.ghoti.

RW is right; you'd best jump on it now. I was just at BPS in St Charles and got the last 6'8" MXF they had. There were about ten rods, at this price, left in this store. When they're gone, they're gone. Cheers, GK

Thanks everybody. I'm joining a great team. These guys have set the bar pretty high, and, while I won't be jumping over it anytime soon, I promise to not knock it down. Muddy Man, I wore the shirt to school one day last week, while the campus was closed for the Farm Progress Show. Got a lot of comments. The most common was "what the heck's a mook?" Global Computer Mook sounds just right. Avid, the wife has narrowed her search, and plans are almost set. As soon as she has it all nailed down, you'll be the second one to know. She's been looking at fishing on some of the lakes on Disney property, and is getting stoked. She wants to fish one day; I'll probably do two. If you come along the day she goes, be prepared to be whooped. She does it to me all the time. I'm looking forward to the new challenges. Cheers, GK

DITTO!! I don't know the real numbers, but I'd be willing to wager that Rapala sells more hard baits than anybody else. I have boxes full of them, and use them a lot. Because they work. Cheers, GK

10" Power worms; don't leave home without "em. I use these almost all year, mostly dark colors because I'm fishing them in deeper water. I use a 5/0 EWG hook, and start with an 1/8oz weight, unpegged for the 8-10 foot range. Go up in weight for deeper water, and/or wind conditions. I get most of my bigger fish by fishing these really slow, staying right on the bottom. Crawling these along through the weeds, unweighted, has scored me some nice fish too. Cheers, GK

Around my neck o' the woods, fall is crankbait and spinnerbait time Give me a buzzbait for my third. Cheers, GK

You asked for a spinning rod, so I won't say get a baitcasting rod. First, pick out a line of rods in your price range, then I'd look at the line and lure weight ratings on the rod. You'll find that most vendor's medium-heavy power spinning rods are in the same general range as their medium power casting rods. For your listed spec's, it seems to me you'll want a medium-heavy spinning rod. 3/4oz is bit outside the range of most medium power spinning rods. As far as action goes, if your going to be throwing cranks most of the time, I'd suggest a moderate to mod-fast action. If you're throwing jerks and topwaters most, then a fast action may be the better choice. You didn't give a price range so here goes. On the low end, the Lighting rod is hard to beat for the money St Croix Avid's are on sale just about everywhere. If you can find one, they're probably the best bang for the buck right now. Team Daiwa Light&Tough rods, at around $120, are an every day good value choice. My favorite spinning rod is an Airrus Tradition. 7'2" MH power, mod-fast action. With shipping, around $180. Bass Pro puts just about every line of rods they make on sale a couple of times a year. The Extreme's, Pro Qualifier, and Clunn series rods are all great values when the sale is on. Cheers, GK

A few quotes Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself ~~" Lillian, you should have remained a virgin." Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter) I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall." Eleanor Roosevelt Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement. Mark Twain The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible. George Burns Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year. Victor Borge Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. Mark Twain By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. Socrates I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury. Groucho Marx Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. Alex Levine I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap. Bob Hope I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it. W.C. Fields We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress. Will Rogers Don't worry about avoiding temptation as you grow older, it will avoid you. Winston Churchill Maybe it's true that life begins at fifty. But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out. Phyllis Diller By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step; he's too old to go anywhere. Billy Crystal The cardiologist's diet: If it tastes good, spit it out. Give me a sense of humor, Lord; Give me the grace to see a joke, To get some humor out of life, And pass it on to other folk. Amen!

100 bucks on the slots? you got about 25 bucks worth of stuff there. What did your wife do the rest of the money?

great story, bighead. There were tales of guys getting 2 bucks apiece for sluggo's around here, back in the day. I never bought any at that price, but I may have been tempted had I actully found some. They're actually hard to find around here now. No local shops stock them. It's interesting you mentioned Senko's taking over. I seem to remember reading the when Mr Yamamoto was developing the Senko, what he had in mind was a "sluggo" type action. Surprise! Look what he got instead. Surely one the most fortunate examples of not getting what you were looking for. jdw, you're absolutely correct. Sometimes working it on top, and making it jump out of the water is deadly. Cheers, GK

Flat side up, EWG hook, no weight. The slower you fish them, the more you'll catch. Cheers, GK

I have one and wish I could find another one just like it. It's a Team Daiwa, George Cochran topwater/twitchin' model, 6' medium power, with a soft tip. It's the perfect rod for small topwaters and original Rapala's. I throw small cranks and jerkbaits on it too. I've had it since the mid-nineties and a lot of the finish has come off. The blank looks really splotchy. The EVA grip is still in good shape, the reel seat still holds the reel securely and the guides are all good, it just looks ugly. Got an old Team Daiwa TD2HI reel on it that I bought at the same time; around 1995. Top shelf gear, at the time. A pistol grip rod is the bomb for topwaters and jerkbaits. No long handle to get in the way. Cheers, GK

That's exactly what I have on my two muskie rods; 50lb braid. I tried 30, and it's too thin. It digs into itself too much with a 50 incher on the the other end of the line. If you can find it, Tygerwire is great leader material. It's wire you can tie a knot with. I use about 2 feet of leader for all my muskie fishing. Those pre-made 12" leaders are too short. And, flourocarbon does NOT work for leaders for muskie. The only time I tried it, the first fish I caught bit through it about 15 seconds into the fight. It swam away with an $18 bait stuck in it's maw. I had on about 18" of leader, and had about 6" left after he bit it off. I learned my lesson. Cheers, GK

I like the 5" Hula Grub, T-rigged, fished just like a T-rigged worm, in all the same situations. I get this out when my regular T-rig baits, 10" Power worms, Big Kahuna Cut-tail worms and big Power Hawgs, aren't getting the job done and I want to down-size my offering. My normal T-rig is a 5/0 Gammy EWH hook and Ultra Steel weight and clicker. Weights vary from 1/16oz to 1/4oz. The only change is the hook. I'll go down to a 2/0 G-Lock hook for the Hula grub. I almost always have a jighead on my one spinning rod with either a Zoom Trick worm or a 7" Power worm. If those aren't doing it, I'll put a 4" hula grub on the same jighead. The Ike's Spike from Tru-Tungsten is becoming my favorite jighead, despite the stupid price. With this jig, the grub is as weedless and snag proof as a T-rigged bait, and can fished anywhere you want to throw it. I haven't fished the Kreature enough to comment on it. Yet. Cheers, GK

The south side is steep vertical rocky drop offs, while the north is mostly muddy flats. I'd fish the steep part with a Fat Ika. I've found these to be good on very steep banks, and you can fish one pretty deep. On the mud flats I'd suggest finding the end of the flat, where it breaks into deeper water, and fish every bait you have, starting with crankbaits that will run at the depth of the break. The west side is a rip-rap dam. Always a good spot for a crank. Parallel the bank, starting with a shallow running cranks fished shallow, and work your way deeper. Try the base of the rip-rap with T-rigged worms or craws, or a jig/craw. There isn't much deep water cover other than a few man-made crappie beds. These will attract more than crappie. Fish these from all angles with every bait you can get down to them. Good luck, GK

Hi rbrick, I first used my regular Senko outfit; 6'3" Team Daiwa Light&Tough rod, Energy PT baicaster, 5/0 Gammy EWG hook and 12lb test XL. I tried it next on a 6'6" Setyr rod, Daiwa Millionaire reel, same line and hook. I changed rigs because the Millionaire is quite a bit slower than the PT. I could feel the tail action on either rod. It just seemed to me that the bait has a loft of "lift", and to fish at the depth I knew I needed at that time was going to be a very tedious process. I caught nothing fishing the bait weightless on previous outings. The latest trip, detailed above, was all about trying to determine if the weight needed to be pegged. I didn't fish it weighless on this trip; I rather wish I had. I haven't given up on the idea of using this bait weightless; I've read the comments here, and had enough positive reports from some buds and some locals about using this bait weightless, that I'll still be trying it. This sounds like an application for flourocarbon line. What do you think? Cheers, GK

Amazing; we both know the same stuff.

If the water level is dropping rapidly, all the fish will be in deeper water. This is, I believe, instinctual behavior. They don't want to get stranded. If it is really dropping they may not bite well until the level stabilizes, or the rate of level change slows. Find some deep structure, and fish it slowly. Cheers, GK

A little update. I've been out twice, Saturday and Sunday evening, just using the Swimming Senko, to try to answer some questions. Caught nothing weightless. Caught four nice bass each evening; two with the weight pegged and two with the weight unpegged each evening. So, I still haven't answered that question. I don't have any of the screw-in weights. I use a bobber stopper and a small bead to peg weights. I used a slow presentation. I let the bait hit the bottom, than did a slow horizontal rod sweep, moving the bait about three or four feet each time, then let it fall back to the bottom. I tried to move it just fast enough to get some tail action, and still keep it near the bottom. Seven of the eight bites came while I was moving the bait. One hit on the drop. All the bites were the grab it and run with it kind. No doubt at all about it. These were what I'd call aggressive bites. I was out about three hours each night, so it was a bite every 45 minutes, on average. Not exactly a hot bite, but pretty good for this particular location. If I could do that all year, I'd be a very happy camper. The rig; 5/0 Gammy EWG hook, 12lb test XL, and a variety of weights. The 1/16oz weight was too small for the depth I found the fish at. Most were in six to eight feet of water. For that depth, 1/4oz of weight was about right. I got six of the eight fish using the 1/4oz weight. The other two were on the 1/8oz weight. I'm going to guess that if you want to target the 12' range, you'll need 1/2oz of weight to keep it down. These are a bit more durable the the regular Senko. I caught four fish on one bait and three on the next. Caught one fish on the last bait; he swallowed it, and I tore up the bait getting the hook out. So, the price is a bit more palatable, knowing that I'll get more than one fish per bait, which is about all you can expect from a Senko. Wished I'd tried them out earlier. Cheers, GK

Gotta have it, but I have cut back since my heart attack. I only drink it in the mornings. Gevalia coffee beans, grind it fresh for every pot, drink it black. It doesn't get any better than that. Cheers, GK

Let's not forget the bugle-mouth bass ( carp )

I too have had some great days on thw water in miserable heat. The bass don't know you're sweating your tail off. A couple of reminders. Take and drink plenty of water, not beer or soda. I keep a couple of hand towels stuffed in the cooler with the ice. When it gets really hot, take one of the towels out, wring out most of the water, and wrap it around your neck. It will cool the blood flowing through the arteries running up your neck, and will cool you off. I keep two of them in the cooler so I can swap them out. I'll aslo thow a few ice cubes in my hat, then put it back on. Feels good in the mid-day heat. Cheers, GK

Welcome aboard, Allen. You've just asked what I think is the hardest rod application question. I'm really on the fence about this one. Generally, I prefer a moderate action rod for all treble-hooked lures. But, I find it harder to get the action I want out of a jerkbait with the soft tip. My jerkbait of choice is the X-Rap. Except in really cold water, I want that bait to MOVE. They call it a "slash" bait, and I've caught a lot of fish on it when I can get it to really "slash". When you jerk it sharply, after a pause, you don't know which direction it's going to go. I believe that erratic motion is the key to this bait. It's harder to do with my regular, softer, crank rods. I can get the action I want out of the bait using one of my Team Daiwa L&T rods. This is a fast action rod, rated for 10-17lb line. It doesn't say medium or medium-heavy on it, but the line rating puts it in the MH range. The problem with this is that I've lost a couple of nice fish because I forgot to back the drag off after the hookset. And, the handle is too long to be comfortable working a jerkbait. At 6'3" it the right length though. So what's the answer?, Beats me. I will say that unless you're really tall, a 7' rod is too long for jerkbaits. I'm 6'1" and I'll slap the tip in the water trying to fish a jerkbait with a 7' rod. I think you want a short handle too. I ususlly were a vest when fishing, and the rod I use is always getting tangled in the vest because the handle is too long. The perfect rod for me me may very well be a 6'6" medium power, fast action rod with a pistol grip. To answer you're other question, if you find a rod you like for jerkbaits, it will probably make a good rod for small and medium spinnerbaits too. Cheers, GK

I use Zoom Trick worms and Berkley Power worms for the most part. But, Brent is right, almost any plastic will work on a jighead. I've also used BPS's Slim Sticko on the jighead. I got a bunch of those when I bought a kit, on sale cheap, from BPS. The kit had Sticko's, some Sticko's with legs like a lizard, ( lizardo's maybe ) and some Slim Sticko's. The slim's are really good on the jighead. I'll use the Power worm first. The *** and Zoom trick are my second choice. Got a note from Brent, ( *** ) that he now has the slim's in stock. Check "em out. Cheers, GK

I have a few packs of these, and haven't used them much yet. I tried one weightless, and if you move it fast enough to get some tail action, you're pretty much fishing on top. It takes some weight to allow you to get the tail action, and still keep them down. And, if you don't get the tail action, what the point? You might as well be using a regular Senko; it works better. So, in my opinion, it needs some weight to be effective. My question is, do you peg the weight? In the little time I've spent with one of these on the end of the line, it seems to me that it's easier to keep this bait down, and still get some tail action with the weight pegged. Any thoughts on this? Cheers, GK

After my recent incident, I'm on the low fat, no salt, high carb diet. Probably for the rest of my life. I've had to eliminate a lot of things that I previously enjoyed. It's a good thing I like tuna and salmon. A guy could get really sick of skinless chicken. I'm really gonna miss bacon. Cheers, GK