smalljaw67

So far mine has been great, and I hate to say this, but the only reel I ever had that actually failed was a Symetre, and it was two in a row. Bail spring, gear set and bearings and it happened in only a few outs. Did I get lemons?? I bet I did but the response from Shimano was for me to buy a better reel, and that has lead me to never buy a Shimano product ever again even thought I know they make good reels. I'm keeping my fingers crossed my Supreme continues to work well.

I have used craws with success but I mostly use straight tail worms because they flat out catch fish like that. I like to use worms that are 4.5" to 6" in length 99% of the time, there is one exception and that is when I fish a 10" worm on a 3/8oz head with a 5/0 hook, it is a finesse way to present a large bait but I rarely use it.

Get 1" thick hi-density foam sheeting and then take a 3600 or 3700 utility box without dividers in it. Cut the sheet so it fits in the slots snug so you don't have to glue it down, and then use hobby knife or razor blade and cut a small slit for the hook to go into and lay them out how you want. When done you'll have a nice dedicate hair jig box that will keep the hair straight. BTW, just drop the jig in water for a bit and the hair will eventually straighten out.

A place called fish freak online has them listed in the 50 size. I got mine at my Local Cabelas, they were on clearance a few years back for like $1.99 and I grabbed foxy momma and chrome blue but I saw Tilapia and it looked cool so I grabbed one. I was out the next day and that color was on fire, I went right to Cabelas after that and got the last 4 they had in that color. Another one that is hard to find is lemon lime, that is great in dirty water or where there are smallmouth.

Use the tail off of a straight tail worm, one that is like 4.5", just cut off the back 2" and you got a great trailer for that. I make my own micro bass jigs in 1/16oz, and 1/8oz and I use the tail section of the Jacks worm by Case plastics, I also get some micro trailers from a place called Lees Global Tackle, they have these Noike high end Japanese micro jig trailers called "Bite Guts", they are pricey but very good. If you haven't received it yet you are in for a big surprise, these are tiny and use a very fine wire hook kind of like a crappie jig and you won't want to wacky rig a trailer on a jig like that, and you will want something around 2", not much more.

M favorite is the Xcalibur one knocker which is now the Booyah one knocker and while I don't really have a favorite color, I kind of find myself using Tilapia a good bit.

Yes, the 7'3" MH-F would be good for that depending on how heavy of cover you are fishing. If you are talking 65lb braid and 1.5oz weights then no, it is too light for that but if you want to use 30lb braid and 1/2oz jigs then you'll be fine.

I think I have the perfect one but it is less than $150 so you may not want it. I use, and absolutely love, my Fenwick HMG 7'2" M-MF. It is a crazy rod in that it is a medium power but it is rated 3/8oz to 1oz and I can rip my square bills off of cover and bang them through rocks with no problems. I have even thrown 1/4oz Sebile Cranster SR baits and it had no problem, no overpowering or anything like that, just a perfect square bill rod, not quite parabolic but a little more forgiving than a fast action. The best part is it cost $99.99, I love mine and I use it quite a bit, and even though most of my rods cost more, this rod will hold its own, for square bills and medium diving cranks it is awesome!!

Actually the Accurist, in all of its forms has always been a decent reel, the Kinetic is another one of the low price reels I would buy along with a Lews speed spool, the $99.00 version. As for rod, well I'm a Fenwick fan and the HMG 7'6" MH-XF, this rod is going to have the power of a heavy because of how quickly it loads, it also has above average sensitivity and it $99.99 with a lifetime warranty. The truth is, just about any rod at $100 will be pretty decent and I own an HMG and I can tell you that it is a lot of rod for the money, they seriously could have sold them for forty dollars more and I'd still be happy. Now, if you want to save a little more money there is a budget stick that I got as a Christmas present and instead of sending it back I kept it because it isn't a bad rod. The rod is a Daiwa Procyon 7'6" H-F and it is telescopic at the handle so it will collapse down to 7' for storage, the rod is $75 and has a 5 year warranty and as I said, it isn't a bad rod at all, and when the site that we don't mention was putting the other Daiwa rods on sale, the Procyon didn't go as they sell, it is a very good budget stick. The *** Black is another very good rod, but the longer heavier versions go a little over the $100 mark but there you go, options all over, check each one out and see what works for you.

I saw that the website not allowed to be mentioned here has an exclusive Daiwa Tatula Tactical reel and I was going to actually give it a shot based on the description and the increased price would confirm the features detailed in the description. The one feature was the "feather light" aluminum frame and then I go a look at the specs, 7.9, isn't that what the other weighed in at? So the reel didn't get lighter, the color changed to a matte black and that is really all I see, I did email the site to find out if the descrition and the specs are correct but I was hoping some Daiwa fans may have some additional info on it.

We use them for river smallmouth in the summer when the water gets low. Normally insummer, river smallies will head to riffle areas as the water is much more oxygenated but if the levels are too low they head t the pools down river from he riffles. When they have to go there, power fishing is out and even tubnes won't draw strikes but one thing you can get them on is a 3" Senko rigged on a 1/16oz ball head or 3/32oz mushroom head and it depends on how the are biting but the 3" Senko has bee a day saver for us even in lakes.

BPS caterpillar series, at least that is what they remind me of.

You are forgetting that a lot of the people asking for help are fairly new to this. The OP is getting a medium power rod because he doesn't have enough for multiple outfits and he uses both single and treble hook baits, I would never suggest someone wanting to use a crankbait use a medium heavy, fast action rod with mono let alone braid. As for tying leaders and adjusting drag, again, you are talking to someone with less experience than you and most likely he is fishing with other novices so I tend to try and make things less complicated. Sure, for you spooling up braid and then tying a 12# fluoro or Mono leader is something you can do in your sleep, I doubt the OP can and would have to not only figure out how much the drag needs to be adjusted but also how to connect the leader to the main line with another knot, it is too much info in a short time. The easiest deal for him with the best chance at catching fish efficiently with both single and treble hook baits with a good landing percentage would be to use the medium power rod with either mono or fluoro and given that the person is on a budget I would think mono is the better choice. I was in a club where we would do these "get into fishing" days and father & son outings at small private lakes and there were guys that were intermediates asking the same questions and being able to get them to tie a good knot onto a lure or snap was good progress that took time and it is why I frequent these forums, to not only learn myself but to help the people who want to get into this sport a little more seriously. I bet you too are here to help and it is obvious you know your stuff but you seem to forget that some members are just learning basics and while you are right, I just think your idea of line and rod choice is wrong for the OP because it involves too much, at least that is how I see it but the OP has a lot to digest and I'm sure he'll use the information that will suit him best.

If you would have asked me last Spring I would have said the discontinued Heddon Dying Flutter but now my new favorite is the Yo-Zuri 3DB Prop!! It has a single plastic prop on the back and when you rip it the sound is different than other prop baits, I've had big smallies come up and eat this bait when nothing else would work.

I'm going to give you completely different advice and I hope it don't confuse you but I'll explain why. The rod you have is a medium power rod, perfect for you because you need to do everything from the bank and you use treble hook lures too, the medium isn't the best all-purpose but it will let you fish a treble hook bait a little better, just stay within the lure weight range. Being that you are bank fishing, braid is the absolute last line you should be using, it has zero stretch and you are already going to fish a treble hook bait with a fast action rod, you need a little bit of give. The other problem is if you get hung on a long cast, a lot of guys will argue that you will be able to straighten the hooks out and get your lure back, I'll tell you right now, it isn't going to happen with a jig especially on a decent cast distance. If you get hung with that bait with 30lb braid you will be looking of a stick that will be strong enough that you can wrap the braided line around in order to pull, pulling with the rod will break you rod and pulling with your hands will cut them, and cut them deep. I tell most guys fishing from the bank that anything over 15lb braid is going to cause you a lot of heartache should you get snagged. Get a spool of 12lb Berkley Big Game, it will be plenty strong to bring in any fish you catch, it has stretch, not a lot but enough that will help you out with fish hooked on a crankbait and if you should get snagged up real good, you'll be able to exert enough pressure to break the line instead of spending 2 hours trying to free up a bait snagged with 30lb braid. The reason you don't use 15lb braid on a casting reel is the diameter is very small and it makes it tough to cast with a normal size casting reel, it is more suited to spinning or finesse casting reels which cost a lot. So, you can go with what you think will do better for you but if there is the possibility of a snag, think about using mono, boats can get over to the snag and free it up with the rod or lure retriever, you will have to swim or end up cutting 30' of line from your set up.

I think I can put together a good solid outfit and save you some money to boot. American Legacy has the Lews Tournament pro casting reel on sale for $139.99, and you can go to FFO (Fishermen's Factory Outlet) and get either a 6'9" MH-F Abu Garcia Villain casting rod for $78.88 or a Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'9" MH-F casting rod for $74.88. I am recommending those to you because I fish 5" Senkos on spinning tackle around open areas but when I fish them in grass or brush I use a 6'9" MH-F rod because it is long enough to give me distance but short enough to give me excellent accuracy , I think it is almost the perfect length. I have no problem throwing 5" Senkos on a weightless Texas rig so 6" will be easy to cast as well. Both rods are good, I'm not a big fan of the Villain but it is a good rod, I just prefer the Fenwick over it as it is a lighter rod but either rod you choose will be a good set up and you are saving a good bit.

I use that for square bills and even DT-6s, todays reels have stronger gears so it isn't as much of an issue. You can slow down easier than you can speed up and because of that I use a 6.4:1 on almost all my cranking except for deep divers over 15' and for that I have a 5.1:1 but very seldom use it. So if you are using cranks that dive from 0' down to 6', a 7.1:1 is fine and as I said, I will often use it myself when I need to burn a square bill or shallow crank.

Rod designers are taking the "homerun swing" into account and all you have to do now is look at the jig rods and you'll notice a trend. I don't want to start another argument here over rods but take a good look at the Scott Martin TCS rods by Okuma, almost every rod in that line has a moderate to moderate fast action, the reason is they were designed to fish braided line, no stretch line means some give got to go somewhere and so it goes to the rod. Now another thing happening is if you go back and look at FLW and B.A.S.S. tournaments in Florida over the last 10 years you'll notice a trend amount the guys in the top 20 that flipped and pitched, every season a higher number of pros are going to high strength fluorocarbon instead of straight braid, the main exception is frogs but there is a reason for it and it has to do with losing fish. You may disagree but if you are using a fast action rod with straight braid in a high strength, you are going to lose more fish, and it has been figured out by pros and manufacturers alike, guys that still use braid are moving to more parabolic rods to stop losing fish, while others are switching to fluorocarbon and I think you are dead on right and it is the reason behind it, the "homerun swing", when fishing for a lot of money you want to make sure that hook is set but us amateurs emulate what the pros do and we end up doing it to an extreme.

Take Jig Man's advice, it is going to cost you a lot more than 16 dollars plus shipping and handling to get started. Have you figured out what you are going to melt the plastic in or how you will melt it? Remember, recycling soft plastic you bought isn't the same as making new soft plastic baits, when you melt the old ones down there will be smoke and stink from the worm oil, salt, scent, and what ever else the brand of worm you are melting down has in it, not to mention the color. So based on that fact you know using the microwave you use for food is out of the question, so now you need a ventilated area and a way to melt the stuff and then the mold, for 16 bucks you will get a silicone mold so 1 side of your worms will be flat, not really a problem but could be disappointing if you expected fully round worms. This is just the basic stuff, as you will eventually want to get fresh plastisol and make your own color creations, so you will need colorant, glitter, a machined 2 piece mold if you want a fully round worm or craw and then hardener or softener as certain color, salt and glitter combinations will have different effects on the plastic, and then don't forget the heat stabilizer, some colors are heat sensitive like white and pearl, they scorch at low temperatures so heat stabilizer will be needed at some point. I don't want to discourage you even though it sounds like I am, I just want you to realize that 16 dollars isn't going to get you started, what you can get for that is a silicone mold and a pot and maybe a hot plate at a thrift shop, that will work to recycle a few baits but when you realize how much of a mess it will be to recycle, you will either give up or you will want to dive in and do it from scratch but that will cost a good bit to start. My advice is to go to tackle underground and get a list of what you need in the soft bait section, that will give you a basic starting point for material and all, and when you get that, add 1/2 the amount to the total, that is going to cover the waste you will get as there is a leaning curve, it is a very rewarding and satisfying hobby and really helps if you have hard water in winter but if you are going to try and cut corners to save a buck do yourself a favor and just buy your worms already made, if it was easy everyone would be making their own but it can get costly when you have a problem. So, if you want to pour worms the guys on Tackle Underground will help you out but if you want to get in the game for 16 bucks, well the results will speak for themselves, good luck.

Number 1, don't use a barrel swivel and snap for anything other than in-line spinners. If you want to change lures out and don't want to keep tying, then the use of a snap, not a snap swivel but a plain snap like a Mustad Duo lock snap. The way your barrel swivel broke makes me thing you were using one much too small for what your were doing, and truth be told it wasn't the correct thing to use no matter what size. The chatter bait already has a Duo Lock snap attached to the blade so if you use a snap to attach to a snap, you make a weak connection. I take it you are using a spinning rod set up, I'm curious as to the power of the rod and what size line you are using. BTW, a size 12 barrel swivel on a 3/8oz anything even an in-line that size is bad medicine, that would be why it broke as those are only rated up to 10lb, a size 12 is what we use for 1/16oz and 1/8oz in-line spinners for trout.

For me it is about bottom content and covering water. When I'm fishing rock flats or large areas I'm going to use the swing jig and I'm using it as a crankbait just reeling it and bouncing it over rocks and along the bottom. I only use this if the water is calm, I know I could use it a lot more but for me when the water has a ripple or slight chop, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits come into play. The Texas rig is a target presentation, I'm making a cast and slowly working it in and around cover and even dead sticking for a bit, a completely different presentation than the swing jig.

Just because you can do it doesn't make it right, ask any manufacturer of blanks or rod designers if you should boat flip or hoist a fish with a rod even when done with correct technique and see what answer you get. The rod designer I spoke with told me that he really wishes B.A.S.S would adopt using nets, he said it would probably cut down on warranty claims as well as the bad review they get when the company denies a claim because of a rod breaking when used to hoist a fish out of water. I hear the argument all the time about boat flipping being perfectly fine if proper technique is used and it is completely wrong, you may be able to do it but the rod was not designed for it and if you break a rod while doing it the rod is not at fault.

I learned on a reel with no brakes, only spool tension so to get distance you had to decrease the tension and allow your thumb to feather the line. Magnetic brakes do more for the last 1/3oz the cast while centrifugal brakes help during the middle stages and your spool tension is for the beginning of a cast. When you increase spool tension it slows the spool, the most important part of the tension is at the beginning of the cast so your spool doesn't spin faster and have more line fly off than what the lure is pulling. Brakes allow you to less the tension because when you had no braking you had to feather the line with your thumb throughout the entire cast, not it is just at the very beginning. If you watch a long cast completion with casting reels, you'll see them launch their plug and as it is flying they begin to loosen the spool tension so you have a free spool but it is only after it is in the air that they do this because even the most educated thumb will need assistance at the very start.

That is a River2Sea Glassic Vibe that is discontinued.

Here is what we do on the lakes that have that, and ours is mostly coon tail. Before you fish just move around and find the edges and where it is thick, look for holes, the holes are where fish will hold and are ambush spots. Now that you found the weed edges and holes you can attack it in a strategic way, the first thing I'd try is the edges, these are the easiest to fish and it is where the most active fish are going to be. You can fish the edges with a crankbait but a spinnerbait, chatterbait, and a swim jigs as well as swim baits are prime for fishing the weed edges. If you haven't found active fish along the edge then I'd opt for door number 2, lipless crankbait over the tops of the weeds, just reel fast and when you feel the bait hit the grass rip it free, a lot of your strikes will come after ripping it off the grass. If it is too thick to run the lipless try a popper worked on top over the grass, this bait can be worked slower and it will produce strikes from fish in weeds even at high noon, so don't be afraid to do it if the sun is out. The final deal is to go through the grass, and for that I'm going to fish spots most of the time, any place I see a hole or a sparse section and it will be T-rigs with 1/2oz weights or more depending on how thick and dense it is, you can also use a finesse option in places where the grass is thinned out a bit, the finesse deal I'm talking about is the mojo rig on 8lb to 10lb line, a finesse Carolina rig if you will, this is a great option but use it where the grass is a little less sparse as a big fish will be tough to get out of the salad on light line.