Ima Bass Ninja

I find myself gravitating towards EWG hooks more than any of the others. I only use the straight shank for river fishing and because they fit the baits i use for that area better. I have tried the offset hooks but couldn't tell any difference (hook up ratio wise) from the ewg hooks.. Honestly i just prefer the EWG because the bait just seems to sit straighter.

before i received a pair of costas for my birthday i was part of the "all polarized lenses are the same so no need to spend the extra money " crowd. I really couldn't justify spending $200 on sunglasses. But when i did get the costas (580 lens) i noticed a dramatic difference and could instantly tell why they cost more. Having said that i also have a pair of the 400 lens that Costa offers and honestly they do not perform nearly as well as the 580.Most other manufactures glasses are polycarbonate lens just like the 400 series, but the 580 are glass and it makes a huge difference. I believe i read somewhere that the 580's cut out more of the yellow spectrum of light which is why they are a better lens for fishing. I can't recall all the details and was way above my head technically. Bottom line would i pay an extra $50-100 on Costas with the 400 lens....No....but i would certainly pay whatever extra cost is associated for the 580 lens. on a side note the costas 580 i currently have are strictly for fishing duties and the 400 are for everyday use..

Academy H2O xpress ethos rod (59.99) paired with either a H2O xpress mettle reel(49.99) or H2O xpress maniac reel (69.99).

Mine came out if a conversation I had one day with my wife on the boat... I was fishing on the front of the boat and she was on the back reading and she looks up an asked " why do you have to be quite when fishing?". I replied that if you make a lot of noise that you might scare the fish so you have to be stealthy like a ninja. "so youre like a bass ninja" she replied. Yes baby " ima bass ninja".

Did the guy change his last name to Dotcom or is that his real last name?.....it would be to funny if that was his real last name

Its just a buy at your own risk type of thing. I think most people know the quality of rod that a manufacturer offers and if they are a reputabile company then i see consumers willing to take a risk for a lower price. I would not hold it against the company if something failed on the rod, i knew that was part of the gamble i was taking before i bought it. If i didn't want to take that gamble then i would buy one of the higher priced rods with a warranty.

When last years stuff goes on clearence.. ....Funny but true, i just got through loading up on spinnerbaits , cranks, jerkbaits and line since Dicks is having there clearence sales mark down plus 50% off....Walmart should be right behind them and hopefully Academy and Sportsman warehouse will soon follow.

I would think tv rating played a role in it also..Would you really want to see the top pros all throwing the same lure week after week. Not saying that it would happen, but it could. I do not recall a tournament that was dominated by one lure such as the Alabama rig on Guntersville. If any of you watched that particular episode, after about 10 minutes it became boring with absolutly no exictement. Which would make for more excitement and better tv , KVd's crankbait pattern vs Aaron Martens dropshot pattern vs Bobby lanes frog pattern, or Kvd vs Aaron Marten vs Bobby Lane all using the Alabama rig?

No No you have it all wrong...He's actually Mike Iconelli. .

From the POwell facebook page: Keith Bryan, president of Powell rods explained why; “many rods on the market today will easily cost the consumer $80 or more to be replaced under warranty when the warranty fee, shipping costs, and packaging materials are factored in,” said Bryan. “If breakage should occur, replacing a Diesel Rod will be faster and cost about the same, or even less money than going through a lengthy warranty process. “Not offering a warranty also allowed us to really turn up the performance of this rod series to far exceed competitors' offerings in the same price category. If folks desire a warranty, the popular Max and Endurance rod lines are still covered.” So if its gonna cost the price of the rod to get it warritied and replaced i could see why they wouldn't offer a warrenty.

Punctuation marks....... They rock!!!

WOW....interesting indeed...i think the last paragraph sums it up though

I doubt they would replace it without the packaging. You might could slip by without a receipt

Probably cause they are not a sponsor of this site.

Well IMO it stretches slightly less than regular mono...probably not enough to make a big difference..but it does have a greater abrasion resistance than mono..I use it on my crankbait, topwater, and spinnerbait outfits. Actually the only thing i don't use it for is worms/jigs in which case i go with flouro.

Absolutely!!...I use 12# for all around use and the only negitive thing i can say is that after a while it will get some serious memory (but don't they all?) This is easily cured by some line conditioner..

I've got a 7'6" carbonlite rod that i use for deep diving crankbaits, however i probably won't use it for that particular technique for a little while so i was thinking of making it into my jig rod for flippin and pitchin. Here;s my problem, when i compared the length of the rod from the reel seat to the tip it is only 1" longer than my 7' rod.Theres about 4-5" difference in the handle section. Is this normal? Seems that i'm not really gonna get the benifit of a longer rod if it's only 1' longer from where i'll be holding it. Also what about sensitivity? wouldn't a rod that is longer from the reel set to the tip be more sensitive? Thanks

Caught this naughty girl today and she was my first of 2012...Measured 23"x18"...est 9lbs

Bps pro qualifier is 99.99 regular price and frequently on sale for 79.99. The bps carbon lite was on sale for 89.99 and a great reel for that price. I've been want to try academy's H2O line if reels also. I've heard great things about them and all are under 100. If you need a name brand it would be hard to beat t a pfluger trion in that price range. As far as Rods go I'm on academys H2O ethos xpress train. Just got 2 of these rods and they perform awesomely

Depending on the action and power of the rod 6'6" will be fine to get you started. Probably a 7' mh would beideal for a startup rod. I don't really have experience with the amp series of rods from Berkeley but the Berkeley rods I do have I've been pleased with. As far as the reel I have been turned off to "dicks exclusive" reels ever since I bought a quantum escalade and it broke after 6 months. Having said that a pinnacle can last a while (mines lasted 4 years). Not a bad combo to start but when you start looking for another setup I would first look at the BPS pro qualifier (79.99 on sale quite frequently) Academy's H2O mette reel (49.99 regular price) or something along those lines.

Shimano voltaeus bestt 2 piece rod I've found and it won't break the bank.. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanovoltaeus.html

Wish i could...unfortunatley all my money is tied up at the moment..if there are still some left on monday i definatly will....Funny thing was that they had it on a clearenced citca sticker ($49.99) so i asked them if that was right and they quickly said no and put the right clearence price of $138.99 on there. It did about kill me to walk away without one. I was going through all my options to try and justify getting one but ultimatley just couldn't do it.

They got the Calcutta te 200 gt ?on clearance at Academy for $138.99...in store only though. http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_11135_-1?N=46883185+101+933739035

That is the best thing I read all day...I'll be laughing till tomorrow on that one...thanks!!!

I just picked up a 3500 exceler (see here ) but have only used it once. It felt great to me and performed well. Only time will tell if it holds up though.