basscrusher

My top producers for small streams are 3" and 4" senkos, tubes between 2.5" and 3" (such as Strike King Bitsy Tubes) and a 3" grub (last year the Berkley 3" Rippleshad did pretty well for me in lieu of a regular curlytail grub). No need to get crazy with colors, either. Green Pumpkin or watermelon hues under normal conditions, or black if rains have put some stain in the water. Chartreuse if the fish need a little extra enticement to bite. If you get bored with those, a really small craw imitation is good, too. For small streams, I like the Yum craw papi in the 2.75" size.

I have the Daiwa RG. Only had it for a month or so, so my feedback will be limited. First off, the handle doesn't bother me, even though it is different from what I mostly use (Shimanos). It is super-smooth. Feels like a reels costing way more than $60. In fact, if it weren't graphite frame, it would certainly be more expensive. I'm sure many will say the graphite frame is a deal-breaker, but I can live with it. Over the years I've had many of the graphite spinning reels from Shimano in that $30-$60 range, and I've never had any flex issues. I haven't caught anything with the RG over about 2.5 lbs so far, but it has handled decent sized keepers just fine. Overall, based on my experience thus far, I think it is a GREAT buy at $60, and even better at $50 (I can't remember where, but I know I saw it on sale for $50 just this week...maybe Cabela's?)

Have you received it yet, or did you just now order it? I'm stunned by the spare spool...

I'd be very interested to hear some responses as well, since I've been scouring the web for some time looking for a certain Falcon Expert for sale (used). It would be nice to know what it compares to so I can just abandon my dreams of finding the Falcon and move on to something else!

several companies make plastics in a tilapia color - I know I've seen swimbaits by Big Bite Baits in a tilapia pattern. And as stated previously, tilapia are a cichlid. I think some of the more gaudy bluegill patterns would also mimic the scheme you're looking for. Come to think of it, the Bandit bluegill-colored crank my buddy was throwing yesterday had that blue back and bright red belly you mentioned.

Agreed. I can't even begin to count the number of 2-4 lb bass I've caught in winter using a 2" Panfish Assassin (both the curly tail and straight tail models).

Thanks for posting those coordinates. My hunch was right. The place I thought was low water bridge is actually something else. It looks almost exactly the same (super low to the water, etc) but is a bit north of the "real" Low Water Bridge. Hopefully in the next few weekends I'll go scout the area around Bentonville, including the state park. Looking on google maps, I can't seem to find a good place to park and venture from, but hopefully my recon will reveal something. So far I've resisted getting a kayak, mainly because it would make my Bass Raider less practical, but maybe it's time I reconsider...

That helps some, so thanks. I might need to take another look at low Water Bridge. Although, according to one thing I read, what I thought was low water bridge might not be it, after all.

Anyone have any info on Eastham park? Wondering if if gets super crowded, has any good shoreline access/wading areas (already heard it has boat launch), or if it is dominated by yahoos. Thanks in advance.

Superb write up. Thanks for taking the time to do it. If you ever get the time/energy, I'd love to hear some about your day with Cliff Prince, as well.

Grease on gears, oil on other parts needing lube. At least that's my usual M.O. But let's just suppose I wasn't thinking and oiled the gears. (I cleaned them a couple months ago and haven't used the Curado 200 -- the roughest one -- since. So it's possible...) Wouldn't that have still lubed up the reels to some degree temporarily and have them feeling OK until the lighter (less viscous) lube dissipated?

So I want to replace/upgrade bearings on a few of my baitcasters (Core 50, Curado 50e, Curado 200e7). From what I gather, replacing the spool bearings are what will improve my casting. But which should I replace in order to get the smooth feeling back on the retrieve? The Core and Curado 50 feel just a tad gritty, the Curado 200 more so. Just for reference, I've already cleaned/lubed the reels which helped, but they still have some of that "getting old" slightly grind-y feel on retrieve. Thanks in advance for all advice.

Also could use Slider heads.

Right now, I don't watch much fishing TV at all, since FIOS dropped both WFN and Outdoor Channel (at least here in Northern VA). So now I only have access to Bassmasters on ESPN2 once a month, the handful of shows NBC Sports has (when not showing the Tour de France), and whatever is on this new Pursuit channel FIOS gave me as a consolation gift. They sent me a letter saying it had premium hunting and fishing, but in 2 weeks I have found exactly 2 fishing shows and about a thousand cookie-cutter, self-produced, repetitive hunting shows.

Bring your bass gear but go after redfish and seatrout. A lagoon system runs in some parts of the island. Look for public access on google maps. There's a good chance the property of your resort has some access for the shorebound angler. There are also several light tackle guides there, years back I chatted with a guy named Capt Trent (later saw him on Byron Velvick's saltwater show). Seemed like a cool guy. I can't remember the name of the place I stayed, but others here go more often, I'm sure they'll chime in. Last time I was there (I think about 7 years ago) the redfish bite was terrible, but hooked up with some decent trout on a 1/4 oz Storm Wildeye swim shad. And one more thing...you must go to Guiseppe's for lunch or dinner. Get the Weggie sandwich. Trust me. it's life-altering.

Got a question for owners of the Falcon Bucoo MEDIUM spinning rod - either the 6'6" medium or the 7' medium spinning (same specs, different length): this rod is rated for 1/4 - 1/2 oz lures, but can it toss lighter baits good distances? I'm specifically thinking 1/8 oz shaky heads, 4" senkos, wacky worms running the gamut from unweighted to 1/8 oz, or things of similar light weight (like small grubs, tubes, drop shot, etc). don't need guesses or other ideas, just observations from actual owners/users. Thanks in advance.

To meet your criteria...Shimano Spirex RG (rear drag). They go for about $60 retail, but I'm sure some of the discount sites have them for a little less. I'm not sure about now, but for years this reel had a really dedicated following.

OK everybody -- wondering if anyone here owns any of the Falcon Coastal or Lowrider Salt rods. They have a couple models common to each series I'm really interested in: their 6'7" ML and the 6'9" L casting rods. if the specs can be believed, they look like they'd serve as pretty sweet finesse casting rods for bass. But here's my dilemma: regardless of what the title of the post implies, I'm not wondering if they can be used as finesse bass casters -- that's obvious. I'm curious if anyone here owns either of those rods that can attest to the qualities -- lightness, sensitivity, ability to truly cast lures as light as advertised, etc. (I titled the post as such so it wouldn't immediately get moved to the "other species" forum, where it might not get as many views). For what it's worth, I am a pretty big fan of Falcon's rods and I like their action/tapers, which tend to be a bit different from most other rod companies. But I don't know if their salt rods are built along the same specs. For example, with St Croix, a medium Tidemaster handles basically like a MH Premier...you see where I'm going with this. And nowhere within hundreds of miles of me stocks Falcon SW rods in-store for me to get a feel. If anybody can chime in, I'd truly appreciate it. Thanks in advance everyone!!!!

I bought one during the same sale. Never been a Quantum fan for casting reels, but heard some good reviews I trusted so went ahead and took the plunge. Got it a few weeks ago and have fished it about a dozen times. GREAT reel so far. Aside from my Core and Curado 50s, it is the best caster of my BC reels (that inventory includes numerous Curado and Citica E, Curado and Citica D, 2 Curado I, one old Curado B I held onto, 2 Lew's Speed spools, a lew's tournament MB, Ardent Apex Elite, etc). Only mentioning this for frame of reference -- in other words, I'm not stacking the EXO up against junk. Really smooth, casts great...so far I like everything about it. Only caught a few small fish on it so far, but performed like it should. Obviously time will pose the real test, so we'll see. I think for the price you paid you'll be super happy.

Ditto in northern VA. Why did I move here after college? Why have I stayed here for 16 years since?

They can be deadly rigged on 1/8 or 3/16 oz Slider or shakey head. If only my local smallmouth hole weren't so snaggy...

It's definitely worth it. The surf on the gulf coast is calm enough in many spots that you don't need a surf rod to cast out past the breakers...there really aren't any! I caught lots of fish (mostly small) tossing small bucktails in one small bay there years ago. I waded out to about 3 feet, and was casting into maybe 6 or so with a spinning setup geared toward bass. I saw some large reds and one big tarpon near the adjacent docks, but they were too smart for us. As for the the food & drinks...I was there in 1999, so I don't know if these places are still around, but there was a great burger place called the Barking Shark -- lots of different kinds of burgers with interesting topping combinations. Good beer selection too. There was a really cool bar...the name had something to do with a Whale...anyway they had $1 Jaeger shots one day during happy hour...I was 21 on Spring break...need I say more? There was a cool seafood place right by the bridge leading into town. Not a restaurant...they would prepare/steam fresh shrimp or shellfish, you took it to go. Awesome.

Definitely not spawn...water temps are still in mid to upper 40s. Might not even be prespawn...fish are still in winter mode all the way down to Kerr in southern VA (where I fished the past 2 days). And the weather this week looks to be COLD, with snow forecast for tonight. Might sound crazy, but the first week of April might still be winter here in NoVa. Bring slow moving baits.

two points: 1) Listen to Wayne P. He is the master of wacky. 2) Falcon uses superline hooks for alot of their products. Make sure that wacky rig doesn't utilize one. Superline hooks require a very stout rod (MH or stiffer) for a good hookset. This might not be the case with that rig...but worth checking.

Water temps anywhere from 40 to 45 in the NOVA area, depending on the pond/lake/river. Folks, we're about a month from the spawn, not a couple weeks.