mcipinkie

I have confidence in every lure I throw. If I don't I won't throw it. T-rigs are an excellent choice at times, depending on the lure hanging on the hook. Sometimes there are better choices. Every lure in the BPS catalogue will catch fish. You just have to decide what, when, where. I use my experience to determine (guess?) what is the right bait to use given the circumstances. Sometimes I'm right. Sometimes I ain't, but I have confidence that what I'm throwing will catch fish. There are lures and techniques I like to fish more than others, but sometimes pink Sluggos are what they want, or even worse, a drop shot. I don't like to drop shot, but when I pick one up, I have confidence it will catch fish. Learn to use every technique you can. Sooner or later that will be what the fish want.

If I was hunting a jerk bait rod and couldn't find an old Daiwa VIP Glass, or a Garcia Ike Delay, I'd buy a 6'6 M or ML BPS Crankin' Stick. It's a good as any of the high dollar rods.

47 entries, most of which I never heard of. I assume local sticks. Caught 'em pretty good, though. Too good ? The debate will start soon. Would the scopers have caught more? If not, then scoping ain't the key to success. Just good fishing skills and probably local knowledge. Same as always. I'll bet most of the 47 had FFS on their boat before the derby, so had to disable just to fish. I like the idea of a circuit without FFS. I like a choice. Hope it does well. Don't really see how it can unless some non-fishing sponsors. Money just doesn't pan out. Paying out $225K of $235K entries. Just a big local derby like we fish here. 50 boats. 1 in 7 pay. $200 entry instead of $5K, but basically the same. I'd fish non-FFS derbies here in Missouri if available. Not at $5K and no practice. Not at $200 and no practice except on one or two lakes. Good Luck !!

You can go on and on ad infinitum about which rod/reel is best. The sad truth is no matter what you decide, YOU are going to have to learn to use it. Using a bait caster requires skill. You get it only one way. As Mr. Swindle says, "It takes years of excessive practice." At least to cast as well as he does. Buy yourself a medium quality rod and reel and practice, practice, practice. You are going to get frustrated, but until you develop the basic skills, spending lots of money on high dollar toys is a waste. I'd buy a $125 reel, which ever brand feels best to you. They are pretty much the same in that price point. Buy an $80 - $120 rod. 7'-0 MH/fast. Once you get the basics under control, then you can think about burning up your credit card. FYI, I am retired, relatively affluent, fish at least 20 days a month, moderately serious tournament angler. What I have suggested is what I use. Fish can't tell the difference between a Steez and a LFS. Look at Kast King. I'm impressed

I'd ask the boys in Flippin. They will know. My guess - Single axle is the way to go.

I wanted to see if the Kast King reels were any good, or just Amazon Chinese junk. Had some points and Kast Kings were on sale. The normally $60 reel for $40. Had points enough it was free. Ordered a 7:1. Even a lower level Kast King, mind you. I am impressed. It has been my prime jerk bait reel all winter. I'm retired and have fished 55 days so far this year, 22 in December, and about that in November, and that reel has been used hard every day. I'm be buying more next time I buy reels. I'll probably try some rods also. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars for a quality reel.

You notice how no one ever uses an inexpensive rod. Rich guys, I guess. Right now, I would buy a BPS Crankin' Stick 6'-6 ML or M, what ever feels better. $70 in the BPS sale flyer. I use the Crankin' Stick in various lengths and action for all my movement baits - jerks, cranks, lipless, bladed jigs, spinner baits, buzz baits, etc. My favorite is a Garcia Ike Series Delay rod. 6-'6 MH. It's 10 - 15 years old, but still the best JB rod I have ever used, even better than my old Loomis CBR. Ever $ you don't spend on a rod, or reel, you can spend on jerk baits. At last count, (last week), I had 112 in the Skeeter and bought 2 more today at the BPS sale. My crack cocaine.

BPS Crankin Stick. 6' - 6 M or ML, whatever you like. BPS rods get no love, but I use the Crankin Sticks for all my movement baits - Cranks, jerks, chatter baits, spinner baits, buzz baits, etc. You can pay more, but these are fine pull bait rods.

Here's my $0.02. In every sport, or line of effort, the old move out the way, the young move in. Johnny Unitas, Ken Stabler, Bart Starr, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Willie Mays, Roland Martin, Larry Nixon, Kevin VanDam and thousands of others, including the author (77), have gotten old and are no longer competitive in their field. Heck, I was an Ironworker in my youth. No more. It's natural, the way it's supposed to be. In fishing right now, maybe FFS is accelerating the change, but a lot of young studs were taking over long before FFS.

I can only speak for me and my experience. I have gone in twice wearing an inflatable. Once in my old Mustang, once in the BPS AM24. Both worked perfectly. The water was 43 degrees when I fell in with the BPS. I'm sure in contributed in my being alive now. I took it back to BPS (we have one near me). No questions asked, "Just go get another one." Both got wet in the back of my truck and went off there. My point is "Whatever you chose, wear it. Wear it all the time." None are any good in the rod locker. I'm 77, and have fallen out of the boat many times. Always with the TM down, never with the big motor running. The potential for disaster is greater at speed, but far more likely to fall out of the boat when the TM is down.

Get the best inflatable that will fit in your budget. Put it on when you get in the boat, take it off when you get out. If you can't afford the high dollar Mustangs, get you an A/M24 from BPS. On sale at the spring fling for $60. It will save your butt better than wearing nothing if you hit the water. None of them are any good in the rod locker.

And the result of this is ?????? All this stuff costs a lot of money. I think (hope) we all knew that. It will cost more next year unless the tournament organizers do something. Whether or not we should have FFS or not is another discussion. The fact is right now it's here. Technology is making up for years of experience. Not sure if that's good or bad. BTW, I have it on the Skeeter. More clickbait for the Zaldains. Interesting, but not surprising.

Old Gerald has found out that there is more money in being funny than in fishing. Used to be good, educational, and entertaining, but he has just about over done the "Ol Country Boy" schtick. Best caster I've ever seen. Watch his dock skipping videos. Amazing what he can do with a fishing pole.

Jerk baits are my crack cocaine. I have in my Skeeter today, 3 double sided boxes with 30 each, plus a 3600 with a dozen or so that won't fit the regular boxes. I've been buying, and throwing, lots of Stunna's. Really like that bait. Good action, good colors. $10 less than the Vision. Still throw lots of Visions, though.

Yes/No/Maybe. Suggest you contact Andy Council at Drewcraft. He can give you the "real" answer, not something written by the company attorneys. Steered me in the right direction and saved me a bunch of money that I would have paid him. Ionic rep, but extremely knowledgeable. Too many "experts" on line. Andy is the real deal.

I agree with gimruls. I use Progressive, also. I have had a couple claims. Handled very well. No complaints. Very cost effective. Most of the bigger tournaments here in Missouri are requiring liability coverage. The one I fish mandates $300K. You need liability, period. Ambulance chasers can get everything you have, and ever will have. Your boat, and your stuff, is your risk unless you've financed it.

We fished Slider heads down in Alabama over 50 years ago for spotted bass. Not much different than a hover rig. We caught the snot out of the big spots without FFS. Heck ,we only had flashers. FFS makes it easier, no question. I wonder how many fish we could have caught on Logan Martin in the 1970's with it.

Personally, I wouldn't drop $200 on a reel, particularly a spinning reel. I'd drop $75 on a Pflueger President and buy some jerk baits. Or maybe $125 on Revo X and a couple fewer jerk baits. I throw the Revo X a lot. Think I have 4 of them.

There is really nothing to it if you have any manual skills at all. Check well underneath before cutting. Measure 10 times, then check it. If you cut with a sabre saw, get some extra blades. One possible caveat: Should you elect go to an Ultrex at some later date, good chance the pedal won't fit unless you planned for it. Not familiar with other brands. Worth checking on. Watch your seat base. On a short boat, could be an issue.

Well, you can spend all the money you want. Any reasonably quality reel should serve your needs. I like aluminum framed reels for power techniques. I like the Lew's LFS. At $120, it's a mighty fine reel. More than adequate for any kind of bass fishing. That said, I use Lew's Super Duty's when I'm leaning on 'em. I had an AZ certificate burning a hole in my pocket, and have been wanting to try a Kast King reel. Only had $50, so couldn't try the high end stuff, but I've been using one as my prime jerk bait reel for the last month. Time will tell, but no complaints. I fished 22 days in December and threw it 80% of the time. I'll try another. I'm tired of paying too much money for the mainstream reels.

I'd go to Wally World and buy a Group 29 lead/acid for about $100. If you can afford Lithium, very nice to have, easy to handle, but not needed for your use. I have Ionic's in the Skeeter, lead/acid in my aluminum boat.

Yep. I can't tell the difference in one leap in ratio (5 to 6, 6 to 7, or 7 to 8). I can feel two numbers. I have them all 5, 6, 7, 8. The last few reels I have bought are 7. . . Most of my flipping reels are 8 to 1 Lew's Super Duty. I tried the fast reels when they came out. They work, but some times I flip with a 6 to 1 if it's on the deck. I can still remember the old red Abu's at 3.. to 1. We caught fish on 'em.

Where are you going to find 200 guys that can afford $5k entry plus expenses that are not already committed somewhere else that would fish this kind of circuit? If you do the arithmetic, based on a 200 boat field, the payout is $994,000 of of $1,000,000 in entries. $6,000 won't pay their bills, let alone the buy-out services. I like the idea of an alternate, electronics limited, circuit, but don't see how this one can succeed. I think they are doomed to fail. At this level, like 'em or not, electronics are here to stay. I would fish a tournament or two on lakes I know really well without them, but not at $5K, and certainly with no practice. I don't understand the circuit Owner's motivation. Non-profit, Christian based? Too much money passing through. Running on heart and dreams.

360 and FFS are entirely different tools. I have both and would hate give up one. If you can only have one, you have to ask yourself how you fish. A lake I fish a lot has a bunch of submerged rock piles offshore. 360 all the time. Makes it so easy to find and fish them. Never use the FFS here. Another lake has a lot of creek channels with big trees along the channel line. 360 will find the channel drop, but no help finding fish in the trees. FFS here. If chasing suspended fish, FFS.

I'd use it for bass fishing. All kinds. Don't believe the ratio hype. You can use it for anything. Some might work better than others, but 7:1 is getting to be the norm. I still like 5:1 for cranking, but other than that, I buy 7 for everything.