Fishing Doug

Brad, Couple questions: 1. what is the approx weight of these w/out a jig head? 2. what size jig head/hook size do you recommend? Or, do you suggest a different method of use? heard good things about this bait...bout time to break down and try them.

Yep, as RW stated, they are new rods. I have ordered twice from Reeds and great service both times.

I have a SJR843S in IMX for this application and absolutely love it. Like RW said, you will never grow out of this rod. check out the link below. My fishing partner just picked up this rod and absolutely loves it. This is a great deal from Reed's as well. No shipping and once you add it to your cart, you get 10% off so the total price of this rod is $198. That is a great rod for right at 200 bucks.... http://www.reedssports.com/Product.taf?_function=detail&_ID=7187

I voted Daiwa...but I was on the fence. still have Shimano spinning reels for now,but love the precision feel of my TD-Z's for baitcasters.....

mixed reviews here.... put 10 lb Gamma Co-Polymer on one of my TD-Z's and 10lb Yo-Zuri on another. very comparable. stiffness was about the same(even though not a a big concern on these setups since I was tossing spinnerbaits). Strength of the Gamma may have been a 'little' more, but if so, not much. final review-good line but with Yo-Zuri being a better value, I doubt I will buy it again. put 6lb Co-Polymer on one of my Stradic 2500's....disaster. memory was terrible and it kept coming off the spool. Spooled it up 3 different times too. And did everything right-made sure it was spooling correctly, left plenty of 'lip' on the spool, trolled it behind the boat, used reel majic. Not sure what else could have been done. Final review-I will NEVER have the Co-Polymer on spinning gear again. FD

Jared, Glad to see you joined. soak up all the info you can...but you still won't out fish me!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D FD

BP48, If this is the same jig you are talking about, they are on clearance at BPS for $4.88. I was also at a local BPS last weekend and they had a TON of them in stock at this price as well. FD http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchResults?searchOption=products&hvarSearchString=evolution+jig&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO

Thanks for the replies fellas. Looks like I may have to add these to the tackle box. I have a couple spots where this bigger bait might be the ticket... FD

Any of you guys used the Old Monster with success? If so, how did you fish them, t-rig, splitshot, jig head, etc? A couple of the lakes I fish are seeing a lot of Trick Worms and smaller finesse worms and thought I might try throwing something different at them. thanks in advance, FD

+1 I started using them on a split shot rig with the Owner rig-n hook 2/0 (short shank) in water over 8 ft (after reading a post by Randall) and this is now one of my favorite rigs. My fishing buddy and I have tried multiple colors and they seem to love them all. FD

great fish Randall. incredible for July.... FD

Investment Advisor.

Not to hijack GMAN's thread but I have a question about caliber. I have a 9mm for home protection and 1 that usually stays in the SUV. I noticed a lot of you guys are recommending .40's and .45's. Does the 9MM not have enough power to do the job if necessary?

super fluke....love that bait. very versatile.

FC, I know this is kinda off the topic of the thread, but can you share your method for using the 'dads' and depth of water you were fishing? Tthinking of trying live bait this summer when the bite gets tough and just wondering what worked for you. FD

I have mixed emotions on the ending. I missed a few episodes here and there so I am far from an expert. Below is a bit of text I pulled from a review. NOTE: this is simply the way one person perceived the ending, so take it for what it is worth..... "Tony Soprano is dead.... in fact, the ending was genius if you've paid attention to the show or are just a fan of well developed, well thought out plots that all tie together and have the memory of a champ to remember it all the ending was simple, he got killed, but let me tell ya why and explain in detail... There were 3 people in the room total who had a reason to kill tony..... the two black guys, they were paid before to kill tony but he was only shot in the ear, this was in one of the earlier seasons also in the earlier seasons, the trucker who was sitting at the bar stool, who the camera kept focusing in on, is Nikki Leotardo, Phil Leotardo's nephew. he was in one of the early season episodes where Phil and Tony have a sit down.... heres where the genius comes in.... when Tonys walking in the diner, you see the camera focus on him, then it switches to his perspective, and you see him looking @ the booth he's gonna sit at... then the camera switches back to tonys face, then it once again switches to his perspective, and it shows him looking @ the door and looking @ the people come in..... everytime the door opens the Chimes sound....... Carmela walks in, Chimes, AJ walks in Chimes, this when Meadows parallel parking, still trying to get inside the restaurant.... at this point the camera switches back to the trucker who goes in the bathroom...... then it goes to a scene where Meadow finally parks and starts running in the diner.... the doors about to open, Tony looks up.... and No Chimes...................... No Music............ Everything just goes black............... In one of the early Season 6 episodes of the Sopranos, Tony is talking with Bobby about what it must feel like to die.. Bobby says "at the end, you probably dont hear anything, everything just goes black" part of that was revisited in the second to last episode during the last seconds of it, when Tonys about to go to sleep and he flashes back to the memory of him and Bobby on the boat... "You probably dont hear anything everything just goes black" so in the end, the Journey song was playing, the chimes on the door sounded but when Meadow came in, the guy in the trucker hat (Nikki Leotardo) came out of the bathroom and killed Tony... It's the reason you don't hear, or see anything when he died.... it was from his perspective.... and everything went black, then the credits rolled."

I had decent luck with the Berkely Beast last weekend on a split shot setup in about 15 foot of water-would have tried them on C-rig but did not have that rig with me. Have had luck with them weightless before as well. I like them a little better than the Sweat Beaver...seems like they hold on a bit longer. FD

What other brands of spinnerbaits are you guys using with painted blades? Do any of you buy baits with silver/gold and change the blades? FD

Fellas, How long should I be charging my trolling motor battery? It is a 12 volt system and my onboard charger is a 5 amp. Also, I am fairly certain that my charger does not have any type of automatic shutoff when the battery is fully charged. Is there a rule of thumb on how many hours I should charge the battery? Also, can over-charging cause substantial damage to the battery? Thanks in advance, FD

I do. I have had the best luck with them on a Spot Remover. Splitting the tail appears to give it a lot more action. FD

I recently picked up the Bandit Footloose...haven't had it in the water enough to get solid results on it, but it is definitely a very shallow runner.

When Sherk slams him on the mat, Mayweather will be screaming for mercy. I'm with you guys.....this would be huge for the UFC, or MMA in general. Problem is, ain't no way it is going to happen any time soon....UFC couldn't pay the $$$ Mayweather would want. Sure, the UFC fighters are making more and more due to the increased popularity, but Mayweather would want HUGE amount of cash to do that. but if it ever happens, that is going to bring in some major PPV $$$. As for the fight-I thought it was a good fight, but had De La Hoya as well. He was landing more punches, but he simply doesn't have the punching power of Mayweather. He had Mayweather backed up to the ropes multiple times and landed a flurry of punches, but barely effected Mayweather...dude can take some punches...

Reelmech, Thanks for the informative post. I already practice one of your suggestions-back off the drag and 'add' extra drag with your thumb against the spool....much quicker and easier than dealing with the drag star while fighting a hawg! After losing a couple due to the drag being too tight, I realized it was much more efficient to add drag if needed than try to back it down with the drag star. FD

This is exactly what I do. +1

That was a massive headkick....but when you stand there with your hands down, you have it coming. I agree with you guys on his leg/foot. How did that not break his leg/ankle? Sure, those guys are in great condition and have major flexibility, but it looked like it simply broke by the angle his foot was turned....