kLuo

no substantial news so far. we most likely won't hear anything else until they get revealed at ICAST, which starts on 7/13.

yup, heating with a lighter makes it easier!

that's the exact hook I use. I use a 1/0 and have caught 4+ lb bass on it with no problem. If you are worried about the hook being too small, don't. Most people I know who drop shot, including myself, use a tiny size 1 drop shot hook which is about 1/2 of the hook gap of a 1/0 wacky hook. I have also caught 4+ lb bass on those hooks. I understand where you are coming from though, as I used to feel the same way

the problem with the bigger hook is that it adds weight to the senko, which hurts the action. you want to use the smallest weight possible that is still big enough to hook bass, which I believe is from 1 to 2/0. anything bigger than 2/0 is too heavy, imho.

for 5" senkos, I use 1/0 and I haven't lost a single bass on them.

Uh, I'm going to strongly disagree. Believe me, I use powerbait worms all the time, and they are still my #1 confidence soft plastic. I can smell a powerbait worm from 10 feet away, but cannot smell anything besides the plastic smell on the havoc baits. Like others have said before, this is made from a different plastic, so perhaps that is what you are smelling. Open a bag of powerbait original scent and a bag of havoc baits and you will see what I am talking about.

I was looking for the same thing a while back. Most people told me Cablz, but I found that the Croakies ARC system is even better. similar to cablz, but improved.

cheap prices, and the potential to be sold in many chain stores (like wal-mart). I think that was berkley's game plan, which is a solid one I might add.

Just bought a Plano Speedbag this season, and it has been great for this purpose: t:

Fluoro sinks, so your line will be more taut as it travels down. When using braid, the line will float and there will be more slack. That being said, I greatly prefer a fluoro leader with braid. I think it gives me more sensitivity (less stretch), and I HATE dealing with fluoro

yes, but the IPT is still the same as other high speed reels. They have the high 7.9:1 ratio to make up for the smaller amount of line normally taken in (31 inches per turn).

Very true, I agree. I didn't realize that the action of the 1.5 and the 2.5 varied so much. What makes the 1.5 better for going through cover? And on that note, what makes the 2.5 better for open water?

Why is everyone using the 1.5 and not the 2.5? Is the smaller bait profile really that much better? I would think that you would get many more dinks with the 1.5, but I have never tried the 1.5 before. Could someone enlighten me please?

This is exactly why I buy Oakleys

First off, let's look at BPS's exact description of the Carbonlite: "A CarbonLite rod is a thing of beauty, built on an ultra-rich carbon-fiber blank that compares favorably to 85 million modulus (IM9) graphite." "Compares favorably" to IM9. They don't even explicitly say that it is IM9. That being said, I picked one up when it first came out, and I also happened to buy a new Compre at the exact same time. There's a reason that I still have my Compre and sold off my Carbonlite after one season. The Compre is leagues ahead in terms of sensitivity and quality. The only reason the Carbonlite is light is because less carbon is used, which translates to a weaker rod. Don't get me wrong, both rods are good rods but the Compre is significantly more favorable in my opinion.

really excited to try these out. what color do you guys find is the most effective?

I change all mine to Owner Stinger ST-41.

I never tried the jointed one, is it really that much better than the non-jointed one? How much does the action differ?

x2 done and done.

absolutely, this has happened to me many times before. sometimes, the bass just want a smaller profile. another thing you can try is to just texas rig a craw without the jig in order to provide a smaller profile.

hahaha oh no he didn't!!

Strike King's rage craws are coffee scented now too. I still have a pack from when they first came out and were unscented, and I have not noticed a significant catch difference between the two.

This question is too vague, because like midnighthrasher said, you could drop shot a senko if you wanted to. Two different baits with different applications.

I was on the phone with a rep the other day and they said they were having it again this year. They usually start it a few days before that weekend.

which size do you guys use?