kennyo

And the winner is... A weightless wacky rigged senko, and a new spinning combo =

I want to take my 8 year old son bass fishing and have him start using artificial bait. He's got a spincaster on a medium action rod. I fish an old gravel pit that ranges in depth from 0 - 15 feet and has a good population of bass. What would be a good bait to start him off with. I'm leaning towards a minnow bait that runs near the surface so he can see the strikes, and with the treble hooks the hookset isn't as crucial. What do you think? Any other suggestions? Thanks, Kennyo

i've got the 502 albi and i like it very much. Its a little tough at first to close the bail by reeling, but it loosens up after a while. I often close the bail by hand to avoid wind loops anyway. Its a solid, quality reel that i can tell is going to last like you'd expect an ABU reel to last.

Got a Veritas recently, ~20 bass with it so far... Its a heck of a good rod, balances nicely, and VERY sensitive. Thinking of getting another one. I don't think you'd be disappointed with a Veritas.

My goal was to learn to fish with the jig and pig... I caught my 1st fish on it this year, and as of yesterday I've caught 24 bass on the jig and pig (including the one in my avatar). Now my goal is to get a new P.B. on the jig.

My mom and dad were out fishing in Jon boat. Mom got her spinnerbait hung up in a tree that was hanging out over the water. So my dad motors in to let her get the bait. She reaches up and starts untangling it, when a gust of wind blows the boat... My dad yells, let go, let go... SPLASH! She goes completely under water in spite of her life jacket. As the life jacket propels her back to the surface she grabs the boat and rolls in over the gunnel breaking my dads new g. Loomis in the process.

I'm using 20 lb fireline with a floro leader.

i've been absolutely slaughtering the bass on a black/blue arkie jig, with a money craw as the trailer (i bite off an inch of the head since its so long). I found them schooled up on a beaver den, and caught a bass on 7 straight casts. So ya, i like fhe F2. However, i do know what you mean about the money craw slipping when texas rigged on the newer wide gap worm hooks, might try a bigger hook like 5/0 for that. On a flipping jig, it doesn't slip at all. Kennyo

I picked up a Abu Garcia Vendetta, in MHF 6'6' to use as a jig rod. Typically i fish 1/4 to 1/2 oz jigs around woody cover. I've fished the rod twice and caught several fish up to 3.5 pounds. I really like how the rod balances, looks, and feels in my hand. It has great backbone and I'm getting good hooksets with the Jig. My problem is it just doesn't seem very sensitive. I'm catching fish with it, but I'm just feeling like there isn't enough sensitivity and that i'm missing the initial pickup too often. I'm within my 90 day return policy at gander mountain, and I'm really considering returning it for something else. Any suggestions? Thanks, Kennyo

Yep. Its all good :-)

My first statement was agreeing with you that you should compare the finished products. But even though they are both HPME, they are manufactured by different companies. In addition, there are different versions of both spectra and dyneema and i doubt the line manufacturers are going to tell us which version of the materials they are using. Even if they are using the equivilent fibers to make the line (Spectra 2000 = SK75 Dyneema) unless you have insight into the exact manufacturing practices of the two companies you can't say they are the same. Very, Very similar yes, but not the same. Here is some input on the Base fibers, history, and manufacturers... This is a response from BCY (a Bowstring Material Manufacturer) Question: What is the difference between Spectra and Dyneema? Answer: Not very much. Both products are HMPE (high modulus polyethylene) materials. This product was originally developed by DSM in Europe and licensed to Allied Chemicals for production in the United States. Until recently, you could not purchase Dyneema in the USA because of a licensing agreement between DSM and Allied Chemicals. BCY introducted Dyneema to the archery market in 1995 with its DynaFLIGHT bowstring material which was made from SK65 Dyneema. In 1997, DSM began manufacturing SK75, a higher strength Dyneema with less creep, and BCY introduced this with DynaFLIGHT 97 bowstring materials in 1997. There are some slight differences in the two products, Spectra and Dyneema, which really do not effect the performance as an archery bowstring. These would be the number of filaments and the actual makeup of the yarn. In general, SK65 Dyneema is equal to Spectra 1000 and SK75 Dyneema equals Spectra 2000. Note that Spectra 2000 is not available in heavy deniers suitable for making archery bowstring material. The main benefits of Spectra and Dyneema over other fibers previously used in archery bowstrings are their extremely high strength and durability. The high strength results in very low creep. Technical information about both products can be accessed through the Internet if you are looking for additional technical data. And i will standby my statement that dyneema based bowstrings are very low stretch, compared to equivilent spectra based products. This may or maynot translate to much difference in fishing lines made with the 2 products but it does make a big difference in bowstrings. This is likely because Spectra 2000 is not available in deniers suitable for bowstrings as indicated by BCY. This could have similiar implications in heavier tests of fishing line, since most bowstrings are multiple strands (12 to 18) and need to carry a load of ~70 to 100 pounds. KennyO

While i agree, that the finished lines are what should be compared.... Saying the base fibers of spectra and dyneema are basically the same isn't necessarily true. Ask any archers who build their own bowstrings (like me) if spectra and dyneema have the same properties and they will tell u they are very different materials. In my experience with the materials, spectra will continue to stretch over its lifetime, while dyneema has an initial period where it stretches a small amount and then it becomes very stable with almost zero stretch for the rest of its working life. Abrasion resistance wise spectra is more resistant to fraying, while dyneema has a greater tendency to fray (but this can be controlled through waxing/coating).

I've been fishing a lews baitcaster this year, paired with a Abu vendetta rod. Loving the lews reel, and want another one.