Hooligan

Initial reaction to it is, and I quote, "Blech." I cast it about 5 times, then trashed it.

I sometimes use a straight retrieve, I sometimes twitch it, I sometimes vary it.

HA! Now that you say that I'm going to have to physically count what I have. Gee thanks...more reason for me to mess with tackle. In all seriousness, though, I think that 55-60 is a reasonably accurate number. I think some of the purchase reduction is that I've been fishing different baits this year. I can't put the Smokin Rooster and Eeliminator down.

I prefer a Medium Heavy Ex Fast for spinnerbaits. They're more accurate for me for pitching around docks, laydowns, and under hanging vegetation. If I am working weed lines and fan casting flats I'm using a 7-11 MH Xfast Cumara. I use both the 6-9 MH and M rods for spinnerbaits as well. I hate fishing spinnerbaits on a rod that's too soft. Drives me batty.

Boga's for bass are completely unnecessary. They have a tendency to do more damage to the fish than they help. I'll never use one again.

I've had probably 55%-60% reduction in damage to plastics from using Owner CPS hooks and Moaner Hooks as weightless plastics hooks. It's unreal the difference they make. I've bought only four bags of Senkos this year, typically I'll have purchased between 25 and 30.

Dood, Flukes are like...$3 for a ten pack. That's a completely acceptable ratio. Drink two fewer sodas a week and your fluke habit is paid for. Edit: Francho do you straight nose hook, or thread 1/2 inch or so? I've been threading Caffeine Shads and they do some really cool stuff. Z too and Zulu nose hooked are a riot.

What he said. And, for the record, there are a LOT of baits that are better suited to punch than a beaver style bait. The more slender the better, they pop through easier, and with less issue on hooks.

The four colors of Kelly J I fish are Bluegill, Bluegill, Bluegill, and Bluegill. I';d forgotten how much I love the bait.

1.5 is tighter, bangs off things more effectively. You can move the 2.5 slower, still getting a great action out of the bait, but ticking the tops of grass. Just a preference thing. If you've not fished them, you really won't get it.

Anyone else fish them? I've been fishing them a TON this year and it seems like it is THE bait on two of the lakes I fish. Dunno what it is...but man.

Huge difference in the profile and speed/vibration of the 2.5. I'm not terribly fond of it for banging on timber and rocks, it's great in open water and over weeds. Most of the reason I'm not fishing them is that fish are generally dictating a smaller profile. I've fished the RC.5 more than any crank this year, and have caught some genuine pigs on it. Bigger bait doesn't always mean bigger fish, nor does a smaller bait mean strictly dinks.

It's very close to the RC Lucky Craft. The paint quality is dead on, from everything I've seen thus far, too.

The Mag is never overkill for a 15+ foot bait. The Flat CB is enough to make me want a heavy, let alone a DT20.

Oh, the KVD fishes well, there's no doubt of that. The faster you move it, the better it works. Part of the reason you don't "feel" it like other baits is that it's far tighter than the RC series. It's tighter than almost any other squarebill out there currently. It doesn't have the roll that others do, so it doesn't feel like it's moving as much water, it is, though. I'll still fish my RC series baits over the KVD in most situations, but the KVD has its rightful place. The Luck E Strike 1.5 is pretty killer.

For me, they're totally different tactics and completely different approaches. Hard Baits, IE: Lucky Craft Pointer, Megabass Vision 110, XRap, Husky Jerk, Ima Flit.... Primary method of fishing these baits is in cooler water, early and late in the year. They suspend, rise slowly, or sink very slowly thereby allowing fish to move on the bait without expending tremendous energy. It's all about the hang time during these times. Various sizes available, fish will certainly show a preference at times for one profile or another. Cadence can be varied from very slow to even slower. There are times when I will move a bait only slightly in a period of a couple minutes. It's sometimes painful, but it's often productive. As temps warm and fish become more active, adjust your cadence to suit the temperatures and listen to the fish, they'll tell you what they want. Also, don't limit yourself in terms of when to use them, or where. Mid-summer throwing Deep versions can be very, very productive on deep weedlines when fish become lethargic. They can also be a great trigger in "ripping." I also go so far as to classify Rapala's, Thundersticks, Rogues, Redfins, and other minnow-type baits here. There's no wrong time to fish them. They work year round. Soft jerkbaits like a Fluke, Caffeine Shad, Zulu, ZToo, Bass Assassin, and Sluggo are better suited, for me, to when fish are either focusing on schooled baitfish, or they are in areas that more traditional jerkbaits aren't an option. Most of my "Fluke" fishing is done when the water temps are above the 60 degree range. They can be excellent spawn and post-spawn baits. There's a variety of ways to fish them ranging from nose hooked to keel weighted. Most often they're a TX Rig bait, I prefer a swivel about 8" up wit a red glass bead to protect my tiptop. I love them for fishing weed edges when fish are active and chasing prey. I like to Carolina Rig them on several lakes I fish. Without a doubt one of my most productive "fluke" bites of the year is when last year's fingerlings are approaching the 3-4" size. Fishing a Fin-S Fish or SuperFluke Jr weightless and dragging the bait on the surface while twitching it can be deadly. I also like the small sizes early, nose hook a Tiny or a 2.5" FinS, twitch twitch bang... That's a starter. I'm sure there are lots more to add.

I've yet to get my hands on a Cumulus, thankfully. I've had a standing order for a 7-1 but it's never appeared. I'm hoping that they introduce more in the line this year.

Junk hooks on them, but I'm a nut about hooks. Other than that, they're a riot to fish. When fish want a smaller profile than a Mann's Waker or a RC 1.5 Wake, I like them a lot.

Odd, I dropped my Fathom's from a height of 16' directly on the concrete, and they don't have a mark. That said...it's a glass lens. I would fully expect that my lens would have shattered and I would have been the one to pay for fixing them. IMO, you really don't have a leg to stand on in terms of warranty. If someone told you, and you believed, that any glass lens is "impact resistant" there's a lot to be said. Glass impact resistance does not mean that they are ANSI rated. It means that they won't shatter in your eye if an object with great enough surface area hits the lens squarely, not on edge, and not with any sort of piercing point. By the way, a grain of sand on concrete is a piercing object. Seriously, I'm not meaning to come off as rude or argumentative, but I think your anger is misdirected.

In all seriousness, you're the first guy that I've heard of having to have a guide or tip replaced that wasn't of their own fault.

Yeh, the 7-4 is a stellar rod for anything over 58 ounce.

Nice. Boji has been really hot this year. I know of at least three tournaments that have taken 25 to win, in the two I've fished winning weights were shy of 15 and we won with 24-9 with a 6-12 kicker. The smallies have been really, really tough on Boji, but have been nuts on Spirit. I know of at least 5 7+lb fish that have come since the week before Memorial Day. My partner notched a 15lb pike on a Vision 110, and I popped a 49" muskie on a Northstar Spinnerbait, too. Boji has been good to us this year.

I love those stupid things... I'm not a picture taker, never have been, never will be. I don't even have a picture of my big girl. Today was almost enough to make me stop and take some. We were fishing a private pit and having a blast on buzzbaits and Sammy's. I had a few big fish that wouldn't commit so I started throwing the PopMax. Ended up catching 86 fish on it between the two of us. The smallest was 14, the largest was 8-8. The five biggest would have gone 31-4. I believe it might have been the best day I've ever had for numbers of fish over five pounds.

Both in both sizes. Bull Bream, Black Splatter, Tomato, Blue Bream, and Copper Green shad are the best colors I use. I have probably 200 of those baits in total in both Shallow and Deep, rattle and silent.

I have 8 Cumaras that I fish right along side my Loomis. There's not a better value series in the upper end of rods.