The_Natural

I obviously don't fish waters conducive to fishing a trout swimbait, but I haven't seen these before and thought they look nice. http://www.***.com/descpageSWMLUCKY-LCRCP.html#

I just choose a bait based on blade size/configuration and weight. There are two schools of thought on wire size, with one side stating a thinner wire produces more vibration (Hank Parker), and another side (KVD), that states a thicker wire sends more vibrations into the water by channeling the vibration vs. a thinner wire that absorbs the vibration. I have had success with thicker wired baits like the Terminator's and War Eagle's, and thinner wired baits like Red River Tackle's and SOB's. I generally fish stained/murky water here in Oklahoma, and throw spinnerbaits mainly in the early spring. Red River Tackle's spinnerbait with the flo red kicker blade has just slaughtered fish for me, and been the lone bait I catch fish on at times. Spots tear this bait up, and I took third in our February club tournament with a 14.7lb, 5 bass limit of spots.

No, unless you want to repaint it. Silicone is a superior UV protectant, repells water, and is a superior lubricant that isn't sticky or tacky. It will only help your reels and fishing line.

I fished with Shimano Compre's for a while before I discovered Loomis, and I still think the Compre's are a great rod. Available for under a $100, and fish like a more expensive rod. Combine that with a Daiwa Advantage, Shimano Citica, Scorpion ($119, Ginrinpeche), etc., you will have a nice setup for around $200. If you are wanting to spend less, I would go with an XML/Citica Combo from Cabelas, which is on sale right now for $159. Less than that, I would go with the BPS extreme combo. A lot of anglers have fished for a long time, and still use cheaper equipment, and that is fine. The great thing about this hobby is that you don't need to spend a lot of money to be successful. I just happen to find that as I got better, I wanted better equipment.

Lucky Craft finishes are great, but they use larger than normal hooks on their crankbaits, and these hooks are razor sharp. This equates to hook marks on the sides of your bait, almost always in a curved fashion where the hook swings. This is happening to several of my other crankbaits since going with larger Diaiichi 4x trebles on all my crankbaits. This has proven to not interfere with the biats ability to catch fish. If I sent in a bait every time it lost paint, I'd be out a cash from shipping

I own 80 or so of these baits, with half are still in the package. Would you believe I've never fished one?! I'm a huge fan of the Bandit 200, and when Academy put all their Bandits on sale for $1.38, I bought over 200 baits. I've read a lot of great reviews on the 100, and am confident they will produce like my 200's have in the past. At least I know I can sell them for what I have in them

Sure the Stella is proven, but it is a few years old now and something will come along better, whether it comes from Shimano or Daiwa. You can't wait 5 years for a model to prove itself, or you will never have the latest technology. I'd go with the Steez just from handling both, but I've never fished with either. Like the high-end rods, just pick your poison...they are all fantastic at that price.

I don't have a problem with Kistler's, and agree that the 04's that were built on the Rogue blanks were better, but Batson wasn't flanging their guides yet, which can lead to an insert popping out. I say fish with what you are confident in, but when people are comparing rods, I just try and give facts versus opinion to aid in a decision. On another site, if you give them the '04 Helium model, they can tell you the corresponding Rogue blank it was built on, and you could build one with fuji REC guides for probably cheaper than Kistler would charge you, and Rogue warranties the blank.

Round reels such as Calcutta's are definitely smooth crankers, but I just can't deal with the weight. I stopped working out last year, and would need to renew my gym member ship to use those babies ;D.

Why not an IMX? You can buy one from Fat Fish for less than the two mentioned, and is better than either IMHO. I haven't held a mossyback, but Loomis claims the graphite is in between IMX and GL3 in modulous/strain. The Legend Tournaments are pretty, but seem a bit tip heavy to me.

I use Pixys mounted on a cbr843 and 845 for light and medium cranking, which isn't something most people use, but they are excellent little crankers. I'm currently shopping for a third reel to mount on an 847, but I'm not sure what that will be yet.

I did it right the second time. I fished tournaments through middle and high school, and sold all my stuff when I graduated. After college, at 25yrs old, I dove back in. I didn't own a single rod or reel, and not a single bait. Sure I own more combos than I am recommending, but you can add more specialized rigs like crankbait, drop shot, c-rig, and flippin' sticks when you get to where you can afford it. I'm setting you up to where you could compete in club tournaments, BFL, or be rigged properly for fun fishing. Baitcasting rods: 1. GLoomis MBR782C IMX (topwaters/crankbaits/jerkbaits) $165 from Fat Fish Farmer 2. GLoomis MBR843C IMX (spinnerbaits/heavy or shallow crankbaits/worms or Senkos) $170 from Fat Fish Farmer 3. GLoomis MBR844C IMX (jigs and c-rigs) $180 from Fat Fish Farmer Spinning rod: 1. GLoomis SJR782/3C IMX (all spinning applications...some like a lighter, more limber spinning rod. If you do, go with the 782, if you like more of a true medium, go with the 783.) $165 from Fat Fish Farmer Baitcasting reels: Option A: Shimano Scorpion MG's. Ginrinpeche has Scorpion MG's for $184 shipped, and these should work beautifully on all three setups. Option B: SHimano Curado 100's. These are available on Ebay for around $150. Spinning reel: Shimano Stradic 2500. The Stradic is not only proven and durable, but takes up 33" of line per handle turn. This is significantly more than comparable spinning reels, and contributes to my decision.

Does anybody actually know anybody with expensive stuff that doesn't use it?! I've never even heard of that. BTW...I lost 3 WEC/Zoom crankbaits ($60), and about 12 Lucky Craft crankbaits ($180) last year. This is getting expensive!

All the answers will be pretty subjective, but right now it would be my CBR845 paired with a Daiwa Pixy. I love all my combos almost equally, but really bonded with that setup throwing crankbaits all last season.

I bet now that you have the pair of Loomis', you are wanting to upgrade your bionic blades . Not that there is anything wrong with bionic blades, but you have a pair of Ferrari's in your stable now 8-). Looks like you have a nice arsenal of reels.

Oh man! That is good stuff right there! I couldn't agree more. My uncle is the opposite of me...he fishes the Stren Series, and has probably 16-20 Calais reels on Falcon rods. He is sponsored by Falcon, but is not sponsored by Shimano. His reels all have extreme boat rash, and he could care less about how they look; they are simply tools to him. It would be less stressful during tournaments to not care about scratching up my reels, but I will appreciate it when it comes time to resell them .

I'll let you know how they perform when I get them wet; it will probably be a couple of months before they see the water. From shaking them, they are noticeably louder than the Lucky Craft LVR's...similar to a Rattlin' Vibe but with a different frequency. Experimenting with baits is one of my favorite parts of this hobby, and with the higher quality baits, resale value is great, so selling them if they don't produce for me shouldn't be a problem.

On any given day? I think there are days nothing will touch the Lucky Crafts, and there are also days the rogue, X-rap, and Husky Jerk are untouchable. I want to have the right tool for the job on any given day! I will admit that I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I purchase a lucky craft or other high end bait. They are just beautiful to behold, and a pleasure to own and fish...their fish catching ability is just a bonus ;)

Check out Jackall's TN/70. Jackall uses a patented tungsten body, so according to them they can cram in more rattles, which are combo of glass, tungsten, and steel. It is a smaller, 3/8oz size trap, but weighs 5/8oz, and runs in that deeper 10-12ft zone. I scored 6 from Backwater's sale before all the Jackall's sold out. I also picked up a few Argons, which are jointed crankbaits I'm excited to try. Anyway...here they are: Jackall TN/70... Here is the Argon just for kicks...

I own 2 Alphas and 2 pixys, and they appear to be the exact same size to me. The Pixy has plenty of line capacity for 10lb test and under. I do like my Alphas, and upgraded the spools to I'ZE ultralight spools with tuned rotors and ceramic bearings. This made an improvement, but they still will not match the Pixy's casting ability. The Pixy is available from Brooklyn Bill for $247, and the Alphas Type F can be had for $189 from Ginrinpeche (ebay store). As Raul said, out of the reels mentioned, I would go with the Alphas hands down 8-)

You will have to visit Kistler's website for the Warranty description, but I think it is a year or two. Croix has a lifetime warranty on rods that are damaged due to a manufacturers defect, i.e. the rod breaks on a hookset, a guide falls off, or the reel seat comes loose. Loomis has the unconditional lifetime warranty, which means they will replace the rod if you shut it in the car door, step on it, or if it happens to break while you are intoxicated and try to joust your roommate (true story...and the Loomis customer service lady got a good laugh!). Loomis and Shimano both have the unconditional lifetime, so unless you just want another rod, you shouldn't ever have to replace the ones you own. The Loomis rep at the OKC tackle show said that if your rods are getting worn out; just break them over your leg and send them $50 for each brand new one. How can you beat that?!

I like to use my stuff, but keep it nice also. People say all the time that my stuff looks new, and I must not use it. That couldn't be further than the truth. Using rod wrap and reel covers will keep you rods and reels looking new no matter how hard you fish. I do a lot of little things that help as well, like when I hook and land a fish, I still have the mindset to lay my rod down with the reel facing up instead of just tossing it on the deck of the boat. I also use car wax on my rods and reels, but that may seem excessive to some (or most ).

I forgot to add that they are indeed quality rods...he uses Shikari SHX blanks.

A couple of months ago BPS actually had several baits on sale online for $6.88. I purchased 6 slender pointers in matte pumpkin(these are $18.99 biats!), 4 Sammys in Archer Bee, 4 Sammys in Ghost Minnow, and 4 LVR D10's in Matte Tiger. That was probably the best bargain I have ever found online. I'm having several of the Sammys in Archer Bee repainted, but the other colors were bueno. Backwaters has a bunch of L/C's on sale right now for $10, so I pretty much never pay any more than around $10 unless I am running low on Moonsaults (which I am ).

You won't lose any sensitivity if you don't wrap the reel seat. I wrap the trigger handle and foregrip, but not the reel seat. palm your reel like you are worm/jig fishing, and see what part of your hand is touching the handle....it's not! If you are like most, you are touching the reel, the reel seat where the blank is exposed, and the line. See...you can have your cake and eat it, too!