ib_of_the_damned

I recently picked up one of these, and the problem that I find is that unless you keep the line semi slack to tight, the jig tends to land upside down and rest on the hook and weedguard. I am not a fan of a jig rolling over like that on the bottom, it makes me not want to use it for fear of losing it. When I do keep the line somewhat taut the jig wobbles back and forth as it drops, and if i let the line go completely slack it will spiral down and land upside down. If it landed upright every time I would be satisfied.

Its defective, try to exchange it for another one. If that is not an option, figure out which way the swimbait is leaning on the retrieve, and then hold the belly firmly and grasp the hook carefully and twist the hook in the opposite direction of the lean. This actually shifts the internal weight and hopefully will fix your problem. The last thing I can think of is you are retrieving it too fast. It is meant to be fished really slow, or deadsticked. Hope some or all of this helps.

What about a rage tail caffeine shad!!! It could have a vertical tail similar to the Smokin Rooster which has it horizontally and a deeper belly than the typical "fluke" style baits. Also if some pectoral fins or arms that flap as well, I would definately buy a bunch. I think it would be sick for us impatient fisherman who just want to rip the hell out our jerkbaits. You could call it the Crack Shad, the Rage Tail brother of the Caffeine Shad.

Has anyone used these worms with any success? I fish a pretty high pressure city lake and was curious what you guys would suggest as far as worm size goes. I'm leaning towards the 7 incher because I have lots of 4-6" worms, but as far as fishing pressure, would it be wiser to go smaller? Thanks in advance!

It was a nice looking lake, didn't catch a thing. Only got some follows on a drop shot. The lake was covered with slop by the island, that was were I was doing most of my fishing, tossing a frog and some punch baits. Nothing... Then again it was my first time there and it definately wont be the last. And Tri City is like my home lake, and I have better luck there than anywhere else that I have been.

Gonna be heading to Legg Lake in Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Does anyone have any tips or techniques that produce for bass, I don't care the size, just to catch some bass. I plan on bringing my box of swimbaits, lipless cranks and regular cranks, jerkbaits(hard and soft), spinnerbaits, jigs and soft craw/creatures, and my finesse gear(drop shot tackle, senkos, shakeyheads, and other small plastics). Is this overkill for the lake or should I limit what I'll be bringing? Thanks!

Agreed. I like Worm X in color Q though...

If this affects the reel size choice, I would be using braid with a leader so I could actually use 6# diameter braid, I was also thinking that my current spinning reel is a Quantum Incyte 20 and it holds 8/100, so I would only be losing 10 yards of line, I can't cast 90 yards with a spinning reel anyway...

Just curious what size all of you would recommend for a new spinning reel. I have read good reviews on the Okuma Trio and it is in my price range. I would like to know what size reel would be the best all around size. I would mainly be using it for drop shot, shakey head, flick shake/wacky rig, and senkos. And it would be paired up with a 7' M/F Vendetta. 20: 6/110, 8/90 30: 8/160, 10/110 http://www.***.com/Okuma_Trio_Spinning_Reel/descpage-OKTSR.html Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Trim the skirt to almost flush with the hook, take your favorite spinnerbait blade, size 3 or smaller depending on the jig, a ball bearing swivel, some trailer hook tubing and slip that over the split ring on the swivel. Now attach the spinner blade to the jig hook like a trailer hook on a spinnerbait and now you have a different look to the traditional swim jig trailers while adding action and flash. Please keep this amongst yourselves...

I use a Revo SX for swimbaits, but I'm tossing 2oz. and under swimbaits. I set the spool tension fairly tight, not tightened down all the way. So far I have had no problems tossing 6"Spros and 6" Hudds and I loosen the knob for lighter swimbaits.

I have had a lot of success drop shotting those 3 or 4 inch Creme Trout worms they sell at Wal Mart. They are only a buck for a pack of four. Wacky rig them on a drop shot and you'll slay those dinks.

I have to disagree with the spinnerbait not tracking straight. I have the shad colored one with the double willow blades and it tracks true and I didn't have to tune it out of the box. I actually switched out the top willow for a smaller one to match the second willow blade. I haven't gotten bit on it yet, as I haven't thrown it that much. But as far as the design, I feel that it is pretty amazing and it looks better in the water than the triple or quad blade spinnerbaits that have all the blades on the same wire. I would say to get one and decide for yourself, you might be surprised at the action of the spinnerbait. I think that it looks like a small school of shad swimming around which would be enticing to a bass.

i will have to do that. thanks! and will a lighter do the trick for shrinking the tubing?

What size heat shrink tubing do you use for: Senkos Flipping hooks Slender worms(flick shakes, finesse worms, etc.) Thanks!

This is a great swimbait, I have caught a 3.12lb slow rolling it. It has a great slow s-curve path that it follows, and in sinks horizontally and sits up on its hooks at rest. I add a split ring to the line tie and that helps it swim better. Without it you need to watch your retrieve speed, it has to be just right to get it to swim right. Get two of them, the 168 size in Rainbow and Stock Trout and you'll be set. Good Luck and tight lines!

They should take pride in the products they sell, BPS brand or not, and stand behind what they sell. If they sell a faulty product, they should replace it. That makes sense to me... By the way, the person helping me was not the nicest person. I have exchanged things at BPS before and never had anyone be that impolite/condescending to me.

I went to BPS yesterday and got no love... They said they couldn't do anything because its past the 30 day period and I didn't have a receipt. They told me I had to deal with Abu Garcia themselves... Great Customer Service... > I just sent my broken rod to Abu Garcia today, so hopefully I'll have a new one soon.

To add to this, if your car has a 60/40 split back seat, then lower one of the seats and put the rods in through the trunk, tip first at an angle and lay the handle on the trunk floor, it keeps the rods straight and not bouncing around in transit. That is how I transport my rods in my car. It fits rods up to 7' this way. For my swimbait rod that is 7'10" I do the same but rest the rod tip on the center console between the front seats. Another trick that I do is I took one of my girlfriends foam toe separators for painting toenails and got some adhesive velcro strips, stuck one side on bottom of the separator and the other side on the seat back and stuck it to the seat. You now have a "rod rack" on the back of your seat! This trick has kept my rods separated and in place in the car.

Thanks for the info thus far. The rod is not a BPS brand rod, its an Abu Garcia Vendetta. Would that have a factor in whether or not they could exchange it?

Has anyone successfully returned/exchanged a broken rod to Bass Pro without a receipt? I have had the rod for about six months, is that too long of a time to return/exchange? Thanks!

Awesome, that sounds like a pretty quick turnaround considering they need to "inspect" the nature of the break. Thanks again for the info.

Thanks for the info. Did you have to send them both parts of the rod, or just the rod without the broken part.

I have had good experiences with purchasing fishing equipment from lures to reels on ebay. There are great deals to be had if you know where to look, I recently got a 2009 Revo SX for $100. You just have to look at the feedback score, I rarely buy anything from a seller with less than 98%. If you decide to purchase something from a seller with a lower feedback score look at all the negative feedback they have. I have noticed that most of the negative feedback for sellers are from impatient a**holes or people that ordered the wrong item and blame the seller. Most of the time the ship times are accurate. Also another tidbit of advice I can give is that you look for out of state sellers so you dont have to pay the tax. Thats what I do unless its something I really want thats only in my state.

I have recently snapped my Vendetta just below the second line guide. I was in absolute disbelief when this happened, I'll bet you could hear the obscenities I was screaming in the next town over... I have also misplaced my receipt for the rod and was wondering if anyone has ever sent in a rod to Abu Garcia for repair/replacement without the receipt and what was the outcome? Did you have to pay for a replacement, or was it covered? Thanks for the help and advice in advance!