bugman

#4 in front and #6 in back for both 1/4 & 1/2 oz. I like Gammie round bend on the 1/4 oz and Gammie EWG on the 1/2 oz.

Myself I like the faster reel even when crankin. I like the speed when trying to get deep cranks down to max depth. I don't have problems slowing down my retrive with a 6.2:1 reel. As long as the reel you pick has the cranking power you want I would go with the 6:1. (jmho)

I have a 6' St. Croix Premier MF baitcaster with a Curado 200B that I use for soft plastics, jerkbaits, light spinners & top waters. I'm looking for a baitcasting rod and reel set up that I will just use for worms, Senkos and Fat Ikas ect. Most of the rods I own are M/F except my 66 MH/M crankbait & 73 MH/F flip/pitch/frog rod. The number 1&2 qualities i'm looking for are sensitivity and accuracy, with weight comming in a close 3rd. I'm not sure if I should move up to a MH/F 6'6" rod. Also would a 7:1 ratio reel be best for this type of baits? I would like to stay around $325.00 for the combo. Any suggestions would be appriciated.

I would go with the St Croix rods. The Avids are great rods for the $160.00 range. If you are looking for a rod that cost below $100.00 check out the Croix Triumph rods. The Premier rods are nice but are very close in quality to the Triumphs. The Triumphs are assembled overseas so they are about $20.00 cheaper than the US made Premiers. If you are looking for a rod in the $200 - $300 range the Legend Tour & Legend Elite rods are top of the line and should be compared th the G.Loomis IMX & GLX rods.

I Picked St. Croix and fish with Triumph, Premier and Avid models. I have been looking at the Legend tour, Legend elite and G.Loomis IMX/GLX for when I want to step up in quality. One make that I'm interested in and was not on the list is Falcon. This may only be a lateral move from the Croix Avid though.

A propane torch gets the lead to hot. I have found that a butane lighter that is made to light cigars works best. This is not your standard Bic lighter but the kind that is like a lighter sized torch. I found them at local drug stores but all cigar shops will sell them. They are more expensive that disposable lightes but are refillable and will be cheaper in the long run. Another nice thing about these lghters is that you can hold the jig/weight with pliers and heat all sides with this type of lighter and not burn your hands. I thread bullet weights with thin wire or small paper clip and hold the wire with my pliers so that all areas of the weight are coated.

What size of this weedless wacky hook do you like best?

RW, When cranking,do you back off on the drag when using Yo-zuri HUS because of the low stretch characteristics of that line? Would 10# help with the action of most crankbaits or is this line thin enough?

In the past year I've been using copoloy lines like Yo-zury on most of my reels. My crankbait rod is a 6'6" croix Avid MH/M. I'm thinking that a line with more stretch would be better for cranks. What is your favorite line and what lb test for crankbaits?

How dose the Croix Legend elite compare to G.Loomis IMX? I'm looking for a rod in the 6' range that I will use worms/plastics/lite spinners. I saw a (new) older Croix Legend elite 6' M/F on sale for $200. I'm willing to spend up to $250 if I can get a much better rod.

I picked up the same reel on clearence last year. Great reel but just to slow for my taste. One option that was suggested to me was to have new (faster) gears put in. The tackle shop that I shop at would do it for $25.00. You might want to pm (reel mech) on this forum and get his advice, he is respected by many fishermen that use this forum

Looking for info on how and when to fish the new GYCB Shad shape worm. I will be fishing on a shallow lake in central Florida at the end of the month and would like to know if this bait can be fished like a Senko with baitcasting equipment? Any other info would be appriciated.

Last year when Shimano changed the curado Walmart was selling the old models for $49.00. I checked about 10 stores in my area and bought five of them. I kept two, sold one at cost to my brother in law, gave one to my dad and sold one on E-bay for $125.00. I wish that I didn't sell the one on E-bay becaue I would like to have another one. I guess it's OK because I can still get one at about the same price.

Thanks for the info about line rec. I went to BPS online and did some homework. Here is what I found. 1. BPS Johnny Morris signature, 7.1:1 31" rec $180.00 2. BPS Rick Clunn signature, 7.1:1 31" rec $100.00 3. Browning fishing Midas, 7.1:1 31" rec $150.00 4. Browning fishing Medallion GT 7.1:1 31 rec $80.00 5. Abu Garcia Revo stx-hs 7.1:1 31 rec $200.00 6. Abu Garcia Ambass 5600 (round) 6.4:1 30.9" rec $170.00 7. Quantum Tour Editon 7.1:1 28" rec $240.00 8. Quantum Accurist PT 6.2:1 23" $130.00 9. Shimano Curado D cu200DHSV 7:1 30" rec $200.00 10. Shimano Calais 4x8 7:1 31" rec $650.00 11. Shimano Chronarch Mg 6.2:1 25" rec $250.00 12. Pflueger Supreme 6.3"1 28" rec $170.00 13. Team Daiwa Zillion 7.1:1 31" rec $250.00 14. Team Daiwa Steez 6.3:1 26" rec $450.00 My conclusion: All reels that have a 7:1 ratio but the Quantum Tour Edition (28" IPT) will have the fastest IPT. Reels that are in the 6:1 range will vary the most in IPT. Price dose not have anything to do with IPT Also I checked into spinning reels and it seems that you have to get into the 3000 to 4000 size range to get much faster IPT. I hope this help out when you are looking to buy a "Burner" Gary (bugman)

Thanks for the information. When I look up reels on line I don't see any info about IPT only gear ratio. Would I be correct to assume that reels with larger spools and higher ratios will have the fastest IPT? Is there something else I should be adding to the formula?

I was reading that gear ratio is not always the best way to determin how fast a reel can bring in line. Is it true that some baitcasting reels with lower ratios can bring in line faster than a reels with a higher gear ratio? If so what reel make/model has the fastest ability to bring in line? Also what lures do you like to use ultra fast reels for?

I would go with the Croix. With a $150.00 budget you could step up to the Avid. I like the Premier rods but the Avids are a much better class of rod that you won't out grow to fast.

I have never belonged to a bass club and would like some information about clubs. I'm 46 years old and have been around fishing all my life, but kind of consider myself a rookie. Because of interests in team sports in my teens and hunting in my 20's & 30's I have not devoted much time to fishing. I would get out about 5 times a summer. Now that i'm in my 40's I find those other interests fadeing and fishing is becoming an obsession. I'm now into Salmon/Steelhead fly fishing in cold weather months and Bass & Muskie during warm weather month. In the last three years I've switched from spinning outfits to baitcasting, purchased a used 14' boat with 5.5 Johnson/55lb trolling motor and enough tackle to tick off my wife. I'm looking for a club that I can learn and share information with. At this time I don't think I can get involved in turny fishing because my job and kids take up much of my weekends. I live in the Cleveland, OH area and i'm looking for a club that will fit my needs. Any information would be appriciated. Gary (bugman)

I may change to a EWG from a round bend but not eliminate either hook. Dose removing a hook effect the action of the crank? Have any of you guys replaced the rear hook with a worm hook?

I just got one of the storage box that has the flip up trays. It holds about 30 spinnerbaits. You do have to compress the wire to fit them in the slots but they do stay put. you guys got me thinking that tis might bend them out of tune. Has anyone used this type of box? I can use it for jigs if I take the spinners out.

I was at a Gander MT store and a Croix Legend Elite 6' MF was on sale. Retail was $289.00 marked down to $249.00 then red taged at $199.00. I think this rod has ben around awhile. The color is green not brown like the new ones. Ant info would be appriciated.

I was at Gander MT today and they have GS Advantage E-Glass crankbait rods. My question is there any fiberglass in them? The label says that its made of IM6. They feel like and have the action of glass. If you have fished with them I would like to hear what you think. At $29.95 I just might match one up with a old 5:1 reel I have for deep cranking.

I have one rod that I use for all my cranks. It's a St Croix AC66MHM, it might not be the best rod for each of my cranks but works well with all sizes. I have made up my mind that I don't need to have a rod for each lure type. I have 4 bait casting rods and 1 spinning outfit that covers all my Bass fishing needs. Sorry Bait Monkey!

Thanks for all of the replys. ReelMech I like your idea of using it for an open water rod. I think the main reason I let it sit was because I found out that I like to cast shorter rods. When I do want a longer rod for flipping/pitching/slop fishing it did not have enough bachbone. I will give it another try when I want to make long casts on large flats or hump fishing. Thanks again Gary (bugman)

How do the Aruku shads compare to Rat-L-Traps?Have you used the Aruku Shad Jr?