Arv

5 - 6, 6 if I caught it

call it a medium

heres some more http://www.tackletour.com/reviewquant06ept.html

3 years on a rod, 1 on a reel for abu garcia products

I've been throwing a spinnerbait more, but I usually have both tied on until the fish decidedly start going for one or the other.

I just got a MH/F 7'1 Villain and I like it a lot. Its stiff like all the other abu rods I've used (I have two MH Veritas) but I feel like the tip is a little bit softer. Its light, fits in my hand comfortably, very sensitive, looks good with my Tournament SS on it, and handled a 6lb LM wonderfully the other day on a spinnerbait bite. Also, I like the reel seat and trigger grip more than the Veritas. Its just more comfortable after holding it for a long time in my opinion. Back to the OP. I don't think you can go wrong with the Veritas or the Villain so I would assume the Verdict would fall in the middle there and not be a bad rod either.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&mode=article&objectID=31583 This gives a good layout of what goes into a casting reel and what to look for. You won't find anything top of the line for 100 bucks but you can definitely get something quality (BPS Pro Qualifier, Lews Speed Spool, or something used). Like mentioned above, I would leave the combos on the shelf. You may get more for less in those combos but I firmly believe in getting something that will perform well and that will endure. If you're going to buy new I would strongly urge you to look at the PQ or SS, and if I had to choose between the two, I would choose the PQ.

Like mentioned above, I feel like arkie heads are the most versatile. It cuts through grass/weeds nicely and does a good job dragged over structure. Its not my choice to swim but it can get away doing that.

I've actually been fishing both a lot recently. Since the bass are moving up more shallow after baitfish I've been throwing a spinner first. I'll fish them over weeks, open water, any kind of structure really. If there are heavy weeds, I will choose a swim jig with a trailer that provides a lot of vibration. If I don't get any bites off the spinner or swim jig I'll usually follow it up with another jig or texas rig (especially if there is specific cover) that I will drag/hop incase there are fish that might respond to a "softer" presentation.

I've never tried swimming a senko but I have swam ribbon tail and curl tail worms with some success before. I pick those because of the action on the tail. I might have to try it with a senko now too.

I don't have pictures on hand but I can try explain how I do it real quick and hopefully it will make sense. I use a lot of "full body" soft plastics (beaver style, flukes, etc) as opposed to chunks, mostly because I just picked up my first pack the other day to see what theyre all about. I will first line up the body of the plastic with the jig hook and see where the hook would come out one I start to thread it on. If I feel like there is too much of the lure exposed beyond the skirt of the jig, I will bite off a small chunk of whatever I'm about to put on. This is probably personal preference and will vary from person to person and lure to lure but I find I usually wind up biting off about 1/4 of an inch on most soft plastics. Once I feel like the lure is the appropriate length, I eyeball where the hook will come out and find out which side is "up." A lot of the craws will have little eyes on one side verses the other (this probably doesnt matter that much because I'll usually flip them "upside down" on the hook if they start to get mangled). Then I'll move the weed guard to the side just enough to push the hook through the end of the plastic and continue to thread it on the hook till it has reached the point where I measured it to come out before. Make sure the hook comes through in the middle of the lure and continue to push it all the way on till its flush against the back of the skirt. Hopefully that makes sense. Again, this is how I've done it, its definitely caught me some QUALITY fish before, but you might find other people say something different.

I've had luck on buzzbaits before. Also a good ol' jitterbug has done me well, it may not be the most exciting lure to work but it does catch fish.

Without knowing all the details I say good deal for sure. I've got 3 shimano's (2 Citica's and 1 Curado) and I like them all a lot.

x2

Senko's. Just got some Rage Tail Thumpers that I haven't tried yet but I'm liking how they look, hopefully the fish will too

Thanks guys. I've had trailers on pretty much all my spinners but I usually wind up double hooking fish. Didn't know how often it actually came into play

How many of you use a trailer hook on a spinnerbait? Are there some instances where you would and would not use them? Thanks!

Swim jig vs a spinnerbait is hard for me to say. Maybe someone else has a better answer but spinnerbaits resemble a small school of bait fish and a swim jig is going to be more like a renegade shad/blue gill etc. A football/arkie/alien head jig will be much different than a spinner. Those jigs, to me, are for specific cover - lay downs, rock, weeds. Not that you wouldn't throw spinners there too, but spinners will cover a lot of ground a lot quicker (like bait fish), where as you'll hop or drag those jigs through/over cover (like a crawdad). I also use jigs to learn what the bottom looks like too - something I wouldn't use a spinner for. I'll usually throw both - spinner more if the fish are more active and chasing other fish, jig more when the fish a little less active and might only react for a bite.

Haha, true that. Its still a little toasty here in NC but its getting there.

Spinnerbaits (finally started catching fish on this and its a lot of fun), Crankbaits, Swim Jig and I'm trying out Chatterbaits again (no luck yet)

Curado or Tournament Speed Spool. I got both in 6.x:1 and its hard to pick a favorite between the two.

I pretty much always have some kind of jig tied on cause they're one of my favorite ways to fish and they work just about anywhere (just depends on what head style you're using). If there are a lot of weeds I would use something to punch through. 3/4 - 1oz on braided line. I would fish it more like a crawdad to start with personally but you may find swimming it will produce better. Try both and let the fish tell you what they want to eat. IMO the only time not to fish a jig is when you're not fishing.

Yeah, I would recommend something with a 6.X:1 gear ratio and a MH/F rod. It will let you cover a large spectrum of lures. Check out the flea market and see whats going on in there. I think theres a daiwa hst available for a steal of a price. Not sure about what rods are still available in there. But if you paired that reel with a shimano sellus worm/jig rod or berkley lightning shock rod you'd be off to a good start for pretty cheap. People on here usually take really good care of their stuff too. If you want to buy something new you can probably search around on ebay and find a lews speed spool for around 80-90 bucks. BPS pro qualifier is another really nice reel for $100 although I realize that is pushing the budget a little bit. I'm sure more people will jump on here and give more feedback but I think those are a few good places to start looking.

How much are you willing to spend? I saw the Exceller combo at Cabela's for $80. Would you spend more than that? I think youre on the right track with a 7' MH rod. You can pitch and flip with them and use them for many other applications as well. Do you have a preference on what type of lures you will use on this new set up? We will probably need a little more information to give you the best advice we know how.

+1 more for Strike King. They should be at pretty much any store that has any kind of fishing department worth mentioning and definitely not too expensive if you're just looking to tie you over till your northstar order.