Jason Penn

I gotta agree that Chart/Black is a good color!!

I used to be an expensive reel guy, but in the past year it's flipped. I'm using pretty modest reels actually now (Pro Qualifier Tournaments & Carbonlite), but I'm very happy with them. I have a couple of Steez rods and hope to get 2 more before the year's up. My most expensive reel now (Fuego w/5:1 gears) is on a 7' MH Daiwa TDS crank rod.

Sorry to bump an old thread but I'm interested in this rod and can't seem to find much info. I'm using a TDS 7' MH glass rod for deep cranks (and 3/8-1/2oz spinnerbaits) now and wonder how the LT compares? I noticed the lure ratings are both slightly lighter and a 1/2oz heavier. Will the LT rod handle the DD22's? I love the way the S rod sticks fish but I'm always looking for something lighter.

6'9" ML Daiwa Fuego/Daiwa Sol 2000/6# YoZuri Hybrid

I was wanting to get a couple before he won the Classic. They are lower priced than most others out there. I held off because I haven't had great success with SK cranks at all, and I'm scared this one will be just as bad. Now I'm afraid everybody will make fun of me if I buy one!!

I don't have enough gear to fill out the whole list. I don't really use all of those techniques anyway. 7' M Garcia Veritas/BPS Pro Qualifier Tournament -spinnerbaits/squarebills 15# Vicious fc 6'6" M Daiwa TDS Crankin/Spinnerbait/BPS Carbonlite - topwater/lipless cranks 14# mono (undecided which brand I like better) 7' M Garcia Veritas/Daiwa Fuego 5:1 - med/deep cranks 12# YoZuri Hybrid 7' MH Daiwa Steez/BPS Pro Qualifier Tournament -plastics & finesse jigs 15# Vicious fc 7'1" H Steez/BPS Pro Qualifier Tournament - jigs/heavy plastics & c-rigs (when I have no other choice) 15# Vicious fc 6'9" ML Daiwa Fuego/Daiwa Sol 2000 - dropshot/shaky 8# Berkley 100% I have a few other things, but my rod box really won't hold much more than this comfortably. It's probably for the best anyways. Most days I probably keep one of the Steez rods in my hands 90% of the time. The rest is there just so I can feel like I'm a versatile fisherman! ;D

Great fish! Is that Daily's?

Maybe he could win #5 then switch over to FLW and see how many he could win there! ;D

I'm using the Carbonlite & Pro Qualifier Tournament reels and have no problems. I have landed a 7.2# & an 8.3# out of cover with these reels with no problems.

The BPS Pro Qualifier Tournament & Carbonlite reels. They are only offered in 6.4:1 but can be changed to a 7:1 with either the Pro Qualifier gears or a Revo Premier 7:1 drive gear and Revo SX-HS pinion gear. I don't know which Pflueger reels you are using or whether or not it's possible to do a gear swap on them.

I got on a 7:1 kick a month ago and decided to change over a couple of reels. After getting it done and fishing with them, I switched them back to 6:1! :-[ Most of the reels I learned to fish with were 24-25" IPT and I'm used to that. When I went to the faster reels it didn't feel as natural. I may try the hi speed gears again when the water warms up and the fish get more active. It doesn't take but 10-15 minutes to switch them around.

I was pleased to see the Pro Qualifier Tournament reels added to the BPS site. They were in-store only so hopefully they'll stay around for a while. These reels (and Carbonlites) can be changed to a 7:1 ratio with the standard PQ gear set. If you want to keep the weight down you can use the Premier 7:1 drive gear and either a PQ pinion or a Revo SX-HS pinion. I measured 28 1/4" IPT after changing one over.

I bought 1 of these 5-6 years ago because I liked the look of it. It turned out the front bead and clevis ID was just large to slip up on the bend in the wire and screw up the front blade. I do like a bullet head spinnerbait and would love to have some hidden weight baits made with that shape.

I have the 2.0 and it keeps me pretty warm in 40+ degree weather as long as the winds not over 10 mph. I normally wear just jeans/t-shirt over it and then wear a zip-up fleece. If you don't want to wear any kind of jacket definitely go with the 3.

Deep structure fishing. I'm horrible at it!!! This would include deep cranking and c-rigs. Luckily most of the places I fish doesn't require it. If I don't have something to cast or pitch to I feel pretty lost. There's a small lake not far from me that the state of MO built a few years ago. It's basically a bowl sitting on top of land. No trees around it so the wind has to be less than 6-7 mph, very minimal cover, just a couple of docks. It's 10' max depth and it has ridges run across in spots that come up to 1.5'. I know theres nice fish in there, I have a buddy that fishes it alot and catches fish up to 8 lbs. I just can't get into the place. It's just not as fun to me as pitchin a jig or t-rig plastic to a nice big laydown.

After posting on this thread earlier, I went to Ish's site. There's a link on the front page of his site to an article were he's explaining his view on fishing both tours. I was pretty amazed at the cost shown on there. http://www.another site.com/news_article.asp?id=3811 That's a pretty good chunk of cash right there! I do understand all it takes is one win and you're getting into profit, but that's not that easy. I remember an article in Bassmaster a few years ago that Marty Stone wrote. It was talking about how much money some anglers made just from sponsors. I'm sure a lot of that has changed in the past 2-3 years though. Like I say, none of it really matters to me. I in no way would want to have to fish for a living. I don't even have the desire to fish small T's. Any career that keeps you out on the road and away from your family would be very tough.

Seems like prior to the Elite series (I think that's when it was) there was more guys fishing both. When BASS changed up and added more T's, I'm not sure they had as much time to fish both. I have noticed you see more of the older guys fishing FLW now. Maybe they just like the lakes they fish more, or maybe the payouts are better. I do remember reading an article with an angler one time and he said "if you want to be famous fish BASS, if you want to be rich fish FLW". I don't know how much truth there is to that. I don't really pay much attention to the payouts, I have no interest in it. I'm pretty sure Luke Clausen has always been more FLW than BASS. I don't think he even fished BASS after winning the classic.

Yea I ordered an STX kit yesterday to go in a Pro Qualifier Tournament.

A jig is not my go-to bait, but I always have one tied on and ready to fish. I enjoy fishing a bottom bait more than moving baits and sometimes think I probably would catch more fish if I would stay with a spinnerbait or a crank more. I can't help it though, I just love feeling the bite and layin into it!! I've posted this here before, but I'll post it again. I believe when starting out jig fishing, you should use a finesse-type jig. I personally believe you will get bit more on them which will help you learn how to fish a jig. It worked for me and I still fish that style of jig more than a big full-skirted jig. What really got me "hooked" on jig fishing was catching over 50 small bass in about a 3 hour period using a 1/4oz Strike King Bitsy Bug/half lizard trailer off of 2 big laydowns.

Did the STX set come with the fiber washers or just the main washers?

I would say Zillion for senkos & shaky heads, and the Veritas for T rigs. I personally wouldn't use either for jerkbaits, but if you have to I'd go with the Zillion.

I really enjoy BASS more but I watch FLW more. I always know when it's gonna be on. I can't keep up with ESPN.

I'm using a 6'9" ML Fuego for DS & SH. After getting the rod I wished I had got the 6'10" M, but after fishing a jighead a few times on it it's no big deal. The heaviest I really ever fish a jigworm is with a 3/16 head and the ML seems to handle it with no problems. The biggest fish I've caught with it so far has been about 3 1/2 lbs and it was stuck.

The 7' M m/f Veritas would make a good trap rod. I'm using 1 for spinnerbaits and another for deep cranks. They're not really that moderate, closer to a MH power, and they're $99 shipped.

Nothing wrong with the Yozuri line at all. I used it for a while. I'm now using 15# Vicious fluorocarbon. Lots of folks seem to hate it, but it's really working out good for me, and it's super cheap! I prefer the way lures fall on fc vs braid. I'm using 8# Berkley 100% on my spinning rod, but I think I'm going to try 10# Invizx next. I'm using a doubled-line clinch wrapped 3 times and tightened down slow. I still have some breakoffs if I don't retie after a couple of fish though. This is the easiet knot for me to tie for all lures. Cranks & palomar knots are a nightmare for me!