backcast88

My dad and I have to combine our gear as well. My setups are usually: 1. BPS Carbonlite 6'8" m/xf spinning rod with Daiwa Aird 2500 and 8 lb Seaguar InvizX for texas worms/brush hogs, and flukes. 2. BPS Carbon Black 6'6" m/f spinning rod with Daiwa Aird 2500 and 8 lb XPS flouro for drop shot or small crankbaits or spinner baits. 3. BPS Extreme 6'6" m/f baitcast rod with BPS Extreme 10 HLE and 14 lb Stren braid for big crankbaits and jigs.

4" Zoom Dead Ringer Zoom Baby Brush Hog 4.5" Fat Roboworm

I was in the same boat as you and finally had enough and went to BPS and bought a Plano ProLatch Deep 3630 and divided it right down the middle. I put them together by importance and color front to back. Now every time I go to the lake I just pull the box out and get my plastic and put the bow away. Works like a charm.

Plastics: pumpkin and/or chartreuse Spinnerbaits: white Jigs: brown Crankbaits: any shad color or chartreuse

Its a personal choice but if it was me I would pick the fluke if there is grass or other vegitation. If the water is 4ft or deeper then I would reach for a square bill crankbait. Under 4ft I would reach for a spinnerbait.

I use flouro on nearly all my spinning reels and I have had good luck with Seaguar InvizX, BPS Carbon Gold, and XPS. I am looking to try Sunline Sniper before too long. My experiance has taught me that when you spend about $20 a spool you are going to be getting a good product. You can spend less then that but its most likely going to give you fits if your not used to flouro's.

Since the bass are moving up to shallower water preparing to spawn I picked up another square bill in Spooky Nasty. So far I haven't found a color that looks like it will not catch fish. Looking forward to trying them out tomorrow morning.

You can use any line your comfortable with. I use 8 lb flouro or mono and have never had a single problem. Plus with lighter line you can get the crankbait a little deeper then with heavier line.

I traded a couple of old 2 piece Abu rods I have had for years and picked up a 6'8" medium Carbonlite to go along with my 6'6" Carbonlite. I also picked up a clearanced 6'6" medium Johhny Morris Carbon Black. Looking forward to hitting to water in the morning to put them to the test.

I drank the Shimano kool-aid several years ago and was not impressed. It was not smooth at all and there was a fair amount of play in the handle assembly. I took it back to Bass Pro and got a different reel and was much happier. The president is nice. Very smooth and been around a while so it has a good track record. I do like the Orra S better then the president. Its hard to explain why, it just felt more solid and had a higher build quality. If your looking to spend $100 you might want to look at the Daiwa Aird series. From my experience its smoother and feels better then any of the 3 you listed. Plus I have used Daiwa reels and beat the crap out of them and they kept of ticking without any hiccups.

I picked up a square bill chartreuse black back and a medium diving citrus shad. I really like the aggressive look and the gamakatsu trebles are wicked sharp. I will be putting both to the test Sunday morning.

I took inventory of my gear and bank account and will be getting both the 6'6" medium fast and 6'8" medium xfast. The 6'8" will be my soft plastics rod and the 6'6" will be used as a general purpose rod for top water, spinner baits, and live bait.

The Veritas is out. I went and looked at both the Veritas and Carbon Lite and the Veritas is stiffer then what I am looking for and I don't really like the metal butt piece. Both are well made and sensitive but I like the Carbon Lite better and will be getting one. I am still not sure if I want the 6'6" medium fast or 6'8" medium xfast. Any suggestions?

I have some on a spinning reel and really like it. I use 8 lb for all my spinning gear and it has been near flawless for nearly a year. I do like Seaguar InvizX a little more b/c it has less memory but the Carbon Gold isn't bad in terms of memory and is very abrasion resistant. I spoke with an employee and she said the only reason they are getting rid of it is b/c it didn't sell well b/c people weren't digging the gold color and its not as thin in diameter as the regular XPS flouro they still have. For the price you can't go wrong, the only down side is their is no more 8 lb in any Bass Pro.

I will be using 8 lb flouro with 1/8 oz to 3/16 oz weighted texas rigs. Right now I am leaning towards the Carbon Lite. The only real question is, do I get the 6'6" medium fast or 6'8" medium xfast?

When I held the Veritas at BPS it did seem a fair amount stiffer then the Carbon Lite of the same lenght and power.

Since Bass Pro is having there rod trade it I am going to get a new rod. I am looking to pick up a Carbon Lite or Veritas. I am going to be using it primarily for texas rigging soft plastics and am trying to decide if I want the 6'6" medium fast or 6"8" medium xfast Carbon Lite or 6'6" medium xfast Veritas. I have held the Carbon Lite side by side with the Veritas and they both are very light weight and balance well. Which do you think is more sensitive? Between the 6'6" and 6'8" Carbon Lite, which would be a better choice for my desired use? Thanks.

I was in a similar boat as you this weekend and after looking at the reels I listed I picked the Aird 2000. The President was a little smoother then all the others but it just didn't reel squared away and something was missing. My next choice was going to be the Orra S but they only had the display model and I didn't really want that one so I was going to get the Pro Qualifier since I already have one but was looking for a lighter reel and that is when I saw the Aird. I was told by an employee that it was the only one they had it was on hold for another customer so I headed home and was going to wait and see if they got anymore in before the trade in ended. When I stopped by near closing on my way to a movie it was still there so the employee said I could have it. Glad I stopped by and can't wait to get on the water with it.

I have caught a lot of fish on Rapala Shad Rap's. But I am not going to say that they are the best. I have caught more fish on them then any other crankbait but that is because I had only used Rapala and a few other low quality brands and always reached for the Rapala b/c the other brands were not very good. Since I have ventured into Lucky Craft and several other high quality (and money) crankbaits I have done as good if not better then when I used Rapala. In the last couple years the price of Rapala's has gone up and the newer versions rival Spro and Lucky Craft in price so its hard to label Rapala's as a low cost crankbait but when you can pick them up in the Spring Fishing Classic for $5 or so then they are pretty hard to beat.

I don't have any experiance with the Falcon or St. Croix other then at Bass Pro. I have used a Carbon Lite and can say with certainty that its a very good rod and hard to beat for $100. The $100 price point is very competative and has a bunch of good options. You will just have to go to Bass Pro and play with them and put a reel that matches yours on it and check the balance and feel.

I had a Carbon Lite reel and had to take it back as well b/c it was gritty and made a bad clicking/poping sound. For $80 or so you can get a lot of good reels. Look at Abu Garcia Orra S, Pfueger President, Daiwa Aird, and BPS Pro Qualifier.

I have tons of success on chartreuse on my primary lake so I will probably get the chartreuse black back or roobeer chartreuse and then to get something closer to natural forage like one of the shad colors.

Thanks. I will look into getting something in red and either cell mate or citrus shad. Any more Little John users want to chime in on color selection?

Is Citrus Shad any good?

I stopped by Bass Pro and they had 1 in stock and after playing with it for a few minutes I decided to get it. I have not fished with it yet but its pretty smooth and very light weight. I will be heading to the lake next Sunday when I am off work and will be using it for drop shot's and weightless soft plastics and will update you all after I get back.