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x 2 Well put. Same here. Frogging is another technique where a lefty reel can be utilized by right handed people.

Nice special. I have a feeling there might be a few of those Citicas sold in the flea market in the coming months.

Finesse tubes... Open water and suspended fish, 6' spinning LF, 6 lb P-Line CXX Some cover, 6' spinning MF, 10-15 lb PP braid

I think they would make a decent cranking stick. They are very whippy though, with a VERY poor recovery when you bend them and allow them to straighten out. That is the mark of a junk rod IMO. I still think that the St. Croix Premier is the best $100 rod out there. You do even better if you're willing to be patient and cruise the flea market forums on sites like this.

I think it sounds just about perfect. I have been using a Revo STX on a Premier 66MM for a couple years for light cranks and topwater, and firefightn15 has a point, the St. Croix med power mod action rods don't have much backbone. Not enough to do well with large billed cranks like Rapala DT15, large Fat Free Shads, etc. That will make a fine crankbait setup if you stick with cranks in the 1/4 to 5/8 oz range. If you're looking to sling deep divers along with small to mid sized cranks, look into a MH power rod.

Which would be the best matched to a Dobyns 766 flipping stick to be used for flipping and frogging? I own both STXs and Curados already and I'm happy with them, but I'd like to know what you think. I use a 201E7 on my pitching rod, and a few right handed STXs on other setups. There are a few 2009 STX-L reels out there for about $130 NIB, but the new Curado 201E7 is going for $145 with free shipping from a few retailers. Thanks

The best thrill is when I lip them.

I had a smallie throw a large Husky Jerk back at me and it hooked me in the upper earlobe with the middle of 3 treble hooks. It adds a whole new dimension to hook removal when you're trying to remove a treble hook that you cannot see, especially when there is another treble hook dangling next to your eye. I didn't have a pliers with a side-cutter either, or else I would have removed the hook next to my eye. I was wading in the river as a kid and only carried a foreceps. I ended up luckily just yanking it out and continuing to fish because I had trekked 45 minutes and had just begun to fish. It left a little tear in the earlobe and a scar to remind me to always wear sunglasses when bass fishing! ;D

I keep the boat keys on the same keychain as my tow vehicle, with a spare set of both keys kept in the boat's toolbox.

This is what I have. It's very comfortable to lean against the concave back of the seat. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jsp?id=0053964&navCount=5&parentId=cat21334&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=netcon&parentType=index&indexId=cat21334&rid=

A little boat is better than no boat at all, but I personally would pass on this one and save up a little more. The price is a bit steep, even if everything checks out. But keep in mind, you're not going to have very much space to store anything. Forget about storing rods in there.

Haha, thats my crappie rod, too! Great little rod. Avids are a excellent value IMO. Like roadwarrior said, there's no need to shell out mega bucks for a rod which will be tossing moving, "reaction" lures. Save the $$$ for a worm rod, or flipping stick, jig rod, shaky-head, etc.

I have my best luck with lipless cranks in natural hues, like olive, gold, silver, etc. Trying to match your local panfish is a good trick at times. One of my local lakes has bass that sometimes key on small crappies, so I toss similar colored cranks, spinnerbaits, swimjigs, etc.

I fish them over submerged weeds as if I were "bulging" a spinnerbait, with the rod tip up and retrieving so that the bait stays just under the surface and creates a wake. It's a good lure to try if the bass roll on your buzzbait without striking them. Slow it down a bit and wake a crank or spinnerbait.

Same here. I like Secret Weapon Lures Pro Assassinators. I use the 3/4 oz double willow with undersized blades all the time.

Good deal.

Carolina Rigs are a bore, but I will still toss them because they catch fish for me. I rig them with a white fluke and dead stick them once I feel the sinker contact the weedline.

Another +1 for the Banjo Minnow.

For smallies in my local rivers, the best time is about 11-4 early in the season. The warmest part of the day.

I'm in MN fishing for dinks from the sound of it. ;D I'm hoping for a new PB, which would be 6-2 or better.

Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon is the best I've used. I'm not a fan of using straight fluorocarbon on spinning reels. It's too stiff. I prefer to use braid with a fluoro leader instead. On a baitcasting reel, flouro works much better and can be very effective.

I like to use a leader thats just shorter than the length of the rod, so that there won't be a kink in the fluorocarbon when I put the lure on the hook keeper and store it.

There are a few top quality knots, so I say go with the one that you can tie the most consistently and comfortably. I'm most comfortable tying an improved clinch knot, so thats what I use with all lines aside from braid. With braid, I use a palomar.

Frogging will be tough with a spinning setup, both with hooksetting and powering a fish back to the boat. Otherwise, for small topwater plugs and smallie fishing, I would go with a 6' 6" or a 7' ML or M power rod. Personally, for smallies I use a 7' 6" ML rod, but thats too long to be ideal for fishing topwater plugs, because those generally work best when the action is given with the rod tip low to the water.

I pitch with a 7' and a 7' 5" rod. I have a 7' 11" rod that I only use for flipping and frogging. I have a hard time pitching with the long rod.