Hooligan

Pete's a super guy, as is Snowden, though hard to get in with.

Quite simply, there is no single answer to either of your questions. I disagree with Sam, for instance, on color. My absolute best color in clear water is a crawdad brown, followed by green pumpkin blue flake. In stained water, not green from algae, mind you; I fish redbug and bamabug, even junebug. In green tinted water, I fish a lot of dark melon or green pumpkin red. I may fish black blue at any time on any water color, too. Brands range from Archer to Zoom. I've done very well the past couple years on the Thumper, but not everyone likes it. Pick something that, using the knowledge you have with other colors that work, matches a successful color in your area, and go fish.

One more thing needs clearing up, here, too. UltraCast and Superfree are two entirely different things with mechanically different processes and parts. It could be said they don't even act on the spool the same way... But I digress. Fish what you like, like what you fish. I'm a complete Shimano snob, and there is no way I would rub someone with it, it's ridiculous to do so. Who, in my opinion makes the best reel out there? Ardent, period. The edge elite is the best reel I've ever owned.

I look at it like this- I take good care of my reels, I maintain them VERY well. If they need a DEEP DEEP DEEP cleaning and/or bearings I send them to a mechanic. I have Shimano reels that are 20+ years old and work like the day I bought them. I have Daiwa reels that are 15. I have had seven premiers that have had a multitude of issues in short amounts of time, four of which have been rebuilt at least five times in a four year period. The only thing that is original is the frame. That's why I'm hardcore on shimano reels.

I'll be down Wednesday and Thursday, possibly Friday morning.

I've had the new C Stix Wild in my hands (the XXH rod) and the swimbait rod is just that; a superb big bait rod. I'm rather fond of it, compared to rods costing nearly twice as much. I still prefer my Loomis to it, but ounce for ounce, the WB is a fine rod.

Unfortunately, the only Ardent worth owning (Other than the FP7) retails at $329 and weighs nine ounces. Are they all they're cracked up to be? It's the smoothest reel I've ever owned.

Depends, a lot of fakes have it now, too, but they're generally a different font. Especially on the 580P.

Pinch the middle tabs and they lose ALL action. It makes it a completely immobile appendage. If you want a jig trailer, get the Pit Chunk. It's a slightly smaller package and it does work well.

He's still out there fishing and guiding. He's not exciting, doesn't scream and yell, and thus doesn't get the coverage. He's fishing mostly PAA events and the Northern Open series. He hasn't been hitting it as hard in recent years. He still fishes a lot of Virginia local tournaments, too.

The BDF8 is one of my best cranks this year. I've done well with the series as a whole.

That's what I was saying in my original post. You see them turn up a LOT. I used to buy them by the thousand, but now some guy name Chris has me covered.

Best Jig hook made, bar none. That's all there is to it.

DingDingDingDing We have a winner.

That's a better statement, JF. In most cases, I use a reaction rod for roll casting short distances, not much more than that. If I get out beyond about 35' I'm fishing a 7-4 Blade Slinger that I had built on a Loomis Saltwater blank.

While I generally would agree with that, I have to say that I fish a LOT of spinnerbaits on by graphite crank rods. The Cumara's for instance fish a spinnerbait exceedingly well.

The word on the street is that the new Revo is going to the same brake system as the MGX. I'm leery of that alone. I wish they would have changed the spool bearing assembly, but it's minor overall. The new reels aren't likely to be released until Mid-September from all reports we've had at this point. Lastly, They're not changing the finish from what we're told. I have a couple Winches and I love them, but for the weight.

What? No it doesn't, it's FULLY fueled by RAGE!

I can neither cofirm, nor deny, that I have ever uttered similar words. Unfortunately, mine were generally followed with "Hey, watch this!"

Not really, I've got a big deck.

Heh, I just caught this. While I appreciate the flattery, Bill and I are definitely not in the same class. He's more along the lines of close to a thousand fish over 8lbs. I'm nowhere close to that mark.

In all reality, the stretch isn't an issue for me. I've never had issue with hooksets or with moving fish with it.

They'll hit the 20' mark on 10lb and a long cast.

The Trilene 100% is a pretty decent line, imo. I'd fish that over Sniper in a heartbeat.

Shallow- RTO and the Fat CB BDS3. Mid- Little John and Koppers Deep- Spro Little John DD and Baby DD, Koppers- of the newer baits.