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Don't apologize Skillet, except for maybe beating me to the punch. I was going to say the lakes I fish have no resident population of blades and skirts, but spinnerbaits work just fine. If the water is warm enough to through a buzzbait, a frog can be a great alternative. Cheers, GK

Neat thread, Avid. You country fans are gonna laugh at me, but I'd never heard of Allison Krause. I was at BPS yesterday. Was flipping through the dial in the parking lot when I found this amazing voice. It her, and some guy, doing a cover of John Wait's Missin You. This has got to be the purest voice I've ever heard. I'm not a fan of country music. Never have been, probably never will be, but this girl knocked me out. What a voice. And a darned good cover of a song that is very difficult to sing. I know, I butchered it myself a few times. Apparently she's been around for a while. I'm gonna go out and get a cd or two. Who knows, I may end up being a country fan after all. Cheers, GK

I started playing piano ( taking lessons ) at age 6. Got my first paying gig at age 12. Went out on the road at age 18, right out of high school. Stayed on the road till past age 30. Played jazz, blues, rock, a little country, whatever payed. Played piano and other keyboards, guitar, bass, vibes, again whatever payed. If you don't have to blow in it, I could play it. I know exactly what muddy is alluding to. This business will chew you up and spit you out. I got off the road, started a local rock band to work my way through college, then quit, cold turkey. I was totally burnt out. That was a long time ago. I just recently put an electric piano in my office. I'm in the process of teaching myself how to play again. It's still in my head, still in my heart, but is sure as heck not in my fingers. I used to be pretty good. I'm am not now. But, I will get better. Cheers, GK

Simple. Plastics, dark Spinnerbaits, white Cranks, natural That's all folks. Cheers, GK

I couldn't begin to tell you why, but, the balsa Shad Rap has caught many more fish, for me, than the plastic version. Enough so that I will no longer buy the plastic one. I keep the balsa versions in my boxex at all times. I loose quite a few cranks, and this is one bait I will not be without. Balsa, and wood cranks in general, seem to deflect off or float back from cover better than plastic. I tend to loose more plastic cranks than wood ones. I'll agree with Raul about plastic cranks in dingy water. They do make more noise. I don't know if they catch any more fish. I tend to fish a spinnerbait more in dingy water than a crank. I've overall caught more fish with "quiet" wood cranks than with noisy plastic ones. Cheers, GK

This is one bait that has caught a lot more fishermen than fish. It caught me. I bought several. Can't catch a cold with one. Anybody wanna buy a few? Cheers, GK

I carry a few Dingers, for the times when the bite is on. But when the bite is tough, there is no replacement for the original. I tried the Tiki and the *** versions. No success with them, gave "em away. Yum Dingers are, in my experience the best Senko knock-off. Asking what is the best senko knock-off is like asking who is the best second string quarterback. Cheers, GK

Hey, I was out last weekend, throwing a hookless Spook out across the ice. I've been cleaning and lubing all my reels. I always leave the line on so I can try them out after I've put them back together. For some reason I don't always get them put back together just right, and I can't tell until I've casted them a few times. My back yard doesn't have enough open space to allow for test casting, so, it's out to the lake to make a few trial casts. I'm just happy nobody stopped to ask if I was catching anything. Cheers, GK

I too use the rubber core sinkers to get spinnerbaits deep. I leave the rubber core in. It makes it easier to get the sinker centered so the bait runs true, and easier to remove. Cheers, GK

What to get? Get it all. And get it now. The Bait Monkey

Yeah, I tried that. It's a heck of a lot easier said than done. Wasn't worth the effort, for me. Good luck with it. It may work for you. Cheers, GK

Culprit, I hear you. I have two TD2HI's that I've had for at least 12 years. They still work just fine, and get regular use. I also have some Millionaire's that get a lot of use. I also have several Energy PT's. Put me in the Daiwa Gang and tha Quantum Cadre. Cheers, GK

I don't know what he's talking about. If you lube the knot and pull it down slowly, you'll have no problems with a palomar on flouro. I don't. I got the part about the bear and the chubby, I just didn't get "potenail". Word gives these a possible corrections; potential, pot nail, toenail and paternal. Maybe ponytail. I don't understand? Cheers, GK

Fishtank, thanks for the info on the JM 7' medium rod. I have a 7' MH, and it's a very good soft plastics rods. I'd call it fast action, not moderate. I'm in the market for a lighter power, more moderate action rod for tubes and flukes. I've been trying to make up my mind between the JM 7' M, and Avid 6'8" M and a Daiwa Light & Tough 7' M. I'd almost eliminated the JM from consideration based on my experience with the MH one I have. Nothing wrong with it, mind you. It's just too stiff for what I want in a fluke rod. I'll have to add it back to the mix, based on your comments. To answer the original question, the only BPS rod I own is the Johnny Morris. I'll almost agree with Dodgeguy. It is a great rod, for the price. I don't have any top of the line rods. The three I mentioned above are the best rods I own. I currently have one of each, in different sizes than quoted above. These three, in my mind, are the leaders in the most bang for the buck category. And for my money, right now, the Light & Tough rods are the best thing going, for the price. I just can't justify spending $300+ for a rod. For those of you who can, more power to ya. I've used a GLX that a friend of mine has, and found it to be the all time best feeling rod I've ever had in my hands. I admit that freely. I just won't spend that much on rod. I can afford to, I choose not to. These rod debates are always fun to read. And to participate in. Cheers, GK

Check this out. http://www.feather-craft.com/2007master/fcpage.asp?page=30 Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find ferrule wax. It works. I use it my fly rods and crappie rods. I don't have any two piece bass, walleye, pike or muskie rods. I've always thought the ferrule to be a weak spot. I may be wrong about this. I've never broken a rod at the ferrule. I still won't buy one, other than fly or panfish rods. Reactionary old fart, am I not? Cheers, GK

I have a Johnny Morris reel from BPS. They are on sale at $120 a few times a year. A little over your price but not much, and it will do just fine with 10lb test line. That's what's on mine, and I use it for unweighted flukes and very lightly weighted tubes. Cheers, GK

My take on it is don't drop things in the boat, stomp around, switch the trolling motor on and off, bang things around, etc. Talk all you want, the fish can't hear that. I think my dad and granddads always told me to shut up because they wanted a little bit of peace and quiet. Cheers, GK

On the 5" Senko, I use a 5/0 EWG hook. The bait falls a little faster and the tail wiggles a little more than when using the smaller hooks. Sometimes it's enough difference to be significant. Cheers, GK

Flouro for jerkbaits? Absolutely. And yes, Vanish is much better than it was when it first came out. So is Transition. Cheers, GK

I think you'll want a lighter rod and line. A medium power rod will load up more with the lighter weights you're using. You could easily go down to 10lb test, since you're not fishing a lot of heavy cover. The combination of lighter line and less powerful rod will give you the distance you're looking for. It's all about balance. You need to match the rod and line to weight of the bait. Cheers, GK

I used ot do just that. As long as you don't need to make long casts, it should work for you. The small guides on a fly rod kill casting distance. The downside is a fly rod will not be a sensitive as a new graphite ultra-lite. That's not a big downside for me. I'm either casting and crnaking, using a roadrunner, small crank, or a grub on a jighead, or I'm using a tube beneath a float. Don't need much in the way of sensitivity for those applications. But, I do need the casting distance, so I quit using the fly rod and got a couple of BPS's microlite rods. They are cheap and quite functional. Cheers, GK

I just saw that stuff in a catalog. I've been using Transition. I like to line watch, and I can see the Transition easier than Vanish. So that's what I use for all my plastic fishing. I wondered about the new red version, but since I'm red-green color-blind, it may not work as well for me. On a side note, Transition is a much better line now than it was when it first came out. I wouldn't be using it if it weren't. The original version was junk. Cheeers, GK

Quote: "You know you are a fisherman if you have a power worm hanging from your car mirror for an air freshener" Thanks, Rick, I just spilled my coffee. Cheers, GK

This one is a no-brainer for me. A 3" Power Craw, black,with chartreuse claws, on an 1/8oz bitsy bug jig. CHeers, GK

RW, I'm trying very hard to cut down the amount of stuff I'm lugging around. You, sir, are not helping. Cheers, GK