bugman

Last month all my bass were on Bill lewis 1/4 oz Rat-L-Traps (Smoky Joe) and GYCB Fat Ika (Watermellon)

I shop at Dick's because of the good deals that they have at times. The staff has always been friendly if not helpful. My only beef with Dick's is that the sale price on the display is not always in the system and won't ring up at the register. Almost every time I buy sales items they charge me full price. If you don't catch it before they print the receipt then you will have to wait for the manager to come up to the checkout and ok the return then go through the whole check out again.

Thanks to all who took the time to give me such good advice. I've made up my mind to get the St Croix Avid 9' #5 (AF905.2) that is on clearence at Gander MT. I will match it with a (#6 LA) Tioga by Teton reel. This combo is well balanced and light enough to still have fun with the smaller fish that stay in the streams all summer. I have not gotten into much trout fishing yet but think this combo will be good when I do.

I put on a GYCB Swim Senko and thought that most of the action was in the paddle tail. I still like the Fluke better because it seems that it gives the whole lure the jerky action that I'm looking for. I also tried a Zoom Horny toad, it did not give the action I like for open water but it looks good for sparce surface weeds or over submerged weed beds.

I also agree! Bass Pro Shops has a three CD set from KVD for $9.95. It;s the best video deal around. Not only do you get the spinnerbait cd but a cd on Pitching/flipping and another on changing conditions. KVD dose a great job on all three cd's. KVD also has another cd on spinnerbaits but I have not looked at that one yet.

I fish the chatterbait with many different trailers and the fluke is one of my favorite. The fluke gives the CB a more eradic action if you also remove the skirt. I think the chatterbaits "magic" is in it's action so when picking out a trailer, pick one that will give it the most action.

I fish a few of the Lake Erie tribs here in the Cleveland area for smallies. In the past I have been using a ML spinning rod but after the spawn the only smallies that stay in these tribs seem to be between 10 & 14 inches. I'm looking for a fly rod/reel combo that would be good for these (small) smallies. Any suggestions would be appriciated.

I have this set up and love it. I use it for pitch/flip, frogs and c-rigs.

I bought the Triumph 66MLF for messing around with in some local streams for 10 -14 inch smallies. I use it for any lure up to 1/4oz.

I'm thinking about buying a few Lucky Craft lures because I think a few good high priced lures will be less expensive in the long run. I have had so much bad luck with low cost lures that need tuning right out of the box or after regular use.I will limit my selection to lures that don't have a high rate of loss due to snags such as lipless cranks. Please list your top 10 Lucky Craft lures. I guess I should add any lure not just LC that you think will fish well out of the box and hold up over time. Thanks for your help, Gary (bugman)

Do LC cranks stay tuned after use or do the get out of tune with regular use? I ask this because I can justify the high price if I only need a few good lures that will last a long time.

I was reading that anywhere between 1/4 -3/4 of the crankbaits need some amount of tuning right out of the package and some can never be tuned right. What brands do you have the best luck with that are easy to tune or come out of package tuned? Are the high priced cranks any better than the lower end baits?

Has anyone used the new P-Line Evolution? What do you think?

Add the Chatterbait type lures to the spring list. I also fish the Rat-L-Trap this time of year.

You may want to ask a MLB hitter how he busts a slump ;D

Okuma is the largest MFG of reels in the world. I'm not sure that adds up to quality though. I Steelhead fish the Eire tribs and see that many good fishermen use the Okuma spinning reels. Those big trout can really give a reel a workout so I think they would hold up fine with bass.

I agree with RW, the Curado is a great reel and there is a 7:1 if you want a burner. This reel has stood the test of time. The AB Revo SX looks like a nice reel also but only time will tell.

For about $100 you can get a St. Croix PC66MF, great general purpose rod.

Just picked up a St. Croix AC68MXF and Shimano Curado 200DHSV 7.1:1. Have not had a chance to fish with it but hav e practiced in the yard and can tell this is going to be one of my favorite.

Roll cast a Fat Ika, watch the line and set the hook.

GOOD POINT! Looks like my first LC may be a Topwater. What size Sammy do you like best?

Thanks for all the suggestions, Keep them comming! I'm surprised that none of you guys mentioned any Spro topwaters. They look so much like some of the Lucky Craft lures, i'm just woundering if the fish like them.

I'm looking to add topwater baits to my collection this spring and could use some advice. Please list your favorite Jerkbaits/minnow, pop/chug, cigar & Buzzbaits. I can't see myself paying for high priced lures such as Lucky Craft but if you have a good argument for these lures I willing to listen.

The Revo STX is the "hot" reel at this time and should match well with just about any rod. You might want to ask your question again, but this time say what lure's you want to use it for.