Hooligan

Rage baby craw was my "One hit wonder" this weekend. Fished a really otugh lake with an even tougher pattern of post cold front with 4 inches of snow less than a week prior, with the fish still in late winter transition or moving to spring pattern. Really, really tough. One boat caught one fish and won it. I missed a solid slap on a Baby Craw, that cost us $875.

I don't think you're lazy for that, you're probably smarter to just do it and get it out of the way. Whereas I'm the dummy that will sharpen them first until they go bad, then change them, all the while knowing I was going to change them in the first place.

If the growth isn't to the top you can capitalize on that. running baits over the top of the weed bed can be really awesome. Dragging a spinnerbait through the slop is excellent, too. Get your self a 3/4oz NorthStar and grind away. In this instance a single willow is what I've found to work best. Many say that a single CO blade is the most weedless, I disagree. If there are any lanes at all, run a rattle bait in them.

HA! Have you seen where there is a group of guys in NZ that are targeting the Sunfish effectively? Pretty hilarious, but why would you want to? They're just great big docile things.

That's debatable at best. It has more to do with getting a hook set than anything. If you sharpen the hooks that come on the bait, you'll get a better hook set, thereby reducing the chance of throwing the bait. Which is exactly the reason KVD changes hooks, hook set and strength. Now, if your hooks are bending, you're in a different situation and should ease up on the fish, or change hooks. In regards to pilot error, don't be too high on that issue, none of us are perfect. I mess up on fish still, it happens, I'm humble about the fact that I lost the single fish that would have put $875 in the boat from our tournament this weekend- totally pilot error. I said ultra soft, which would include many of the glass rods on the market today. Rods like the Loomis Crankbait, the Deepflex, the Shimano Crucial Crankbait, the BPS Crankin' Stick are all too soft to effectively set the hooks on the 2.5. Compare any one of those rods to the KVD Tour and you'll understand immediately what I'm saying. They're moderate, yes, but much more powerful than the others listed. I fish them on a Cumara Reaction 7-0 in M and MH. You need to fish them with a rod that has some meat on its bones in order to control the bait properly as well as set the hooks. The 1.5 isn't anywhere near the 2.5 in terms of driving it home. I've not changed the hooks on them yet, and have lost only one fish that was admittedly pilot error. Trying to horse a fish out of timber.

I love Bilby. She coughed a 8-9 fish for me last year. Looks like you had a good end to the day.

This is true, but you took out of context that it's in conjunction with pinpoint accuracy. You very often get one without the other, though with rods like the 723. you get the best of both worlds.

The biggest draw in short rods is casting accuracy and line management along with lure control. They're excellent for situations where you need pinpoint accuracy and the ability to move fish in a hurry.

More and more I'm relying on the Smokin' Rooster and Eeliminator for the big fish bite.

Man, how I love Wahoo. They are just so stinkin' powerful.

They're not bad, really. They really similar to the Paca but not as fluid.

Rage, without a doubt.

Swapping hooks won't stop fish from throwing them. That's a pilot error issue most of the time, either failing to get a good hook set, or pushing the limits on moving the fish on the hook set you have. I've not had a single problem with the 1.5 hooking fish. I caught 38 from 10" to 18" on the same bait last week pre-fishing and all were landed. If you're fishing the bait on an ultra soft rod, you're not going to like the bait, it fishes very well on a little stiffer rod.

Shallow Shad Rap, Fat Boy, and LC Fat CB BDS and Flat Mini.

That's sort of my point, in terms of the comparison. There are times that I would use the KVD over the XCS and vice versa. I have several of the XCS that I'm in love with, they catch fish. If you like a square bill that does some funky stuff after deflecting, you might like the KVD. They do skate side to side a lot more when you're moving them at a pretty good clip. The one issue, other than the paint funnies, that I've had with any KVD is the hooks. The hooks are just total crap. I could totally see them rusting on someone after just a day.

Couldn't disagree more. 100% Fluorocarbon lines say they're 100% because they're using full resin, opposed to a co-polymer line that isn't 100%, it's coated. Of course they're going to tell you the difference between by announcing one at 100% and one being just a fluorocarbon coat or co-poly. There's no False advertising and there's no deception at all. All you have to do is read the package to determine what you're getting. Agree with Francho, fluorocarbon is a monofilament, as is nylon monofilament.

I had to go look, I've got a few new in box yet. All have rings except an Ito TN Shad.

I finally stopped, it took wearing a groove in my tooth and the dentist filling it and me popping that filling out to break the habit.

I'm glad you like it, Phil. It seems like you've been on the same quest I have, in terms of "which is the cat's meow." It's as good a line as I've been able to fish thus far.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that choice. I hear more and more good things about the 763.

That's one of the implied things.

I've been swimming a Scrounger this year, amongst others. I'm a definite convert.

Are you rigging exposed?

Exactly this, also noting that it does not have great knot strength because of its inherently low abrasion resistance.

From original post: