curls00

Just as a follow-up, Rapala Canada got back to me and they are sending me a new R-Type 7'2" MH-XF casting rod, as they were out of stock on the 7'1" Shift rod. The R-Type is one step down but still a good quality rod. I got the Citica 201E -- the Curado 201E7 was sold out everywhere in the city and surrounding area, and the Citica is still a fine reel. Doesn't hurt that it comes spooled with 50# Daiwa Samurai Braid from my local tackle shop, free of charge! Hopefully the rod will arrive in the mail before the weekend so I can put it to the test at the Classic this weekend!

The Quantum Accurist PT (newer models) have a flippin' switch. I LOVE this reel for flipping and pitching as it allows me to simply remove my thumb from the thumb bar in order to engage the spool. So the moment the lure falls to the right depth, I can instantly engage the spool without having to crank the handle. Very useful feature. The reel I purchased has a 7:1 burner retreive which is awesome for jig or frog fishing. It casts lighter lures really well, and has a LOT of power to horse fish out of cover. I have it spooled with about 1/2 the spool of old mono, and 1/2 the spool with 70# Daiwa Samurai Braid. This stuff is excellent, and has a very thin diameter. Its so strong that I have brought up a tree branch from the bottom of the lake that must have weighed 50+ lbs... Best part -- it's only $100!

Unfortunately, Tackle Warehouse and most eBay sellers are out of the question at this point. I need this by Sept. 10th (my Classic is on the 11/12th weekend). Living in Canada, it can take weeks for some things to arrive here, and I don't have the time to pick it up in the USA near where I live right now. So mostly MSRP prices (as local retailers will give us US MSRP prices in Canadian dollars... not a bad deal usually). I might be able to get a free Rapala Shift, 7'1" MH-XF casting rod to replace the Rapala R-Type I broke. This is a NICE rod and retails for about $165 here in Canada. If I got this for free (warranty / upgrade), I'd opt for the Shimano Citica E or the Curado E. Most likely the Curado E in a 7:1 retreive, lefty. I like my Curado 201DHSV for its high speed and its smoothness and casting performance. I suspect the new Curado E series is even better. The main diff. between the new Citica and new Curado is the speed options (Citica in 6.3:1 only), the paddles (better ones on the Curado apparently), and the spool weight... is this correct? Is the new Curado E worth $50 more than the Citica E to you guys?

I think the Citica is about $30 more than the Accurist, although I'm not set on the Accurist -- if the Citica + a good rod will end up within my budget, I'll take the Citica for sure. I can't get Falcon here, unfortunately. However, I can get Dobyns, Kistler, and the rest of the major brands as well.

So long story short, I broke my Rapala R-Type spinning rod yesterday, but that's fine since I wanted to replace it anyhow with another baitcasting combo. So I am looking for a rod and reel that will come in under $225ish. - 7'0" - 7'1" Baitcasting rod - Medium-Heavy - Fast or X-Fast action - Prefer split grip but its not a deal killer. - Reel: lefty. (I like the new Accurist PT's which I can get for $100 on the nose) I own a 7'3" H/XF Abu Garcia Vendetta which I like quite a bit as my jig rod. I also own a Kistler Carbon Steel 7'3" Frog-n-Slop rod which is my frog rod. My third baitcast combo is a 7'0" Shimano Compre, MH XF, paired with a Curado 201DHSV. I like this combo for pitching but also for spinnerbaits. I want the new combo to excel at pitching weightless t-rig senkos but also to act as a light jig pitching rod. (By light jig I mean something 1/2oz or less in moderate cover). Great sensitivity is definitely a plus. So with approx $125 or a bit more to spend on a rod, what do you recommend for my requirements? (Falcon isn't avail. here, unfortunately.)

Just to follow-up, the bass were mostly in 3-5' of water in thick patches of rice, or, really tight to shore on shaded shorelines. Most relating to wood. My partner and I finished 1st out of 20 boats using this approach -- jigs in the rice, and jigs on shorelines. Interestingly enough, even the 'big fish' we caught (3.96lbs) looked like it would have been a 4.5 pounder judging by the head and the length. But the bodies of all the fish were VERY skinny. They apparently hadn't been eating in a week!!

All largies (well 99.5%) in this lake. There's one main outflow which is dammed, and the inflows are very small and very shallow (especially at this time of year). Surprisingly, even though its this shallow, the lake has a very healthy, strong population of bass, some of them in the 5+ range (anything 5+ is considered a very good sized bass, largie or smallie, in this area).

Thanks for the advice! Since this lake barely reaches 12' deep (and I mean BARELY this year!), suspending might be 6-8' in 10' of water in the main bays. Basically, you think the weather will have the bass staging for fall, regardless if it warms up tomorrow, and I should start thinking about targetting the suspended bass and/or deeper waters in the lake. I can manage that, I hope!

So it's been pretty d**n cool here for a while now - at least a week, maybe more, of temps that are more like mid-fall than late-summer. I'd imagine the water temp has dropped considerably to the low 70's range, maybe even the high-60's in some lakes or areas. However, today is bluebird skies and warm (nearing 80*F) and tomorrow it's supposed to be hot (over 92*F or so) and sunny. In fact, a strong high-pressure system moved in last night as it's supposed to be sunny/clear for a week, beginning today. And hot, too. Since the bass were facing a lot of cool nights and cool, cloudy days lately, how do you think they'll react to this reversal of temperatures and sky conditions? Specifically, day-2 of these conditions where it's the first real hot day in a number of weeks...? The lake is shallow, water levels 2-4' below normal, and clear. Rice and weed growth is very stunted this year. Thanks! Eric

Good to hear AtoS!! Like learning the flippin' jig, the best thing to do is leave the rest at home and JUST use the jig, or in this case, tube jig, for a day. The fish will usually cooperate and help you learn! Now another thing to do, more-so when trolling and not casting into rivers, is to use your spinning reel with the bail OPEN, but keep the line pinned to the rod blank with your index finger. Once you feel a light tap, let the line out by letting go. Wait 2-3 (agonizing) seconds, then manuall click the bail over, reel in any slack, and hammer it home. Note: Only do the above if the bass seem to be biting short that day. It can make a huge difference in your catches. On the other hand if the bass are agressively feeding, it can lead to a lot of gullet-hooked fish, so ONLY do this if they're biting really short. (An alternative approach - change the color of your tube or move from a 4" to a 3.5" or even a 3" tube... they might hit the new color or smaller size better).

I think it really depends on the water clarity in the lake/river you're fishing. If it's clear(ish), consider putting a fluoro leader on to increase your confidence. Whether or not the fish care... who knows... but its your confidence that matters!

Does your answer change if I say that every stump is submerged -- not a single one comes out of the water. The water is also usually very clear. Light-colored bottom. Still black with silver, and still a good place to throw it seeing as I can't bump it into the stumps (since they're underwater)?

I will soon be fishing a lake that has a huge rice field in about 2-5' of water, and scattered throughout this flat are hundreds of stumps and very old laydowns from decades ago when the area was clear-cut and flooded. Normally I pitch creatures or wacky senkos near the stumps or into the pockets of the rice or into the transition between rice and other weed. However, I have been thinking about trying a buzzbait in these areas. Specifically, would a buzzbait be a good choice around the edges of the rice and/or over top of the stumps? Would YOU throw a buzzbait here in a tournament? Color -- black, white, or silver?

I have one of the 2010 Accurist PT's and it's been a great reel for flippin' and pitchin'. Its accurate, casts a mile effortlessly, and is smaller than my Curado D by a fair margin. In terms of performance, HONESTLY, it's on par with my Curado 201DHSV. Both cast far, are trouble-free, powerful gearing, and seem to be built solidly. The only thing I dislike about the Accurist is that the flippin' switch is a bit hard to push with my larger fingers - wish they made it more than just a little nub and more of a rocker switch or something. Other than that, though, it's been awesome.

I think it comes down to a mix of both of those methods. Specifically, step 2 should be "reel in almost all of the slack". ie: leave just enough that you are not pulling the hook at all out of the mouth of the fish, but enough that you're not getting 1/2 way through the hookset before the slack is taken up (that will cause quite the shock on the line and it'll often break). I'd say that the tip of the rod should be loading up as the last of the slack is taken in mid-hookset (by the tip, not the reel). That means the backbone of the rod, when it kicks in, is on taught line and you won't have that sudden shock on the line, knots, and hook.

This past weekend (on a lake, mind you), the smallies were hitting equally on both tubes and big 7" *** trick sticks - senko-style bait). The big smallie of the tournament was caught by yours truly in 12' of water off of a weedbed, 7" black w/ blue flake trick stuck, wacky (w/ 3/32oz weighted hook). The majority of our smallies came on a 4" green pumpkin tube with orange tail (I think it's Mizmo but could be another brand... they were not in the original bag). Just cast out, let it fall, and drag and dwitch it back to you slowly. Painfully slowly. If you feel the "tunk" ot tick, set the hook. If there's no smallie thrashing around yet, wait a few more seconds -- he'll come back for it! Let him chew on it for a second or two this time and THEN set the hook. I find smallies often give the tube a big thud first, but are usually only hittin the tentacles of the tube (the "claws"). Probably knocking the crayfish out and/or damaging the pinchers. Then they inhale the crayfish on the second hit.

See, told ya! This weekend (during a tournament no less!), I landed a beasty 4.36lb smallmouth (on a 1/0 Kahle-style wacky hook with a 7" *** trick stick). No problem bringing that horse to the boat even with two aerial performances (one of which was nearly 3' out of the water!). The key was wait for the weight of the fish, THEN set smooth and strong. As always, hooked in the corner of the mouth and it wasn't getting off even with the massive jumps and shakes.

Keep in mind, 7/16 is still under the min. rating for that rod. But add a trailer to that jig and you're probably at or above 5/8oz.

I use Northland weedless wacky hooks a lot -- they are Kahle-style hooks (extra wide gap, point towards the eye, looks like a really exaggerated "J"). They have a wire weedguard, and I rarely, if ever, miss a fish. The key is not the hook, it's the hookset. With this style of hook (The Falcon is the same exact hook as the one I use if this is your hook: http://www.***.com/Falcon_Weighted_Weedless_K_Wacky_Hooks_5pk/descpage-FWKWH.html)... The key is a pressure-then-sweepset hookset. IE: feel the weight of the fish GENTLY, then sweepset over your shoulder at about a 45* angle to the side. Nothing bone-jarring at all. I hook almost every fish in the corner of the mouth and they're locked in there securely, and are simple to pop out once in the boat as well.

We placed 2nd in a tournament and got big fish by throwing jig-n-pigs after a blowup on a frog. I was frogman, partner was jigman. Fishing heavy slop and pads, the typical senko or fluke wouldn't even break the mat. The jig has a slow enough fall with the bulky trailer and was hit EVERY time after a missed frog strike. (It probably also helps to use a greenish colour for the jig and trailer, as it looks like an injured frog heading for the bottom!)

I have gameplans (usually from pre-fish) as to locations and whether I'll be making milk-runs from dock to dock, or saturating a flat in 6-8' of water with jigs or t-rigs, etc. As for the plan on WHAT to throw, I bring 5 rods: - spinnerbait (usually white w/ gold blades) - jig (1/2 or 3/4oz, either black w/ red, or watermelon w/ red... depends on what my partner for the day likes to fish as I'll fish lighter if he's fishing darker) - t-rig, weightless to start but I often use the clip-on style bullet weights if fishing something that dictates the use of weight. - wacky rig. - frog. I always start with a white spinnerbait around here, so that one is always tied on. I also usually start with the watermelon w/ red jig as my partners usually throw black or black/blue jigs and I want to offer the fish something diff (plus the watermelon is my confidence colour!). The t-rig stays naked until minutes before blast-off, when I have had a chance to gauge water colour and the other colours my partner and I are throwing. Also, this might be a senko or it might be a creature, depending on the plan for the day... so it stays naked until then. The time to rig a plastic is minimal compared to re-tying a hook. Same goes for the wacky rig -- colour depends on the water clarity and the gameplan. It stays naked until closer to gametime. The frog is usually one of two colours I like (White, and Black). Usually start with black and will switch if the topwater bite is on but not as much on the darker colour.

I have used their creature baits and stickbaits (senko-style) of the old individually-packaged-in-liquid type. They were G-A-R-B-A-G-E. The new ones that come in a regular resealable package and are dry, are actually pretty good. Not the softest baits I've used, but they're durable, they catch fish, and they've worked when nothing else did (even YUM Dingers!). Will I buy more? Maybe the PB&J stickbaits, but that's about it. The bass in a lake near me LOVE that color and I haven't seen one quite like that from any other manufacturer, so for me, those particular ones work well.

I've owned my Rapala R-Type 6'7" MH-XF spinning rod for about 1.5 bass seasons now. It's "ok", but I like my Shimano 6'6" MH-F spinning rod more. The Compre is more sensitive, feels more powerful, and has a better action in my mind. Not to mention the Compre is probably cheaper! The Shift rods are REALLY nice though -- used a few (albeit briefly) a few weeks ago while fishing a smallmouth tournament with my brother. They're incredibly light and also incredibly sensitive. Multiple times more sensitive than the R-type, IMO. Now the R-Type isn't "bad"... its a good rod, but I'd expect it to be priced more in the $75 - $100 CAD range (approx the same in USD).

I want to learn this knot so bad, but it never comes out neat and tidy like it's supposed to. How many wraps are you using each way for say 10 lbs fluoro to 50 lb braid? I'd go with 6 or 7 up, and 6 or 7 down. With say 70# braid and 20# fluoro, 4-5 each direction is sufficient.

Since I'm often pitching baits in sparse cover an clear water, I use a fluoro leader and braid mainline. Usually 40-65# braid (Daiwa Samurai), with a 15# or 20# fluoro leader (in case I get in some nasty cover throughout the day). My leaders are always initially just an inch shorter than the distance from reel to tip. This ensures the knot (alberto) is not going to run through any of the guides, especially the tip, when making a precise pitch. That slight resisrance from the knot can cause a backlash or a misplaced pitch -- neither of which I want to happen in a tournament situation! With my 7'3" pitchin' rod, the leader is probably about 6'6" long, but each rod has a different length from top to reel, so adjust accordingly.