lightsout

Agreed. I have had two guide inserts fallout on my mojo which is kept in the AC unless I'm fishing.....Its the rods

A jointed rapala minnow in the x rap patterns and not the standard offerings with the 1/2'' wide seam running down the middle

I agree if your reel is hasnt been cleaned/and relubed that might be your first move. Another thing to consider is redfins arent the best casting bait to begin with. They catch a ton of air and dont have any type of internal weight transfer system, which alot of other minnow baits do.

6'6'' MH Fast Ive found the extra length of 7's doesnt really translate to longer casts. Im much more accurate with an old 6'6'' MH Fenwick HMG that I've had for over 5 years than any other rod I own.

Ive looked at them several times and pass each time. The optimum baits frog that this takes the idea from is a waste of $10. Emergent milfoil wraps around the blade and the action just wasnt right.

Curado E7 and falcon bucoo 7'H spooled with #12 hybrid.

Obviously your right about that raul. I was just wondering if anyone actually had any outside the box uses that I wasnt aware of.

Cant speak for the carbonlite, but I have used the other 3 and the bucoo is head shoulders above the rest. The 7 H' I own is very close in weight to a loomis IMX in similar spec's.

Title says it all. I figure it may be something that the bass havent seen before. If so, other than a dropshot how do you like to rig em'?

Senko slayer I would believe that bullheads and other types of hardy fish are capable of that. I was coonhunting one night in a river bottum and found half a dozen eels crawling around in the woods! I did a little research and have read of accounts of other people finding them doing the same.

Fishing is the best bet, but I suppose you could put a minnow trap in it also.

Bill I believe studies have shown that is a myth, the eggs cannot survive out of the water. Fish get in bodies of water by people placing them there and high water situations.

I honestly gave the anaconda, craw, and shad a chance. I have never got bit. One day was slaying them on the banks on a yum ribbontail, tried an ananconda in a similar color and never got a nibble. switched back to the ribbontail, started getting bit. I went on to throw senkos and flukes that day on the same stretch of bank, the bass were just plain eating whatever for me and my partner, except that anaconda. Im sure they have their time and place, but I'm happy with other more economical plastics.

I own both and either will do great at both jobs. I do feel my curado pitches lighter baits just a bit better, and I believe the revo has the edge in max casting distance. The revo may have a stronger max drag but realistically that means almost nothing "on the water". The curado is lighter and palms better in my hand. So that may be something to consider with tip up presentations like flipping and pitching bottum contact baits.

falcon bucoo

Well I gotta disagree. The buzzbait is much LESS versatile, its only got two speeds: fast enough to buzz, or slow enough to sink. While poppers are certainley more difficult to use in fast water, I find if you start with the right design of popper and you make things much easier on your self. For example, the classic Pop-R is crap in fast water. The cup is way to deep and it grabs too much water. But a Yo-Zuri pop n splash, which has a shallow cup and a recessed bottom lip, will fish very easy in fast water. It spits, sprays and walks effortless across the most choppy, fast riffles. I won't lie, it's work on your wrists. I work the lure at about two pops per second. But belive me, its worth it. I disagree dude. A buzzer is much more usuable on a variety of situations on the river than a popper. For example when I float the fall line on the James here in Richmond, I repeatedly encounter sections 30' downstream from each other that either a popper CAN be fished or CANNOT (within reason). A buzzbait can be left on for the duration of the float and is fishable everywhere (low class rapids current, grass, eddies, riffles, canals, over logs, etc). If you also consider the how much more weedless a buzzer is over a popper with those trebles hanging down I think its safe to say it's alot more versatle. As for the speed factor yes theres days where they will prefer something slower on top, but it's rare. A river smallie is not exactly shy at chasing down fast prey.

http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=33976 This for the curado but there is little diffrence. Take your time and you will be fine. To be on the safe side I always have a digital camera and quickly take pics as I tear a reel apart for referance.

A buzzbait is of the greatest river smallie baits in existence, ESPECIALLY in shalliow water like that. The problem with poppers are they arent as effective in faster current. the buzzbait is much more versatle.

depending on the cost of the reel I would recomend getting another reel. For example the price of a Citica spool shipped will be close to half of what the entire reel costs. another option is to look for a used reel, spools rarely get damaged and you have extra parts available or an entire new setup if you like.

Dont get hung up on walkin the dog perfectly. The main thing is keep it moving, poppin that rod on slack line like you normally do to walk a spook. I've spent 100's of hours throwing them over the last 5 years and can say the fish dont care if it walks perfectly or not. What model sammy are you throwing? There are diffrences in the action of the diffrent models. I usually dont want it to walk, but instead to erratically "flit" on the surface like shad often do, even going under water at times on the retrieve. (it often gets bit under water). Many people dont give them a fair chance because they dont fish like they expect them to. Thats fine by me 8-) For tackle, I like a 66MH fenwick HMX, with a E7 spooled with #12 hybrid. I like to work them kind of fast, and feel that E5 might work you to death to fish it properly.

Guy- I forgot About the storms, i actually have one. Just a little smaller than what I'm looking for. Dave- those look sweet! How'd you do on them? The reason I ask is a think theres a void here for a larger topwater lure. Come august (once the real grasshoppers get a little bigger) it'd be a great match the hatch deal. I've caught quite a few larger fish on the crickpopper and even had a few hooks straightened (lesson learned!). Tight lines! Josh

The only advice I can offer at this point is If you are serious about making this work with your girl, you must make sure and draw a line with this other chick. Dont know if its a situation where you have to see this girl on the regular or not, if it is you need to FIRMLY close that door and move forward. Glad you made the right call, you are doing the right thing for everyone involved.

Other than the rebel and basspro offerings, does anyone know if anyone makes them? Preferably in a larger size. Thanks Josh

It's one of THE times for me, with alot of variables mixed in. Females are sluggish after baby making and go through a period where their really hard to get a hook in. The males may be with fry and can be easily caught in the shallows up top. After a week or so, the ladies will snap out of it and put on the feed bag. Usually (though you wouldnt know it by the 37 degree lows we're currently having :-?) the water has warmed up to where fish are more active, and often times more willing to aggresively rise up 10+ to grab a bait. Other times that I have the most sucess throwing topwaters are: The dragon fly hatch: the critters fly low to the water to drop eggs I assume and bass can be found literally leaping out the water to eat em'. This is a very breif pattern. Shad spawn in late summer: Shad will school up in lttle "pods" the size of a pickup truck, flitting all over the lake. They will be on the move, but if you stay on the trolling motor you can hang with them. Throwing a LC sammy 85 in MS american shad is HIGHLY reccomended. Dog days of summer night time bite: when temps reach triple digits here in VA briefly, the night time bite can be amazing. There are a few more scenarios, but I always let current conditions tell me what to do. For example if there's bluebird skies with a surface like glass, topwater may not be my first choice. However you can be sure if theres a front moving in w/cloud cover and chop on the water during the warmer months I'll be more inclined to throw TW. Also keep in mind certain lures are better in certain conditions. For example I've found a sammy to work better in calmer water than more obnoxous baits.

there are definetely better options out there. I own the 7 M fast and in addition to the tipheaviness and lack of sensitivity Ive had issues with guide inserts falling out twice. I am blown away by the falcon bucoo, not sure off the top of my head if a crankin model is in that line up. The 7H and an E7 feel PERFECT together., and the sensitivity is far superior.