BradH

This what I use. Deep cranks. Curado 200E5 or Revo Winch Shallow cranks. Revo S or Citica E with a bearing added on the driveshaft and a curado E handle Lipless & jerkbaits. Same Citica as above or a Curado 200E7 You don't need a slow reel for shallow cranks and lipless.

Here's a good question. If you could buy a Revo S in any gear ratio (5, 6 and 7:1) how many winches, etc. would they sell? The parts will easily interchange. There's lots of marketing gaming that goes into pricing. I think the S is a great value but not so much the rest of them if you pay full retail.

It happened to me a couple times. I launched my 200E7 and jerkbait rod into the river. I marked the spot right away on the GPS. A few passes with the lure retriever and I had it back. It was due for a teardown and cleaning anyway. Another time I dropped my Revo Premier on my 6' Fenwick M GT that was my jerkbait rod at the time. It FLOATED!!!!!!

Chronarch 50E or Curado 50E. I use the 50E for light crankbaits. It's as much about the rod as the reel. ML Crankin' Stick gets it done quite well and you could get the whole package for 250 if you catch a sale. That rod would not work well for texas rigs, good ole MH/F there.

"WD40 overhaul" reels are my favorite. The drag and IAR slip so I buy them really cheap and fix them.

I always start them that long. When they get down to 18-24 inches I put a new one on. I cut off and retie the lure end often due to teeth and rocks. I guess if you don't have esox to worry about it may not be as obvious to start with a leader that long.

I'd go 7', give or take a few inches, MH if you only have one rod for a large group of applications. You can fish almost any single hook type lure on that rig. From weightless Texas rigged 5" senkos to Texas and Carolina rigs with 1 oz. weights. Horny Toads and spinnerbaits too.

I think those rules are just for the married guys . Anyone want to come over for margaritas later?

I picked up a couple flat brokes and I feel the exact same way. I've caught a few fish on them but I'd tie on a fatboy, kvd 1.5 or #5 crankin' rap before I'd mess with a flat broke again. They don't cast as well and like to end up coming in sideways no matter how much I tune them. The rest of the Normans are top notch. They are made is USA, good hardware, fantastic colors, priced right and flat out catch fish. The Fatboy outfishes my other squarebills in the heat of the summer. When it's cooler I like the KVD 1.5 or rapala Crankin' Rap #5 a little better. The new DD22HD is great. I've still got a pile of the regualr DD22s that I'll keep using. The DLN is another fantastic bait.

Put a Chronarch E5 on it! All white! I stuck a Gen III winch on mine. Where the rod really shines over the glass rods is cranking a deep little N, DD22 or other medium to deep crank down and then walking it over the gravel and rocks on the bottom using the rod to move the lure and feeling everything. You'll feel rock, rock, rock, fish! I spolled mine with 30 pond braid (8 pound mono diameter) and tied on a 10 pound fluoro leader. I still swear by the glass rods in moderate to heavy current and for those spur of the moment walleye trolling runs but for the $75 I spent on the Veritas Winch I'm really happy.

Nailed it. Action like glass, weight like graphite. I've got a couple of the Reece glass crank rods, Crucial crank rods, BPS Crankin' Sticks and the 7' 6" Veritas. Try to handle the 7'6" Veritas in a store before you decide. It does have a very nice parabolic action only slightly faster than the Reece crank rods and slower than the Crucial. It is similar to the Crankin' Stick but lighter. I have uses for all those other rods but for the lures listed I'd look at the 7'6" Veritas crank rod really hard.

Now is a GREAT time. My biggest pike have all come October through May.

On suspending baits be careful with the hooks you use. Those 2x and up hooks can really throw off the way the lure sits on the pause. Most of the time a quality short shank, round bend treble 1x or 2x gets the job done. I use my reloading scale to match what came on the lures to get close.

I threw one around for a little bit last Friday. Water temp 37. I caught fish on lipless, jerkbaits, shad raps, Strorm Smash Shad and a DD22HD. Scatter Rap 0. That really does not mean anything though. You can't judge a bait from one trip.

I actually like the action on the 7' and 7'10" Skeet Reece rods. They work great for keeping the fish hooked in heavy current. The downside is they are heavy, which does not bother me, and the build quality is not quite as nice as other rods in the same price range. I'd still take a BPS Crankin' stick over one for general purpose crankbait work. The Crankin' Stick seems to have a better overall quality about it. Another rod to check out in that price bracket is the ABU Veritas Winch rods. I think I gave around 70-75 dollars for one new buying online from walmart last Fall.

All I know is if Shimano builds another Curado that is a hit with the customers those G series will be a bargain on closeout sales. I'll still be using my Es until they wear out, which might take awhile.

Shad Raps and lipless are always a good bet. I've also had great luck with Rapala DTs, Norman Deep Little Ns and DD22s in cold water. Yesterday I took the new Norman DD22HD for a test drive. Water temp 37 degrees. Casts numbers 3 and 4 both produced fish. I'm thinking I like that one. I've had good luck on squarebills in cold water too. Jerkbaits are a cold water favorite but I'll still toss the same baits I'd toss in July if I know where the fish are and those baits will reach them.

Frickin' Exactly! ^^^^^^^^^^ You don't want or need a 5:1 reel for squarebills, under 10' and lipless cranks.

Snap Swivel. Good for putting on bigger spinnerbaits to attach the main blade to the wire when you want to be able to swap blades fast. Also good for smaller inline spinners on a spinning rod. That's about all I can think of.

1. Walleye 2. Yellow Perch 3. SMB but don't tell anyone 4. Pike

Don't be afraid to try some hair/bucktail jigs. That's one of my cold water go-to baits for 'eyes. With or without the gulp leech

I used a 6' medium Fenwick GT for a few years. I fished jerkbaits, rattle baits, topwater and squarebills with it. It was a great rod until I goofed up the tip. Full cork handle, light and a more moderate action than the typical 6' M/F rod. The GT lineup has probably changed once or twice since I was using that rod but they would be worth a hard look. For those applications the 6' GT fished well above it's price point. I'll jump on the crankin' stick bandwagon too. You just can't go wrong with those.

I'd skip them altogether. I weigh fish in the net and subtract the weight of the net, if you plan to release them anyway. A mesh laundry bag works good for bass. You can use a spring or digital scale for that stuff. For lipping pike I use these. I don't use them to support the weight of the fish, just to aid in hook removal. They float when they get tossed overboard. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Tools/Pliers-Grippers-Hook-Removers%7C/pc/104793480/c/104720580/sc/104505480/The-Fish-Grip-Fish-Holder/738192.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fishing-tools-pliers-grippers-hook-removers%2F_%2FN-1100396%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104505480%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104793480%253Bcat104720580&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104793480%3Bcat104720580%3Bcat104505480

Yes! In Nebraska it's 2 hooks on most bodies of water, 5 on rivers and streams and if that river is a border water you may have to drop down to the neighboring state's rules. For example, on the SD/NE border NE says 5 hooks but SD is 3 so you're back down to 3. That links shows this. "Nebraska It is illegal to fish the Alabama Rig in Nebraska. Pay attention to the details in your laws. This is confirmed." Not quite accurate. In fact, I would just review the current fishing guide for each state I was fishing in before I'd put any faith on independant internet websites having correct information.

Yep!