dink

Impressive once again!

Rich I fish. Belleville, IL

I have the TBC66MHF and it is one sweet stick. I cannot see much difference in 9 inches. I use the 6'6" for mainly pitching plastics and jigs. I use a Premier 7' MHF for my Rigs. Both are nice.

Tungsten is great stuff! The only drawback I have found is using glass beads with them. Tungsten is so hard, it will chip or break the glass when freeing it from logs, stumps, rocks, etc. Those sharp edges can and will cut fishing line if not checked and retied. I learned the hard way (losing a fish). If I really want to use a glass bead now, I use brass weights. On C. rigs, I use a brass clacker with my tungsten weight.

I have a 6'3" MXF high-end rod that was previously a 6'8" MF. I dropped a coffee cup on it near the tip effectively breaking off 5". After a moment of despair, I took the tip and reattached it to the rod. This thing is now even better for spinnerbaits and lightweight plastics. I still throw traps and crankbaits with it also.

A bad ground can make trailer lights do some funky things. :-? Ithought I had gremlins for a while until I changed the ground. ;D

Sounds like the selector switch may have gone out on you. I have seen this happen before on a transom mount MK. If memory serves me correctly, there sould be one wire for every speed on the selector switch. Depending on how labor intensive you want to be with it, you could install another selector switch and see if it solves the problem. Also, make sure all the connectors on the wires in the top part (the "brain") are clean and fit together snugly. Just a little bit of play could cause the intermittance.

Haven't done any jigs, but I have done some spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with wire. I'm not sure about the gauge of wire (about like a bread-tie?) I just wrapped it around the collar-area three times (while the regular rubber collar was still on) and twisted it snug. Don't over tighten the wire or you may cut some strands. Now you can just snip off the old rubber collar if you like. I usually only do this if it looks like the rubber collar is ready to break and I really want that skirt to stay on it.

I like 40 - 55 degrees for a jerkbait, 55 and up for crankbaits, and for lipless cranks... if the water isn't frozen solid! Not too long ago, I would wait for the 50 degree mark for traps/spots and jerkbaits... until the day I caught a bunch on a Spot in 37 degree water in Feb. I was actually throwing it on top of the ice on some casts. I'm convinced a lipless crank will catch in any temp.

Amen, 4bizz!!!!

Leave 'em on... especially if they are Tx3's(Excaliburs).

...and a big spinnerbait slow-rolled.

And here I was ready to suggest 10" worms at night for smallies! ;D ;D ;D

St. Croix PC66MHM with a BPS Rick Clunn 5.1:1. Cajun Red Cast 10 lb. tied to Cordell Spots, RC 1.5's, Shad Rap SR5's and Bandits to name a few.

Ike might have retained his ride with Ranger if he had apologized in tears on TV. P.S. Like it or not, Ranger is still the stick by which all bass boats are measured.

Mine. ;D I make some from components from Barlows. I'll bring you a couple when we go fish. Just let me know what color(s) you would be interested in. I have 3/8 and 1/2 oz.

Spinnerbait... no contest.

15" freshwater eel on a chartreuse Rat-L-Trap in Germany.

Go big or stay home. Paper or plastic?

I usually have #4 on front and rear, either round or ewg. I recently bought some #2 Rapala short shank 2x trebles (VMC?) and made them front hooks on some of my 1/2 oz. Spots. It didn't seem to affect the action enough to notice and I still caught plenty of fish them... I just missed less.

Anytime the water temp is around 50 or higher. I know it sounds cold, but it can help locate fish even in chilly water.

Bassin nailed it. Now, I do have favorite or "go-to" colors, but they differ from lake to lake. And, I have fished lakes all across the country, so I guess my go-to colors would start with the entire Zoom color chart. ;D Agreed, if green pumpkin were the only color soft plastic made people would still catch fish. Yet, that would also take out one of the "fun factors" of fishing, "Hmmmmm..which color do they want today?" Also, green pumpkin (only used as an example due to its popularity) can be outperformed on any given day by the thousands of other colors made. So why not keep a bunch of colors? If having fun is contingent on catching fish then I say pick one or two "go-to" colors. But if 'just fishing' is what you like to do, then color up.

Whatever kind of comment do you mean? Fisrt of all, my fishing log is very simple. I try to "root" out any unnecessary info while at the same time "branching" out to variables more subtle than just 'red shad in the buck brush.' I also include locations and their seasonal timing in order to em"bark" on more fruitful journies in the future. I "wood" try to include anything that I may deem important the next time I am "pining" for that big sow. I also keep all journals from years past in a "trunk" so that I may refresh my memory the next time I get "stumped".

Same lake... same conditions (little warmer with high of 36)... same results. Small correction on the original post. The lake is a 2000 acre rectangle not 1000. Nonetheless, my buddy and I caught 5 keeper LM bass (over 18") all between 4 and 5 lbs, 4 hybrid stripers (4 - 5 lbs.) and around 20 sub-legal bass. No smallies today, but still a darn good one. Traps, Spots and Shad Raps were the ticket. Find the shad, find the fish.... no elaborate pattern here. Sorry, no pics again. If any of you St. Louis area guys want in on this, PM me for details.

Make 3 to 4 wraps with the wire around the collar area before twisting it tight. That should keep all the strands neatly in place.