Primus

I have a question on the DHC5-792CAHSB which is the 7'9" telescopic swimbait rod. Because I hate split grips is there a way I can order a version with a cork handle ? Another option that would work for me is to order the blank and have a custom rod builder assemble it, is that an option as well ? Thanks

Absolutely, it's become my new obsession in fishing. I've done well with the 6" River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker, Matt's Hardgill & Realprey Alewife painted in Perch pattern and a few others. These baits have caused a winter spending spree and I'm going to try to dedicate a larger part of this upcoming fishing season to learning these lures.

I live in SW Michigan where a 5 lb-7 lb Bass are considered big fish and it's rare to see anything over that. Last year caught a lot of nice fish on 6" swimbaits, you'll change your mind about these baits when a 3-4 lber inhales a 6" soft swimbait. This year I plan on throwing similiar and at times even larger swimbaits.

In addition to what's on the video I remember reading that they fish this on very light line.

I just saw another one, the Jerry Rago Hitch hardbait is 7" and weighs 2oz., they have it at ***.

I swore Shimano off in the pre-green curado days, came back to them when they introduced the D series Citica/Curado. Glad I did. Not many people liked the D reels , but I love them.

Fletchero I know for a fact that in the past KVD would have custom rods labeled with whoever was his rod sponsor. That said I'm confident that the Quantum rods & reels he's now using are likely the genuine article. That said I'm a KVD fan but I still use Shimano reels and mostly Loomis rods. 8-)

I agree with Hitchhiker that this would be a good choice for C-rigs & Pitchin'.

I hate split grips and anything that's not a cork handle. I do not like my rods painted Orange, Yellow, White or some other goofy color I just want the plain Matte finish. Also, I hate it when hook keepers are placed on the side where they sometimes grab your line.

I like the Lucky Craft RC 1.5 in the Ghost color & Copper Green, I've done extremely well with these baits.

In our part of the country Gulp baits (esp the Goby bait) have done very well in tournaments where smallmouth have been the primary fish targeted.

Awesome news from Matt, can't wait to see it.

For the guys who have had problems with knot problems you have to pull a lubricated knot slowly with Floro because it's more affected by heat & friction than mono. I've been fishing this type of line for several years without the problems that's been described apparantly they must have used low end Floro like Vanish or Viscious. The enhanced sensitivity of Floro vs. mono is due to the sinking characteristic of the line which minimizes the bowing of the line on the waters surface and creates a more direct connection to the lure. I prefer to use XPS or Trilene Floro on baitcasting reels other than my topwater(mono) or extreme cover(braid). I have used it in the past on spinning rods but I'm going to try one of the sinking braids with a Floro leader this year. Floro slaps the bottom guide too much costing me casting distance which isn't a problem on casting rods. Floro isn't the answer for everything but will give an advantage to the angler who uses it in the right applications. I think it's fantastic for deep cranking and fishing soft plastics/jigs on a casting rod as an example.

I prefer both the Jackall worm & jighead, usually 1/16 oz.

I usually take app 12-15 in my boat, it varies depending on time of year and type of lake I'm fishing. I normally have app 20 rod/ reel combos to pick from but usually leave a few behind.

I live in Michigan and I would think our waters would fish similiar. Get a slow sink Matt Lures Hard Gill, you will have a lot of fun with that bait especially around spawn time. Also a great option woould be a 6" slow sink Spro BBZ in a Perch color.

I agree with Matt that the 7 inch Slammer would be a good one to add to your arsenal. I just recently recieved an Slow Sink 8" 22nd century Trout bait which didn't weigh much for it's size. I would think a 7" version of this bait would work with your equipment. A bait that I highly reccomend if you don't already have it is Matt's Hard Gill, I realize it's under 6" but it's a must have bait in my opinion.

I didn't have any problems casting the one I have and the bait swam true. That said if you look at any of Bill Siemental's vids on this bait he will tell you that bait was designed to be fished with light line, I believe he used 6 lb floro. Perhaps the guy who had a problem with the bait running on it's side was using too heavy of line. I'm still fairly new with the bait and can't say that with total certainty.

I have not thrown the paycheck baits version but I will say that the original Vixen is an awesome bait if you can get your hands on one. This one probably gets the most explosive strikes out of all my walking baits.

Bass will eat just about any critter that they can fit in their mouth, if they will hit a spinnerbait then I'm sure they will hit a bait that looks very close to a real fish. I just got an order from Matt's of some of his hardbaits along with a school of his tournament series baits. If you go to Matt's website you will see a couple of colors that TW doesn't have. I'm waiting for the ice to go away before I fish mine but I've heard good reports from those who have had a chance to throw them. I'm very excited about this bait and it's reasonably priced.

I like to fish this behind a 3/16 oz sinker on a Mojo rig, I've been using the Zoom but my favorite is the discontinued Powerbait version. This rig will put a lot of numbers in the boat.

I've done well with the www.rodbenderstackle.com Vib-E .

This year there will be a few more players to consider in the shallow square bill category as Strike King, Excalibur & Spro are all adding their version of these baits to the market as well. I did fish the Strike King a little before ice hit our lakes and it looks promising but I didn't throw it enough to compare to the RC baits which have been my favorite so far.

Mman16 I'm going to be learning a lot about these baits this upcoming season as I'm going to be comparing/ contrasting several of these type of baits. Based on my limited expierience with this lure category you should consider the 6" River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker, I did very well with this bait. Another bait that I tried late in the season was a medium sink RealPrey Alewife, I like it with the Perch pattern. This lure showed a lot of promise and it seems to be more durable than most. I've heard good things about the new Matt Lures tournament series baits and though I haven't fish them yet they look spectular and are well made.