lightsout

Rapala X walk-13 in glass ghost. I dont care for the smaller rapala spook style baits (skitter walk, smaller x-walks),or any other color rapala makes, but this combo is special to me. It looks exactly like a big, bleeding shad. Has a great knocking sound. And works in a variety of water conditions. Ive caught some toads on them. Originally I got it for stripers but found the LM's like em' too.

15/4 powerpro braid w/a stren flouro leader or #6 CXX moss green.

Make a long cast, then pull out an additional 30' or so. Then wrap it with electrical tape....No more digging in! And you still have a full spool so casting distance/ IPT isnt affected. It will also save you from wasting an entire spool of braid should you get a monumental birdsnest.

Goose pretty much covered it. Shimano's VBS system is very user friendly. Most experienced anglers use 4 brakes off two on (unless its really windy). I'll use 1 on 5 off occasionally when I really want to sling it. The only thing I can add, (since you mentioned its full potential) is that the E7 responds really well to a basic cleaning/relubing. Burley did a great write up on here a year or two back on flushing the spool bearings. I would reccomend giving it a shot once you get the hang of casting the reel. Its very easy and you dont need to tear the reel down to do it. I was shocked by how much gunk came out, and how much longer I can cast aerodynamic baits.

put in time

Hula grubs are an underapreciated bait. My grandfather used them for years, caught some pigs on em' to. My three favorite ways to use em': Their a great option in ponds where the filmentous algae covering the bottom makes jig fishing tough. I like to rig them with 1/16 tungston weight. You can also put a section of a lead nailweight inside if your so inclined. GYCB hula grubs are also my favorite chatterbait trailer. Just remove the front "tentacles" leaving the twin tails. The GYCB plastic adds some good weight for extra casting distance. And on a football head in riffles/eddies for river smallies. KILLER in early spring when the waters still cool.

They will work something out, even if concessions are made. There is simply too much $ to be lost if theres a stoppage.

Lucky craft sammy 85 in MS American shad is the most versatle TW I own. Ive had a couple 100+ fish days on this bait and have probably spent a couple weeks total of my life throwing these baits. Calm water to a medium chop it gets bit. River smallies absolutely murder it. It casts really well, I can almost spool a tuned E7 with them. Dont expect it to have a true walk like a spook, its much more eratic, even going under water at times. Try to emulate a baitfish with health issues and dont stress haveing a true cadence.

Ive put one through it paces and honestly dont think I'll ever use it again...Didnt care for the action at all.

Also junk cars are bringing $400 bucks now at certain places. My step dad hauled away about 15 junkers from the family farm and made bank. Some places will require you to take the tires off but its worth the trouble.

Its really competive these days. I'm a materials manager in the wireless industry. I have about four diffrent people come by our warehouse almost daily seeing what we have. Ive gotten to know a couple of them as I'll alot them some scrap for odd jobs that I need done. Its a great way to supplement your income, but not consitent enough to be good day in day out job. You have to be diligent and put yourself out there to alot of diffrent people. Some items will bring more if you take the time to seperate undesired items out (stripping the jackets off wire etc.) Also check around on pricing, it is negotiable at most places and prices vary from scrap yard to scrap yard.

No reel mech is still around, goes by a diffrent name. Medic is a completely diffrent cat.

Yozuri hybrid has been really good to me for the past 5+ years on baitcasters. I recently have been using suffix perf. braid on a PQT and I'm really impressed so far. I tried a couple diffrent flouros and have decided the cons out weigh the pros (for my style of fishing). Pline CXX in #6 has been good on a spinning reel. Power pro in #15 has been spooled on a few of my abu cardinals for 4 years or so and hasnt given me any trouble.

Snoopy, How would you describe the rest of the plastic? I have a few other baits in the hardnose series and the main body of the lure is REALLY stiff, so I wonder about the action on em'.

Id love to see a senko type bait with the mann's hardnose matierial on the end...but then they'd sell alot less so that aint happening.

3/8oz chatterbait with a secret weapon lures bluegill skirt, and the twin tails off a brown or blue yamamoto hula grub =DEADLY for big pond bass. I also like to trim a black skirt down and use a zoom chunk in black/blue, its a great way to cover water/catch numbers.

Your right, I believe one of the J.M. reels has the duralumin gear and has 15lbs(?). Its the design of the drag stack on a given reel, not the duralumin matierial.

If you do your homework you can find parts from other reels that will interchange. To save weight, you can swap the handle to a BPS carbonlite handle. The gears from the carbonlite/Pro qualifier tournament will also swap into certain revos. The duraliminum will give you a noticeable decrease in weight over the brass.

It'll be a good game. I think pittsburgh is a physically and mentally tough team. Roethlisberger simply comes through when needed. If the steelers protect the ball (green bay has really benifited from turnovers) I say they win.

Cant comment on the XCR, but I do own several 700's and can name a dozen hunters that have used them for decades and there has never been any issues. My grandfather left me a 6MM that has had thousands of rounds fired through it and it still works flawlessly. There are other good rifles out there, but for the price/performance you cannot touch a Remington model 700. My only gripe is the safetys on some of the older ones. Having to put it in the "F" posistion to work the bolt was a dumb design. I understand a kit is made to convert it to the current safety.

I agree the veritas feels better in my hand. The extendable handle feature would be better (and fit more techniques ) if it were just a bit longer to start with.

There wont be a noticable sensitivity diffrence as long as you dont go more than a rod length or so with the leader.

I'd reccomend using a minnow trap in a nearby stream and seeing what you catch. There are some really cool looking fish there that most people dont even know exist. Lots of diffrent catfish,daces, shiners, and some truly weird, bizzare stuff i never could ID. Bass/bluegill eat and crap nonstop and will muck up the water quickly. I had a bass in a 40 gallon tank two years ago, and had to clean it often. But alas the future MRS didnt find him as cool as I did, and I released him in my family pond. I cut a small notch out of his tail fin for referance. Ended up catching again last summer on a berkley beast. It was a cool feeling knowing he made it

You should be fine for all of the above. The only thing that I can see being a hinderance is the braid/rattlebait combo. Ive been fortunate to spend alot of time fishing private lakes with some big fish for the last 5 years or so, and almost always have a rattlebait tied on to atleast one rod. I have found that braid just wasnt a good choice for traps. If you throw these baits extstensively with braid it will cost you slightly more fish. Being that on any given cast the next fish could be HUGE on these baits, its just not a gamble I'm willing to take. The sensivity and ability to "snap" the lure outta the grass is awesome. But if you factor in that your gonna tear a larger hole in the fish with that braid (there by making it easier to throw the bait) it aint worth it. Some also say that mono/copoly/flouro help the fish take the lure better, but I'm not sold on that. Another thing to consider is when erratically ripping the lure, braid can foul the hooks (admittedly not that often but it did happen) which could potentially mean not getting that big bite. Id leave the rattlebaits for nylon/flouro/copolys.

I was talking about my Lowrider, not a Cara. don't get me wrong, I love the feel and sensitivity of the Lowrider, it just has such an odd action I can't come up with how to use it. I have the lizard dragger and felt the same way as you. Ive found its perfect for the 3/8 -1/2 buzzbaits (I throw them ALOT). Its also a pretty good 3/8-5/8oz rattlebait rod, not too fast when fighting a fish, but fast enough to rip out of the grass.