Hawgin

The best deflecting crankbaits I have used for 4' and under are the Timber Tigers. They will deflect and come through some pretty nasty stuff without getting hung up. Their body design does a good job of protecting the hooks on the front side, without impeding hook ups with fish.

I think you will really like this reel. I have the cx500pt and that thing is one smooth reel. The only problem I have is that it seems to sit a little high in the reel seat for me (I like to palm my reels). Other than that I really have no complaints with these.

I personally am a big fan of the G-Splash, but the majority of people on here seem to really like the regular sammy. I don't own one yet, but I hear they are the easiest walk the dog bait to use.

I have had great success with Suffix Siege and Elite. I will never use Big Game again, unless I'm bored and want to play "slinky".

Avid- If want rid of that other xrap, just send it over to me. I have enough confidence in them for both of us. ;D

I would recommend starting out with either a 3/8 or 1/2 oz jig. I would get at least one of them in black/blue. This is probably the most popular jig color. With a swimming jig, I think a twin tail grub would be an excellent trailer.

I used a 7'6" flipping stick for a while, but almost all rods that length have the telescoping handle and at least to me that seemed to reduce the sensitivity. I'm sure others have had a different effect with true flipping sticks. Now I use a 7' Fenwick Techna AV MH when I'm pitching in lighter cover, and I have a 6'10" All Star Heavy that I use in heavier cover. I must say however that I mostly use pitching instead of truly flipping. So after saying all that, I think you would be fine using a 7' rod, but you probably want at least a medium heavy, and possibly a heavy rod depending on how thick the cover is your fishing.

I once caught a 20 inch bull frog on a white zoom horny toad. The frog exploded up out of the pads and nailed the frog. I didn't set the hook, but it was to late, some how the frog had hooked itself. Sucked getting the hook out. I had another bull frog hit one and I had to wait almost 2 minutes for him to spit it out because I didn't want to hook him as well.

Those fish have a beautiful color, and I love how much the lateral line stands out on those. Congrats on your day out with your dad.

The best advice I can give you is to go to Rapala's website and watch the videos they have for each of the baits. Check out a husky jerk, and then the xrap video. The hj's have a straight line wobble on the jerk, the xraps have more of a wide slashing, zig zag pattern.

Where the sweet beavers new in 2005 or 2006. I didn't start using them until '06 so that would be my choice. Actually though I no longer use the reaction innovation ones, I use the berkley beast and I know it was new for '06.

I will hardly ever buy fishing equipment off ebay unless it is basically a steal. I would much rather have a store or retailer that I can return the reel to for service, replacement, etc if there are any problems. With ebay it's a crap shoot that the person you are buying from is legit or would work with you if you get a faulty product from them. I'm not saying all ebay sellers are crooks, but you have to be pretty careful.

Those beaver knock offs look perfect.

Has anyone had the opportunity to use one of the Powell Max 683C rods yet? This rod appears to have exactly what I have been looking for in a rod, but I have not heard much about their performance. IF anyone has used one let me know what you think.

5 lb 9 oz, on a Strike King bleeding seriese 1/2 oz spinnerbait in firetiger.

For braid: 50# Power Pro Flour/Co: 15# Yo Zuri Hybrid Mono: 12# Suffix Elite

H n T, I think you stated the point I was trying to make better than I could have. Yes, GLX's are great rods, maybe the best rods. I won't deny that, but you also pay the "best" price for them. It just seems like some people won't accept the fact that there are some more reasonably priced, high quality options other than Loomis and Shimano.

But is that $100 worth it, especially for the average weekend angler or bank beater? If I were fishing tourneys every single weekend, then maybe it's justified, but $100+ is a lot of money to justify for a rod that weighs a 1/4 to 1/2 oz less, and is minimally more sensitive. I'm not saying that Loomis isn't the best because it is, but should I run out and by a Ferrari because it's a little faster and handles a little better than a Corvette for 3x's the price, just to drive it back and forth to work?

Okay, I just have to throw my hat in the ring on this deal just so you have plenty of options. While I agree that Loomis is the top of the line in rods, not everyone likes the price tag that goes with them. I have fished with an IMX on a few occassions, and in my opinion my Fenwick AVC70MHF is very close in sensitivity and weight, but at a price of about $100 less than the same rod in a Loomis IMX. Fenwick also makes an AVC66MHF that would work if you are wanting a shorter rod. This has been my rod of choice for fishing jigs and plastics for the last few years. I just want to make sure you check all your options.

I do use the Falcon system, and in my opinion it is worth every penny. You are able to maximize space because the boxes are so specifically designed that there is no wasted space in them. I am also a "neat freek", and it allows me to keep everything in it's specific box. It's also nice because I can organize for a day of fishing quickly and easily because all of my jerkbaits are in one box, spinners in one, etc. It allows you to take exactly what you need for that day with having to sort through many boxes looking for certain baits. As most fisherman would probably agree, more stuff in less space quicker means that many more casts you can get in during one day.

I think KU hit it perfectly. You can tell a quality reel just by handling it in the store, and by cranking the handle. All you can tell about a rod when you pick it up is whether it is light or not and if the grip feels right in your hand. You can't tell from picking them up is if the Loomis is more sensitive than the Techna AV, or if a $300 is really that much better than a $100 rod. Unless you are lucky like me, and have a friend with high end equipment they will let you use during a day on the lake, you just don't know with rods.

Hey jnolen69, I sent you a personal message.

I agree with Alpster 100%. I am just now recycling the reels that I started fishing with, but I have upgraded my rods on multiple occassions. None of the reels I have been using are very expensive, and they've never failed me. My rods however are getting up in the high end, and I can't even begin to imagine the bites I have been missing for the last few years now that I know what good rods feel like.

Funny thing happened today. I went to BPS and filled a real shopping cart up. I got to cross several items off my Christmas list. The last time I was down their my dad bought a Team All Star flipping stick for my Christmas present. The worst part is, he won't let me use it until then. I pick it up and play with it every time I go to visit them. Still on my list for this year is a Falcon Tackle System. I have 5 of the boxes already, now I need the bag to go with them.

We were fishing in a small town just outside of Kansas City, MO. It actually was not that bad yesterday. Air temps in low 50's, slight breeze. It didn't get cold until almost dark.