Hammer 4

Anyone remember that band called Blue Cheer.? They did a cover called summertime blues..my ears bled every time I heard that song.. >

Maybe, they will slack off some, now that they have their 5 stars... ;D

I like that..all filler no killer....well done 8-)

I voted U2...dang tree huggers.

I've had 55lb smauri for almost a year now..I have 1 reel that's spooled with all braid, another that has backing, which makes no difference in performance. The samuri has held up great, as was said, it's good right out of the box, compared to some others. I do however remember paying about 37.00 for a 150 yd spool though, but well worth it imho.

Lol we both got our names in blue today ! I'll notify the media..lol

The Twilight Zone..? ;D

Just get the Chronarch...you won't regret it..

Geez, I haven't fished a black fury since 1979..lol They do catch fish though..

A good weedless swimbait that you can bottom bounce with confidence is a 3:16 Mission fish. They come in various sizes, and colors. These do catch fish..

I use the Rapala, comes in 15, and I believe a 30lb version. Cost under 30.00, and very accurate.

Oh boy...lol Congratz Francho.. 8-)

Re: braid diameters, the samuri in 55lb, is the same diameter as 12 lb mono. BTW, the calcutta has been discontinued, they sold for about 229.00 A current Shimano in a crucial, should suffice.

I dunno..a 1 yr warranty on all of their products doesn't seem to inspire confidence in my mind.. You could buy a Shimano Clarus for about the same price, and get a Lifetime over the counter warranty, or some places require you to send it to Shimano..you still get a free replacement. And a brand name. There are other brands that are probably close in price, the above was just an example.

What type of structure are you gonna flip into..? Tullies, laydowns, stick ups..ect..? If your gonna toss a bait into even heavy weeds, I would suggest using braid, at least 50lbs or more, you stand a much better chance at..1 pullin the fish out of the slop, and 2..if you happen to get snagged, your more likely to get your bait back. As for the rig, most of it is personal preference. I prefer a 7'6" to 8' rod. One of mine is a Inshore Shimano Calcutta, rated 1/2 to 2ozs. I have a Chronarch with 55 lb samuri braid. The other doubles as my swimbait rig/flippin rig..Dobyns 807mag, rated to 8oz lures. I either use the Chronarch, or the Shimano Castaic reel, again 55lb braid, no leader, unless I'm in shallow clear water. You can do shorter in rod length, and you don't need a real spendy reel, although I find I enjoy flippin, and pitchin with the Chronarch, more than my other reels, which include a Curado.

David, did they say what the problem was with the 4 you sent in..?

I'd put my FOOT down, and tell her to stop buying shoes...or, I get to buy new gear every week..

I love the spooks. Another topwater you might consider is a 6" Lunker Punker, they also come in a 9" size, these flat out catch fish. Even stripers will explode on them.

I have everything from 4" worms to 89" swimbaits. I have 6 rigs to chose from, I use to take everything I had (shore) fishing. Now I select 4 to6 different methods to fish, i.e. might take selected smaller swimbaits, i.e. 6" or less, and some worms/plastics, and a couple spinnerbaits. I fish those until I'm satisfied I've done my best. If I get fish, all the better, if not, well ya can't win em all. The next outing, I might take the big swimbaits, chatterbaits, and jigs. Some days I take only 1 rig, and 1 type of bait, I feel this way, you become more in tune/proficient at most types of fishing, heck, some days I limit myself to only 1 way to fish, i.e a DS, C rid, or a T rig..you tend to learn fast what works, and what doesn't on any given day. I also have a backpack that contains what some would consider, a small tackle shop full of baits, that sucker gets Heavy after a couple of hours of lugging it around..lol

There are no honey holes left in so.cali...

Helms..I don't know how long you've been fishing, but like I said, you will learn to avoid the bad spots, i.e. for losing so many lures, and how to prevent losing some of them. As for just plain bad luck, well I've been through that as well, it will pass. Once you start haulin in fish, you'll laugh about the past experiences. Just be thankful you don't throw 80.00 swimbaits out there..lol If there are weeds, ect. Try throwing your baits to the outside of the weedlines, it will take some work, but will be well worth it in the long run. As WRB suggested, stick to t rigged/weedless plastic's, these will catch fish, and allow you to learn what's on the bottom of a given body of water.

Your going to lose lures, that's just part of the game. Try losing 150.00 worth, some 40.00 swimbaits within a month. I fish a ton of city park lakes, get skunked more often than not. Being a "older" guy, my circulation isn't what it use to be, so during the cooler times, my casting hand will go numb, not a great thing for making accurate casts..lol Still, I keep at it, as I have since 1979 or so.. Everyone has good days, and bad..the good seem to make the bad all worth it. IMHO, it's about Enjoying the time fishing, and not so much worrying about If you catch something, or how big, time on the water will take care of that. Hang in there, your time will come. Ask questions of those that have been there, done that. I can tell from your getting hung up with certain baits, that your likely letting that bait sink to far. In thick weeds, rocks ect..when throwing out any bait that can get snagged easily you want to start your retrieve as soon as your bait hits the water, speed will keep it above the structure, and yes you will lose baits now and then, but not as many..

JFYI..When I bought my 301E, it worked pretty well, right out of the box. I used in the salt one day, and it felt a tad...rough, so I took it to the local tackle shop, and had them clean, and replace the drags with carbontex. I was pleasantly surprised how much better it casted after the cleaning..Maybe Shimano packs them with to much grease or something..?

All I use is Yozuri, unless I'm using braid. I use the 10,12, 15, and 20lb ultrasoft. In your case, I'd go with the 10lb ultrasoft.

I use both colors, depending on what colors I'm wearing that day.. ;D Seriously, mostly green mist.