bugman

Looking for a HDS 5 with chartplotter but not sure if the screen is big enough for structurescan. The 7" & larger is out of my price range and would like to add structurescan in the future.

Looking for a 4 pcs travel rod. Any suggestions for both spinning & baitcasting?

Every lake has it's own style of fishing. I fish central Fla in March and spend 90% of my time in 3' of Tea stained water. In September you can find me in northern Michigan in gin clear water 65' deep. PIB has weed & sand flats, 25 ' ledges and every thing between. I hear LSC has massive flats of 10' water. ( would love to give it a try) My point is that there all good in their own way. I fish within 1.5 hours of my home 80% of the time but take road trips as much as I can.

Erie & PIB are a great fishery, that being said not every outing is going to get you 100 fish days. The Smallie fishing seems to be off a little bit this spring. Large Mouth bite has been above average for me this year. I'm not concerned about the amount of fishermen on the water, it's the pleasure crafts that are a pain.

How is that possible in Erie? There's two types of Smallies in Erie, Eggs and Monsters. Smallie's eggs in Erie are the size of chicken eggs and as soon as the fish emerge from the eggs they are 20 inches long.... Ok so I'm lying, but I still don't think it's possible to catch a small fish in Erie Smallies in the bay average between 2# - 4#, with a few 5+# at times. The main lake areas tend to hold the big girls.

Fished the Bay Sunday the 23rd and only landed 15 bass, most Largemouths with a few Smallmouths mixed in. LM were caught on trick worms in weeds and SM on lipless cranks on sand/weed flats in 3' to 5'. Water temps ranged from 57 to 66. The week before we caught over 65 in same areas. Go figure! Rock Bass all over the flats.

I have the same blank but in a baitcaster. St Croix rods are known for having plenty of backbone. I think it would make a great skipping rod. I also think it would be the right rod for weightless soft plastics, lipless cranks as well as top waters. Many may say that 6'2" is to short for the baits I listed but I know of old school fisherman that only use 6' rods and out-fish 99% of the guys on the lake. I'm starting to think we fisherman put too much thought into our equipment and should concentrate how we fish instead. JMHO

I fish the Ika Weightless-Texas rig backwards (skirt in front)- Gammi 5/0 EWG superline. There is much info in past posts in this forum. You should also do a google search of *** Fat Ika, you will find all the info you need.

I've fished Rat-l-traps for years and can say they have been my most productive lure. I do change out the hooks with Gammi #5 & #4. #5 are hard to find but they don't get caught on the nose of the lure like the stock hooks do. I think the new traps have better hooks than in the past but they increased the price. My only complaint with traps is that they need adjusting out of the box about 50% of the time. I have been fishing with Strike King Red Eyes the past year and have found that they run true 99% of the time and come with quality hooks.

The AC68MXF is an outstanding rod and GREAT value! The AC68MXF is one of my favorite rods. Great for weightless plastics, lipless cranks! The Avid's grip is shaped to form to your hand not just a stright tube. I never felt like it wanted to slip from my hand even when launching large baits.

Lipless cranks, Bladebaits, jerkbaits over emerging weeds.

Here in Northeast Ohio there are many good Bass lakes that only allow electric motors. I would like to see pictures of your electric only Bass boat. I would think a Jon Boat would be a good base because it should go faster than a V shaped boat.

My all purpose rod is the St. Croix AVC73MHF. At 7'3" it is a long rod but it is a teloscopic rod so it's easy to transport. It's a great C-Rig, Frog, Swimbait & Pitch rod. I use other rods for most plastics.

I like to stick with one brand of rod and reel. I mostly fish St. Croix Avids with Shimano Curados. Love the E7. I suggest that you buy the same make of reel that makes your favorite reel that you own now. Every MFG has it's good & bad points but I like to be consistent with my equipment. jmho

I fish the Avid: AVS70MF AVC62MXF AVC66MHF AVC73MHF Great rod for the price! One of my favorite things about the Avid rods is the grips. I'm not a fan of the split grips on some of St Croix higher priced rods. It's not that SC makes bad split grips I just don't like any split grips. The Avid's contoured grips fit my hand perfectly. They are lite and sensitive but with plenty of backbone.

Jig it, Swim it, Drop shot it...... There is no bad way to fish it! Just remember to bring a few different colores. I always have a dark, bright & a shad color in the boat.

I was offered a great deal on a St Croix PC70MLF. My question is what is the best use for that rod. My first reaction is that it is a drop shot rod but I would rather use a spinning outfit for drop shotting. If you have used this rod I would apprciate your opinion.

I like a MXF 6' or 6'6" baitcaster with 12# Flouorcarbon. The Ika has enough weight and casts great with this set up. I also like to use a Gammi 4/0 or 5/0 superline EWG for my hook. I like to pinpoint cast to targets such as pads or stick-ups so spinning gear is not for me. I have found that a Bass will not drop the Ika so you don't have to set the hook as soon as you feel a tap. I watch the the line and when it starts to move then I set it. But don't wait to long because they tend to get the bait too deep. I suggest that you use the same rod you use for Senko's if you fish that bait.

Rapala makes a nice plier with a lanyard. It also has a o-ring spreader on the tip. I hook a nail clipper on the other end of the lanyard so that I always have it handy.

All the local shops that carry Yo-Zuri line are now only offering Hybrid. I've always used 12# Ulra Soft on my baitcasters. Is there much difference between the two? I hear that the breaking point is 1 or 2 lbs less but always thought that it was good trade off for a more limp line. I like to buy from local shops, but could buy online. Special orders may take to long for my next planed outting. How dose the Hybrid compare to other copolys like Gamma & P-Line?

Looking for a suggestion for a rod to use for casting/jigging bladebaits for smallies this spring.

Is Shades Beach the beach that is just outside the bay entrance that has a lighthouse?

http://www.***.com/articles/misc/backward-ika.shtml Check out the article, it's all you need to know!

The new DT Thug by Rapala was designed to go through weeds/rock/wood. Has anyone fished the Thug for Smallies?

Thanks bassnleo..... I knew I could count on you!