Big Bait Fishing

very good post Rowland !! , gave me a very good laugh ;D ;D ;D

twistlocks are all i use now , no more ewg hooks . they hold your bait on the best of ANY hook manuf. i use the 5/0 twist lock hooks with the bigger CPS spring put on them for soft plastic frogs , big stick baits , and for flipping creature baits . i find that these work better than any other hook !!! so to answer your question , yes they are some of the best , most durable , strongest hooks out there !!!! OWNER does not make "gimmick" hooks , they only make the best !!! ......

uni-to-uni knot (double uni knot) http://www.netknots.com/html/double_uni_knot.html

for me it is about having a rod you feel comfortable with ; i have two swimbait rods that are custom , i have split grip eva grips on them and i had them made how I WANT THEM , i checked pretty much every swimbait rod manuf. out there and did not like any of their grips . i didn't want a foregrip and wanted the rod ALL black . so that's how i had my rods made . i have another swimbait rod that i'm gonna have made pretty soon , it is gonna have split grip eva grips but a really small rear grip ( just enough to have some of my hand on cause i palm my reels ) , a LONG handle (17''-19'') , Fuji ACS reel seat , and be spiral wrapped . now you will NEVER find that in a factory rod !!!! that is why you go custom !! you get exactly what you want in a rod , not what you want to "settle on" . yeah , they are more money , but when you have in your hand the rod you only dreamed about , you will never "settle" on a factory rod again , i know i won't .....

i love IZORLINE XXX in 25# test line for my swimbaits but wish that they would offer the line in green , like the platinum . that's why i want to see if they are of the same strength ( XXX and PLATINUM). still hoping someone will give me a good review that has used both lines ...

but what reels does he have on them? most of the setups I've seen him fish with have Steez reels on them. i was refering to his rod selection , but yeah , he uses steez reels and probably zillions also ..

how is the managabilty of it ( is it a slick line , does it have much memory , does it hold up over multiple fishing trips ???? )

high end ??? , Ike fishes the ''light and tough'' rods alot more than the steez and zillion rods !!! ....

i think the Calais is way too heavy of a reel to be compared to the Core 50 . that's my opinion !

most rod manufactures have addressed the braid concerns with better guides and now you really don't have to worry about it . as far as braid choices go , i , myself like SPECTRA braid . i use Power Pro and Izorline braids , both are super strong and last a LONG time !!!! i consider braid mandatory for frog fishing , i use 30# or 40# Power Pro for frogs and 50# or 65# for punching or flipping into heavy cover and for jig fishing ......

anybody use these lines and can give me a comparision of the two as far as strength . i currently use the XXX line but want to know if the platinum is as strong as the XXX , and is it as supple and easy casting ??? . thanks

anybody try this stuff , i have read that it is the strongest line out , even stronger than P-LINE CXX !!!! :o http://store.bobberstop.com/reexfili.html

The "I" in IGFA is the problem. But, have it your way, and we can relinquish our brown trout record to Germany, and whatever other non native records we hold, LOL.. i thought the brown trout record just got broke again and it was here or canada , and the same guys broke the rainbow trout record .....

it died on him so he froze it !!!

no , but i have the ABU GARCIA INSHORE , a solid , built like a tank reel that is made for inshore fishing and is pretty corrosion resistant , holds 175 yrds. of 12 # line . i have it on my 2-6 oz. swimbait rod , it holds about 110-120 yrds. of 15# IZORLINE XXX or around 100 yrds of 20# of the same brand line . i love this reel !!!!

got the slydes on the last promotion when i got my TORO , this time i'm gonna get the p-17's for purchasing my INSHORE . WILEY X's are nice shades , just wish they were the series that came with the foam face cavity , that would be sweet !!!!

i chose the seige , like it in green . very supple line = good managability .

the DT series , the deeper diving ones ( DT10-DT20 ) . i like the more realistic color lures like the bluegill color, shad color , craw colored ones , etc...

i use an improved clinch for pretty much everything including big swimbaits , never had a line fail at the knot , and i use the same knot on power pro braid without problem ........

i use 6 lb. CXX on my 2500 size reel and it is very good , as long as i respool after a couple of trips !!!!! btw , if you want a very good option , try IZORLINE XXX in smoke color , a very managable line that has very good strenth ....

for spinning reels i use and highly reccomend 6-8 # P-LINE CXX . i have been using 6 lb. CXX and the line is super strong but has to be changed out regularly , starts gaing ALOT of memory . have some 12# CXX on my INSHORE (revo) and manhandled a 11 lb. catfish yesterday with it , the stuff is crazy strong but like i said previously , the memory sucks !!!! another line i use is IZORLINE XXX , another very strong co-poly line !!! i use this for throwing swimbaits ( 25-30 lb. test ) alot more managable than the CXX , especially in higher # test like 15-30 lb. .....

was wondering what guides you guys reccomend for a rod that i'm gonna make using a spiral wrap . was leaning towards using micro guides but changed my mind . i now am gonna use smaller double-footed guides .was looking at using American tackle titanium ring locks or h-locks . so what other guides do you guys use ??? i know alot of people will say Fuji , but give me the series of Fuji's you are recommending and why you like them ! thanks in advance !!!!

of course i chose OWNER !!! , no other hook comes close .....

i use the improved clinch knot for every bait i throw except on a drop-shot rig . i have never had a knot fail on me , i use them on all my swimbaits ( 8'' hudd's ROF 12 and 16 , 8'' BBZ-1 , etc.... ) and trust them without a doubt ..... btw , i use the improved clinch on braid , yep , don't let anyone tell you that it won't work and will slip cause it won't !!!!

right now it is the 8'' bbz fast sink and slow sink and the 8'' hudd rof 16 , can't wait to get some baits from natesbaits and SBI and maybe 3:16 .........