Hooligan

I see a lot of guys that state they'll fish another bait when they can't get a spinnerbait through the cover. In thick weeds and grass that isn't matted, that's one of my favorite tactics. 1oz spinner bait in a grey or bluegill color slam it home and grind it out. Is grinding the slop not known as a productive pattern in bass fishing as it is in other species?

I run all my treble baits on Med Mod or equivalent. Two of my favorite rods happen to be Avids. 6'6" and the 7' med mod.

Thanks RW. Now that I think about it, you'd pointed out that same rod for the application in question another time.

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.

I guess my take on it is a little different. The "flick" fishing is usually something that gets be downrelatively quickly to produce a reaction strike. Shake it a couple times when you're down and let it be for a second or two. No strike, I usually don't fish it back. A whacky, I cast, let it drop, pop it up, let it drop, all the way back to the boat. Fishing a flick, I'm usually targeting specific spots of cover and structure, usually not the case when I'm fishing a whacky, it's more a general pattern for me.

You may want to shy away from Muskie rods, then. Even if they are labeled that they have a moderate action, its very hard to bend them enough to tell under normal circumstances. I don't know if I have ever felt a muskie rod that wasn't near impossible to bend. Then you're not handling the right muskie rods. Seriously, though, look at the 7'6" Premier Muskie.

I've switched the vast majority of my rods to Cumara this year. I still have a lot of Loomis and St Croix, as well as a handful of others, but I've been very happy with the Cumara. I also have some Crucial rods, including the drop shot rods and really like them. They're light, they're sensitive, and they have a great warranty. They're no GLX, but they're a great rod for the money.

I have the LTB in the same action, but how similar are these two? I want another Senko/Ika rod, and am thinking of the Avid would do it. I remember someone saying that they're a really nice rod for that purpose, but then I also recall someone else saying I wouldn't be happy with the rod for that purpose, based on what the LTB feels like. It's either the Avid or another Cumara. Any advice?

St Croix Avid 7' Med Mod.

I find that very hard to believe, given that the rod I mention is touted as a great all around rod for everything from jerkbaits and gliders to blade baits and light swimbaits. Most of the time we're talking the same sizes of swimbaits in regards to muskies and bass. It's about the only similarity you'd ever find between bass fishing and muskie fishing.

I use my Premier 7'6" MHF Muskie for swim baits, pull baits, and other larger baits with great results. I like the rod a lot for throwing super shads and up to 10" swimbaits. (Depends on the maker of the bait, of course. For massive swim baits I'm throwing a LTB 8' XHF.

Love the Cavitron, not real fond of the shakey heads and jigs. I've popped the jigs apart in the rocks quite often. The durability of the skirts is something that I've also had a problem with. I think the biggest thing that deters me from coming back for the jigs is that it is near $2 more per jig that I've not had the greatest durability with. Don't get me wrong, they catch fish and typically they fish well. If I were putting money on the line in tournaments on a more regular basis, I might have a different opinion. Yet, when it comes down to it, I've not had any problems with the jigs I regularly fish, and don't feel bad about the $2 I spend on one, either.

Muskies are my primary target species. (When I'm not forced to work in CA, that is...) I run pretty much all St. Croix, Okuma, and Shimano rods, with a handful of Loomis thrown in. Most of them are paired with Calcutta 400TE, with a couple Abu Toros, Lunas, and Trinidads thrown in. I'm a huge fan of gliders, with well over 1200 baits. I think I end up buying them more for the paint than anything else. There are some fantastic painters in the muskie world. When it comes to hooks and the like, I tend to match what was on the bait in terms of shank length and dimension. If you fail to do so, most of the time the bait just won't work right with another hook. The absolute best hooks I've come across as a replacement for most gliders and topwater baits is the VMC 9617BZ. If you're a glider guy, try to find a Beaver "Perka". You can find them from him directly, and a few places you'll see one pop up from time to time. Warlocks are a great bait as well. Don't go chasing muskies without a 10" Weagle, either. I hae landed 3 50"+ fish on a 10", and know of at least 40 more 50" class fish to the bait. Another great glider is the Wabuull. They were recently purchased by Suick and should be in production in full. When it comes to blade baits, there are a TON out there, in Safety-pin style baits my choice is either a Grinder, Llungen Nut-Buster, or Ruff Rad Dog. In inlines, I have several hundred from Mayhem, a few more from Holcombe, a bunch more from Hirsch, even more from Eagletail and Mepp's. After bicep surgery two years ago, I have never gained enough strength and coordination to fish muskies. That and I just don't get the chance since I'm in CA all the time now. It's a sickness, a madness, a descent in the pits of the unknown. But man what RUSH it is when you pop a 50". PM me if you are looking for specific info on things, I'll try to point you in the best direction's I know. You might go check out the boards at Muskiefirst, too. They're super helpful and there's a greater wealth of muskie information over there than is contained in the rest of the web as a collective.

All I have on my Calcutta 400's and Trinidads for muskies. I have one 301 swimbait rod with 65 on it. I dig it a lot.

Not a bowfin, tail is wrong, as are the teeth. Doesn't look like esox, either, given the teeth are in rows opposed to being in a patch. I'm stumped, too.

It works fine. I started using Ti wire, though. You can use thinner diameters, tie the same knots, and it doesn't kink. It's very easy to use, and other fish won't shy from it as they sometimes will with Tyger.

Oh how I feel you. We were in need of about $3500 work on our Subaru. The car is a '97 with about 250k on it. It just wasn't worth it anymore. It was starting to nickle and dime us to death. Ended up (By my wife's choice) in a '09 F150 that was a dealer owner's demo ride. Since I know the guy and it's got a grand total of 3500 miles on it, I bit. That and the fact that we got it for less than what a used '07 is going for. Now, on my '94 Blazer that had for years been my travel rig, I'm turning the corner on 375k miles and the motor and trans are still strong. The body is rusting around the frame, though, she's falling apart. I'll hate to see that one go. Been good from day one, with nary a problem along the way.

So yeah. My new "career" has me running all over hades, but it appears that I am going to be split primarily between CA and TX. I'm going to complain, but not for long. I was in deep East Texas for 3 weeks, and CA for a week, and am now headed back to CA with the intent of being there for three weeks. I'm sort of "stationed" around the Chowchilla area, and am still getting familiar with the whole thing. I've yet to find what's around there, as far as fishing goes, and wouldn't mind hooking up with someone if they have the time. I'll be back out there on Tuesday, and am taking full gear with me this time, so am looking for an in-road. I know nothing about the area so if anyone has some ideas, PMs would be superb. Thanks in advance!

DINGDINGDING! Northern waters, regardless of where they are, that are "tea stained" are just the place for copper blades. It seems like we catch more fish on copper over chart than any other color in WI rivers like the Eau Claire and Namekagon.

In my experience and in guiding for smallies save the money on leaders, get a spool of Maxima Ultragreen in 15lb, and a spool of 12lb. Rip about four feet off the 15lb and tie it on, then rip about 3 feet of 12lb and double surgeons knot to the 15lb. Voila, tapered leader that will splat a bug better than any tapered leader, it's stiff enough to cast effectively, and there's a lot less hassle and cost in it.

In that price range, I'd spend just a little more and get into a TFO or even a Sage Launch. As far as line weights go, you could fish an 8, 9, or 10. It just depends on where you are an what you're throwing to. A good starting point, though, is an 8 weight. There's enough rod to throw bass bugs and not be tired after thirty minutes, and it will handle smaller stuff as well. You can find a good used reel from Ross or someone similar on Ebay for around $40 a lot of the time.

I don't disagree, but can you think of the last time someone had one that was as all-encompassing as this? You've got to admit that he's got merit, Glenn, and that it is one of the bigger, more notable, cases of this type in a very long time.

I fish them on a Twistlock 3x weighted.

Gar are an amazing fish, often viewed as undesirable because they're most closely associated with low dissolved O2 waters. They're a unique species that fills a unique niche. We will catch them from time to time in sandpits around here. You'll think you've latched on to a really nice fish, and boom, it's a gar. Yet, when it's a slow day and that's what you get, they're still a riot cause they will scrap with the best of them.

Remember when Terminator first came out with them? There was actually a guy that came up with the idea back in the early 1990's. He had a friend in the dental industry that brought something to him, and they came up with being able to use the wire for spinnerbaits. I believe the guy's name was Danny Mayden or Madden, something like that. He built the first baits and prototypes, and was in the process of patenting the design, not the wire. Terminator patented the wire, and Danny's entire business was gone. I don't remember just how it all played out, but that's the gist of it. Edit: Part of the patent that is under question here, too, to my understanding is the actual injection process. Not just the baits, but the process.