smalljaw67

I found Sebile magic swimmers, Storm Kickin' Sticks, and now the Sexy Swimmers to all be discounted as it seems not many people do well with them despite how awesome they look in the water. I too had the same problem until I met a guy and during talk at the ramp the topic of these types of swim baits came up and I mentioned I gave them a shot but no good results. That is when I got a lesson that, when I tried it, worked incredibly well!! The deal with these baits, at least in the waters I fish, is they are very effective at certain times, almost like a suspending jerkbait, sure, you can use it all season but there are 2 times when it is very effective. The mid spring and mid fall, now you may be saying that a lot of baits are on at those times and you'd be right, but bringing out one of these will get you larger than average fish most of the time. The best water temps I found where in the upper 50s to low 60s, 58 degrees to 63 degrees are the ranges in which I had my best success with these baits and one thing that really helps is visibility, just like jerkbaits, 2 feet of visibility is great, any less and there are better options. Once I learned how effective these baits are I started grabbing them up when they started falling in price, and there are a couple I use at different ends of the temperature range. The Storm Kickin Stick is one I use for water in the upper 50s and switch to the swimming stick or the Sebile magic swimmer when the water is in the 60s and I'd include the sexy swimmer in the same category as the magic swimmer as both have a wider swimming action than the Storm Kickin' Stick. Sorry for the long winded reply but grab a bunch of these at that price and have at it in the fall, you won't miss or lose many fish on these baits either, the fish don't hit them to kill, they flat out try to eat it so have some pliers with you and good luck.

I clean my reels once a year unless something happen like getting mud or some other kind of crud on them. Don't feel bad about not cleaning your reels, there are a lot that don't, and that is why a lot of new reels are packed with grease from the factory, they do it figuring only a few guys are going to clean lube the reel and even fewer are going to clean it. I know guys that have never cleaned or lubed their reels and they have had them for years.

I already got it, same rod but it is for my grandson. I had mine on Friday and I spent a day looking it over and ordered another for the grandson and after his last day of school were going out with it and throw grubs for smallmouth!!

The Fenwick Elite Tech and HMG are really good options, I have 3 Elite Tech Smallmouth rods and to bad they aren't made anymore, awesome rods at an awesome price. The Elite Tech bass has a 7' medium power, fast action rod that will serve you very well, but the HMG is no slouch either, a lot of rod for $100. If you want to get a rod right now, American Legacy Fishing still has the Team Lews HM85 spinning rods left for $79.99, these rods retail for $199.99 and the guides on them cost almost as much as the rod you are using now. I just did a review on the one I got, and I suggest that is what you will want, the 7' ML-F, it is rated as a medium light but it is a medium power, Lews rates their rods a little different than most but it is a big step up from what you have. I'm not sure how long these will be around at that price so act now if you want won, it really is a great rod and at that price it is a steal and you'll have a good rod and save some cash.

If you are on a budget I'd stick to the CRS, they are decent quality at a decent price.

I know it is off topic but I love the Avatar, is that because you share the same name as the vocalist or you use that name because you like them? Mushroomhead is awesome!!!

Well I was able to get out for a few hours yesterday and get some time with this rod as conditions were perfect for it. It was a high pressure day, bright bluebird sky but an occasional cloud or two came by later in the morning. I used a Daiwa Tierra spinning reel in the 2500 size spooled up with 8lb Spiderwire Ultimate Mono and I used 3 different techniques with the rod, small jig, shaky head, and ned rig. I began by using a home made finesse jig tied on a 1/16oz head with a Tiny Paca Chunk trailer, the entire jig and chunk were black in color as the water was stained with about 1.5' to 2' visibility. I fished the jig for 30 minutes with no bites fishing around emerging weed beds and some dead falls and not even a sniff so I switched gears and tied on a 1/8oz shaky head with a 5" finesse worm in 8' to 10' of water and I immediately got bit, I ended up catching 2 small fish, 1 was 11" and the other was 13" but they didn't hit hard so I switched to a 4.5" finesse worm and that worked a little better. The slightly smaller worm was getting good action, mostly smaller fish in the 12" to 14" range but I did manage 1 solid 16" fish before the bite died but I did catch 7 with it. Then I finished off the day with my own ned rig, a 3" Senko with a 3/32oz worm nose jig and that resulted in 5 fish, a 13.5" fish, a 12" fish, a 9" dink, and 2 right at 14", nothing to write home about but a nice 14 fish in 6 hours of fishing. Now the rod, the first thing I will get out of the way is the cons, and the only con there is happens to be balance, if you grip the spinning reel with the stem between your middle and ring fingers, the rod is a little tip heavy, not bad but noticeable, however, if you grip it between your ring finger and pinky, then it better but it really isn't bad. I will also include the rating into the con section, the ML is just as I expected for the line and lure weight, it is more of a medium power rod, but I knew that before I purchased it, most ML will be rated 4-10lb line with 1/16oz to 3/8oz lure weight. Now the pros, the first thing is the guide spacing, power and action, you know all three work with each other as casting is effortless, I found myself having to feather the line for the first dozen casts or so as it took very little effort to throw the baits I used. The blank is a real winner and it is very apparent why the rod retails for as much as it does, sensitivity, this rod has it in spades and that happened to be needed as the fish weren't big and were very light biters. I can see why the guides with Alconite inserts where used, good guides help with bite transmission and anything less on this blank would be a disservice as it really does have a lot of feel. I understand sensitivity is very subjective and I agree and I also know not every expensive rod is sensitive nor is every cheap rod not sensitive but the best I can describe the feel of the rod is on par for the retail price. My overall assessment on the performance of the rod is a solid 4 out of 5 stars with 1/2 star taken away because it is slightly tip heavy and 1/2 star taken away because the weight and power of the rod is more a medium than a medium light but other than that I say bravo! My feelings on purchase would be as follows, had I paid retail, I would be satisfied with what I got, I wouldn't be blown away as it is what I would expect, if I got it at TW sale price for $159, I'd be extremely happy and for what I paid for it with the shipping, $90.94, I'm blown away, I feel like I stole it, this is a lot of rod for under $100 and very under rated, I'm not sure if it is due to Lews having more focus on reels or some other reason but the rods get very little notice, but from now on they will be on my radar.

I have 2 customs, one is on a Shakari blank and one is a Rainshadow RX-7 and that blank wasn't a joke, it was very sensitive and strong. It is a buyers market for sure, manufacturers are trying to stand out by making better and better rods at lower prices, some of these $100 rods are really nice.

You want to use a faster reel for techniques that require you to reel slack in quickly. Techniques in which you primarily move your bait with the rod and reel in the slack, jerkbaits, jigs, and soft plastics will be what you want you faster reel for while the other reel you will use for everything else.

I have used a few different rods for square bills but last year I got what I think is the best rod for square bills and traps that I ever used. 7'2" M-MF Fenwick HMG, it still has me shaking my head as it is a medium power rod that is rated 3/8oz to 1oz but it truly does feel like a medium with a mod fast taper that is a true medium but it does have a little sapre power in the backbone. I have drug Xcalibur XCS 200 square bills through limbs and ripped it free from water willow beds in the river and I have only lost 1 fish that I had hooked on it.

I agree, awesome crankbait, and if you want to get it a hair deeper, try using 8lb fluorocarbon line, you may get 6" to a foot more depth by doing that. You could also do what I do, and that is go to the DT-Flat 7, it has a tighter action than the 6 but the 6 is tight without being flat so action wise they are similar. I'll be honest, the DT- Flat 3 and 7 have been really work horse cranks, they not only are good in cold water but even in the summer when the fish aren't chasing cranks very much, throw a DT-Flat 7 around wood in 4' to 7' of water, they work like a deep running square bill but the tighter action and high vibration draw strikes from fish that normally won't come out for a crank. Sorry for rambling, but instead of going through the trouble of getting a 6 to run a little deeper, just use the flat, like I said, it has a similar action and it comes in all the colors.

The Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth is a rod that should have been priced a lot higher than it was and I feel it is better than the Team Lews HM85 but the HM85 is no slouch. The Lews uses better guides and the blank is quality, if this rod performs half as good as it looks, it will be a winner and I'm thinking it will be awesome, I'll let you know after I have it on the water tomorrow. I think a brand new, lifetime warranty rod beats the used model but I'll tell you your dad will love it, the ML is rated to 1/2oz but I'll be it could handle it, a grub on a 1/4oz head will work great as will a grub on a 1/8oz head, it will work well in the weight range as it feel more like a medium power to me.

I can't post pictures here, I use to be able to but for some reason photobucket no longer works here or I would.

I got the 7' ML-F spinning rod, get that for your dad if they are still available. It is called a medium light but it is just Lews designation, in reality this is more of a medium power rod in my book. The rod is really nice, actually nice than what I expected and you aren't going to find guides that good an any rod of this price, if they are still available get one.

I have a friend that had a Tourney pro like mine, he liked it a lot and figured Lews was the reel he was going to start using exclusively. Well he decided he is getting his son a regular speed spool, before the LFS deal, and he ask me to go fishing and he takes the son's reel to get it dialed in before he gave it to him. Well after a half day of using it he kept it, and took his Tournament pro back and got 2 more speed spools. He told me he thought it performed the same as the TP but the heavier weight felt better on the Veritas rod he had, fast forward to the LFS models and his deck is full of them. I used one and it had me seriously thinking of grabbing 2 of them instead of another TP, before they were too heavy for my liking but not they are really nice, I'd say the best $99 reel out there.

Alabama rig for sure and just about any topwater bait.

My favorite lure is the spinnerbait, it is super versatile and draws some of the most violent strikes imaginable!!! My other favorite lure is the jerkbait, both suspending and floating, fantastic fish catcher in clear water. I have a bunch of lures that I love fishing, square bills are killer when the fish are on them and jigs, well I make jigs as I prefer them to worms but when you say favorite, it means something else. Favorite to me means the lure that you would use if you could pick which bait you would want the fish to bite, and I listed mine but in reality I really like all lures and I don't think I have one that didn't catch fish when used in the right situation so I don't have any that I hate.

Yeah, Deep is spot on with your set up. I'd stay away from jigs and even Texas rig worms aren't going to be a little difficult but shallow cranks, 1/4oz spinnerbaits and popper type topwater baits will be your best bets until you get a graphite rod with a little faster action and added backbone.

I'm with DocNsanE, two rods are a good way to be versatile while still being mobile but it has to be the right two. If you are going to use one rod with a spinnerbait, I'd go with something like a shaky head or wacky rig so I'd have my MH casting rod with a medium power spinning rod.

Football jigs have a few categories, one is the big 3/4oz to 1oz jig with light wire hook, these are typically fished on a 7' to 7'6" MH-F rod with 14lb to 17lb fluorocarbon line in 25' to 35' of water. The reason for light wire hooks in big football jigs is for easy penetration with lighter line fished on a MH rod, it makes for a sensitive set up but if you are encountering a lot of brush besides rock, that is when braid, heavy power rod, and a football head with a stout hook is needed. Finesse football jigs can be anywhere from 1/8oz to 3/8oz, Dave Wolak is one of the few pro anglers that uses finesse football heads and he defines them as any football jig that weighs less than 1/2oz. I make 1/8oz and 1/4oz football heads with both light wire and heavy hooks, the hook depends on the application. I'm going to use a 1/4oz finesse football jig on my next trip because I'm going to fish a lake with some hard bottom areas with some scattered chunk rock, fish that are done spawning will be in these areas which are less than 10' deep. A small football head with a rage chunk dragged across the bottom in those spots is a killer presentation that gets a lot of bites, if I find the fish are out in 12' to 15' or if the water is stained I'll opt for a 3/8oz model. To make it easy I'll give you the general differences of standard versus finesse football jigs in an outline format. Standard Finesse Size - 1/2oz - 1oz+. Less than 1/2oz - typical sizes are 1/8oz and 1/4oz. Skirt - 50 to 60 strands normal. 40 - 45 strands sometimes tied full or in crop top. Application - Fished in water deeper than 10' mostly. Fished in water less than 10' mostly. Technique - Dragged over rocks, and stroking. Dragged over rocks - slow hopped. Hook - Light wire and heavy wire. Light wire mostly but can have heavy wire too.

Is the 7'6" MH-M still there? If it is I'd go for that, it may be a little longer than you wanted but that would make a pretty good deep diving crankbait rod.

I have the first version Kinetic casting reel, the silver model in the 7.0:1 gear ratio. I call that a sleeper work horse reel, it was $119.00 when I got it and I clean and lube it every season and it is a solid performer, I feel I got more than my money's worth from that reel.

I messed up my response before. What I meant was spinnerbait rods tend to be fast action rod while cranking models are moderate. The other difference is there are rods that are said to be designed for spinnerbaits that have a moderate, cranking style action but those are medium heavy powers, you won't see a medium power, moderate action spinnerbait rod. The 7' M-M rod you got coming will feel very similar to your 6'6", the difference is length, you may feel the 7' may be a bit tip heavy but it will fish very close to the 6'6", the added bit of lure rating is because of the length, it has a little more backbone than the 6'6" but not enough to feel the difference fishing. Yes, a medium, moderate cranking rod will have a hard time with a 1/2oz spinnerbait because the resistance of the blades, a beetle spin has a small blade while 1/2oz spinnerbait has some decent size blades. If I was going to fish a spinnerbait on a moderate action rod, it would be a medium heavy.

The Lucky Craft cranking rods are glass, they are heavier than graphite but from what I've heard they were supposed to be priced at the $350 mark but then ended up for $150 and now $99. Tackle Tour loved the rods but they are rated higher than they should be and for a small umbrella rig I'd say ok but not for a full size one and yes, a chatterbait can be used with it as well.

I don't have the cranking rod in the Team Lews HM85 rods, I have a ML spinning rod but I feel I got the rod at a steal for what I paid. It has Fuji KR guides, my complaint with Dobyns is they use a cheap Kigan guide, for a rod that price they should have Fuji and nothing else but that is me. Not only are they K series guides but Alconite inserts, and depending on what line you are using it may be a good thing. I find that cranking rods are all similar, if rod "A" has a moderate taper and rod "B" has a moderate taper, then the only thing that will be different is the look and ergonomics which is the reel seat, grip material, and balance. Dobyns rods are known for great balance so that could be a deal maker right there. Don't foget the Loomis, the CBR is a really good rod but I'd opt for a CBR 845, the 843 is too soft, I think you are looking at Dobyns and the Team Lews as both have similar ratings.