SmokeRise1

I have a $150 cabelas gift card and I want to get a new spinning reel. I know the Smoke is $159 but also have a coupon for $20 off if you spend $150. Anyway I've read good things about the Quantam Smoke and I just wanted to ask anyone who has used one, if you had $150 to spend, would you buy the Smoke or find something cheaper like the Shimano Symetre and take the extra $50 and buy some other stuff or kick in more money for something even more expensive.

Best- "Check out Bassresource.com. You'll learn everything you need to know about fishing from that site" Worst- "You'll learn everything you need to learn about fishing from that site" I learn a little about fishing everytime I go fishing. Sometimes you just have to figure out stuff for yourself to make it stick. **On second thought, I probably read that on this site too.

Thanks for the insight into your experimenting. I have a very large popper and a bunch of smaller ones. I will tie it up this weekend with the large one in the back and see what the action is. Way to early for top-water fishing in NJ, but maybe it will tell me if it will work or not.

With all of the talk about the A-rig, has anyone ever tried connecting 2 poppers of any kind together to get 2 baits in the water at the same time? I'm thinking about taking the back treble off of the first popper and either connecting the split ring to the line tie of the second popper, or tieing a short piece of mono between the 2. I'm worried that there could be issues with tangling when casting, but could having 2 baits popping and spitting along a log or weedline be worth the trouble?

Giving lefties a try this year?

I have this setup and will try it again this year and see if I can catch some of that magic. Can you explain why moving the rod will cause the bait to move forward while reeling the line in will move the bait up?

I'm going ice-fishing in Vermont this weekend. I think I will select a different outfit that the ones you guys are wearing. Nice Bass!!

Basstenders are not made by Pelican. They were made by Waterquest but were discontinued a few years ago. I have the 11.3 model which is great to fish out of either alone or with another person. They are pretty heavy so they are hard to load and unload from a truck, but this extra weight makes them very stable and will keep you from blowing all over the lake when it gets windy.

Bunnahabhain 12yr.

Rico

My lake completely melted this week so I'm going to have to rig up some Rage Craws and hit it this weekend. I'd be thrilled to pull in fish only half that size. Great job!

My family's prayers are with you and your unit. Come home soon and safe. Thank you and God bless America!

That book was funny!

"If I can pick up a fish it ain't worth weighing, and if I couldn't pick it up chances are I wouldn't have scale big enough to weigh it anyway" I'm putting that saying on T-shirts, stickers, hats, and foam can holders and giving you full credit. I'm keeping all of the money though.

1. Rico popper (any color) 2. Rage Toad (pumpkin) 3. Rage Shad (white and sometime with the tail dipped in JJs Methyate)

SportsmansGuide has a lot of great deals too.

The only ones I could get at my local shop were the ArukaShad. Enough of you gave it a mention so I'm happy to find it. Going to use it tomorrow morning. It is supposed to be a very calm day so I will try to stay very deep with it and make some noise on the bottom ripping through the dead weeds and bouncing off whatever I come across. Thanks for the advice.

What is your favorite lipless crankbait/Rat-L-Trap style bait in 6-9 feet of water?

I'm not sure which is more disturbing, overweight law enforcement officers or citizens who can't spell America.

I'm sure it was, but with no power and no cable, all I could do was read about the game in the paper yesterday..

Great article. Thank you!

I felt it at 1:54 EDT about 20 miles north west of NYC.

Please throw my name in the hat. I would be happy to help.

Another vote for the RageTails. Get bit on the toads and shads just about every time I take them out. Curado E7. I used a few different BPS reels and a Tierra before picking 2 of these up this year. They far exceed the performance of the others. Which is what I hoped for but didn't expect.

Another Morris County guy here. Fishing in Kinnelon and a few saltwater trips with my local club. Might have to try Split Rock as I've heard good things about it. Maybe hit it this winter with some tip-ups.