drew4779

You can always add the extra bearing to the citica if you want.

My brother loves his Caenan. He actually prefers it over his 50e. I won't try it. I bought a 200e7 in January and would hate to feel ripped off. I've heard the Caenan's parts are compatible with the G series. Does anyone know if there's any truth to that?

Sand the shards off. Set the replacement tip with super glue then wrap it in thread (to match the wrap color). Then coat it in 2 part epoxy. You can't tell it was ever broke.

Slow fish tubes at weeds beds. Be prepared for smallmouth heaven. I'm so jealous.

I've never used a smoke or lews but I love my chronarch 200E7 and 50. Definitely worth the cash. I fish a lot of creeks and pressure waters where scaling down a size or two in regards to lure size really pays off. I've never had a baitcaster that throws light lures like my chronarch. I've always heard great things about lews and my old quantum pro tour was very nice (my best comparison to the smoke). I'm sure you can't go wrong with any of those choices.

I've always had luck running spinners just above the grass. Works at cave run.

Jigs, soft plastics (can never go wrong with a senko), shallow cranks, and spinners. As always, your best bet is to find the nearest bait shop to the lake and ask around. It's their business to know.

I've had good luck with soft magic swimmers. They're weedless and bass love them. Plus you can fish them endless ways by re-positioning the weights. The only draw back is they're expensive.

Fluro leader. It sinks and it seems to handle rocks better than mono.

My six year old daughter uses a spinning reel with no issues. I got her a 5' micro-lite two years ago. The only problem is the 4# line. She hooks into a decent bass which runs into the thick stuff and breaks the line. She's gets very discouraged. I would think a spinning reel would be no issue for an eight year old. I would keep the rod short just because its easier to manage. Also, I'd grab a lanyard. Just in case. It sucks to have to fish out a rod tossed into the lake by accident.

I'd save a couple more bucks for the sx or buy the s and trade Clayton for his citica (if its an E series). I wouldn't trade my E series for anything. If you're set on spending no more than your gift card, see if they still have some gold carbonlites in stock or check out the Caenan. My brother swears by his Caenan. He uses it over his chronarch and sx. If you're only looking at those two, i'd go with the s. My pq was noisy out of the box and so were the next two I grabbed when I returned it. The sales guy told me after I decided on the carbonlite instead, that the noise is common on the pq. The s felt great but I didn't like how you access the brakes.

If catch a bass in a certain spot, I leave that spot alone for 10-15 minutes before I go back. I'll just move 10 feet down shore or cast to the opposite side of the boat. Seems to work.

I use both. Although I prefer wooden cranks in shallow areas where snags are prevalent. They seem to rise quicker and get me out of trouble faster. Hey BobP, not meaning to turn the topic, but I've been tinkering with some homemade cranks for a while now and can't quite get the action right. Do you weight yours or just go with solid wood?

I've been getting a lot of bites this season on soft magic swimmers but am only hooking up about half the time. I typically set the hook over head (being a jig and tube guy), and wonder if setting the hook on a side sweep works better. I know, I know...try it and find out. Well old habits die hard and by the time I think of it, the rod is already in motion. Any experience with these lures? I'm using a MH black carrot stix with chronarch E and 12 lbs. Fluro. Any suggestion...

Bantam oil. Save the hot sauce for gears/internals. That said, I run them dry.

I broke my veritas 3 weeks ago and took it up to bass pro and they took it back no questions asked. They told me there was a bad batch of those released early in the year. Great customer service...tip of the hat to BP.

I transport mine in a large tube I got from the UPS store. Works great.

That's a coin flip. They're both nice reels.

You don't need a new reel. The sx is a great reel (and I'm a shimano guy). You have to adjust the tension cap on the right. Hold your rod at a 45' angle, release the spool, and tighten the tension cap until your lure falls very slow.

Sorry Mich., but once again my Tour is 20 years old. Seriously doubt they are even remotely the same rod. However, that Tour was my first casting rod and its light and tough as nails. A 10 year old boy can sure abuse a fishing rod and I still use it. That being said, I'd still go with the Premier.

It's tough to say since my clarus is an older model and ive never fished the new generation models. In the case of the clarus I own, yes I would still pay the extra for the St.Croix.

Steel wool to remove the paint. I use a airbrush for models (about $20 at a hobby store like Michaels) and the emanel for model cars. Then 6 coats of automotive clear coat ($7 at home depot). I've used spray cans and its tougher but you can do it. Start far away.

Texas rigged with a bullet weight, slow crawl or hop and stop.

My favorite rod i own is the St. Croix Premier crankbait rod. I have a clarus that's about 10 years old and it lost the inserts on the eyelets relatively quick. I didn't fill out the warranty paperwork (won't make that mistake again) so too bad for me. Other than that, it was a great rod with a good feel to it. Although, the new clarus rod looks much different from the one I have.

Trigger X have been good to me this year.