5dollarsplash

Crappie grubs, either double or single tail. +1 to all the guys mentioning scent or flavoring.

I'd pick braid if I was going to use just one. But as Francho said, they all have their uses. I'd try to overcome your ocd, at least in regards to line lol.

I used this extensively this summer for smallmouth with a 1/4oz or smaller jig in local rivers. For some reason it seemed to get hung up less than other trailers. The 3" senko or similar stick bait worked great, better than a grub IMO.

Look at grip lengths as well. A lot of times gaining that 3" of rod may yeild only 2-1" of casting length. Unless I'm fishing from shore or on someone elses boat I've moved to rods 7'+. For spinnerbaits and frogs, I think the Veritas is great, but if you use cranks often I think you'd be dissapointed for the reasons Arv points out.

In my neck of the woods we have pike, and they can be a blast. They seem to have had an up year here as well, probably caught 3-4x as many pike as I did the prior year. Like AK said though, they can tear up gear and in my little boat they can be a pain to handle. While musky/pike fishing I'll typically take 2-3 setups, of course then I don't catch any and wish I had more bass gear. When bass fishing, its the opposite, 6-7 setups and nowhere to go with 36" pike and the net lol.

You must've had your drag set correctly! LOL Awesome fish. I have no idea on weight, did you get a length or girth measurement? I wonder if theres a calculator for blues like we have for bass?

Really like both of those. Trying to hold off on a order, but I might have to make a little one and have it sent to work......

It's worth learning, although the growing pains can be pretty frustrating. It'll pay off when you get up under that dock and can tighten up the thumb right over that nice fat momma largemouth. Don't get too frustrated and remember we all had to go through the learning curve.

Wayne is a great guy to listen to when it comes to sonar. He's been a big help to me in the past, so whatever he says x2!

I'd slow down your retrieve. One of the best tips I ever got as a young man golfing/fishing "Let the club/lure do the work." If you overswing or over work a bait it can lead to poor results. A search bait does not need to be burned along. Try fishing your jigs like you do your cranks etc and I bet they don't get bit either. Try being more methodical and thorough, otherwise you could be wasting casts. Best of luck.

A 3/8 Elite Swim jig with a Rage Tail Menace trailer. It is such a versatile setup, I can swim it, hop it, drag it. For the Shallow area lakes I fish most of the time (<20') it stays tied on all day.

Siebert Outdoors Blind Date or Elite are my favorites. You can fish them any way imagineable. Come through cover well. And the prices for the Blind Date jigs are awesome, so your day isn't ruined if you do get one hung up.

This^ Or if you have a deep tub, pool, or fish tank (make sure your fish aren't too interested lol), its a good way to see what your really doing with your rod and reel in relation to your bait. In my experience, I found I was moving the bait far faster/further than I realized.

Do you have a set price range? I really like my Rage rods, and seeing as you can probably get one around $50 with that gift card, its going to be tough to beat. They are made with the same blanks as the Avid, a very highly regarded rod. If you do most of your fishing from the boat I like 7'6", but 7'6" can be a pain to manage. I use a 7'6" Rage for cranking and I find myself leaving it on the rack when I'm not in my own boat since its a tad unweildy otherwise. I'm sure you'll get a ton of recommendations for the ***, but I think a MH Rage would fit the bill nicely. Remember that St. Croix tends to run a bit firmer than most and play with the rod instore with your reel mounted on it if possible before buying.

I agree with Wayne here, especially on the Fluke recommendation. For whatever reason they aren't actively busting them up, so you need to be different. Throwing the fluke gives the look of a straggler or one that can't keep up with the pack, it just might be the ticket to triggering strikes that day.

I bought a MG when they first came out, I did like it a lot at first. Now I still use it, so don't go flaming on me all you Lews Lovers, but it spends a lot more time on the bench than on the playing field now. Although I've only played with one and they weren't out at the time, the Super Duty seems much nicer and like money well spent if your limiting yourself to the two.

Small 1/4 or less jigs. Tubes are killer. Jighead and twin tail grub.

I like the neoprene on the St.Croix rage rods as well. Everything else is cork, mostly for appearance. I do a lot of palming and the cast only lasts a second.

If I only carried one pole that's exactly how I'd do it. Probably with 30lb braid if it's a baitcaster.

Yep, if somebody finds one thats anywhere near as nice as these at a lesser price its time to let the secret out!

Depends how thick you get into it. I like a H and I've never snapped one, at least with a hook set, doors frames/vehicle doors maybe 50lb-65lb braid + Heavy rod= Bringing in the fish along with the 10lbs of lillys and whatnot on top of him.

They are both great! I could limit myself to either brand and be happy, but why would I?!?!? I can have the best of both! I will say (same as WW2 stated) I've been more impressed with the sub $100 Abu reels though. For the budget concious or as a loaner I'd lean that way.

I have both the revo s (prior generation) and the tournament mg. Although I like both, and at the risk of stirring the pot of controversy, I'll just say they excell in different areas for me. The revo imo handles lighter baits a bit better. The MG does great retrieving over and over, I love it for spinner baits and it has never let me down.

I'm no RW, but I give them a tad more "bounce" than say a normal shakey worm if I'm using them in a lake without much natural water movement.

I love those mega strike tubes. They work great exactly how your rigging them for smallies in slower rivers and creeks up in nw Wisconsin.