GOOCHY

My post along these same lines was nearly immediately modded by Mr. Francho. I've had nothing but good experiences with my Lews reels which inclues the regular Speel Spool, BB1, and Tournament Pro. I'd reccomend the Tourney Pro to anybody and feel it's just as good as any reel in the $150-$250 segment. Pretty good for a reel you can pick up for just over $100 if you watch ebay persistently.

Hahaha, I have to love the guys who regularly post on here (J Francho, roadwarrior) who will not give Lews a kind word no matter what. Do they need to be a sponsor for you guys to buy in?

Seconded.

They are pretty much the bang for the buck reel right now. The Tourney Pro is a sweet reel for ~$140.

I put together a Lew's Tourney Pro 6:4 and a Phenix X-Series for shallow cranks - real nice setup.

You kill them after you catch them, hopefully.

I have several Bull Gill in my tackle box and I'm going to experiment with a swim bait trailer this Spring. I have a feeling it's going to be absolutely killer.

If it's me and I have absolutely no way of keeping him alive to be officially verified he's going back in the water... I got my pictures, and I know I have the state record catch under my belt. That's good enough for me. ***Edit to say that I have more respect for an animal that is one in *billions* than I have a lust to have my name in some arcane record book.

I've been in the market for a lipless crank and squarebill rod myself. It'll be interesting to see the responses here. Thinking 7' M for the type of fishing I'm doing and the ability to throw some lighter stuff.

Yep, bank fisher here and I bring a back pack with tackle, tools, a small towel, something to eat/drink, and two rods.

Yeah, I'm looking for something that is going to be able to throw those little guys. Rapala X-Rap jerkbaits, that kind of thing... I fish small water for the most part and live in the Midwest so the fish aren't going to be 10Lbs. A 5lb fish in this area is a real nice one.

Looking at this rod since I really love my Phenix Recon 715 - anybody out there have an opinion on the X-Series rods they put out? I'd probably be doing the X9 Medium rod for lipless cranks and shallow running squarebills. Thanks!

Right now I do a lot of kayak fishing for Largemouth on small water here in the Midwest. Kind of looking for the same types of holes around there since I don't have a boat and probably won't real soon, anyway.

It's looking like my wife and I are going to be relocating to Maryland this Spring. Any good recommendations on fishing holes near Odenton/Crofton?

The Lew'sTP is on a short list for me this Spring. It will definitely be on one of my rods.

Well, the only Cumara at TW that is *on sale* is the Heavy action rod. If I'm going full price to full price Shimano vs. Phenix MH I'm picking the Recon every time. It's a better all around rod, IMO.

Where'd you get the Lew's TP for $135? At that price I would order one too.

I really love my Recon 715. So much so that I'm looking at one of the X-Series rods for square bills.

Never used spinnerbaits much? How is that even possible?!

I bought a few Cavitrons yesterday. Looking forward to trying them out this Spring.

I had a 1st gen Phenix Recon snap at the tip the first time out last year. They replaced it no questions asked. Just ship it back... that's good customer service. I ordered another $75 worth of baits just yesterday from them. They're top knotch.

I have a Gen1 Recon and absolutely love it.

Last year in Iowa it was weird because it warmed up for a couple of weeks in March and the bite was red hot. Then in April it was cold as heck and the bite dropped of dramatically. It didn't pick back up until May, IMO. Weird start to the year with an unseasonably warm spurt to start things off. It threw everybody off their game - including the bass.

My plan is to put together a Lew's Tourney Pro and a Powell Max Square Bill rod for shallow cranking this Spring.

I've decided that I'm going to try getting into crankbaits this year. In the past I haven't had much success with crankbaits so they don't tend to be my go-to bait. This year I'm going to give them their due. I bought a KVD 1.5 square bill and a Rapala X-Rap Shad Shallow crankbait tonight while I was waiting for my wife to shop at Wal-Mart. Regale me with your success stories and strategies for fishing shallow cranks.