B@ssCrzy

Nice work. Nice to be able to see all of those reels compared side by side.

I would go with the 7:1 since you don't have one. I have two 7:1's and a 6:4 and mostly use the 7's for everything. You can always slow it down as previously stated.

Seems like you have a pretty good list of stuff. Probably a good idea to focus on gaining confidence with what you have, but the bait monkey is hard to resist. The only thing I might suggest would be getting some top water stuff. I see you have the Zoom toads. I have not fished them, but really like the stanley ribbits with the weighted double hook for buzzing across the surface. You can sling it a mile and cover a lot of water. Regular buzzbait, hollow body frogs, zara spook, etc. might be something you want to think about. Nothing more exciting than catching fish on top water. I have also been reading recently about having trailer hooks on my spinnerbaits, so that is something that you might want to do as well. Welcome to the forum!! Tight lines!!

If a bass will eat a hot dog on a bobber, I am gonna bet he'll eat something that looks and moves more like his natural prey even if he doesn't know what it is.

I completely agree with the above post about investing some money. About 11 years ago I bought a cheap baitcasting reel ($30-35 wal-mart special), used it 3-4 x's, hated it, took it back and did not use one again until two years ago when I got tired of the line snarls from my spinning reels. I purchased a flueger eschelon ($60) that worked well and at least kept me interested in using a baitcaster. I was still disappointed though in the distance/weight of bates, that I could cast so I decided to invest in a curado e series reel. Man what a difference. I have since bought two more, and cant even bear to use the eschelon anymore. I think your experience will be much more positive if you spend something around the $100-$150 range if you can. FYI...ohya.com is selling curado e series reels for $133 w/ free shipping. I hear great things about last years citca model as well. You could probably get one of those for under $100. For me I prefer the centrifrugal breaking system, to the eschelon's magnet breaking system. However, that may be just the difference in quality of reels that I have compared as well. Let us know what you get. Would be interested in hearing. Welcome to the forum.

Great idea. Thanks!!

After these being out for at least one summer. Just wondering what the verdict is on these frogs. A lot of the reviews that I have read comment that it has great action, but durability is a huge issue. I read something about them changing the plastic for the legs to make them more durable, but did this cause any improvement? Just wondering what some of your thoughts are from those that fished a whole summer with them?

Curado E series. Don't go with the G. You can get a brand new 200/201E for $133 on ohya.com with free shipping and no tax. I have bought two of these recently to stock up since they are going out. Looks like you would save $70 or so to be able to pair you new reel with a decent rod. Great reels!!

Those are awesome!!!! Bet those were a lot of fun!!!

Berkley 4" Power Worm

I live in Westfield. Fish Morse mainly. Until they rob my bank account of $13 per launch for a half day of fishing and then I fish the ponds.

One of the things I want to work on this year is to learn how to fish a hollow body frog. Fished successfully with Stanley Ribbits this year and loved it!! So my question is what would you consider the best beginner hollow body frog (if there is such a thing) and why? I really want to learn how to walk a frog so if there is a certain one that easier than most to walk that information would be helpful as well. Then also what techniques you use to fish it. Any help would be appreciated.

Stanley Ribbit Berkley Ribbon Tale 4" (as dropshot bait) Original Floating Rapala

Buy a baitcaster that has the handle on the same side as your spinning reel. IMO no need to waste time learning a new way to hold your rod and reel when that time could be spent fishing comfortably from the beginning.

Definitely a spinning reel. Unless you want to get into spending a good amount of money for a baitcaster. 50e I hear is a good option as previously suggested or something like a pixie if you want to get into something that can really throw small baits. I personally would just save my money and go with a spinning reel, but then load it with braid instead of mono. If you are worried about water clarity you can always then do a fluoro leader or even a mono leader. The braid will keep you from getting birds nests from the spinning gear due to line twist and line memory from mono. This has worked for me quite well with my spinning gear. Used to hate spinning gear b/c of the line twist until I strung it with braid. Does not bother me now. Good luck.

I am looking at getting 7ft to 7'3" mh rod paired with a curado. I plan on using it to fish frogs, buzzbaits,and stanley ribbits, etc. I have heard a lot of good things about the vendetta, but I am on a limited budget and really like that the clarus rods have a lifetime warranty on them. Gives me ease of mind to know that if it breaks I can get a new one since I don't have a spare $100 to go out and buy a new rod. For those of you that have both which one do you like and why? Any help would be appreciated.

I have not tried out the 51e, but I can cast 1/4 oz cranks ok with the 200. For me if I am going to go lower than 1/4 I am going to want to use a spinning reel anyway. The more I use the reel the better I get at throwing them, but anything less than 1/4 would be tough. Some of that though may have to do with how I have the breaks set up. I would say that you probably don't want to go any lower than 1/4 oz. I mainly throw senkos, curly tail worms, spinners, stanley ribbits with ribbit hooks (weighted), fat ikas, crankbaits, x-raps, rapala dt and it works great for all of them. Hope this helps.

I am guessing that the 300 series will work for you, but I would have bought the 201e for that kind of rod. The 300 e series is more used for bigger weights, applications like swimbaits, where you are throwing heavy stuff. I own 2 of the 200 series and they do fine for any of the bass/fishing applications that I use. I love my 200 e series reels. I just picked up my second one this week b/c I liked it so much last summer, and have heard not the best reviews about the new G series. Unless you plan on using swimbaits, trolling with heavier rod, or doing some saltwater fishing the 200 series would be my choice. Don't know where your gift card was to, but on-line I bought both of mine for $133 from ohya.com w/ free shipping.

Thanks everybody for your input. Looks like MH will be enough for my purposes. That and switching to braid will hopefully help me keep more fish. Have a happy New Year. Tight Lines....

I am looking at getting a new rod (for under $100) that will be used mainly to fish stanley ribbits and hollow bodied frogs. It will be paired with a curado e7. I do not do any flipping and pitching as this is a skill I have not really learned yet, and there are no places around me that have heavy heavy weeds or even lilly pads. This summer I found that my medium rod with fast tip would not give me the power set the hook. Of course I was using mono as well so that added stretch meant I lost several nice fish. I will be switching to braid for this setup so I know that alone will help. I was looking at a Shimano Clarus MH with fast tip b/c I like the lifetime warranty, but am open to other suggestions. My main question is do I need to get the heavy instead of the MH, and if I go with the heavy how much will that cut down on my distance in casting? Any help would be appreciated. Happy New Year!!

I have never been a member of another forum for anything, but what made me want to join this forum was several things. 1. People genuinely seemed to want to help people out and rarely talked down to or about someone else's post. No question was a stupid question, so for a novice fisherman it was a good place to ask questions. 2. Seemed like a very active forum, so it made me want to check it constantly. 3. The website as a whole offers a lot of informative articles, resources etc., and is being updated on a regular basis. Makes it feel like something is really happening with the site. Thanks for making this a great site!! I have definitely become a better fisherman because of it.

I can definitely understand your frustration. I don't like people taking more than they need out of a lake, and to me throwing every fish in the bucket that they catch, regardless of size is too much. However, I will say that I will occasionally keep largemouth bass to eat myself. If you haven't ever tried them they are really good. Also, read an article here on this site about how over time bass do learn from being caught multiples times and it makes them a "smarter fish." By actually keeping some of the larger fish you will in the future make fishing better since it allows the smaller less experienced fish to grow bigger and thrive. I would definitely be calling the DNR if they are not following the laws, but who knows by pulling some of the fish you have caught multiple times out of the food chain they may in the end help make your fishing better. I am sure there are some places you can find to fish where these guys can't access it from the bank. Good luck!!

He certainly is good!! I always like to pray before I fish b/c I know he can send them my way!! Congrats! Pray that you heal quickly. God bless.

I fish the Indianapolis area. Morse has some good fish. Last year they caught an 8 lb fish and released it out of there. It was the lake record. It is a complete rip off though for launch fees for both lakes. Early in the year I wanted to test my new depthfinder on my boat just to see if it would work. Showed up at Morse to see if they would just let me test it. Manager called me a thief by even asking. Complete jerk. So I try not to go there as much as I can help it. On the weekend it is $29 during the summer to launch your boat!! Your best bet is fishing the ponds for building confidence and having fun. I am in the same boat as you. Just started fishing more serious about 2 years ago. I like getting out on the boat, but the most fun and biggest fish have come from the ponds. If I stay around here I mostly fish the ponds.

Anyone fished it lately. I have been there before, but never caught much. I am going in two weeks and any help would be appreciated. Figured the fish would be pretty deep right now and so would probably focus on main lake points in deeper water. Probably look at doing some drop shotting around cover. Any help would be appreciated. Rob