OkobojiEagle

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm going to try a couple of them and see how they attract the smallies in my lake. RW... I occasionally fish silver buddies but these cranks I want to bump rocky bottom that has very sparse weed growth. When retrieved as a crank Silver Buddies and Little George lures either catch every weed in the path or snag in the rocks. Metal lures work better when I jig them more vertically. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm looking for the smallest profile deep diving crankbait. I'd like to find one that dives 12' to 14' and another that will dig 18' to 20'. I've got the Rapala deep-down series but I'd like to find a couple with a smaller body. What opinions are there about the Lucky Craft Flat CB series, especially the D-12 and D-20? The price isn't of concern, but how they run and the max depth they'll achieve is. Thanks.

Sally Hanson's Hard as Nails (clear finger nail polish)

Throw a popper within 2' - 5' of the shoreline and work it back over the shallow pond rim. Be sure to let it sit for 10 seconds or so before you start the retrieve.

I think your expectations are too high... we all get more backlashes than we remember or tell people about. The TV pros have the benefit of editing their backlashes out of the show. If you're catching fish why does it matter if you're using a baitcaster or spinning reel? Use what you're comfortable with for the techniques you're comfortable with. I use baitcasting gear for hard plastic baits and spinner baits; pretty much for everything else I have a spinning rod in my hand and as I like to fish soft plastic baits, I'm fishing spinning equipment most of the day. Happy hooking.

To veer slightly away from the sensitivity question... would a split reel seat be more apt to allow the rod to break at that point than a more conventional reel seat?

Sometimes all that is needed is to get a little farther out from shore... or change the casting angle to come from in the water. A float tube can be a pretty satisfactory vessel to fish from in these situations.

I would hope all companies are constantly trying to "improve" their products. I have been fishing Fireline since its introduction and have been satisfied with it (in all of its various colors and improvements). Like most things in life you need to spend some time with it and become proficient in using it as it is slightly different in character than non-fused braids. I have used other braids (including PowerPro) and have always returned to Fireline on my spinning gear. I would like to try the new "round" Fireline on my baitcasting gear as I've liked the Stren Ultra-cast 8 strand braid pretty well on those reels.

Leon... Why do you think a 7' rod is too long to fish from the bank?

Spinning... Fireline Bait casting... Spiderwire UltraCast

Glenn... after you get them in the water please post as to how the tail affects the bait's glide. Thanks

Re-read Smallfry's post on the 1st page of this thread!

More information on slider fishing than you'll be able to absorb if you search through the old threads on NYBASS. com and Bronzeback.com

If you have a "coil of the leader" remaining my bet is the braid knot is tightening and cutting the leader. I always dab a little super glue to both sides of the knot to prevent this "over-tightening" of the braid knot. Works for me... your mileage may vary.

Can't be done on the WWW!

Depends upon what application and lure weights you are going to use it for. The S model with centrifugal brakes would handle heavier lures such as big cranks, spinnerbaits and flukes while my choice for pitching jigs and casting lighter weight lures would be the STX with Infini-spool and a magnetic brake system.

Flame green Fireline

I prefer to wrap the shank of my chosen hook with Storm suspend strips. If I'm preparing these at home I wrap the lead strips to the hook with fly tying thread and give it a coat of fingernail polish.

Loctite Super Glue found in the school supply dept. of your local Walmart. It's applicator bottle with brush will keep your glue from drying out for the entire season. I've been using this product for several years.

That has been my experience also, large fish but no average sized smallies. I fear you may be selecting for larger smallies when using a DT16. I think a deeper diving Bandit may produce more quantity of average sized smallies.

I make my own to any weight with any hook using Storm suspend strips wrapped around the hook shank. "On the spot" tinkering is convenient, but I "pre-manufacture" a few and coat them with fingernail polish and the wraps last longer.

check Gopher Tackle's "Worm Dancer". I prefer adding a skirt to a Brewer's wide gap pro model jig

yes

Underfilling a baitcaster (2/3 full) will make it easier to control backlashes.

A lot of information above to absorb... or you can put on whichever line you find easiest to cast with and just go fishin'