katmandew

Ditto for the Gen 3 stx. I got lucky traded even for a brand new lews TP so I don't feel as ripped.

I don't really want to pay for the fluorocarbon for cranks. It stretches also. I don't think it's my line. Gonna move my LEWS BB1 back to my old rod with the fast tip and see what happens.

Yes same line. Izorline XXX COPOLYMER

I'm fishing deep running cb's for walleye on a cranking rod with a moderate tip. I'm losing more fish with this rod than with the fast tip I used last year and am wondering if its the rod. Seems like the hooks are not getting buried into the fish like they have on the fast tip in the past and they are able to roll the hooks out easier. I'm using the same plugs with the same gamakatsu trebles I used last year. Rod is the only thing different. Any ideas? Think the tip has anything to do with it?

Powell 705CB rod with a Lews BB-1. Right at $200 for the combo. Maybe cheaper if you find a deal on the rod. Reel is about $125 on ebay. Rod $79 at Tw.

Lew's Tournament Pro (about $160 TYD on ebay)...and you get it new, not used. Hands down the best reel for that kinda money IMO.

Powell Diesel 705cb works great for cranks and jerkbaits.

Guess I'm gonna try some rage lizards, then. Thanks for all the input.

If you use zoom, do you add scent?

I used to use the berkley powerbait lizards with good success. I still have some that are about 12 years old, but thinking I need to grab some new one's. Wondering about the newer powerbait vs the rage tail lizards and zoom lizards (or any other brand). What's your favorite brand of lizard and when do you use it the most?

Not having IAR on my BB1 doesn't bother me one bit. It casts a mile and is very smooth. Casting is truely effortless. I fish it on the Powell Diesel glass cb rod. I get great feel and have had no problems at all. I like it as much as my TP's.

Good info. Thanks for all the input. The body of water this guy was on is usually gin clear, so maybe that's why he liked the pointer. I may have to try it out. Don't think I can swing $50 for 2 megabass jerkbaits tho, and I wont buy just one because they will bite it for sure and then I'll lose it and be stuck out there without one. lol

I'm curious as to why people choose the $15-$25 jerk baits as opposed to the cheaper Smithwick Rattlin Rogues. Had a guy tell me he only fished pointers because they worked so much better, but didn't specifically cite any major differences in the action of the bait. What do those more expensive jerk baits do that the cheaper Rogues don't?

Powell Diesel is a great buy from a quality company. They sell this rod cheaper because there is no warranty, but the quality is there.. $79 each and maybe cheaper depending on where you get it. I bought their glass crankbait rod and love it.

You can get a Shimano Symetre FJ for less than $100 now. The newer ones are $99 plus tax in retail stores, but technically still under 100 and if you get it on ebay, you may find free shipping/no tax.

I may have gotten a bad spool. The smoke 12 lb I bought off ebay was terrible. Was thinking it was just old. The clear spool I have is good line. It's marked "ultra soft" tho and came from bps.

I would go crucial and Stradic, because the Stradic can be had from eBay for $30 more than a retail store symetre and its a much better reel.

Haven't used the MG, but the TP and BB1 are top notch reels. I have 2 TP's in 7.1 and 6.4. My BB1 is 5.1.

Or a Lew's. Big difference IMO in the Lew's TP over the STX 3rd Gen. I bought the Revo STX this year just to see for myself what all the Revo hype was about, and honestly I just didn't get it. They are okay reels, but, not deserving of the hype they get by no means. Maybe the lower end S and SX are top notch for their price range and that's why the line are so popular. The local guy at BPS said they sold more of the S than any of them. I tend to fish the mid range and above reels myself, and I guess I was expecting too much. I really hated how hard you had to crank down the spool tension knob on the STX3 to dial the reel in properly. It did fine after that, but the Lew's is just smoother and more comfortable to me. It was about $20 cheaper too.

Don't worry about that. Lots of people fish them exclusively and catch big fish. Gearing differences are for different baits and techniques, not for different fish sizes.

Even if you had an invisible rod, if they are that close and looking up, they will see the boat.

aren't the new Cumaras built with last years cumulus blanks?

I know a guide that is sponsored by Big Hammer that uses a 7:1 reel exclusively with them and he doesn't hardly put that rig down during the spring. It's all personal preference really. The difference in my Lews 6.4 and my 7:1 in that same reel is only 3" per turn. Not that hard to slow down to compensate for that I wouldn't think, but when reeling it fast to catch up with a fish, the 3" will make a good bit of difference. I'll be using both this year probably with the hammers and may just experiment with the 5:1 reel as well.I wouldn't be afraid to throw it on a 7:1 by no means. If you want versatility, the 7:1 may be the way to go anyways. Just remember fishing hammers ain't like throwing a crank bait. The retrieve is much slower...unless ur on a really hot bite, the it won't matter if you burn the bait across them. For the hammers i make my own heads. I pour them in a mold. I use a better hook in mine than the cheap hook they put in them. I lost too many fish on their heads due to the cheap hooks. They throw it a lot. Haven't lost a fish that I hooked since I started making my own. I use 1/4 and 3/8 oz heads with the 3" hammers and 3/8 and 1/2 oz heads with the 4". Rarely go any bigger.

I think I'm the same way. Tried an Abu STX, just didnt like it as well. It casted fine, It was just harder to dial in and the spool tension knob had to be very tight to avoid backlash. I have a BB1 and 2 Lew's TP's. They'll see most of the action in my boat. Both models throw very light cranks a very long way with no backlash.

Terrible line for the price, IMO. Stick with Powerpro or suffix.