Mumbly

Some great suggestions made already but I wanted to add if you have a Dick's in your area you may want to check for the Spiderwire sling backpack they had on clearance up until a week or so ago. The link on their website is no longer valid as they sold out but you might want to check in store. I think it was clearance for $24 if i remember correctly.

I finally got around to cleaning up the basement and was surprised to find a brand new Quantum Tour Edition US300 reel from I think the early to mid 90's. I recall buying it for about $100 during the winter but misplaced it soon after. Any of you guys fish one of these back in the day? I am trying to find a use for it as I doubt it is worth much. 5:1 might be a decent cranking reel. Would love to hear some thoughts and opinions.

I bought a Curado 50E last spring and it is perfect for my "smaller" hands. Most comfy reel I have fished. A few months after that I came across a store that still had a few Curado's left so I snagged a 200E7. It feels ok but to me the 50 feels way better. I should have bought another 50 instead of the 200. Just like most things....personal preference wins the day.

Go to your local Pharmacy and ask if they could save the silica packets from pill bottles for you.

I will 2nd what smalljaw67 says. I am a huge fan of Heddon torpedo's and I have fished the smaller "teeny" version for smallmouth on light line. Not sure what you are fishing for but I can tell you that a 2+ pound smallmouth can and will pull the rear eye screw right out of this bait, losing prop and treble. I have had happen with 3 different baits. On my remaining baits I have super glued the rear eye screw in hopes of keeping this from happening again. They are a ton of fun on ultralight gear.

I still throw them for smallmouth (don't have largemouth here sadly) and they work great. Probably a confidence thing but white seems to work best for me, followed closely by perch. I even have some of the really small o's...not sure what they are called but boy are they tiny.

Are these still being made? Not seeing them on the Yum, Lurenet or Tackle Wharehouse websites.

Decent price for them at Cabela's...just fyi.

I will 2nd this suggestion. Works very well.

I once saw a guy pull a Popeil pocket fisherman out of his golf bag to fish a stocked trout pond on a golf course. I have now gotten to the point where I have fired up my Wii and have been playing all the fishing games that I have. Forgot that I had so many.

We have a few local shops here and to tell the truth I would like to support them but price and selection is just poor in comparison sadly. I imagine there are a lot more shops in Ontario. I'll mail order 95% of my tackle, whether it is from within Canada or brought in from the US, but rods are another matter. The shipping on rods can be as much as the cost of the rod (depending on the length). Rods I will buy local. I have been noticing amazon.ca is starting to list more and more rods, reels and tackle on their site. With free shipping for orders over $25, that might be a good thing as long as they are priced right.

I am actually surprised that no one is mentioning Le Baron. I am on the east coast and do mail order from them through their Montreal (Main) store but they also have retail stores in Markham, Mississauga and Ottawa. I have yet to find any stores in Canada with better pricing whether it be retail store or online. Has anyone had a different experience with them and found better?

Really sad to hear this. RIP Cotton.

Guessing the reel is as low as it will get. When looking at the ad for the reel it says "Excluded from reel trade-in and any other discounted promotion." Also looking at the Reel Trade-in section it notes "Excludes Pro Qualifier Baitcast Reels" I am not sure I have noticed this before but it also says "prices are good in stores only". Is that normal?

I like this thread as I have been tossing around the idea of upgrading the stock bearings in my Curado 50e for about a year now. I am curious if you or anyone else might know if there is a difference between the bearings offered by Hawgtech vs. the ones from Boca (other than price)?

Great video WW. I really enjoyed it.

Only smallmouth up here so if I had to pick one as an all-time most productive I would say a Heddon Torpedo in bullfrog. Having said that, lately a Rebel Pop'R in clear or bone has been working incredibly well. Last month it was a Super Spook Jr. in bone and a Zara puppy in bone. Guess this all means it's sometimes situational as to what the fish like.

a-ha!! Thanks for the answer. I prefer the 2x short shanks as well.

Welcome to the site. Of the 3 rods you listed I would say that the Lightning shock would be the better choice. As timsford mentioned the lightning shock has a softer tip for using braid so the rod will be a moderate/fast from what I have seen. I also think the regular lightning rod work as well.

I think it is going to come down to personal preference after some trial and error on rod length. My personal experience from bank fishing over the years has me selecting rod length depending on what I am fishing. For example, I fish a lot of topwater and started out with a 7ft and when I am working a spook or other walking bait I tend to work the rod with downward twitches. Being only 5'7", I found the 7ft too long to work the bait right unless I was standing on a tall rock with more downward clearance (much like fishing in a boat). I switched to a 6'6" which seemed better but now have gone a 6' which works great for me. Of coarse the longer rods pick up slack quicker, cast a bit further and perhaps help with hook setting but just like anything....there are always trade-offs. Just depends on what you are willing to sacrifice to make it all work as best it can.

Fantastic fish. Looks like you had a great day!

I searched the site and maybe I am just tired or something but I can't seem to be able to figure out the difference between the following Mustad triple grips other than color. Would love some help. http://www.barlowstackle.com/Mustad-TG76BLN-Treble-Hook-Black-Nickel-P1963.aspx http://www.barlowstackle.com/Mustad-36246R-Treble-Hook-P501.aspx

x3 ...Well said Catt

My only experience was trying a friends mojo bass for about 20 minutes. It sure felt nice, but to me it seemed heavier than the rating. I believe it was the 7' mh/f spinnerbait rod but felt stiffer.

My best was a 4.4lbs on a Heddon torpedo.