ChiCityBasser

I rig mine on a 5/0 EWG hook with a 1/8 oz. weight with a glass bead and one of my daughters fluorescent chartreuse beads, t-rigged with the Palomar knot. I follow the instructions on the back of the package as well for tips. I let the fish tell me how they want it but I usually swim it back keeping it a foot or two beneath the water.

I followed RW's advice to pick up my cranking rod which is a MH/MF 7' rod. I fish cranks enough that I wanted a technique specific rod for those particular lures. I ended up with a Prodigy Rod that serves the purpose just fine as my baitcast setup matched with a Daiwa Exceler reel.

For the price you are getting the reel at it's a great first setup and I started out with cheap rods and reels before discovering the board as well. I did as much reading as possible and upgraded all of my first year equipment to the best that I could afford the same way you are doing by catching things on sale or clearance.

Gonna have to go with the strike king swim jig and the ragetail craw chunk or Yum Swim Chunk trailer. In either Green pumkin or Black with blue flake

I agree with you on the XML rods and I have 4 of them myself. I have 3 spinning and 1 casting and they are great rods. They are even a better value at the sale price with a great warranty.

Congrats on the Tournament Win

Nice catch and thanks for the tackle info also

After watching the replays of the post season tournament it seems Skeet just couldn't get it together and had several fish come off after the initial hook set.

That is a HAWG!!!

Check out this thread as well. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1281039251 Of the choices you have listed I have handled the KVD rods and they are very light. They are a Glass/Graphite combo but again only handled them in bps.

I have an older Exceler and it's been great at 1/4 oz lures as I use it as a crankbait reel. I haven't had the noise or gear issue problems and got my reel used off ebay. It's been a very solid reel for me. Of the ones you are looking at I would go with the Sol from what I have read and heard about them on the board and the reviews.

I have a game plan when I go out as well which starts the night before with me getting my rods set up for the morning. I usually start out with a Strike King 1xs in Gizzard shade on my crankbait rod. My other rod has either a swim jig on it or is t-rigged with some form of plastic. Lots of the lakes here have weed growth and the 1Xs swims just over the weeds and I can usually get a bit or two. If the lake permits me to go deeper with a crank then I switch to something that goes deeper than 2 feet like the Xs. After that the fish are calling the shots pretty much.

The Tour KVD KVD745M is a very light rod from handling it in BPS over the spring. It's a blend of Fiberglass and graphite and much lighter than I thought it would be.

I've done the same thing once with a Rapala DT 3 and foul hooked the catfish and yeah it was a let down when it came up

The reel looks good and the is very light and even though I'm not in the market I might have to have one for next season. No problems with any of my other quantum reels either.

I'm quite familiar with where you're located, I'm originally from Hammond myself...if you're in Cal City, the Grand Calumet River is excellent for smallies; as well as the Illinois side of Wolf Lake...the Indiana side of Wolf Lake is awesome for some really big largemouths. Because of your location, try Area 3, Black Oak Bayou at the LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area...my personal best day out there was a 50 bass day with all bass caught between 17 - 21 inches. If the shore fishing is good at LaSalle in Area 3 Black Oak I might be trying it this weekend. What was your most productive lure?

X2 X3

I'm sure any t-rigged plastic can be fished as a topwater or just under the surface and best to rig them weightless. Buzzbaits also work well and with those as soon as they hit the water you want to start reeling and keep them on top. The weeds under the surface or surface slop?

I'm in Calumet City about 5 min from Hammond and 10 min from Cabelas. Caught my personal best LM in NW indiana this summer. Just looked up some info on Grand Kankakee Marsh and if fishing from the shore is good there then that I will be trying to get to very soon.

I'm pretty close to northwest indiana and have fished a couple of places. Good to see there are more places to fish in the area. Gonna have to check out some of these places myself and thanks for the info guys.

Chicago, IL and NW Indiana and fishing usually within a hour to 2 hours of the south side of Chicago. Caugh the fish in my sign. pick at a lake in NW indiana on a Spro Frog Usually try to head out every weekend, weather permitting and fishing from the shore.

The Classic

I can agree I think it will be changed next year with Bass being sold.

I guess this is a good thing since it didn't seem at least the me that ESPN was really supporting BASS but I guess it was a viewership thing along with advertising dollars. After letting go of the Ladies BASS which is now coming back under the LBAA (I believe) it's a good thing all the way around.

Chicago area Better: My season has been pretty good so far with more fish and bigger fish with me catching my personal best this year. Reason:Learning to read the water a little better and actually using some of the other baits and lures I have in my tackle box instead of just crankbaits mostly.