Hooligan

At that point I don't think it's about weight, but the actual depth of the spool. Think of it like a bicycle gear, smaller gears take a lot more force to turn, same thing in getting the half full spool to start. I'd also maintain that your casts with a half full spool aren't going to be as long or as accurate as they would with a full spool, every revolution of line that comes off is sending off less line and it's requiring greater force to do so.

Like RW, I've had the best luck on a C-rig. It's actually become probably my best C-rig bait. I usually rig it with a 3/0 EWG Superline, 4/0 seems like it wants to bunch on me sometimes.

I snagged a bag the other day at FW in Fresno and fished them on a mine pit out there. They worked alright, really. They aren't terribly durable, much like others, but they did work.

- Maybe I got a couple bad bags of Zero's, but they had ZERO shimmy on the fall. Literally fell like a stick. :'( Yeah, they don't shimmy anything close to the others like Senko, even the Ocho. What I discovered with the Zero is that the lightest hook you can use seems to help with the shimmy. I find myself C-rigging the Zero a lot, it seems to work better than most other sticks for that purpose. Why that is I really don't know.

Casting a half full spool takes more effort for it to start spinning. You're more likely to have a backlash with a half full spool than you are with a full spool because of the greater startup inertia required. In the past I've had nothing but problems with a reel that's got half a spool full. That's why I now carry filler spools with me when fishing.

Green Pumpkin/Black Chartreuse/Chart+black flake Baby Bass Those along with exactly what FFD listed are my standards. I always have those colors, but may have some off the wall local colors in my speedbags as well.

I haven't had good luck with them in weeds, no. They hang a lot more than a football or ball head. On another note, I fished the Owner Shakey head this weekend, and really like the way it fishes with a smaller worm. I had a really good hook-up rate with that head, as good or better than my usual head.

Bomber baits are relatively inexpensive and work well, as are Norman. Norman DD22 is a staple for deep cranking for me, and @ under $5 they're not bank-breakers. I have a pile of LC 1.5's and am really happy with them as well. I also fish the DT series from Rapala a lot. The DT Thug has been one of my top producing baits this year.

Slime Darts - I Like It ! A-Jay Anything under 10lb pike are known as Snot Rockets in my boat. Slime dart is quite functional as well.

I always make certain on new reels that the lighter weights are in the reel, and then I set two of them on, four off. With reels that I'm typically using more wind resistant baits, I may set three or four. Just depends on the situation. I'm not beyond changing them on the water, either. I'm not too proud to say I need em.

Yeah, and it works really well for large bass. One of my favorites, too, is another Muskie bait: Pearson's Grinder.

Definitely not the same OEM. Okuma's are a decent quality reel. I've got several of the 400 size. I'm not sure of the lo-pro reels, though. I think for the money I'd rather get a Shimano.

I'd have to say that my "old reliable" is a FR05 in Silver/black. After that, I'd go with a Strike King series 5.

It won't cast better. It will cast worse than a full spool. It will also not have the fullest retrieve capability of the reel. I tend to fill my spools with main line, the exception is braid; with which I have 10 turns of backing. If you're really into saving the line, you can "turn it around" on the reel.

I dropshot with a Citica on a Crucial and it works just fine.

I use Ocho's and Zero's quite a bit, but my highest rate of catch is still on Senko originals.

Yes. Seriously, though, fishing the edges and right in the middle. making full coverage casts and hitting holes and pockets in the vegetation. I've caught some of my biggest fish this way.

It's private label Seaguar. At least, as of two years ago it was. I'm not sure of the actual "grade" or composition in comparison to Seaguar's own lines.

I haven't found any of the Cumara's to be tip heavy, other than the 7-11 MHeavy Xfast. Are you fishing them with a dime size reel with 3 yards of mono on em? Seriously though, I haven't had thta impression on any of them. X2 I rigged them side by side w/ Core 100mg. Cumara is a tad tip heavy. You should try to test the phenix rods and you'll know what i'm talking about. Even my buddies who own cumaras and core 100 mg have the same observation when they compared it with the phenix. They did not know it's a tad tip heavy until they got a chance to hold a phenix.. I politely disagree. The two Phenix rods that I did own were my two least favorite rods. They didn't feel right at all in my hand, and didn't balance out with a Curado or a Core the way my Cumara's do.

I've got three CUC69MH in the line. I'm very happy with the rod for throwing spinner baits, buzzbaits, and some larger square bills. It's not the perfect rod for big wake baits, but it does alright. The rods are very sensitive, light and comfortable in the hand. If the rod is in good shape, $150 isn't out of line at all.

I like the TT heads, as well as the Secret Lures and Omega. I can't get the Omega in 1/16th anymore and that's a bit of a dislike for me. When it comes to fishing the 3X or Elaztech Strike King, I really like their shakey head for it. Dunno what it is, or why it is, but my hook-up ratio with the Elaztech is terrible on any other jig.

Classic.

I hate it. Terrible abrasion resistance, horrible knot strength, and really crazy differences in stretch between diameters and even spools of different lines at the same diameter. I'd been fishing it for quite a little bit, thinking that I'd give it the benefit of the doubt, maybe I'd left the spool out or something. No dice, of the four spools I've had, all four are just not a product I've been happy with.

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I was wondering how you're liking this RW? I've been using Tatsu most of this season and have really grown to love it. It's got the right stretch and it remains reasonably supple. The knot strength is better than any fluoro that I've used, and the castability is far greater than a more stiff line. The problem I've had with it thus far is that it really isn't a good line for some of the gold pit lakes I fish in CA. I've had some abrasion problems, but I think I've had worse problems with other fluoro lines that I've fished in the past. The initial price is a bit rough, but so far it's lasting a lot longer than most of the competitors I've used. (BTW I searched specifically to see if anyone else had brought the line up, I'm curious to see what others think of it.)

A-Jay is dead on. The biggest, fattest pike are found in the trout waters. Northern oligotrophic waters produce some supertanker's of pike and muskies. In regards to what my favorite pike baits are: When we fish Wabigoon for big pike, we're fishing muskies at the same time. We fish the same baits for pike and muskies on a lot of the Shield lakes that we fish. In WI and MN, without a doubt my favorite pike bait is a double showgirl inline.