mod479

Exactly, that is your preference. Spinning is more fun for me because like Felix, I run light lines and lighter action rods that require you to play the fish a bit longer. Just last night I got my first sturgeon ever and on spinning gear, my shakeyhead setup at that. 7lb sunline biwako fluorcarbon, had a ball bringing it back to shore.

Is funner even a word? You're 2 setups are not created equal...lighter action spinning setup vs. your casting gear. Many companies make stout spinning equipment. Example being saltwater gear. You could get a heavy action spinning rod + 40 sized reel + braid and "water ski" bass back to you the same way. All a matter of what you're more comfortable using. The reverse is also true, they make finesse casting gear for lighter line and baits.

Theyre thin wire, but when it comes to tx rigging a smaller worm like a robo ST, theyre perfect. Hookup ratio is no less then traditional nose hooking. You'll bend them if you run heavy line and a locked down drag obviously. Give 'em a shot. I like 1/0 size for most baits I throw.

Lies. Why make this up? Are you gunning for your own reality tv show ?

Casting: 704cb / Core 51mg7 Spinning: Champion 703sf / Sustain FG

Water clarity is also a factor ton consider, but I usually try to let the fish choose by throwing a few different colors. Just for an example, it was sunny this morning, I was fishing for walleyes with swimming super flukes. Slightly stained river still relatively clear water. White and milky transparent colors are my go to, but this morning they wouldn't touch it. Went to black and blue and got my first 2 smallies of the season, lost a good walleye, and had another follow which took the tail off. Experiment, sometimes color is important, other times they'll hit the whole spectrum it seems.

Skunked this weekend, trying to come up with a gameplan for basically ice out conditions. Should be a bit warmer after this week. The lake just seemed so dead, tried dragging jigs slow, drop shotting small plastics, jerkbaits with longggg pauses, notta. Fished off of points and underwater humps that're known spawning areas, nothing to show for it. Followed 2 loons around the lake, they seemed about as lost as me. Got cold and rowed back in dissapointed. Tossed my hudd 68 around for the first time,it swims awesome... and Ive got confidence it'll nab me one of these fat trout eaters soon enough, DEC is stocking the lake with 6-8" rainbows this weekend. Random rant, just want to lip something soon.

"Breaking 1/8" down the tag end..." Bad line, or you're not cinching the knot right. Could be simple: Slobber all over that knot when you tie it, if any of that FC gets hot from friction, it loses a lot of strength right there. Take your time and if it don't feel or look right, start over. A loose and smoooooooth drag is key if youre gonna use light line. Let em run...dont let em jump if you can help it, seen many a DS weights get flung into orbit by acrobatic bass. This is why I now tie a single overhand knot after attaching with the clip on the weight. I run 5lb sniper and 6# tatsu / palomar knot as well. Rarely break fish off because I re tie after any decent fish. Only takes a minute. If youre gonna use light FC, gotta re tie often. You might like the fluorocast, but I'd also suggest trying another brands 6# FC if you keep breaking off.

For a full size super fluke try a 3/0 gamakatsu skip gap to texas rig it (weightless). 1/0 gammie dropshot hook for nose hooking. When I want to fish a fluke deep I use a belly weighted EWG, had good luck with the davis baits X swims.

Med. light Abu Veritas. I've had the medium action version for 3 years now...I'll say it fishes a power above what its labeled, which is why I reccomend the ML.

Get yourself a skitterprop in the frog color.

I've got boxes of partially full spools of hybrid from 4-12lb, never had one that was tore up from end to end like that. Anything is possible though, could have got a bad spool of it. I'd say recheck your guides / blank before you write it off, it's good line. Check the line roller on your bail for smooth operation. To remove memory, tie on a jig or something and hook it to a stump or something solid in your yard, walk out 20-30 yards and stretch progressively it til it stops. Walk out some more say, 50-60 yds and keep stretching, or do some "simulated" hooksets. Dont go overboard...its still partially fluoro and will deform if you take it beyond the limit. Now, let the line slack out, should be pretty straight and limp. If its not, keep going til it is. Usually, 4 or 5 good stretches takes any coiling out. Reel it back on keeping some tension with your fingers, add a line conditioner. My experience is that hybrid is almost always a PITA when you first spool it on, but when you stretch it out, or like RW said, troll it out, that usually makes it handle pretty good for me.

I dont throw both on the same rod (DX 702), but you could. The 2 power makes a great open water dropshot rod, but a 3 power will work just fine if you want something more versatile. Both the 2 and 3 power have a great tip, in both series, champ and DX. The 2 power tip is just the ticket for working light baits without moving the weight.. its the better choice if you're gonna throw light shakeys. When you start tossing heavier stuff: shakeyheads/tubes/light jigs, you'll appreciate the extra backbone the 3 power provides and itll handle hard jerks and topwaters too. I say get the 682 for a dedicated DS setup and grab a 3 power for the laundry list.

Went on a road trip yesterday, checked not one, but 3 of my favorite little lakes to fish in the mountains....all 3 still frozen solid. Northern NY problems.

Waiting for that person who's gonna come in here and say the champion blanks are dead compared to the DX. That's a rod for moving baits dont ya know.

I just finished up making a floater suspend. Enough suspend strips will make anything suspend or sink. Its true that with a floating bait you might need quite a few strips/dots, and you also need to make sure you put them in the right spot for the bait you're tuning. I just did a 110 silent riser, when i tossed it into 50ish degree water, the bait floated quickly, tail down. The way it floats out of the package is strange to say the least. I wanted it to suspend, so i molded a number of strips on both sides of the bill and some of the body. Added a lucky craft style split ring since it did not come with one stock. Now this bait suspends horizontal. I will say it not silent. The 2 tungsten balls are stationary, one in the front, one in the back on this bait. Those balls move a bit, and its a very faint one knocker sound. Here is a couple pics to show how I added the strips of zinc. Smoothed the edges with a knife after I tested in the tank. Here it is next to a FX I have tuned as well. The bill on this floater definitely thicker.

Frabill sub zero ice rod and reel! 2 Lmb through the ice on Black Lake. They both ate a little jigging spoon tipped with maggots...winter needs to go away soon.

D-Shads and super flukes

I like X-raps and Husky jerks. Change the stock hooks out and add something sticky. Add suspend strip/dot to the underside of the baits bill, then test in some cool water til it suspends or barely sinks, you can cut off small portions of the strip depending on your water temps, and always be suspending. why on the underside of the bill? Gives it that nose down attitude that a pointer or 110 will make outta the box.

1/8oz is pretty light, especially running it on braid, you know power pro floats Felix. I only run braid when I drag tubes in deep water and want no stretch at all when I set the hook from 30 fow. I'll throw an 1/8oz tube jig late in the summer when the river is less than 5 feet deep and I DON'T want it touch the bottom much, just barely slip and bump over it in the current. I can still feel the bottom though. I'll throw a 3/16oz when I want to feel contact with bottom, it's not so much weight you lose them every time. You will lose a pile of them though, get used to that. Get some 3/16 or 1/4oz heads and start there.

Ive got a pack of the white/red ones, not a color I throw much. PM me if you want em.

Agreed, it matter in clear water. Seen it firsthand with my partner during a team tournament. We dragged tubes in deep gin clear water with straight braid. He was swapping between rods spooled with 30lb and 50lb power pro that had couple seasons on it, all color faded. I had spooled one reel up that same morning with new 10/2 p.p. in green. He caught some, but we both agreed I was getting more strikes per drift, from the back of the boat using the same color tube and same 1/2oz internal jigheads. I weighed in 4 of our 5 fish and our biggest. Partner uses 10/2 braid now and colors with a marker when it gets faded, sometimes ties a fluoro leader when he's not rushing. Also got him using sniper fluoro for dropshotting, he was an all braid guy until he started using a decent FC.

I've got one with 2 seasons on it, no problems yet. Nice reel for that kind of $$

You can use either. I run 2 setups for jerkbaits, one is a baitcaster: med/moderate action crankbait rod and spooled with fluorocarbon, the rod absorbs a lot of shock and the bass stay hooked up pretty good. The other is a spinning setup for launching smaller 3" jerks like a pointer 78s and x-rap 8s. The rod is just a med/fast action and spooled with Yo-zuri hybrid co polymer which is known to have some stretch. It keeps them buttoned up just as well as FC on the cb rod.

Jerkbaits....I love to experiment with retrieves and cadences. It's always cool to see a bass stuff most of a full size jerkbait in it's mouth...head first. Not so much getting them back out!