Primus

Walz reminded me of another bait similair to the Storm Swim Shad that I tried one night and did pretty well was the River To Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker in the 80 size, I actually bought this bait a couple of years back and finally tried it.

I'm thinking of trying the 10" Anaconda & Space Monkey, what makes the Anaconda different than say a 10" Powerworm? Thanks.

This doesn't have to be a bait that's been recently put into production, just something that's new to your tackle arsenal. This year the Koppers Live Target Crawfish Trap in the Red Black color has earned a place in my lipless crankbait rotation. Though I did use it on a limited basis last season the Ima Flit continues to be a very productive rip bait. I'm interested in anything that's new to you that's producing.

If a bait company is trying to copy a Bluegill they are all going to look somewhat similar to others who are trying to do the same thing. I have not seen the Reaction Strike hardbaits, but I've heard positive feedback on the shad bait.

I have a 7' MH casting rod spooled with 14 lb floro, use this set up for texas rigged baits which includes weighted & unweighted baits like texas rigged senkos & flukes. I've been using this combo for a few years and I think it works very well for fishing flukes. I usually throw my wacky rigged senkos on a 6'9" spinning rod with 6 lb floro.

Jitterbugs are still a part of my night fishing/ 1st light rotation. The wierd thing about a black hula popper is I stuck one in my topwater box a couple of years back just to show the fish something different on a midsummer morning. That morning I started off with my usual Yellow Magic Poppers & walking baits and I was only able to stick a couple of little ones. It was probably about mid morning on a bluebird day and I decided to try about 10 cast with that Black Hula Popper before I was going to start throwing soft plastics etc. It was either the first or second cast that I stuck a nice 4lber, then I caught a couple of other keepers until the topwater bite died. That turned out to be the best fish on mediocre day. I threw it a few times since then, never seemed to produce after that. It was right place right time, though there are more consistent baits in my opinion it was real satisfying to have a nice memory with the type of old school bait that my dad, grandpa & uncles would have used many years back.

Great info guys, next time I need to pick up some mono I'm going to try some.

I haven't tried either, looking for feedback and when you would use one over the other. Thanks

I'm with the others, you need both. I tend to use bigger topwaters when I'm trying to call them out of deeper water, though they aren't limited to that application.

I like like the 1/4 oz Outkast swim jigs with a Yamamoto grub as a trailer. The Yamamoto grub with it's heavy dose of salt helps it run a little deeper than most other grubs that I've tried. The outkast has a doublebarb keeper which helps secure your trailer.

1. KVD-met him a few times, great guy. I have to pull for a fellow Michigander. 2. Al Lindner-his enthusiasm is contagious, seems like a great guy. 3. Rick Clunn- my favorite of the old school legends 4. Alton Jones- enjoyed watchting him on classic patterns, very anylitical

Crankbaits are deadly as contact baits, besides a variation in retrieve speed select a crankbait that ticks the tops of weeds, deflects off of stumps and laydowns or crawls around the bottom if there is no cover. The majority of the lakes that I fish have vegatation as the primary cover, I do well ripping the bait off of weeds. If I'm not in contact with various types of cover I'll frequently twitch or jerk the rod to give the bait a more erratic cadence, with certain cranks like the Rapala DT-10 if you do it right you can sometimes get the crank to face the following bass which is usually more than they can stand. When fishing deep diving cranks keep in mind that the crank is going to be at it's maximum depth for app 1/4 to 1/3 of the retrieve as the other part of the retrieve it's either ascending or descending, so it's important if you are trying to hit a deep target to cast as far as you can and that your boat is the right distance from the target (for example app 40' away on a 120' cast). Another good approach that keeps your bait in the strikezone for a longer period is to cast into to deep water and bring your bait uphill at different angles, this is particularly effective at times when fishing points. Last but not least look at different models of cranks as tools, you'll want cranks that can be fished on the surface to ones that run 15' deep or more and also those in between depths. Good luck and beware, crankbait fishing can be addictive.

I've never used the Shimano so I can't comment on that, I do have a couple of IMX rods and absolutely love them. They have been worth the $$ in my opinion though as Roadwarrior mentioned that's to be determined by the purchaser.

I picked up 2 of 100B from the Tackle Warehouse clearance before they ran out, I've been using one the last couple of weeks on one of my cranking rods and all I can say is what a terrific reel. My other baitcasters are a combination of the old green Curado's, a few D series Curado's & Citica's and 1 E series Curado. The 100B is by far the best reel that I've thrown to date, wish I had a few more.

I have 20 rigged and ready to go, usually take app 12 combos. Selection is based on time of year and type of lake that I'm fishing. I have a mix of rod brands, I use BPS for crankin', the others are mix of Looomis, Roques , BnR Outlaw and this spring picked up 2 Setyr rods because the local tackle shop took $75 off the list price.I have few older rods that are out of the current rotation that I keep around in case I bust a guide etc.

I like the Yozuri Hybrid or Gamma when using mono, I am a recent convert to Trilene 100% for applications calling for Florocarbon. I like Spiderline Stealth when I need braid, performs well and is reasonably priced.

I guess everyone is different, the handle is quite comfortable for me. I agree with the other posters about not being too stiff as the fast action name implies though it's not as parabolic as most glass rods. I have not had a problem with hooking or losing fish using this rod.

I agree deep structure, I have a couple left of the small 1/4 oz. Fat Free Fry with the Black Back, White Belly, Reflective sides that is one of my 5 star cranks. I hope I can keep it away from the Northern Pike, needless to say I retie often when using this bait.

A follow-up question to the Hank Parker tip for any who's tried, do this adversely affect the action of the bait? I saw that same Hank Parker show, which seemed to address my biggest apprehension about these type of baits which are missed fish. I have a small supply of Basstrix & Berkely's that I though about trying this with.

Try the glass minnow color, unique color that's white with a reflective insert that's real effective at times.

I've done well with the Smoke Purple, Junebug & Green Pumpkin colors, usually use 3/16 or 1/4 oz tungsten sinkers on this rig. Good numbers bait for weedy lakes in the summer.

Good time to pick one up if you need it, I ordered one today.

I have not seen up close, a fishing buddy of mine saw it at a local tackle shop and said that he saw a casting demo from the store owner and mentioned that it really does what it claims in terms of a very long cast compared to his Shimano's that he's always used. The question that I have about the so called U.S. (but made in China) reel is how well it will hold up and what kind of service you can expect if repairs are needed. Since it's a fairly new offerring only time will tell.

It's a good reel, should serve you well.

Speaking of Bomber/ Excalibur Fat Free Shads I miss some of the transluscent colors that they used to have and the ones with reflective inserts in particular. I should have stockpiled these baits back in the day. I also should have stocked up on the suspending cranks as well.