Hooligan

They don't do well in waters where they're going to endure cold temperatures. They also don't do well with rapid temperature changes. They're most often crossed with Northern Largemouth to create "Tiger" bass in those situations where the dual characteristics are sought. However, it is still noted that they're not much further north than the Gulf States. The West Coast is a unique situation because of their weather patterns, as well. That said, I know of no Florida Strain fish north of TX, definitely not into Northern AR. I know of no hybrids north of Eufaula Lake OK, in the Midwest or Near South.

Definitely not Bagley B2's, the body isn't right, and the lip is in the wrong position. Not to mention the kerf of the lip cut is wrong. They aren't a bandit footloose, either. The footloose has never been done in Balsa, and it has a ridge on the body that is very apparent. They're not Bulgin B's either, they had a bent lip that came out of the bait at the regular angle and was then bent to be a wake bait. Those are most likely a Lee Sisson bait. I think that they're either a Little SIs or Little Thumper, neither of which are made anymore. They might be an early WEC, but I don't think so, the pull point and hook hangers are different.

If you want hard bodied baits, there are a few that are necessities. Jackall Giron in Gill is a great one. The SPRO BBZ-1 is a "gotta have." I've done very, very well on the Sebile magic swimmers, as well. There are some that are similar, in terms of construction: Koppers, Storm. MattLures Hard Gill is one that you absolutely must have, too, in your area. A lot of people haven't been fond of the Vagabond, but I've done well with it on numerous occasions. Soft bodies= Hudds for sure. They're just good, that's all there is to it. Castaic baits have produced for me for years, they've been a tournament staple for me on the West Coast and in TX since the mid 90's. Optimum and Jerry Rago are great big fish baits, too. Smaller baits like the Havoc and Tabu are very, very good, too. Osprey makes what is probably my favorite in-line, the Talon Tournament. The trash fish is a super series of baits, too.

The best additive for live wells is constant water flow. That's all there is to it. Ice is bad, chemical can be harmful to the slime coat. Constant fresh water is the best thing there is.

One of my partners runs a Skeeter. It's a great fishing platform. I have no qualms about owning one, if I were to do so. Actually my next ride will be one of two boats, a Skeeter or a Nitro. And it's not even about bonus bucks or sponsorship. It's about dry ride, storage, and fuel consumption.

Flukes, LFT Shad, Beaver, Brush Hog, Senko, lizard, craws, Spae Monkey, Pit Boss...

Love em. 2, 1, 1/0.

Chronarch 6.5 or 5.5 is a fine crank reel, Crazy Cranker is a fine otpion, as well. That said I really like the CTE201 as Kent suggested. It balances out that stick beautifully.

It's all about shock resistance, of which braid has zero. There are very few swimbait guys that will recommend you fish braid as a main. Most are fishing lines like Big Game, CXX, and Maxima just as deep says. There are a few that prefer fluorocarbons, but not many. Another thing, if you're talking about the DX 795 and mean the 795 Mike Long rod, you're fine. If you're actually talking about the DX795, I suggest the Mike Long rod. The flip stick a good swimbait rod does not make, particularly that one. It's the PERFECT flip stick, I love mine, but you can't pay me to fish it as a swimbait rod.

Shewt, now it's time to fish, Bobby! What the heck are you thinkin'!?

I got a new one after last week. Fishing a tournament and my non-boater catches an honest to goodness underground cable. They claim the conduit was somehow eroded and he snagged it just right. Thankfully, it was a long dead test routing for a fiber optic line. I didn't want to doubt the guy when he said it was moving, which it was because of the boat, but man, was it hilarious when he finally saw it. He went all sorts of berserk, "What do I do, do we call someone? Where to we go, to unhook it? Is it live? What if it's live? Can it shock me in the boat? What do I do? I don't have the money to pay for this... We razzed him about it for the remainder of the tournament. That was day one of a three day.

Francho's nailed it. Any of the "Knot tying stainless wire" materials are where it's at. I've actually found that I like Tyger Leader better than the Cortland for it. No real particular reason, just a preference thing.

I lurrrve my Stellas. I just scored two FE's on cheapskate-bay for $300 each NIB two weeks ago. They can be had for a bargain, that's for sure.

The spools in question, yeah, I don't get hung. They're not techniques that I'm typically going to be breaking off. It's quite rare that I am hung to the point of breaking off. One is deep jig rod for fishing big jigs in open water, one is on a pitching stick that I use around docks and situations that I typically can see my bait and get it back. I've added backing below the line a couple times, too. I started with a full spool of Tatsu, it's probably down to about 75 yards and the remainder is backing now, that's mostly from changes and cutting back.

This is true.

That's the thing, though, with Tatsu. You don't need to change it. I've not had to change my line with Tatsu on four reels spooled with two spools of Tatsu for what will be the third season this year. You want a decent, inexpensive fluorocarbon, try Yo-Zuri Hybrid. It's a copoly, but it's a very good line.

You're insanse! It looks nothing like a Vette and everything like a Berlinetta of years gone by. There are many, many cars in Ferrarri's rich history that carry that similar styling. 550 Maranello, 250 GT Berllinetta, 365 GTS 4, 612 Scaglietti. You could even say that the 430 is similarly styled. That said, all I want for Christmas is a 458 Italia in black on black.

No, it was a very general statement. It's more directed at those that have no real history of the reel, or the company and its product in general. It wasn't directed at any one person.

I have no idea what you're talking about >

Other than the bearings, the gear ratio's and the weight, they're the same reel. The Carbon Black isn't a bad buy at all at that money, heck it's not a bad buy at $90.

Shouldn't matter, that's a saltwater safe finish, according to Quantum. Even if you don't rinse it right away it shouldn't have that sort of damage. The things that I most often see with Quantum is not just superficial, they've got very weak worm gears, the bearing surfaces are very often not aligned properly and the clutch is somewhat lacking. I've had numerous instances in which a brand new reel's AR has gone out in a matter of days of fishing it. That said, the Tour KVD is likely one of the best mass market reels I've ever owned. I've had few issues with it in comparison to every other Q reel I've owned.

What's your water clarity? First choice would be a jerkbait if the temps are sub 62. A big, slow rolled DW spinnerbait would be choice #2. A jig would be #3. I would also be targetting transition and staging areas rather than timber, I might look at chunk rock, but more likely I'm going to be looking in that 10-12 zone. If the water is dirty, I'm going on the most exposed banks and fishing a spinnerbaitand squarebill, banging what structure I can find. I'd look for the warmest water temps I can find and build a pattern based on that location. That's a starter course, without more info.

I guess I wasn't looking at it that way. I was reading those as serious annoyances. What you both mention above is an entirely different story. I'm in 100% agreement with you that you have to get your licks in when you can, particularly when it's someone you regularly trade wins with, or someone that will outfish you on one body of water, while you'll smack 'em on another.

Arguing whether or not the pond has crayfish is arbitrary. The bass will eat anything that looks like food, whether they've previously eaten it or not. In terms of whether it does or does not have crayfish, they don't live everywhere, period. It's more than possible that they're not present in a water body.

Man, you guys are a buncha whiners! I'm never in back whether it's his aricraft carrier or mine, we both fish out of the front. We split everything down the middle, we both know that we can take the kitchen sink, or not enough and the other will support it, or donate baits. If you're fishing with people that annoy you, you need to find someone else to fish with. I can't say one bad thing about anyone I fish with.