smalljaw67

Yeah, stay away from combos, most of them are pairings of inexpensive rods and reels that won't very long for an avid angler. I think your best bet is to save up and for $250 dollars you can get a quality reel along with a good rod that will not only last but will perform better also.

You have discovered why these reels and others like it are priced so low. You have more than likely stripped or sheared off some teeth on the gears or had a bearing go bad. It doesn't happen all the time but it does happen enough with typically with anglers who use them a few times a week. The reason they are priced good is the bearings and gears are often made with substandard material, in some cases the stuff holds up but in a lot more cases the reel has some failure and they normall last a seaon of so depending on how often it is used. Sadly I doubt you could fix it any cheaper than what it will cost to replace it.

I got one and was worried but a telescopic rod if done right feels like a one piece. I have a Fenwick HMG 7'6" extra heavy telescopic flipping stick, I got it on a suggestion of a friend as my other rods used for flipping were 7' and 7'2" and the 7'6" is different. I can't really say if I like the length or not but I can tell you that after fishing with it you forget about the fact that it is telescopic.

One thing that every review of this line mentioned was that you cannot use it in or around cover as there is almost zero abrasion resistance. Once I read that I knew I'd never even try this line, where does someone fish at that they won't encounter cover of some type, no cover no fish is my school of thought but whatever, at least it is another reminder not to even think about using it.

Go to the rock flats early or late, depending on water temp, if it is really hot with a surface temp in the mid 80's you will have to fish deep so find areas with rock and weeds together and you'll have a good shot. Tubes are great and probably the number one soft plastic for smallies as their main forage is crawfish unlike largemouth who prefer baitfish. The difference is smallies are more apt to roam rock flats looking for craw while largmouth tend to be more ambush predators.

If I'm fishing clear water I'm going to use a beaver or craw type bait, if there is stain and the visibility is 2' or less then I'm using the jig. The cover also has a role in determining which I use, if I'm fishing docks I can use either but I go by water clarity but laydowns, stick ups, trees I'm almost always using a jig and thick weeds like coontail or milfoil I'll use the soft plastic unless it is a combination. Also let the fish tell you what to use, if you are getting hits but no fish on the jig try switching up, lately I've been on a finesse jig bite for the entire season. I'm throwing 1/8oz and 3/16oz finesse jigs that I make with a custom craw trailer, it is a ball head jig and the set up looks close to an eakins jig. I have been catching fish on it so much I haven't pitched a soft plastic or bigger jig yet this year but the heat has the fish very lethargic.

My favorite tubes in order: 1. River Rock baits 3.5" tube - The finest tube I ever fished!!! 2. Gitzit 3.5" tube - A good tube with better consistancy of plastic than most until I discovered River Rock. 3. Mizmo 3.5" smalljaws tube - I really like this tube also but the plastic is a bit on the harder side and it doesn't produce as well as the others when the bite is tough.

It depends on the water you're fishing, is it clear or stained? Is it weedy, rocky, or a mix of both? Is it deep or fairly shallow? All these things will make a difference in how to pursue them because the biggest difference between largemouth and smallmouth is the habitats they prefer and the temperature range in which they feed more. Typically smallies will get and remain active in much colder water as compared to largemouth but the largemouth will endure in much warmer temps than his brown cousin. Let us in on what kind of water you will be fishing and you will get some good advise on how to target them.

You'll like the jig that mold makes, trust me!

I still have a few packs of the Yum Buzz Frogs, they don't float but instead you reel them straight in like a buzzbait. These types of frogs you need to use braid or at least 17# Mono or flouro or you'll never get a good hookset. Also, I like a single hook, specifically a 5/0 Gamakatsu superline hook and I rig it texposed and then skin hook the point to keep it weedless. This is a great lure in open water, or near wood cover and it is also a way to get fish to hit that come up on a hollow body frog but then turn away without taking it, the faster moving frog doesn't give them time to look so they usually just commit and whack it but you will still miss some, and I have used the double frog hooks from a few different manufacturers and I still do better with the single gammy.

As I told you before Gall, I fished that creek, realistic craws even in gin clear waters aren't always going to work as it needs to act like a craw. I really think the Yum crawbug is one of the top 5 most realistic, the "madman craws were very lifelike until they quit making them but the craw I showed you before works excellent in super clear water, you can get them in green pumpkin, green pumpkin with blue claws, orange claws whatever. What I noticed about the craws in that creek as well as the river it flows into is that in the spring the clas have a blueish color to them and so does the body but in the summer the tips of the claws get a bright orange so get some orange spike it dye or JJs magic if it comes in that color and put it on the tips of the claws of whatever you're using and it will make a difference.

I have a tackle logic binder, it is the best way to store and transport soft plastics.

I use a 4/0 in the 3/8oz cavity and I never had a problem with it and I've caught some nice bass over 4lb out of brush and the hook holds well, that is probably the best quality of the hook is how well it holds. The sizes you are going to use are really stout, they aren't quite as thick as a flipping hook but it is still quite strong which is why I haven't looked for an alternative and I'm picky with hooks, especially for flipping jigs. There is another hook that fits it without modifying the mold but the wire diameter is still the same. If you buy hooks on a regular basis from the same source you can ask them for a sample hook when you place an order, I do it all the time with Captain hooks but I also get hooks from them every 2 months and I've been a customer for years.

There are a lot of ins and outs with pouring plastic, I had a specific craw made for me by 3 people, it is a mold that anyone can buy and 3 guys made craws for me and they were all different. The source of the plastisol and the kind you use, and the additives like hardener, softener, microballons, all make the consistancy different, every custom pour guy has recipies for different formulations for long worms, short worms, there is a lot to it. As for the floating plastic, I've had some worms made with microballons and you have to fish them with a weight as they will float a hook and even make a 1/4oz shaky head fall slow. Once you get into it you quickly get consumed and everything you look at becomes an inspiration for a bait.

That is fine, anything in the 6.whatever is pretty much an all around gear ratio that can be used for everything equally as good. If you aren't sure what speed reel would help you out with a certain technique just get a 6 and it will work for you.

Take a look at the "weedless hair jigs" thread, those are made with the smaller poison tail mold. I use the 91768BLN hook also as I felt that hook is really good, no need to use a different style. In the bigger styles use a 5/0 hook, believe it or not I've fished pretty heavy cover and never had a problem with it but it is the smallest flipping hook I ever used in terms of thickness. You should like the mold though, the jigs are balanced really well and the hook is a sticker, I rarely lose a fish caught on that jig.

Perfect explaination Hooligan, that is why I use my glass rod for medium and deep cranking because I'm fishing those usually around rock or some sort of structure in open water rather than cover. When it comes to square bills and shallow divers that I'm using close to cover I always use a graphite rod, like Hooligan said, you need a rod to move the fish not just keep it pinned. If you watch the Lindners using cranks, they always use fast action graphite rods when cranking around and in cover.

I hated glass rods because of how heavy they were and this year a friend of mine made me use his when we got on a crankbait bite in late April. Well after a day of using a glass rod I got one, it is heavy but it really helps. I was hitting small rock piles with my graphite rod and when the bait made contact I would stop reeling and use the rod and gently walk the bait up and over the rock pile and ultimately back to the boat for another cast, with the glass rod I was reeling an extra crank or two when I began to make contact with the rock pile and believe it or not that extra crank or two was getting me bit because I wasn't feeling the bait hit the bottom until it was starting to dig so I was actually able to get my crankbait closer to the rock pile by a few inches and thats all it took for the fish to bite. But that is mid depth and deep cranks, I still like working square bills and other shallow cranks on a graphite rod.

I think I can help you, the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth, 6'9" MH/F, it has enough length to let you get distance on your cast and is still easily managed and makes for accurate casts as well. This rod can be had for under $100 dollars, it has plenty of backbone and is a ton more sensitive than the Sellus or Powell Diesel and a lot lighter, 3.6oz if I recall correctly. It is rated for 3/8oz to 1oz but it can easily handle a 1/4oz bait, I think it fits what your looking for and believe me, it is a quality rod that could easliy have sold for $200.

The pickings are slim in that price range, you got the Shimano Sellus and the Vengence, the Vengence feels better to me but both will work fine. I understand that you aren't too serious but if you develop an interest you'll be happy to know that the quality of rods in the $100 to $200 dollar price range are head and shoulders above what they were 10 years ago and they keep getting better.

Looks to me like 30.

I've been doing it for over 15 years, if you cut cornors like using a propane stove and cast iron pot to melt the lead then you can figure it is still going to be around $150 to $200 to start and that is only going to get you enough to pour about 50 jigs with maybe 2 different colors of paint. The good thing is you want to do this as a hobby, that is great because often people want to save money and it takes so long to recoup just the start up costs that it just isn't worth it but as a hobby it is great. If you can save up enough you can get a nice bottom pour pot, 2 molds, 250 to 500 hooks 5 or 6 colors of paint and skirt material and a tool to make the skirts for about $350 to $500 depending on where you get the molds and the price of those and what kind of hooks you choose. Be warned, it gets addicting and before you know it you end up like myself with dozens of molds, 86 different colors of paint, 12 pounds of skirt material, thousands of hooks and spinnerblades and weedguards and you'll still be looking for more! Truthfully it is very fun and rewarding as you think about color patterns, different head styles and different hook types and then when you think it is really cool you go out and catch a fish off of the bait you made from scratch, and when that happens not only the cool factor goes through the roof but the feeling of acomplishment, pride, and satisfaction will kick into high gear and from that point on you'll be hooked!! It cost a good bit but you may like it!

I liked the titanium wire when it first came out but the blades flying off of an 8 dollar spinnerbait kind of makes you a little mad. The reason for that is titanium is light and brittle until it is tempered but once the wire is tempered it has the snap back quality. What happens with the blade and swivel coming off is a lot of the baits don't have the loop closed entirely and since it is tempered titanium there is no taking a pliers and bending the loop closed, it is junk. The one that had rust on it is a downgraded material, they were losing money as people stopped buying them at premium prices due to the blade issue so that is when Rapal bought them and introduced the stainless models and then the T-2 and other types and then reintroduce the titanium again after people got comfortable again. They aren't bad but they do have some problems like most mass produced baits. This is the reason I have been making my own for over 15 years, I know what I have with every bait I make and I use top of the line Worth swivels and blades so I know they will work every time.

Try using the juice worm with a basic texas rig using a bullet weight in front of the worm. You don't need to worry about the drop shot, some guys are in love with the technique but it is useless from shore unless you know exacly where the fish are and even then it is tough because the angle of the line is a lot oess when standing on the shore compared to being in a boat. Yeah, try the texas rig with a 1/4oz weight and the shaky head is always a great rig especially when fish are finicky. Now if you want to go buy some new baits, (who doesn't like to do that?) you can go get some trick worms or other floating type worms, Z-Man and Strike King 3X plastic are two commercial baits that float, anyway rig the floating worms nekko rigged, it is tough in weeds but just on the edge of cover it will work. Look it up on youtube, you just place a nail weight or a nose weight in the front of the floating worm and hook the worm in a way that you are dragging it by the side, like I said, look it up on youtube as I can find the words to describe it but that too will work for you.

6'10" M-F Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth, it isn't the extra fast action but it is rated for lure weights from 1/8oz to 5/8oz and from the feel of it I would classify it as a medium light as it has enough tip to throw a small bait. I think in your price range that is going to be the best rod available, the St.Croix ML rods are basically mediums, and their mediums are more like medium heavy just like the Abu Garcia V series.