Jason Penn

i stopped in a wal mart yesterday in the closest "big" town. they had all the stuff already mentioned. they had the clunn cranks and the strike king tg weights about $1 or more cheaper than everywhere i've seen them online. i haven't checked my local wal mart yet but i don't really expect them to step it up.

i use a doubled-line clinch and wrap 3 times. i had lots of problems using a palomar.

i use the 15# original vicious for plastics and jigs and have no problems with it if i retie every 3-4 fish. i've got 8# vicious elite on my spinning and have had good luck with it. i used it on 1 trip without retying all day and caught 18-19 dinks in moderate cover and never broke off. i had probably caught 5-6 fish on it on a previous trip. i will probably go with 17# elite on my plastics and jigs this year.

thanks for the quick review!!! i'm pretty fired up about these reels and really hope they don't let me down. i've got the older carbonlite and 3 of the pqt's and have had zero problems with them, so i have pretty high expectations for the new models.

i use 15# vicious fluorocarbon for plastics and jigs. i have broke off with it, but it's always at the knot and after catching 3-4 without retying. i don't really fish grass, so it works for me i like how braid handles (especially on spinning) but i don't stay as connected to the lure as i do with fc.

when i first started jig fishing i used a 3/16oz bitsy bug with the back half of a zoom lizard for a trailer, just because i didn't have anything else with me lol. i just used a 7' mh power rod and probably 12# pline. i caught lots of small fish, but it helped me learn how to fish a jig. i still fish a finesse-type jig 75% of the time (although now i'm using either a 5/16 or 3/8oz mostly) because i just like catching fish and they seem to catch more fish for me. i'm not a tournament guy, so i'm not looking for hogs to win i use a 7' mh rod and 15# fluorocarbon. a mh might possibly be a tad bit stiff for most folks for the smaller jigs, but i like a stiffer rod for jig fishing. i have a feel i'm looking for when working a jig and don't like the tip to load too much.

congrats to both of you guys!!!

i like copper blades in cold water. either a big indiana, oklahoma/mag willow, or colorado

i've been using a doubled-line clinch wrapped 3 times. i've tried 4 but it didn't seem to work out as well.

i use the regular in 15# on casting and the elite in 8# on spinning. i don't have any problems with the regular but i do use the conditioner on it. the 8# elite seems to be working out good on spinning for me.

i'm assuming it's a twin tail? i was looking at sk's online catalog this morning and realized they probably have the most extensive line-up of any bait company. you could fill up your boat with products just from strike king and have everything you need. the only things i seen sk doesn't have is a 4" twin tail grub and a walking bait. i would imagine there will be a new kvd walker available in the next year or so!

i have the veritas 7' m/mf and it fishes more like a mh. i originally got it to fish shallow to medium cranks, but it ended up too fast and too stiff for what i was wanting to use it for. i switched it over to a spinnerbait rod and it works great for that though!

if you actually have a place to fish, i say don't wait til spring!! i catch most of what i catch this time of year on jigs. i'm with hooligan, the alien/brush/stone jig head is my favorite. i use either a black/blue or green pumpkin for 95% of my jig fishing with a bps twin tail grub for a trailer.

send me a couple of bags, i'll be happy to try them!

good luck with deep crankin!!!! i've been tryin for years (and will this year as well) to get better at it but no luck.

i've never fished in a tournament, but last year i had a deal happen where i wanted to cast at someone. i was fishing a small lake and had just put in. the area i wanted to fish already had a boat on it, so i went the opposite way. well these guys apparently decided they wanted to fish the bank i was working down, so they cranked up and come across the lake and cut me off. i really couldn't believe it! the really funny thing about all of it was when they got close enough i could really see (bad eyes) the guy in front of this nice big skeeter had a tourney shirt on!! i guess i was sposed to recognize his gangsta and stay out of his way!!!

very nice report! i got back on board with the bps reels in 2009, and sold off all of the daiwa's i had except for a fuego that i switched over to 5:1. i will probably sell it when i get the new carbonlite 5:1 this year. i got on a steez kick for a while and bought up a few and really liked them. one day while fishing, i was really comparing the steez to an older model revo premier, and i just realized i liked the premier more. i decided i'd take a chance on the carbonlite since they really looked similar to the revo frame-wise. i ended getting 3 of the pro qualifier tournaments after that because i liked the carbonlite so much! i have used them now since 2009 pretty regular, though not as much as you, and i've not had any problems. i caught my personal best last feb. with one of the pqt's. i had no problems with the wimpy drag. i'm probably the only person on these posting boards using bps reels on steez rods, but i've found the gear that feels the best and works the best for me regardless of the name or price that is on it.

i have had nothing but good luck with all of the bps reels i have now. i've got 3 of the pro qualifier tournaments and 1 carbonlite and they are good, solid reels. i've been using them for 2 years now. years ago, i had problems with a couple of the clunn reels but only in the 5:1 ratio, not the 6:1. bps was excellent in taking care of the problems. i called them and they shipped out new reels with a return label in the box for the reels with problems. i'm really excited about the new carbonlite reels. i will probably get 2 of the 7:1, 1 5:1, and 1 of the 750 spinning reels this year. i hope they hold as well as the others i have.

they got this one on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABU-Garcia-Revo-MGX-SHS-L-Low-Profile-Baitcasting-Reel-LEFT-/380377361868?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item589041edcc#ht_3059wt_724

vanish seems to be a tad bit smaller diameter, so i assume 10# is closer to most other 8# lines.

I've went thru lots of different lines and am back to using BPS Excel. The one thing that bothers me the most with it is memory. I got in some of the KVD spray and used it on all my reels that have the BPS line and was really surprised how well it worked!

I've got a couple of the 1.5's and haven't noticed any problems with them.

I'm using a 7' M Abu Garcia Veritas and really like it. I also like a mod-fast action for spinnerbaits. The Veritas is not quite as moderate as I would like but it's still a little slower than a normal fast action. I originally bought the rod for cranks but after getting it realized it was faster and stiffer than what I was looking for to throw 1'-10' cranks. I also found out I didn't like the trigger on the Veritas (and probably the Verdict also) rods for a crank. The way I hold a reel, the trigger actually rubs a blister on my ring finger. I also have an older 6'6" MH BPS Crankin Stick and it is a good spinnerbait rod. I had a newer model in 7' MH and didn't like it nearly as much.

Arkansas is NOT going to miss any chance to get tax dollars. I wonder how many other states have a soda pop tax?

My go-to crank is a Renegade wood crank that Wal Mart sold about 10-12 years ago in either firetiger or baby bass. These run about 6-8' and there is no telling how many bass I've caught on them. After that it would a 5 size Fat Free Shad.