Rob G.

They are not bad, but there are better. One of my favorites is made by Storm. It is about twice as big as a Bandit and has a larger, short square bill. It also has enough weight to be able to pitch it very accurately and with good distance on a MH graphite rod. This is on of the few applications where I use a fast tipped rod for crankbaits.

When those Prodigy reels first came out I made the mistake of buying a couple. They would cast a mile and I liked that little flipping switch. Neither of them lasted a year. I contacted Cabelas and sent them back, they replaced them. When the third went kapoot I called Cabelas back. They looked something up on their computer, gave me a reference number and told me to send them back. They gave me store credit for the full price.

The Cara and Cara Reaction are basically the same except the Reactions are tailored for crankbaits and have slow to moderate tips. Good rods.

The Walleye guys around here have been doing this for years, they call it the Dubuque rig. No personal experience to share though.

Hooker, no pic avaliable. We set this up just after I graduated high school, over 15 years ago. Do you doubt everything you read on here? You are the Great Contrarian, and you seem to have issue with more things than anyone else on this site. If a bass does not have to work to stay alive, no predators, no real stress. And he is fed a lot, twice maybe three times per week, several dozen minnows from which him to pick, he/she can grow fast. We actually had it down to how many to feed the lot without having our Bass throw up and eat more. I understand that 150 gallons does not sound big and we all think big water equals big bass, but under easy living circumstances this happened. A lot of our fish died over the coarse of three years or so. The Blue Gill, the LMB, the Channel Cats, and the Bull Head did not. The Crappies, Sunfish, and the like all expired gradually over a few years, mostly from getting their butts kicked by the Bull Blue Gill. The survivors were all turned loose in a local public park pond when we moved.

Hooker, 3 lbs not 5. Lysdexia acting up?

I have some Falcon rods and love them. I have low riders and caras. I would think that they are all good rods. Made here in the USA also. St. Croix cannot even claim that anymore.

Miller Wobbler, Johnson Silver Minnow, and do not forget the venerable Heddon MossBoss. Just put a pork or plastic trailer on the hook and experiment until you figure the fish out.

Used to have one, 100 or 150 gallon. A buddy and I set it up, he had 15 different aquriums. Anyways, we went out and caught all sort of small game fish. Our largemouth was only about 5 inches when we captured it, 5 years later it would have weighed about 3 pounds. Funny thing is that out big bull bluegill was the bully of the tank, he ran things in there. It was great fun to go to the baitshop, buy a couple dozen minnows, and let the feeding frenzy begin. It was like letting the tazmanian devil loose in there. Nearly impossible to see them all get eaten the action was so fast. After a feeding the water would be murky for a few days due to all the turbulance stirring up the rocks. I had forgotten about that, I may have to set up another.

The Silver Minnow is a good bait. It is a great bait for a kid or newbie. It can be fished as a topwater, or submerged. It is also relatively snagfree and weedless. A frog colored Uncle Josh pork trailer and a Silver Minnow were what my Dad rigged for me when I was a kid. Caught bass and northern pike on them. I still rig them for my wife. The Miller Wobbler might be a bit better though.

Our local Walmarts sell those kits too.

Slow rolling a Tornado in cold water works. More thump than a colorado.

Clay, deal. The Lightening Rod has been revamped for this year. I have not seen the new ones. We should see more deals like you got soon. I still use an older model Lightening Rod for one specific application, it works well for me, and has been a performer for several years. You did well, do not look back. Set it up and rip some lips.

I use Excaliber and like it fine.

Want to see price increases? Check out Cabelas catalogs this year. Makes BPS seem cheap.

How does the weight connect to the bait? Unless it somehow attaches to the line or hook I would think you would lose a lot of weights.

Reel, thanks for the info, I learned from it.

JB, I am glad you are happy with your rod. Dont worry about those personalities on this or any other web site that pat themselves on their backs with their every post. I once had a Vega, my ugly neighbor had a Corvette, but he was still ugly. Get my drift. Use whatever equipment you wish,spend your money how you choose, and have FUN fishing. With more fishing and equipment experience you will figure all of this out. No reason to make this really complicated and UNFUN. Plus if Shimano or Loomis ever go out of business, you and I can still enjoy fishing while others will be lost. Do not get me wrong, their are a lot of good, helpful, fun people here.

If you have more material like this, you should market yourself. That is funny stuff!!!

When throwing crankbaits I use cranking sticks, usually glass/graphite hybrids, except for two exceptions. First exception is pitching crankbaits tight to brush. The second exception is jerkbaits. I think a sensitive graphite rod with medium action and soft tip works great. Pair this with a low stretch line like fluorocarbon or a polymer and the jerkbait of your choice and you should be set. Gear ratio is not too important, 5:1 ballpark would be fine, although a 6:1 will work also. One key to jerkbaits that I have found is that after you "jerk" the bait, quickly point your rod tip back at the bait. This makes the bait turn and seems to stimulate strikes. The warmer the water, the more frequent and sharper the jerks. The colder the water, the less frequent and less sharp the "jerks".

Another option is one of the on-line tutorials. Either Eagle or Lowrance have it on their website, cannot remember which site though. Worth a try.

Gander Mountain carries these baits, in fact I believe the Gander Mountain brand baits are made by BigBites. They are ok baits, pretty inexpensive. Their senko knock off is too light in my opinion. The Sweet Beaver knock off is a keeper though.

Say that three times fast. LOL

Warts and Chugbugs are both very good lures.

The batteries are Walmart are fine. You actually can tell how old the battery is, they all have a date on them that states the manufacture date. I have been buying my batteries at Batteries Plus for the past few years. Been good batteries and if you get them on sale you will never find them cheaper. Batteries Plus also has a great warranty and they honor it. Each Spring I pull the boat down and they test all the batteries. If any have lost performance they replace either free of at pro-rated price. It has been a good experience. Second question, as for trolling batteries buy the ones with the highest reserve capacity you can find. That information is printed on the battery. For a starting battery look for the highest Cold Cranking Amps (CCA). If your batteries will be temporary-permanantly stored in a compartment in your boat, make sure to measure prior to buying them otherwise they may not fit. I have never used the gel-cell batteries. Heard good and heard really bad about them. Wet cell batteries have always worked great for me. Just make sure to recharge them immediately after use and keep them charged. -- Rob