smalljaw67

I'm old school and I do well. I use Berkley Trilene 8# XT on my spinning set up for tubes, light jigs and shaky head fishing. On my casting reels I use 12# Silver thread AN40 for crankbaits and jerkbaits, and for jigs and spinnerbaits in and around weeds and light cover I use 12# Cajun Clear Lightning and in heavy cover jig fishing and frog fishing I use 30# Power Pro braid. Simple and it works, I tried flourcarbons on spinning and hated it and it was ok on casting gear but I don't trust the knot strength.

I fish the river quite often, if fact I'm spoiled because of it...lol. New regs this year, from the opening of trout to the first day of bass there is no fishing on the main and lower stem of the Susquehanna and the lower Junitat where it flows into the Susquehanna, right where I fish the most. I used to catch 100 smallies a day in the late 80's thru the 90's but then something happened to the population. I don't get as many now but they are trophy sized, imagine getting on a good jerkbait and catching 14 fish and 10 of those over 3 lbs, 4 of them at 4lbs and 2 fish being in the 5lb realm. A local tourney 2 years ago a guy weighed in a 6lb 2oz smallies and didn't win lunker, he was beat by the next guy to weigh in, he had a 6lb 10oz smallie , they are getting big thas for sure.

Blue Marsh for me is over 20 miles away and I can tell you that in a solid week of fishing, 7 days in a row we had 3 days with zero, 2 days with one fish, one day with 2 fish and1 day with 5 fish. That was fishing with a friend that really knows the lake well and he says exactly the same thing you do. If you get the right day you would be surprised how well you can do the only problem is there is no 2 week window that the fishing is good, it is more like a 2 or 3 day window and where you find fish one day you may never find them there again. I think the smallest bass I ever caught there was 14", like you said, most are keeper size, very few dinks and thats why I asked questions and that is when the biologist told me about the flood control and why there is no weeds or a larger population of fish. I found the most consistant fishing and easiest place to fish blue marsh in the summer is back in the tully, forget the main lake although there are some points on the main lake that I caught fish off in the early spring, specifically one point at the entrance to spring creek. I fished a lot of lakes in PA and else where, the other lakes that are close to blue marsh in terms of being tough is Guifford Pinchot, Nokamixion, and Wallenpaupak, those lakes are terribly managed. As I said, I never encounter such terrible fishing outside of PA, and I often write to the fish commission and attend meetings to try to adopt other methods of fish managment or even recruit some out of state biologists and fishery managers that know how to fix the problems. All of our larger lakes have very low fish density and are far from healthy but our current fish commision does nothing, and from talking to other authorities on the problems I have been told the only way to begin to get thees lakes in better shape is by aggressive stocking of both bass and forage fish. I'm sorry if I offended you by calling blue marsh the dead sea, and you are right, other lakes are just as poor but it is all of the PA lakes, we have people inplace that do not know how to manage a fishery.

They are issuing cease and desist letters for those making an umbrella rig and using the term "alabamama rig" in their description. I got one a few years ago for making chatterbaits, while they weren't the exact thing I posted a picture of the lure calling it a chatter style lure and I got a letter saying the name "chatter" was trademarked and therefore could not be used. They never told me I couldn'y make it, I just couldn't use the name. A friend of mine got a letter from Strike King, he got a mold from lure craft that made a very close copy of the rage craw, if fact lure craft had to take to mold off their site and can no longer sell it. So it isn't just Manns. As far as the Jelly worm concept, when I started bass fishing these were the worms to have and worked really well and still do. The fruit smell is for both angler and fish, the flavor also represents the color of the worm, the flavor or scent mask oders that are known to repel fish like sun tan lotion or tobacco, it is no different than an angler putting some megastrike on their lure.

I have a VTC66-5, I got it as an all purpose rod for fishing out of the small boat where I can only have a few rods and the Vendetta being to lowest price rod I own I wasn't worried about breaking it. Well after using it I now take it on all my trips, not just the small boat, it is a versatile rod. I've used it for jerkbaits which it handled pretty well, I've also fished it with square bills and spinnerbaits and topwaters and it did all very well. It is a powerful caster, it really does shine when it comes to casting and the sensitivity isn't bad, if you fish with braid it is a non issue. I got the rod when it first came out and I have to say that it feels good in my hand and fishes well above its price point, so I don't think you can go wrong getting one.

I saw a show about cars a few years back and they were visiting Jay Leno's collection and he needed a part for a steam engine and a guy was demonstrating a machine in which you inserted blocks of plastic and then put what you wanted to make in the machine and lasers would take over a million measurements and then it would make the part you scanned and moving parst actually worked but I think they said it was like 200K. I think I'm going to get one of these. Even if the plastic isn't good for lures you could use it to make 2 piece molds for pouring plastic, so many uses, it is hard to imagine.

X2 !!! That is where the Pointer comes in, it suspends a little better in colder water than the X-Rap, that is why you must a few different brands. The Spro McStick and McRip are different from each other, the McStick is the typical suspending jerkbait, I find the Xcalibur EEratci Shad just as good if not better plus you can two of those to one McStick. The McRip is a rip bait, which I classify them differently than a jerkbait, like the LC Staysee is a rip bait. Rip baits dive deeper and have a tighter movement plus you use them differently. A jerkbait you move the bait by snapping or jerking your rod with slack line, the rip bait you sort of sweep the rod with a tight line.

Kayak fishing in a shallow river for smallies, I do this a good bit and I can help. The advise you got is very good but if you stick to tubes and grubs you'll likely use your entire budget for jig heads as they will get hung up a lot and with the Kayak you may not be able to get them all. The list of 5 lures you will need in addition to the tubes and grubs, will be as follows: 1. spinnerbait,- a 3/8oz silver or nickel indian blade with a secondary small colorado blade in gold or brass. This will cover clear or dirty water and appeal to all size fish. 2. Floating jerkbait - Smithwick Rogue model ARB 1200 series, these are the shallow divers in 4.5" and 1/3oz. They aren't expensive and river smallies crush these in summer, the only 2 colors you need are tiger minnow or clown, the tiger minnow is olive with dark stripes, looks like walleye or musky fry. 3. topwater popper - Rebel premium pop-r, these are slightly bigger and have better colors than the original and draw strikes. 4. topwater walking bait - Heddon super spook jr. , versatile bait that will appeal to bigger fish mostly but all sizes will hit it. 5. Rattle trap - 1/2oz Bill lewis floating model rattle trap, you can really burn this and when it hits bottom just kill it, normally it doesn't make it back to the surface as a smallie will crush it. Good luck!

X2 !!! I like that style jig in late summer and a Rage craw is a great trailer for it as you fish that jig in deeper water using a lift and drop or stroking method rather than dragging. Any time the fish are holding near cover or on structure in deeper water is a good time to use it, you can use a dragging type presentation but other jigs work better for that, the appeal of the Mop jig is it has a bigger profile but when you lift it and then let it fall, it hits the bottom and all those strands on the skirt move and flair and that is what draws attention to it.

I don't want people getting mad at me when I say this, but every Shimano reel under $120 has only lasted a full season and no more. First was my grandsons Sienna, I though it was a good reel for the price, well I found out that if it gets wet it is done for at least a day because it binds up, in fact I had this problem with my Symetres. To make a long story short, my granson used the reel about a dozen times or so and it felt and sounded like a coffee grinder, and the best part was Shimano customer service basically blew me off as it was a cheap reel even though it was less than a year old. The top of the line products from Shimano are some of the best on the market but their mainstream products leave a lot to be desired. If you want a good spinning reel for not a lot of money go to Cabelas, right now they are having an inventory clearance and in that sale is the old model Tournament ZX spinning reel, it is $49.99. This is basically a Diawa Tierra, the only difference is it hass all regular ball bearings were the Diawa Tierra has 2 CRR or corrosion resistant ball bearings. The Tierra was originally over a hundred dollars and is a proven reel. The other thing with this ZX reel is you are going to have a spinning reel with an all aluminum body and rotor for 50 bucks, in todays reels you can't touch an all aluminum body and rotor spinning reel for less than 80 to90 dollars. I have the old ZX and I got it last year for 40 dollars and if I would have known then what I know now I would have bought 3 of them. ......................http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Reels/Spinning-Reels%7C/pc/104793480/c/104760180/sc/104837580/Cabelas-Tournament-ZX-Spinning-Reel/732207.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fishing-reels-spinning-reels%2Fcabelas%2F_%2FN-1102842%2B1000002949%2FNe-1000002949%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104837580%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104760180%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104760180%3Bcat104837580

I wouldn't worry about it, it isn't a rod problem but a guide problem. Quantum will make good on it, they have a pretty good customer service and unless you buy it from the same store and it has the same lot number you shouldn't have a problem, this is rare with Fuji guides.

No threads from a reel seat, very comfortable but the most impotant advantage is balance. Not every spinning reel weighs the same so a Tennessee handle allows you to mount the reel where ever you want it on the cork, a heavier reel you may want it more toward the front, a lighter reel you may want further back and vice versa depending on how you want the set up to feel.

I use 12# copoly for jerkbaits and 30# braid on the flipping stick, for pitching jigs I use either 12# copoly if I'm fishing around light cover and floating docks and 17# if I'm pitching into weeds or brush.

I was wondering if anyone uses the 6' to 6'6" rods anymore or is it just me? When I started using the 6'6" rod it was considered long at the time and I stuck with it and now it seems everyone is using long rods, 7' is almost a short rod now. Right now I only use a 7' rod for flipping, and as for pitching I like my 6'6" MH-F, I have more control and I'm more accurate and I can still get good distance on a cast. I do know one thing I learned about longer rods, and that is picking line up. Last season I got a Fenwick smallmouth 6'9" spinning rod, this was for tubes and light jigs but also for shaky head fishing, I noticed I was missing bites using the 6'6" rod but only the bites in deeper water, it was almost like I couldn't get enough leverage to set the hook and I was amazed at how much better I was able to set the hook in deep water with just a few inches in difference. Does the 7' lengths help when fishing spinnerbaits or cranks or is it best suited for bottom baits, let me know why you use the long rod.

Now that is some real talent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wouldn't know if I should fish with those or put them in a disply case, nice work indeed!

I am a Loomis fan and have been for a long time, when I heard all of the talk about the Dobyns rods I had to check them out for myself. The Champion Extreme is a good rod but it is nowhere close to a GLX, I'm sorry.

Your question is why I hate labels or rods that are techinque specific rods. Crankbait rods are going to be used for crankbaits of course but also jerkbaits, topwater lures, basically most lures that use treble hooks because they have a specific action which is they flex through out the most of the rod length were as a fast action rod only bends or flexes about 1/3 of the way down from the tip. The other use I say for crankbait rods is for throwing spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, a lot of anglers like using those for spinnerbaits. A 7' medium heavy with a fast action will work for jigs, worms, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits and just about and single hook lure, it is pretty much an all purpose rod. You could even fish a crankbait on it but I don't recommend it as you will lose a lot of fish as compared to a crankbait specific rod. A 7' medium power fast action rod would also be an all purpose rod but it would be with slightly smaller lures that that of the medium heavy.

I fish gin clear water and clown is great for smallies. I agree with some parts others have mentioned about natural colors in super clear water and largmouths, by all means do not use loud or bright colors in clear water but smallies, it seems to make them bite. If I were you and looking to get a few X-Raps which will work fine, get a clown and glass ghost in both the XR08 and XR10

Toaster overs are notorious for being inaccurate so I would get an over thermometer. Also, even with a good cured powder they will eventually chip at some point, I've used vinyl and it too will eventually begin to not chip but peel and even with good ventilation vinyl paint will cause you the most massive headache you ever had...lol. Maybe not but it made my head hurt everytime I used it and I also hated putting a coat of white paint on and then let it sit and then finish, powder is so much easier.

You're going to get a lot of different answers to the first part of your question but I don't understand what you mean after it. As for getting two of the RC STX instead of one Pointer I would go with the two RC STX just because it is a proven design and I've heard other say it has great suspending qualities. I think most would go this route unless money is of no concern. I liked Pointers for one reason, they suspended really well at a wider range of temps compared to most of the suspending jerkbaits on the market and that simple fact made them worth the money to me.

I don't see nothing wrong with them for the price point but the fast action rods in the series have less backbone than other fast action rods of the same power. I know I'm sounding like a broken record but if there is a technique that you use that a 6'9" or 6'10" would work the Fenwick Elite Techs are on amazon in the 75-80 dollar range and they are head and shoulders above the Skeet Reese rods in terms of quality and performance but they lack a 7' model in a heavy power which is a big deal breaker for a lot of anglers.

Yep, that 6'6" MH-F is a great "all purpose" set up, I use a 6'6" MH-F for pitching jigs, a lot use a longer rod but I've used that length so long that I can make really accurate pitches with it and do it with distance also. But for your second, I'm in total agreement with Roadwarrior, your first setup will cover every single hook lure very well, so now you need setup with a rod that is medium power, moderate or moderate fast action, and a reel with a gear ratio of 5.5:1 up to maybe 6.2:1 but no faster. This setup will let you fish a wide variety of cranks, topwaters and other lures sporting treble hooks. You have recieved great advise so far from all the members.

Roadwarrior, a snap set is basically dropping or lowering the rod tip and creating slack in the line and then swinging up to set the hook really hard. A friend of mine was really bad, anytime he would fish worms or jigs and he would get a bite he would reel down and then insted of just swinging up to set the hook while the line is tight, he would drop the rod and then swing and it resulted in a lot of break offs. MLB hitters evelop a similar problem, they call it a "hitch" in their swing. Anyway, I see a lot of anglers that do the same thing, it isn't as bad anymore since braid has come on to the scene buteven with braid while you probably won't break your line you may lose a fish or two.

Someone actually weighed both and found that the Veritas was a hair lighter, just to put it in perspective, it prbably couldn't be detected by hand. I don't think they were being marketed as being lighter than any specific rod but instead they were supposed to really work well with the MGX. I think that as with the Vendetta rod, this Villian is made to go with a specific reel and that is the MGX.

I've heard nothing but good things about the reel seat for anglers that already own the Villian, the only thing that is disappointing about it is they are slightly heavier than the Veritas models. As for the Cabelas now offereing, it is the Platinum ZX, it uses the 3M resin and it uses the Fuji K-series guides with SiC inserts, these are expensive guides, they are not micros.