Primus

Great find, should catch you a lot of fish.

I appreciate the insight guys, the BPS rod I've been using seems to throw a little heavier bait than it's rated for. I was concerned that if I threw a smaller crank like the previously mentioned Baby 1 minus as an example that the MH rod might be too stiff not letting the bait wiggle like it normally would, sounds like from what you guys have described that wouldn't be a concern. The reason I'm comparing the 843 & 845 is I typically fish with 12-16 rods on my boat and I wanted a versatile rod that can throw a wide variety of baits in terms of shallow runners & medium divers and hopefully I could handle these task with 1 rod as opposed to 2. I get the impression that the CBR845 should be the one I try.

I have to date used the BPS Crankin' stick for this application and have been very satisfied to date. That said I'm thinking about upgrading my crankin rods. The 7' M BPS rod I use is rated for lures that are up to 5/8 oz, however I regular throw lures like the SK King Shad that are a little heavier with no problem, the only type of lures it doesn't handle well is a deep diver that has a lot of resistance like a Norman DD22 which I use a 7'6" MH for that application. I'm interested in the feedback from any who have used the Loomis rods on your overall expierience. Also, I'm leaning toward the CBR 843 Med rod as oppoosed to the CBR845 MH model because I'm assuming like the BPS line the Med loomis rods will allow a Baby 1 minus bait or my RC 1.5 cranks to swim with more wiggle. I'm just curiuos if it will cast a slighly heavier plug if need be. Thanks

Thanks guys for the feedback, I'm not totally sure which one I will get between the GLX & regular version but I'm setting aside some coin in my fishing fund to get one this winter to use next spring.

Question for 5 Bass limit, do you fish it with Florocarborn line and does Florocarbon if you use it sail through the guides as well as it would on their regular Fuji guides? Casting distance would be important to me, I anticipate using 8lb Trilene Floro.

I see they also make a GLX version, I would appreciate your feedback on either one as I'm thinking about adding one to my aresenal. Also, what is the main difference between this rod and a regular IMX or even GLX spinning rod? Thanks

I use a Green Pumpkin jig & trailer the most often, will sometimes go with Brown/ Purple jig with a Peanut Butter/ Jelly Paca chunk and also will throw a Black/ Purple combo.

This year I have done well with the Kietech Tungsten Model 1 Casting jig and the Model 2 football jigs, I like to use the small 2-3/4" Yum Papi (I snip off app 3/16" of an inch superglue on to jig) for a compact finnesse jig. I like the Booyah Boo jig with a Paca chunk or Craw trailer when I'm looking for a bigger profile. I also like using the 1/4 oz Outkast swimming jig with a Yamamoto grub as a trailer as an alternative to a spinnerbait when working shallow cover in the spring. I'm impressed with the appearance of Gman's Widegap jigs, I'm going to order a few this winter to try next spring.

I usually thread mine, I fish a lot of clear water and it gives me more confidence.

I hate Vanish, love Trilene 100%.

I've done well with the Excalibur & the Lucky Craft RC. The Excalibur throws a big wake and has a loud rattle, great for stained & murky water or when fishing around heavy grass. The RC being jointed has a lot of tail action, and can also run a few inches below the surface if needed.

Most of my rods are 7', for most applications this a good length, though I 've been using a 6'6" rod for spinnerbaits as I tend to do a lot of roll cast in shallow water when fishing these baits, also prefer a 6'6" rod for topwater fishing as well. That said I picked up a BPS 7'6" MH Crankin' stick with an extendable handle (makes it easier to store in my rod locker) paired with a Chronarch B with 12 # Floro for deep diving cranks, all I can say is that it's had a tremendous impact on my crankbait fishing this year. This combo absolutely launches these lures which I find critical when fishing this bait style because it allows my baits to get deeper as a result of the longer cast and keeps the lures in the strikezone longer. The deep diving crank has caught me more large fish than my usual gold standard the jig so far this year. The 7'6" rod is probably getting me an extra 10 yards on my cast compared to my old 7' rod. That said I still use a 7' Med combo with 12# Yozuri Hybrid for fishing most of my shallow to medium diving cranks like the Lucky Craft RC series, also use a 6'9" spinning rod for jerkbaits and mini/light cranks like #5 shad raps.

I've always stuck to the R.I. Beaver was usually disatisfied with others that I tried like the Berkely Beast etc. Recently picked up a couple of packs of the Gander Mountain brand, they had a couple colors like Watermelon Candy on sale for a $ 1.97 then another 60% off. Used the 3" a couple of times and I have to say so far I've been impressed. They also had a knockoff very similiar to the Zoom Baby Brash hog with the same pricing in certain colors, I bought a couple of bags of these as well but haven't tried them yet.

S.O.B Mini Me is my favorite, Dee the owner will also customize it to your specifications. In my opinion most spinnerbaits are sold with blades that are too big so I have to cutomize it, with S.O.B it is exactly the way I want it.

I've tried several, the one I like best is made by Pro Swimbaits. Soft, starts easy, looks good and flat out catches fish.

Tackle Warehouse has these on clearance for $ 3.99 each, I wonder if anyone has tried them and if you think they are worth buying. Of course I don't need anymore shallow running cranks but it's never stopped me before :

I'm also a fan of their XPS Florocarbon line. If your looking for a crankbaitrod their Crankin' stick is good value when they are sale for app 40$. Also the RC 0.5, RC 1.5 & RC 2.5 are fantastic shallow running square bill cranks they normally run app 15$ each but usually will have them on sale a couple of times a year for $ 9.99.

I use both LH & RH baitcasting reels, I prefer using a LH reel for Worm/ Jig fishing because I like setting the hook with my strong (right) hand and also when I'm pitching lures there is no switching hands. I use RH reels for my Crank/ Spinnerbait rods. I know it will probably seem odd to some but I've been fishing that way for years and I'm totally comfotable doing it that way.

Nice fish Simp, I'm sure those made your day. I prefer the Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog, Spro Bronze Popper for hollow frogs. I like the Stanley Ribbit & Zom Horney Toad for Buzzin' Frogs. Next year I will have to try the Gambler Cane Toad & River To Sea frogs since many on here reccomended them.

VMC hooks are to inconsistent in my opinion, I've never purchased them as an after market hook because whenever I've bought Rapala baits with VMC it's been about 50/50 if they are sharp and they still won't be as sharp as the premium hooks like Owner. If you can't find the owner in the size you need try Gamakatsu or Diachi. I have bought the Diachi sharpened Lucky Craft version through tackle warehouse and those are very good hooks, just don't care for the regular VMC hooks.

I actually have a few but shame on me for not trying them yet, my question is for those who have used them which lip size you prefer, weights, preferred trailer and when do you typically throw it ? Thanks

Stringjam I apppreciate the reports on the DT 20's, I bought 2 when they came out and sad to say I lost them both one went to a Northern Pike the other to an underwater stump so I never got a chance to use them long to decide if they should be a part of the rotation. I've also purchased the Dredger, put a little over an hour so far into it and I haven't caught anything on it yet though I haven't put in enough time with it for a full evaluation.

In SW Michigan where I'm from I would consider a big bass anything 5 lbs. or over. I've caught these fish on just aboiut anything that you can throw. That said a jig has been my most consistent producer over the years. This year I had my first triple at an area lake (3 over 5 lbs, 24lbs 10 oz for my best 5) and they came on a Bandit 700 series in the Bluegill color, for whatever reason the fish at this one particular lake have really responded to this crank. I've also done well on large topwaters and the SK King Shad has come through for me. I've also have picked up some good ones on Rattlebaits and large jerkbaits like the Pointer 128 in the spring.

I've caught some large Bass & Pike on the SK King Shad, I throw this on a Med action crankin' stick with no problem.

In SW Michigan where I live most of the lakes are very clear usually at least 10' or more, I do fish a few that are stained but I have not tried the Ghost color in those situations.