rangerjockey

It's pre spawn suspended fish deal for me. I'm sure if you wanted to throw it long enough you'd get a few to bite but I think around here there are better options once they start to move up.

I agree with Blue. The best action your going to get with a walking bait or popper is with braid. I never use a spinning rod for them but 15lb. on a spinning reel should be about perfect. I also wouldn't use a leader, sometimes braid will foul on the front hook but I think that's better than creating another point of failure with a leader knot.

I've never been a huge fan of crankbait specific rods for squarebills. To me it's more like fishing a spinnerbait in cover and personally I'd rather the rod have enough azz to turn him and get the fish headed toward the boat. Ol' willy P doesn't pull very hard once it's in the water so... I'd say Loomis 843/844.

That is some solid advice. I would rethink hiring a guide and try to gain some knowledge before you set off on your own.

I've gotten away from the braid/leader deal and gone back to flouro. I use Trilene 100% in the green tint without any problems.

21 feet high and it rained hard yesterday. I would think the old bank line will come into play.

I've never had much luck heating the bill on a red fin. I use the good ol' suspend dots method right in front of the joint and add a feathered treble on the back. Some never will run and end up in the trash can . Braid will make a so so running fin better however. Honestly , At least here on Table Rock where the red fin is a religion close the the wiggle wart a lot of guys have gone to the Berkley Surge Shad. They run right and the hardware is useable right out of the package.

I wish they hadn't discontinued the shoal cranker. It's a great wiggle wart rod.

I've lucky enough to grab 2 just in time.. My fishing buddy keeps one of those old chain stringers in his boat. Open up all the clips, put it on a flippin' stick and drag it where the rod was last seen headed for the bottom. I've seen it work.

That's the first time I've seen great customer service and Edge used in the same post. I'm sure it's a good rod using the NFC blank but the horror stories about actually receiving the rod are pretty common.

I would ask the guys at ALF

Bull Shoals is high as usual and will probably be that way depending on how much they dump Table Rock and of course the spring rains. I would use 12lb. flouro in the brand of your choosing for the bottom deal.

I'm not a huge fan of bed fishing either but I will do it some. The rod and reel set up doesn't matter. Anything that you would pitch a jig or creature bait with will work .Personally, I like a white tube .

I'll wait until all the details are out before blaming it on the mans age. He could have had some sort of medical issue and fallen in. Was he wearing a PFD ect. Thoughts and Prayer for him and his family,

I like the Herren jig. I drag it a lot more than flip it but it's a good all purpose jig.

That's a great find.

Fishing it as a single swimbait I'd pick the Keitech first. On a A rig where I don't think the action matters as much the Rage swimmer is a good option.

So don't buy their products, They will probably close the doors. I live around the best stickbait fisherman in the country and where it all started and I don't know a single person who doesn't throw the 110. There are others like the McStick, pointer and Rerange but you won't find a bait that works better right out of the package than the MB.

Maybe not where you are and I really don't care. I know how they work here in the Ozarks on Table Rock and Bull Shoals. If your happy fishing whatever kind of stickbait you like more power to ya . Like somebody has to justify it to you ?

I think the 110 and it's cousins are the best stickbaits out there. There are times I like the McStick and some others better but day in and day out I'll take the MB. Heck, if I figure boat payment, fuel costs, insurance ect., 10 bucks one way or the other for what the fish actually bites is of no concern for me personally.

Well , A flatside crankbait in general in nothing new. There's about a thousand guys making them in east Tennessee.

Falcon has always made a good rod. They got beat up pretty good when they moved production off shore of the Cara's and Lowriders. The old Expert was a great rod for it's time. I've never fished the new ones. My personal favorites will always be the Amistad ,The weightless worm rod which has always been popular here in the Ozarks as a jerkbait rod and the finesse jig or old Eakins rod but I think they changed the taper of that rod over the years. It used to be super soft and was designed by Jim Eakins to pitch 5/16 ball head jigs . One of the guys at Falcon told me once he hated that rod but if it's used as intended it's great. But people saw it labeled jig rod and tried to drag 1/2 oz. football heads with it.

There's no question LOZ puts out some nice fish. I would think the average tournament winning sacks are bigger than Table rock or Bull Shoals ect but it's like fishing down town St .Louis in a flood. Lots of people like it I'm just not one of them.

Any of those would work. I personally use Tastsu , Sniper and Invisx all good lines. One isn't going to catch a fish the others wouldn't have. I think it's much more important where you throw or pitch that Senko than the line it's attached to.

Yep