ChiCityBasser

That is a Great story

1) BPS Xps Egg Shallow running crank 2) Pro Max style topwater popper 3) Live Target shallow crawfish crank

Nice fish and you are really enjoying a good summer and yeah some days its rough but I experiment on those days with different lures and techniques. Way to go and you will get into the 5lb fish soon with the way you are hooking up. God luck and keep them coming

Thanks and gotta get in my practice time with plastics after mostly fishing cranks. The hookset and knowing when to set the hook is what I've really had to learn. Always good to catch on a new technique after seeing all the success guys like you and the rest of the board have with all types of lures.

The other Fat Ika fish from my outing.

I read the article and ordered some of the Fat Ika baits after finding them on the tackle warehouse site since Cabelas doesn't carry them. I wanted to give them a try this weekend and didn't want to pay extra for expedited shipping. Next stop ebay and I found them but not in the color RW suggested. I ended up with watermelon/small gold/large black flake #323. I used a 5/0 EWG hook but also put a worm rattle inside and made it out to a couple of the local lakes. I got hits but kept missing fish cause I was too anxious to set the hook. I made it to a small farm/retention pond and wanted to put some time in just getting use to fishing it since I fish cranks mostly. My first cast a fish hits it on the fall but I miss him on the hook set. Next fish same thing I missed cause I set the hook to early. I work my way around to other side of the lake and again first cast a fish takes it but this time I wait til I'm sure he has it and set the hook on a 2.5lb fish. I ended up getting three more before the Ika was ripped off by jumping fish. I fished it on a 7' Field & Stream Tec Spec Tube/jigging rod with a Quantum Kinetic PTi-B20 with 30# Cajun Braid. Thanks RW for the article and thanks to you I'm now Senko and Fat Ika educated.

I read the article and ordered some of the Fat Ika baits after finding them on the tackle warehouse site since Cabelas doesn't carry them. I wanted to give them a try this weekend and didn't want to pay extra for expedited shipping. Next stop ebay and I found them but not in the color RW suggested. I ended up with watermelon/small gold/large black flake #323. I used a 5/0 EWG hook but also put a worm rattle inside and made it out to a couple of the local lakes. I got hits but kept missing fish because I was too anxious to set the hook. I made it to a small farm/retention pond and wanted to put some time in just getting use to fishing it since I fish cranks mostly. My first cast a fish hits it on the fall but I miss him on the hook set. Next fish same thing I missed because I set the hook too early. I work my way around to other side of the lake and again first cast a fish takes it but this time I wait til I'm sure he has it and set the hook on a 2.5lb fish. I ended up getting three more before the Ika was ripped off by a jumping fish. I fished it on a 7' MH/F Field & Stream Tec Spec Tube/jigging rod with a Quantum Kinetic PTi-B20 with 30# Cajun Braid. Thanks RW for the article and thanks to you I'm now Senko and Fat Ika educated.

I haven't given up on them yet and they'll be in the bag for the spawn next year just like the senko.

Thanks I was casting across the flow of the current into the drainage/overflow pipe. The high water was running into the overflow pipe/causeway and I cast the lure into the an eddy area and reeled the crank thru the current into another eddy area. The fish all hit in the current flow into the the drainage/causeway area just before getting to the other eddy. Hope that makes sense and give you a better picture.

I would say No you don't need a baitcaster either. I fish from the bank as well and I do have 5 baitcast setups but this year they are seeing limited usage. Most of my spinning gear is Quantum reels loaded with either 30# Cajun braid or 30# Power Pro braid and they make fishing around those trees and bushes and weeds lining the shore at some lakes easier to fish around. I fish everything on spinning gear from shallow cranks to frogs and 1 oz. jigs on my spinning gear. If you do try it step upto at least the Quantum Catalyst or one of the PT series reels and you will do just fine. You can find a NIB Catalyst in either the freshwater or saltwater version for around $100 or less on ebay. Welcome to the board also

Three of the four largest fish caught in or just out of the current with the one with me holding it being 3.5lbs.

In this hot weather current water is also cooler as well. One of the man made retention ponds I fish had a heavy rain in the area which caused the water level to rise enough to create current near the drainage areas. The first couple of fish I caught away from these areas were very very warm. I moved to one of the drainage ditch areas and proceed to catch a number of fish casting a crankbait near the flowing water with the fish hitting either in the flow of water or just outside of it. I repeated this same pattern in 3 other areas of the pond. One area had a stronger flow and I caught 6 fish in that one area by just casting across the current to one area. I repeated the same pattern at another lake the same morning casting across the overflow drainage area and caught fish in the current. The biggest being 3.5lbs

Ok I tried the lures out and no luck so far in two outings but they do have a nice slow fall rate when rigged sideways like in one of the videos. I'll be trying them the rest of the summer and see just how well they work when I hit a few of the relatively clear water lakes I can get to and fish.

I went with Strike King also because of the Rage Tail and the crankbaits with the 1 XS being one of my favorites.

Ok and no tounament for me but I'll see how they do at one lake I fish that has lots of laydowns in it also. Good Luck with the tournament when it comes around also

I read the same article and looked them up on tackle warehouse and found them on ebay and ordered a DC2.DC3 and a DC4 to try out once they arrive.

Congrats on your win

Check out the Cabelas Prodigy PDC705-1 and PDC705-2 both are MH/MF $99.99 http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Casting-Rods%7C/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/Cabelas-Prodigy174-Casting-Rods/703905.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fishing-rods-casting-rods%2F_%2FN-1102351%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104823180%3FWTz_l%3DPPC%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104764680&WTz_l=PPC%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104764680%3Bcat104823180 You might also the Kistler Mag TA CRR rod which is $160.00 I believe. I have the Prodigy and the older Model Kistler and both work great. The Kistler is a M/MF while the Prodigy is a MH/MF and comes in both a one and two piece model.

I haven't had a reel cleaned or rod built but his advice on both rods and reels is good and anytime he chimes in on a topic it is always worth reading his insight. I plan on having a reel upgraded by him as well.

I have a Cabelas Prodigy Microguide rod setup with a Daiwa Exceler 7.1:1 reel and 30# braid and can attest to it being very sensitive and a bit more casting distance as well.

As far as the flouro goes try to stay around 6-8lbs test for your spinning setup and you should have no problems. I stick with 6 lbs on my spinning setups with KVD line & lure treatment every now and the. I also have some spinning setups with 30# braid with no leader since the majority of the waters I fish here near chicago are stained.

I will dive in on the Quantum reels since they are the primary reels that I fish begining with the later series of PTi-B spinning reels and the newer series of casting rods. I fish the quantum reels I have which include the Catalyst A&B, and Kinetic spinning reels and I also have the Energy, Kinetic and Accurist casting models and Never have had a problem out of them. I fish 4-5 days out of the week from spring through fall here in chicago and my reels have held up with regular cleanings in the off season for years without a problem. I know others will recommend Shimano or say the Quantum products aren't good but that is not the case for me. They are my First choice in reels for both spinning and casting followed by Daiwa.

I'm not a rod builder either but custom built rods don't all have to be $500-$600 dollars either. I've seen comments on here from guys that have had rods built that were in the $150-$200 range and all depends on the components you want and how detailed you want to go with your rod. With a store or off the shelf rod you get the components that those 100 engineers decided on at a huge markup as well. With the custom rod it is just what you want for how you fish with the components you selected.

Check ebay for a parts reel

My catches on Lipless have been limited as well so much so that I haven't tied one on this year. I have plenty but due to my lack of success I don't put in the time on the water with them like I have done with billed crankbaits or spinnerbaits. I have to put the time in like I have done learning to fish a weightless worm and build my confidence in lipless cranks as well.