I'll hypothesize that the greenish and bluish (words?) craw patterns that are also available match the clay in other areas.

Glade might smell better, but a fart's more fun. You can't light glade. I burned a hole in my underwear once. And before anyone gets their panties in a wad...I'm totally kidding! I think you should choose whatever reel gets your bait out there. You rod on the other hand....

Glade or a fart in the face? I'm a Glade man, but you might be into the latter.

If you fish in Texas in the spring time....you will realize just how important red is. The fish are keying mainly on crawfish in the spring, and a red rattle trap is a staple. I quicly learned when I moved down here it will outfish a chrome or shad trap 5-1. I had fished bright red baits in the spring before in Oklahoma with success, but never a bright red trap. When fish are highly active and eating anything...color doesn't play a big part. I think it is 'other' times that it does. I think I know why, after catching a bass last spring that coughed up this...