Bluebasser86

Jealous, still waiting on my XG. It was early March, now it says it won't be back in stock until the end of March Second Cutter from the bottom, Chameleon Vapor, is a killer bait. They've about chewed all the paint off mine this winter.

I got to compare the Caenan, Casitas, and Curado 70 side by side at the Classic. The Caenan and Casitas both look nice, fit in my hands well, and felt very tight (no slop). I'm not in need of a reel right now, but I liked them enough that I'd give them a try for the right price.

That's what rainsuits are for! Plus it keeps other guys off the water

I wouldn't throw baits that size with my Curado 200I's. The 300 Cardiff would be a good option. If you check on the Bay right now you could get an Okuma Citrix 364 for a very reasonable price. They're a pretty popular reel for flinging big baits. I personally use a 300E Curado on my rod that does most of my glidebait work, and a 400B Calcutta for the biggest baits.

Well, I wish it had a size smaller prop for my boat, I'd be willing to take it off your hands if there was a 23. Here's some info if you haven't seen it already. I'm going to guess a 25 or 26 would be your best bet. As for price? No idea. https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/news/mercury-expands-tournament-level-propeller-line-with-fury-4-at-the-geico-bassmaster-classic/

I guess it was the 400 racing motor. They were both freaking huge!

That's when my regular tournament season starts so I'll be ready to rock by then!

I have one and it's a lifesaver when I'm fishing during the winter for those below freezing temps running across the lake first thing in the morning.

I got a picture of me standing next to it if @gardnerjigman will post it. I'm pretty sure I could get all 6' 225 pounds of me under that motor cowling.

50mph gust while we were on the water Sunday. It's been awhile since I thought I might get blown out of the boat. Wind Speed 25 mph (South) Max Wind Speed 39 mph Max Gust Speed 51 mph

Wiggle wart and shad rap. Very opposite baits, but equally deadly in cold water early in the year. The new Berkley Bad Shad is going to be a good one too I think.

That was pretty dirty, got what he deserved.

I broke down and bought one at the classic expo and fished it Sunday. It's a nice looking bait with pretty good action in the water. I fished it pretty hard for 2 hours and caught a grand total of 2 fish on it, which is 1 more than I ever caught on my Shadow Raps so hey that's an improvement. Once I switched to a different bait I wore them out though, so they were eating a jerkbait, but not the Shadow Rap Shad. In it's defense, it did catch one of the 3 biggest fish I caught that day. My biggest complaint, it says it's a slow floater, IMO it should be just a floater because the thing shoots back to the surface at a pretty fast pace, fast enough it's head pops out of the water like a submarine because it floats face up. Nothing a couple suspend dots or heavier hooks can't fix, just a little fyi for anyone thinking about buying it.

The Zoom Mag II is not a very big worm despite it being 9" long. It's pretty thin and a lot of it is tail. I've caught a lot of smallmouth on a Ol' Monster that's probably twice as thick and an inch longer.

You don't need anything special for the Ned rig. The man himself (Ned Kedhe), uses Mitchell spinning reels older than most on this forum with the bails removed and Shakespeare Synergy rods you can buy from Wal Mart for less than a couple Megabass 110's. If it feels comfortable to you with them, it'll work. Personally, I've found most any dropshot rod fishes them very well. I personally use a 6' 10" ML/XF LTB with a 30 size Pfluegar Supreme XT and 24lb Gliss with a short 8lb leader.

Big Game 10-15 pound depending on what I'm doing and where I'm doing it.

Pline C21 or Xtra strong.

Same thing I use in dirty water, 15lb Big Game.

I seem to do better on the one knocker/silent baits when the fish are heavily pressured with lipless baits, in clear water, or early in the year.

I think this has pretty much been done to death. LOCKDOWN!!

I have 9 Ethos rods, so yeah that's my vote

My son is 2 and is starting out with a Zebco Dock Demon. It's a pretty solid little setup for $10, but you'll want something a little bigger I'm sure.

I sort of did with the KC area guys on this forum. It was more just an excuse to go fishing one weeknight each week but it's gotten pretty competitive because we have some really good fishermen in the group.

I needed to be born a few years later. Highschool and college fishing teams weren't a thing until a few years after I was out of school. I tried to start a fishing team in middle school but my school didn't think it was a good idea and there were no schools around us with a team either. Seems like that's the fastest way to the pros anymore.

I have a 5 gallon bucket in my garage that I toss all my used plastics in. I know that lure makers can melt them and reuse them so I'll probably just give them away once the bucket gets full.