Shane J

I can try to find out tomorrow.

If you want an excellent combo for short money, pair that T.P. up with one of the new Tatula rods. I just married these two, and it's a helluva nice combo. I'll be using mine for jigs, Tx rigs, shakey heads in the 3/8-3/4oz range.

I have 3 Tournament Pro's, and they are sweet reels. You'll like it. Actually, you'll love it for only $100 and a free rod. Heck, I'd buy an 8/10 T.P. right now for a note without even thinking about it. Send that baby in to Mike at D.V.T. and you're good to go, buddy!

I don't know how many yards, but I'm tellin' ya, I can throw a KVD squarebill so far, that you can barely see the thing, on a St. Croix Avid Med/Fast, with a Lews Tournament pro with 17lb flouro. Crazy far.

That's fantastic! Congrats!!

Hey, man, it happens. I did the same thing, except, in my case, I did have the extra torture of seeing the biggest fish I had ever hooked into, then she got off. I think the lesson I learned, is that if you have a bait in the water, pay d**n attention, cuz you just never know when she's gonna hit!

Will do, pal! He wants to go back out today after school. Got at least 3 more we can bang out in an hour or so.

That's a good start though, buddy! Next time out, you'll catch em.

It was probably a bass, you just failed to set the hook.

I went around with my son yesterday to check on a few places, and to do some ramp litter cleanup. No open ponds yet, but my son picked up 6 shopping bags full of crap from just 3 places. Now today he wants to make some "Please Don't Litter" signs to put up all over. He's a good kid, and is going to make one heck of an ambassador of our sport someday.

I would disagree, too. I like darker when light starts to go down. Casts a more solid silhouette against the available light in the sky. Black Neon, Red Shad, Red Bug, Junebug. Even that, though, is mostly just a confidence thing. Most time, in low light, color hardly matters at all.

Well, without seeing you work it, knowing the location, or having any info on where the bass and bait were, it's really gonna be impossible to help much. Sounds like the fish you guys did find, were eating slow falling, smaller presentations. In that case, you could have tried a couple things. First, I'd have put a Craw on a 1/4oz Rage Rig, and caught some of the same fish he was catching. If those fish were dinks, I would have moved. Also, I'm thinking that if they wanted to eat something on the fall, I could have bulked up the trailer, dropped down in jig weight, and worked it slower. You gotta remember, yesterday was post-front, and our water is still freezing cold. I would have been fishing a jig yesterday, too, even if Johny Wonderpants was catching dink after dink on a Senko. I do fish for bigger fish, not just any fish. I haven't fished a Senko in 5 years, and I think I do okay. I guess it all depends on what your goal was for the day. If you woulda been happy just catching a fish, I suppose fishing a Senko woulda been better than whackin it all day. If you were trying to catch a better fish, then you did the right thing. Now you just gotta get more water time to hone in your skills as a jig guy.

Nope, but I did eyeball some goood water! Not all of it ice free, but some that's gonna have me on it in a boat real soon!

The antennae don't float any more than the rest of the bait does, and yes, those are little tiny Rage Tails on them.

Yeah, I think you're probably right, but for myself personally, I use the same caliber rod for all that stuff. I want to feel everything, so I use the best available to me for everything I do.

No, they'll be fine if you keep 'em outta the sun.

That thing is a 4" stick of dynamite!

I'd also vote for the Tatula. That is one fine rod for $150.

Ha. That's funny. That's exactly what I have on that Avid. It throws light stuff with ease. Pretty sweet combo.

Although I prefer a fast action over the XF, that is a great choice. Anything you'd throw spinnerbaits on is fine for bladed jig baits. Nice rods, too, you'll love it.

casting- 7' St. Croix Avid Medium/Fast (also a great rod for shallow to mid cranks) spinning- 6'8" Shimano Cumara Medium/Fast (also my drop shot rod)

That's a good looking swim jig spot. You'll definitely catch more on a swim jig around there. Congrats on expanding your arsenal. Success breeds confidence. Nice goin'!

I also have 2 in my starting 6 lineup. One is a 7'7" heavy/fast Cumara, paired with a Curado 201e7, spooled with 25lb Vicious Pro Elite flouro. I use this rod for swimbaits and heavy deep jigs. The other, is a 7'4" heavy/fast Cumara, matched with a Tournament Pro, and spooled with 70lb Samurai braid. This is my flipping, topwater, and Carloina rig setup, with most of it's life spent pitching brush, docks, standing timber, etc. Also used for punching. I am thinking about adding one more, basically to have as a dedicated topwater rod.

I like your style.

That's the most danger for me, too, DevilDoc.