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The slowest reels I own are three 5.8:1 Millionaires. I put up with the slow retrieve because I really like those little round reels. If I could get higher speed gears to fit in those, I'd do it tomorrow. I bought two 4.4:1 Energy PT's about three years ago, buying into this idea that I needed slow reels for cranking. I used them once before ordering 6.3:1 gears for both. You do not need more torque for "winching" in the fish. That is pure, unadulterated marketing BS. You play the fish with the rod, not the reel. If I get to the point where I can't crank a DD22 with one of my higher speed reels, I'll give up this sport, and take up something less strenuous, like needlepoint.

Salty Super Fluke, Yum Houdini Shad, and the venerable Sluggo. This year, the Houdini Shad was the best of the three. If you haven't tried it, give the double fluke rig a try. Tie a hook to a swivel, with 12-14" of line between. Slide the swivel onto your main line, then tie a hook to the main line. The swivel should slide freely up and down the main line, stopping at the hook. Rig a super fluke on each hook. Cast and perform a slow twitching retrieve. If you get the cadence right, it looks like two baitfish chasing each other. Very cool , and very productive. Kind of hard to work it very deep, though. This is a shallow water tool.

Thanks for the tip RoLo. I have some of those, still in the box. I ordered some, thinking they would be good for the 3X baits. You pointed out the one short-coming of the Ike heads. Very light wire hook. I fish them on #10 line, and a med-light rod, so I have no problems. There are times I would like to throw one of these worms, on a jighead, into spots where #10 line has no place being. I may not get to try them out until next spring. Very cold and nasty heere right now. I *** you southern guys.

I fish a few specific worms, almost always weighted in some way. Berkley Power Worms; 7", T-rigged, 3/0 offset worm hook, Ultra Steel weight, pegged with a rubber bobber stopper. Weight determined by depth and conditions. This rig has accounted for more bass than any other over many years. Berkley Power Worms; 10", T-rigged, bigger hook and weight. I usually fish this worm deep and slow. Rage Tail Ananconda; same rig and conditions as the 10" Power worm. Haven't caught as many fish on this worm, but the ones I've caught have all been good ones. GYCB Big Kahuna Cut-Tail worm; T-rigged, 5/0 EWG hook, 1/16oz Ultra Steel weight, pegged. A heavy salted worm that requires less weight. One of my go-to baits. If I were forced to fish only two worms, this would be one of them. It works in shallow cover or deeper structure. In deeper water, I will loosen up the pegging, leaving about 1/16" of slack between the weight and the worm. This gives this rather straight bait an erratic fall. This is also one worm I will fish weightless, with a large, bright colored bead pegged to it's head. I fish it like a fluke, or jerkbait, in shallow weeds. Very productive sometimes. Stike King 3X worm. Now called Elaztech. I fish these worms on Tru Tungsten Iaconelli jigheads. These jigheads have an unusual bend right behind the head that keeps the very stretchy 3X material in place better than any other hook or jig I've found. Probably my number one bait the last two years. It's a worm rig, a swimming rig and a shakey rig, all in one. Yum Big Show Paddle worm, 10", T-rigged. Just discovered this worm earlier this year. I've done very well with it. It has produced shallow, in cover, and deeper on structure. Very versatile bait. Best fished very slowly. The long, thin, segmented tail section has a lot of movement when twitched slowly along the bottom. Zoom Trick worms and Finesse worms. My use of these worms has evolved to two specific rigs. A Charlie brewer slider head is one. I use the one that has the weight flattened, perpendicular to the plane of the hook. The 1/16oz size gives a nice glide to the trick worm. I fish this almost constantly moving, with a very subtle lift and drop of the rod tip. I'm trying to swim it right above the bottom, so I will occasionally let it glide to the bottom to ensure that I'm still in the zone. I use a Gamakatsu Wacky jighead for the trick worms. I fish this rig on the edges of weeds and wood. It hangs up easily in either, so I'm staying outside the cover. It does do well in rocks. The flattened head rarely hangs in rocks. Those are my proven rigs. I'm confident I can catch fish just about anywhere, anytime with one, or more, of these. I still experiment quite a bit. I use a C-rig occasionally with a worm. Ditto a split-shot or mojo rig; a light weight C-rig in my opinion. These rigs are not big producers for me. A lot of people use a c-rig with success; I'm not one of them. A c-rig seems to me to be a search tool, and I do a lot better with a crankbait or spinnerbait for searching. I try a worm on a drop-shot rig every now and then. This is one technique I do not have a handle on. All I ever get on it is the occasional dink. I guess I'm drop-shot challenged. Haven't completely given up on it, but I have to have been skunked on everything else before resorting to this rig. Probably why I can't seem to "get" it. Weightless worming, with the exception of the Big Kahuna, has also been a great producer of dinks for me. Everybody has there own favorite colors. Most of the time it really doesn't matter. I tend to use darker colors for dingy or deep water. Lighter colors for shallow and/or clear water.

;D ;D ;D Can't a guy have at least a couple of secrets? I use red cranks all the time in dirty water. With good success. I have a lot red EWG hooks, BPS had them on sale a couple of years ago, at half the price of the regular finish, so I stocked up. I even have some of that red line. I use it in my garden to tie together stands and supports for my tomato and pepper plants.

Tackle Warehouse has them on sale quite often. Fish these on light line; no more than #10. The hooks are very sharp, but very light wire.

Put some red hooks on them to draw more strikes. And, make sure to fish them on red line, because it disappears under water.

Try Tru Tugsten's Ike's Spike or Weed Whacker jigheads. They are perfect for elaztech, or 3X worms.

Count me in again.

I think rubbing alcohol has a bit of mineral oil added. Not a good idea, as it will leave the mineral oil behind. Not a good idea to mix lubes of any kind.

I use naptha, lighter fluid. It's cheap and readily available. Do not use carb cleaner or acetone in the house. they both stink up the place. I use a shot glass with just enough naptha to cover the bearings. And put piece of cling wrap over the shot glass. keeps the smell down enough to keep the wife from complaining. Pry the retaining spring up with a tiny screwdrive, one "joint" at a time; holding the clip down with your finger. They are easy to launch, and difficult to find. Until you get used to removing these little spring clips, try working inside a large ziplock bag. Or, a small garbage bag. That will catch the clip, most of the time, if it decides to go for a flight around the room.

Hey, I'm all for easier calculations. How about we get together, and float a referendum to change the value of pi to 3? ;D ;D ;D

Kent, at least your son wasn't in it. The old car can be replaced.

Can somebody store my chainsaw for a while? I'll pay the shipping. I got most of the blood off of it.

A spatula for cooking. A fork for eating.

I have Guidewear, two different weight sets, and my wife has 100MPH. We bought what we bought because of sales at different times. Both will serve you well. The main difference is the noise. 100MPH rain gear is noisy. Every move you make is heard. No big deal; the fish can't hear it.

Owner Rig'n hooks. Shorter than normal EWG's of the same size, but still have the wide gap. I like these for tubes.

Overstock.com, of of our BassResource sponsors, has them. great price, too.

I have the 6'9" ML. It has a Super Fluke or Houdini Shad tied on about 75% of the time. I have used it for small, shallow cranks, and it works just fine for that application too. I've had several other BPS rods over the years, and have either sold or given away all of them. Except this one. I'll be keeping it. When these rods are on sale, they are at or near the top of the "best bang for the buck" list. FYI, I use a Revo STX, with #10 XL. It will load and cast the lightest baits you would care to use on a baitcaster.

Why? So I can watch sweaty guys roll around on the ground? No thanks. I would rather watch boxing. couldn't have said it better.

nice looking bait; and a great name. ;D

How did that happen? Being in my late 30s, I consider myself part of the "Rarely Craps Their Pants" set. It's an arbitrary point. The assumption is, that by age 30, you're too old to know everything, and are thus deemed suitable for civilized company.

One thing that will help, no matter what hook you use, is some Megastrike. I don't believe you need any extra scent or taste on a frog, but, greasing it up liberally will make the bait slick enough to slide in the fish's mouth; enabling a better hookset. Don't have any megastrike? Try a can of Pam cooking spray. That'll grease "em up nicely. That's what I use on my muskie baits, for the same reason. Give it a try.

Steez on a Steez You can feel a moth fly by it ! 8-) Stradic CI4 on a Damiki Dark Angel you can feel a fish bite it St Croix 6'9" Med-light, Ex-fast with a Revo STX. You can feel the earth move.

Right on the money. I got a new Curado this year; my first Shimano baitcaster in many years. I always fish a new reel for a couple of days before opening it up. Had an issue with a Shimano a few years back, and learned this lesson. The new reel was nice right out of the box. Even better after a complete tear-down, clean and lube. The new Curado is a very nice reel. An excellent value. This from a long time Daiwa fan. Craiger, why not do it yourself? You have all winter. May as well give it a shot. It ain't rocket science.