mike bat

i first had a g-loomis frog rod .... great rod i really liked this rod and it preformed well in the salad .... the olny draw back for me was the longer cork .... for some reason the cork would always get in the way .... so i sold the loomis and pick up a st croix legened tourney bass frogin rod .... wow much liter (in over all weight) and 3inches less cork ... this rod is killer i matched it up with a diawa zillion ... this whole combo is so nice .... id suggest takin a look at the legened tourney bass frog rod before you spend any cash on a stick .... ;D

well 1st ,, i dont wanna bash shimano ,,, but i had to ... i just think this fishing sport is so great and could be even greater if more companys would get involved ..... this whole BPS thing really strikes a nerve with me .... see it was such an easy way to say ,, we care about the future of fishing .... it was an even easier way to get more kidds hooked on fishing that more than likly would have been buyin shimano reels when they where adults .... i mean it really was a no brainer ..... now the whole take me fishing campane isnt helping many ive been reading about this program and have yet to really see take me fishing doing anything other than writing little bits on shimanos web page ... i dont want shimano to give every kid a free reel ... i just want to know im supporting companys that are helping other people ...THATS IT ....BPS,,, quantum,, diawa,,, and any other companys that where involved with the reel exchange should be praised .... this reel exchange was a great program and im glad to see there are still companys that care about the youth and our sport ..... we fisherman have to watch whats going on in our sport .... ;D im not even mad anymore just dissapointed .....

i really didnt want to speak on this thread .... but i have to say my peice ..... i was a avid shimano possie guy for years ... shimano reels have never done me wrong ,,, infact im still happy with the ones i still have ..... however they pulled a stunt a short while back that really burned me >... this being the reason i said enough is enough ..... bass pro was having a reel exchange a while back ..... great program ,, the reels where going to kids who couldent afford to buy fishing gear .... every major reel co. took part in this ( reel exchange ) ..... well except SHIMANO .... see to me this says one thing and one thing olny .... its a slap in the face .... instead of taking part in a program that will help younger fisherman out ,,, they worried about the 20percent off the new reels they would have to give ..... they stink of a corprate company totally disconected from fishing ..... they dont even sponcer any pros ... they olny sponcer tv shows like linders ,,, and jimmy huston .... wow who ever is working in the corprate shimano offices must be slow in the head or they are olny worried about 1 thing ,,, thier bottom dollar .... JUST SOMETHING TO CHEW ON ,,, next time your looking at that 600 dollar stella ..... to me they are nothing more than corprate swine ,,, they lost a possie member ive taken my money to diawa and couldent have been more happier ..... ;D

i really like the top water if it is litly raining ..... for this i like the spook ,,, horney toad ,,, and a buzz bait ..... if the rain gets harder i will move to a senko ,,, or a 6-10inch power worm .... just keep adjusting till you get bit ,,, with out a dout i love fishing the rain .....

i really wanted a kistler but after reading about how you have to tape your handel to get the reel to sit properly ,,, i said forget that .... the avid is a killer rod and my favorite ....

my mistake DG rod works

yup Rell mech ... he makes a killer lookin stick ... he makes split cork grips ,,, and does spiral eyes ... he is making me a custom jig rod .... it looks killer , i should have it in a few days .... i believe his web page is DGrods ...

well ill agree this jig is a pricey one .... how ever this jig does offer a few sudel differences ,, that may make all the difference .... i like the way the hook sits when the jig is still ,,, that hook is almost straight up keeping that chunk up where it can be seen ..... just me but ill have a few ;D

Paul st croix has one of the best warrentys on the market ... i once sent them 4 rods ,, no questions asked 2 days later all 4 were brean new on my porch ..... put them in a tube with 20bucks and send them in ,,, im sure you will have no troubles ..... ;D

20lb-25lb p-line cxx moss green .those are my main choices ;D and i with Biz i wouldent use a braid

id say go with a flourocarbon line ....

i am mainly a shore fisherman ,, so i had to work a jig on a long cast ..... it can be done ... its all in the gear ... i use a 7 ft med-hev avid rod ,,, a chronarch 101b ,,, and 17lb p-line cxx ( this year ill be useing a flour p-line halo 15-20lb ) ..... with this set up i can get really nice hook sets ... im switching to p-line halo (flour line ) .... flour line will sink alowing you to keep your line tight from rod tip to jig .... mono lines tend to bow under water because they float .... so just keep fihing the jigs .... you will get bit ... ohh keep that rod tip up ... move the jig with your rod not your reel .... and never let a jig fall on a slack line .... if you try these things you should be feeling the bites ... what ever you do get rid of that mono line ( too lite and too stretchy ) you wanna feel that bite and you wanna send that hook home ....

they are on bass pro shopps web site .... they look real nice but ive yet to try them ;D

yea ,,, bed fishing .... well more than likely those bass were just moving the tube off there bed ..... thats the hardest thing to learn about bed fishing . you have to set that hook FAST .... see most bass just want that bait outta there bed ... so they arent hitting the tube the way they would be if they are eating the tube ..... there just moving the bait of there bed ..... also they may just grab the tail of the bait so you cant set the hook .....

i have never used manns frogs yet ,,, so i wont say anything about them ... however there are a few frogs i have been useing with great success ... ive been using 3 different froggs and have been getting bit alot ..... the zoom toad , sizmic toad , and the ribbit ..... this year i will try the cane toad .... i have to say my favorite frog is the zoom toad ,, but the ribbit also catches a ton of bass ..... see the advantage you get with the ribbit is huge ..... the ribbit can be ran way slower while stayin on top , and kicking .... the zoom toad is great but for me has a faster speed to it ... so all im saying is they all have there place and time ,,, so try a few different ones .... you will see some days that sizmic will get hammered ... when the zoom toad wont get touched .... i like the sizmic when the bass want a smaller and more quiet toad

i picked the zillion twice .... i just loved the feel, look , and now casting of the zillion ..... and no pun intended ,,, but when i think abu i think round reels .... ;D

falcon jig box .... that thing is sweet ;D

i would throw a jig in any waters i fish .... in fact in most cases thats the first thing ill throw ...

i would go to a 12-15lb test ... in fact i like a 17lb p-line cxx .... thats just me ,,, i believe its harder to get a good hook set on a liter line ....

your zillion should have came with oil .... bolth of mine had oil .... i believe ill just be useing that oil on my zillions ....

i too tryed the yum buzz frogs .... didnt like them ,, they seem to want to flip over or even run on there sides ..... id recomened the ribbit ,,, gamblers cane toad ,,, zooms horney toad ,,,and the sizmic toad ... eich of these frogs has there own different actoin .... the ribbit can be fished real slow ,,, where the horney toad needs to be buzzed pretty quick ..... the sizmic has a nice soft popping sound and seems to be more of a finesse ( smaller frog ) at any rate .... these frogs will catch bass .... the olny frog i really didnt like ( as far as action ) was the yum buz frog ....

well i can say this .... the new cu is a nice reel ,, and a big step up from the old cu .... and the revo feels nice ,,, however there was somthing that turned me off when playin around with it ..... to be truthfull i thought the handel was small and even a little crude looking .... now i know i shouldent be so picky but if im droping cash on a reel it better meet my standerds .... ok so now size the cu 201 was a tank .. the zillion and revo sat on the rod nice and low and bloth had a small feel ..... and where just smaller ..... so i geuss i picked the zillion because it fit me better ....

id agree with that .... the zillion seems to cast the heaver baits better but most reels do ... the first casts i took with the zillion i used a tube weight less ... she handeled that well .... she is a smaller feeling reel ... ill be useing one on my frog rod and one on a jig rod ..... so i will be fine with the zillion ....

dont move the jig with your reel ... rather use the rod tip to move the jig ,,, this will help you feel the bites .... also when the jig is falling try to keep the line tight from rod tip to jig ,, dont let it fall on a slack line ..... i recomened using a flourcarbon line ... this will help in keeping your line tight to the jig ,,, also alows better feel .... untill i learned to use my rod instead of my reel i olny caught a few bass .... now using my rod i catch a ton ... these northern bass absolutely love jigs .... i should also recomened you look for a jig that wont cost an arm and a leg .... for that i use a arkee jig ,, not the swindel one eighter just a plane arkee ... they run around 1.50 a pop ,,, this helps when fishing the wood and rock .... also not breaking the bank when i buy 10-20 at a time .... imo most jig colors produce browns ,,, craw colors ,,, and that black and bku always seem to work well here .... ;D

same here im a shimano guy .... i first picked up a cu 201 ,,,, just too big and bulky.... i also baught a zillion ... i made the mistake of puttin the zillion on my frog rod .... then i have a new cu 201 with no rod .... so i returned it for another zillion .... its a sweet reel ,,, maybe the best burner on the market .... ;D IMO of coarse ;D