Jrob78

The keeper eliminates the swivel. It only works if you want your leader to be the same line as your main line.

Fluorocarbon breaks really easily when it's been kinked. I wouldn't think it would cause you any problems until you get to it though.

I think this has been asked 8 times in the last week. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/121617-who-uses-a-snap-to-connect-your-crankbait/

Florida's cool if you think 8' is deep, and you like fishing grass. TX is awesome, tons of lakes with big bass and a state agency that does its best to make sure the bass fishing only gets better. Great salt fishing in the gulf and the smallmouth fishing is getting better every year, (in select lakes.) Also, the cost of living is way lower than CA. The down side to TX is the extreme heat in the summer and the fact that everything is so far apart. Texas is freaking huge. If I had to pick somewhere else to live, it would probably be the Carolina's, Tennessee or maybe Alabama.

A Zillion was my first thought as well.

Are you saying to coat the entire rod with rod epoxy after you paint it? Like ThreadMaster or Flex Coat, something like that? Like the other guys have said, when I build a rod, I take care to use minimal finish, minimal thread and the lightest components I can. Coating a rod in spray paint and then in rod finish seems insane to me. Other than having a colorful rod, it would completely kill the performance of the blank.

I've never seen anything like that before either. It's a cool idea, very creative.

Check out the Sunline Super Fluoro. It's in a blue box and retails for $14.99. It is by far the best budget friendly fluoro I've used.

A Baby Brush Hog weighs a considerable amount. You shouldn't have any trouble throwing one with a ⅛oz bullet weight.

I didn't mean you wrote too much, I just meant that it seems like a lot of work for a c-rig. When I throw a c-rig it's with a minimum of 1/2oz weight, a bead, a brass clacker/knot protector, a barrel swivel, a leader and then a hook. I encourage anyone to use whatever works for them, it just seems overly complicated.

Beat me to it

I agree completely. I started using spincasters when I was 3 or 4. I graduated to baitcasters when I was 10 or 11. I never picked up a spinning reel until I was 16 or 17, never needed one. I am comfortable using spinning gear, I just prefer not to.

Cool, thanks. I'm going to have to go check them out.

Where did you see them?

I'm exhausted just reading that.

I 2nd the ebay suggestion. If you put a little time in, you can find some really great deals. When the Max craps out in 6 months and you have to buy another one, you really haven't saved any money.

You should get the Core now and then the CI+ in a month or two, whenever they come out, so you can give us a full report.

I try to have at least 2 of everything and at least 4 of the baits I use a lot and have confidence in. I try to keep baits in 3 or so key colors so it doesn't get too out of control.

From what I understand, they key to getting the best action out of the bait is by starting and stopping your retrieve. When you fish the bait erratically, it behaves more erratically.

That should cover you well. Use the EWG hooks for creature baits and big worms and use the offset hooks for thin baits. The main idea is to use a hook with a large enough gap so that when the worm bunches up, it doesn't block the hook point and keep you from getting a good hookset.

X2

It depends on the bait. For thick baits, I will use Trokar or Gamakatsu EWG hooks from 3/0-5/0. When fishing thinner baits like worms, I use Trokar or Gamakatsu offset hooks from 3/0-5/0. I try to keep things as simple as I can.

The Sufix monos are great. I prefer the Elite but both are really good.

Strike King 6xd and Bomber Fat Free Shad are 2 good ones that don't cost a fortune. Color depends on the water color.

I use a Toro Winch for my big bait fishing. I found it new on ebay for about $200. If I hadn't found it, I would have gotten the Curado. The Lexa wasn't out at the time. I wouldn't worry too much about reel weight for the simple fact that the rod is going to be tip heavy. A little added weight at the reel will help balance things out.