steelslinger86

I have two, and I know what my next reel purchase will be, no need to look at any others.

I bought a Shakespeare UL combo at dick's for like $25, I think it might be called stream seeker, but anyways, I didn't want to spend a lot, because I had never fished UL, and I didn't know if I would even like it. But, I have used it for over a year now, hauled in 100's of crappie and large bluegill, and some smaller bass. I can tell the reel is starting to show signs of mechanical wear, but I am more than pleased with it's performance for the money it cost, and the amount of use I have got out of it. Definately not a combo that will last me 10 years, but I never expected it to.

Falcon did make two different sizes of the FTO bags, so if you have the smaller one, you might try to find one of the bigger ones on e-bay or something, since you already know you like that line of bags. My buddy has one of each size, and I especially like the built in rain fly.

Black/Chartreuse crankbaits

Not being sure how much effect it actually had on water temp., and not knowing what lure you were using to start, I would just say try to fish areas that will warm first in the sunlight. My preference being rip-rap or rock of any kind, or if you know of an area with muddy water. Fish may be holding on the rip-rap because of the temp. difference, and if there wasn't any effect on the water temp., you are still fishing a reliable form of cover.

Could you imagine if a reel company made it so their reels would only fit on their rods. If you want to fish shimano reels, you would have to do it on shimano rods. How many people that prefer other rods would switch to shimano rods, so they could keep fishing shimano reels? How many people would jump ship on the company and find a new reel preference? I know this would never happen, simply because of the sales they would lose, but let's just say if it did. And of course some engineering type can say, oh I would design and market an adapter and get rich off of it, but let's leave that out of the equation. I was just thinking about this, because I fish shimano rods and lew's reels. I didn't use shimano as my example to specifically target anyone or any company purposely, just an example. Let's here what you would do.

I love my lew's speed spools ( $99 model). You won't go wrong with shimano or lew's in my opinion. But, with the speed spool, I feel you are getting a heck of a lot quality for $99.

As soon as I switched my cranking setup to a 7' MM rod, and started using a side sweep set, I noticed my hookup ratio increase greatly. I have even heard of guys holding their rod against their leg when cranking, to take some of the sensitivity away, so it slows their reaction even more, to allow for a fish to fully hit the crank, and get a solid hook set, versus the dangler.

Instead of going bigger store, think the opposite. If you have any small tackle shops that have a good selection, talk to the actual store owner. A lot of times if you tell him you are gonna purchase a decent amount of certain tackle, he might cut you a break. I know for me personally, I have went in and said, i'm gonna stock up on jigs, can you help me out, and he would say something like, if you buy at least 10 jigs I'll give you 15% off. Getting to know the small shop owners can be very beneficial in the long run, and most of them will always remember regular customers.

There is definately something about that thump, when the jig bite is on. Once you start to catch em on a jig it is addicting. For me, it is kind of like vertical jigging for crappie. Not the same presentation, but it's that connection between you and your jig, and then feeling that thump. Man, I love it. I had a nice fish burn me bad the other day. I was pitching to some nice brush, and as soon as it hit the water, there was the thump, but as I set the hook, he took off like a torpedo straight back at me, I couldnt crank line fast enough, even with a 7:1:1 ratio reel. As soon as I had the slack picked up, I tried to set again, but he was gone. The one that got away, the story of a fisherman's life, lol.

Nope, Next time you find some bass holding deep on a dropoff, tie on a football head jig and hop it down the decline. I have caught some nice bass in deep water fishing a jig and relating to the structure of the bottom. Jigs are a versatile tool, take advantage of it.

At TEH, I have a 7' med/med convergance crankbait rod paired with a lew's speed spool, and I love the setup for cranks. As far as any of the other models go, I don't know. But, at that price, with a lifetime warranty, and the performance I have seen from it so far, I will be purchasing more.

Big Bite baits, squirrel tail worm. The tail end is fatter, and is the only part that floats, causing it to stand straight up. It produces nicely.

Ardent, if you are fishing tournaments, these are well built, and they save you time. You dial the weight in, right on the ball, and you are done. Culling is fast and accurate, less room for error, and you dont have to keep track of writing anything down.

Jigs are probably my favorite lure to fish. I mostly use lighter jigs, 1/4oz. or 3/16oz., I only up the size if I am having trouble maintaining contact with my jig, due to wind. At that time, I only go as big as necessary. Jigs are easy to learn, but hard to master, and I think that is mainly due to their versatility. Someone may think they have it all mastered because they can use it with some success in a certain presentation, but if you are only using a jig for one presentation, and not the others, you may be missing out on the better bite. There are also a lot of different components of a jig. First, is color and size. If I am fishing a lake with shad present, I am likely to fish a white jig. I know it may sound crazy to some, fishing a bait that mainly mimics a crawfish, in a shad color pattern, but trust me it works. Other than that, I fish black/blue in spring, and after that, mainly natural colors like combos of browns and greens. Then you have head design. This mainly relates to the jigs efficiency at giving you the results you want in the presentation for which you are using it. I mainly use jigs with a bullet or more streamlined head, because I want it to come through cover easily with less snags. Next is, skirt material. Silicone is most common, because it is available in more colors. But, rubber has a more fluid lifelike appearance, with its limitation being that is available in less colors. Also, you have hair jigs, which can play a role in certain applications. Then, comes the question, rattles, or no rattles? There are also other variables, such as hook size, weed guard style, and eyelet angle. And, those are just features of the jig, then you have to decide on a trailer, if you are gonna use one. I personally don't fish a jig without one, and my trailer of choice is a zoom super chunk. I would recommend investing some time fishing a jig, and once you start to have success, you can start to notice patterns and come to form your own opinions on all of the options. If you are getting bites on a jig, and coming up empty after the hook set, most likely you are not feeling the actual bite, but rather the fish blowing the jig out after he already had it in his mouth. Good luck, hope some of this info. helps you out.

Chrome/Blue

I don't know if it matters to you, but I think they are below the price point at which the Shimano lifetime warranty would be in effect.

Wow, all of that sounds like a lot more of a headache than anything I have had to deal with. In my area, you just take it to a shimano dealer, and they hand you a brand new rod, no questions asked. Of course, you give them the broke rod, but definately no fee or anything.

I use the zoom chunk, and they offer a few different varieties. Chunk, Chunk JR., Super Chunk, Swimming Chunk, Vibrating Chunk.

Hello all, I am new to the site, from illinois. My name is Steve, I am 25 years old, and have been fishing since I was 2, thanks to my dad and grandfather. I am a union steel forger by trade, looking forward to some good conversation, tight lines to all, thank you.