mjseverson24

If I hired a bass guide ( which i would if i went south to a large reservoir for the first time) I would want him to fish hard and catch as many fish as he can and show me the basic lay outs and patterns of that specific system. I dont care about catching a million fish that day, what I would want is just a basic idea of what the fish are doing and why, also i would want to know why the guide chose the spots and what is his philosophy is on how to best present the bait to the fish. you can either spend 400-500 dollars for one day of great fishing with lots of memories and fun, or you can learn something and make that 400 dollars an investment that will help you to catch fish in the future. i think it is ridiculous that the neighbor got mad that the guide was fishing, first off the guide is used to controlling the boat based on how his lure is positioned in and around structure, without a rod in hand how will he be able to keep the boat positioned properly, and or keep it at the right speed without going to fast. also it help keep you motivated if you know you are on and around fish as the guide is catching them... Mitch

I like both brands quite a bit. ABU has good quality reels the Revo S and SX are good both cast great and handle pretty well. Of the two though I prefer quantum over abu. Quantum has some really nice reels in the 100-200 dollar range. personally I like the energy pt a lot, and the Kinetic PT. the kinetic pt is probabily my best casting reel for distance, I have one of them on a frogging rod and one on a deep crankbait rod. both have abec 7 ceramic bearings and just flat out perform beautiful well above their price point. I used a smoke for a while, but for the added cost over the energy it was not a great value for me. I am looking to pick up one of the Tour MG's in the off season to put on a bucoo micro fliping stick to help avoid the claw while fishing bottom contact. quantum and abu do not get a ton of love and or respect on this forum, but in my opinion they are more innovative than shimano, and more affordable than daiwa, which puts them in a nice middle ground as far as features and price. ( I have a lot of daiwa reels and love them, and I also use shimano rods and enjoy them as well ) Mitch

This year has been great. I took 3rd in AOY points in a new league fishing 8 lakes that I had never fished before. although I didnt win any event I was competitive in every event (except 1) and it was fun learning all of the different lakes. I recovered all of the entry fees, and the winnings helped pay some of the gas and tackle expenses ( a small fraction lol). Most of the days we were just missing the 1 or 2 big bites that the guys who did realy well were getting, but our bag was always a nice average sized bag which put us in position to make a run for it if the big ones did come out to play. outside of tournament fishing this year has been great for just recreational fishing, with a lot of fish over the 4 lb mark and a few over the 6 lb range (both SMB and LMB) none over 7 lbs yet but the fall is still the best time to get a giant up here. I did things quite a bit different this year, I worked on slowing down when I was in an area that I knew had fish and thoroughly cover it with multiple baits, and it paid off(especially in mid to deep water). Big surprises for me was the craw tube was my #1 producer (T-rigged), and i hardly ever used a spinnerbait this year ( last years #1 producing tournament bait). Total numbers this year are probably just over 3000 LMB and about 50 SMB, so good over all numbers on the season, and looking to add more over the next month or so before ice up. Mitch

i only use them if there is no weeds, and usually even then its rare i use a trailer hook... Mitch

Yes I have a few of them, and they work great. The drag is really nice and smooth which is needed for these light line applications. Casting or pitching I don't think there is another reel within 100 dollars of its sale price that will out perform it (except for the regular T3) especially with some upgraded spool bearings. match it with a rod with a nice flexible tip and you have a very good finesse set up for an affordable price. only issue is the handle is not that great so a little investment like 20.00 for the Lexa handle and you are good to go. Mitch

here is my finesse casting set up and it handles 1/8 oz jigs well, and can double as a weightless senko/dropshot/shakey head rig as well. Abu verdict 7'MF with a daiwa T3-B 8:1 with abec7's ceramic on the spool. the rod I got for 60.00 and the reel for 109.00 so for 170.00 that was a pretty good little finesse rig. Mitch

in the line up: Casting combos ---> 25 ( a ton of different brands and models) favorite ---> falcon bucoo micro 6'10" H with W&M skeet reese 7:1 Spinning combos ---> 5 ( mostly st croix rods ) favorite ---> St. Croix mojo bass 7' MF with Pflueger president not in the line up: 4 casting combos ( entry level gear ) 13 spinning combos (mostly walleye gear) 4 trolling set ups (walleye) Mitch

the black max reel and FC are not a good combination in my opinion. I have used the black max's in the past and often on long casts the line becomes loose on the spool until the end of the cast when it tightens up again, this with FC is a recipe for backlashes and broken lines. use a more limp mono, and or if you realy want to use FC get some KVD line and lure conditioner and it should help a little, but IMO unless it is a daiwa mag breaks with FC is a money pit... not to mention frustrating loosing good fish to line breaks as well... Mitch

you can get the Lews BB1 at TW for the same price as the citica, and it is a better reel IMO. otherwise the Lews tournament MG is a good reel for a similar price tag and I again think it out performs the citica. Big thing for me is the handle on the lews is quite a bit better, but the cast control on the citica is pretty nice (set and forget). honestly though if I were looking at a reel in that price range I would get the Tatula on an auction site for under 105.00 that in my opinion is the best deal out there. cant go wrong with any of them though... Mitch

sounds like your boater should have given you one of his spoons, at least that is what I would have done, or slowed down and let you fish a little more thoroughly with the techniques you felt comfortable with. Mitch

The most sensitive Rod that I have ever used is the Shimano Cumara. the reel seat is designed for maximum contact with your hand to the blank, the front and rear grips are minimalistic resulting in the least ammount of vibration dampening of any rod I have seen. The blank material may not be the best on the market, but it is maximized to get the most out of the materials used in the construction of it. you put the same design features on a magabass blank, or a SCV blank and you would truly have something special... Mitch

if you remove the hook in a timely manner and get it back in the water quickly it should be just fine. Mitch

Each lake is so different in MN some of them deep is the key some its shallow and some its that mid range(5-9) that is the key. I like to fish the mid to deep tuff when I can, but sometimes the super shallow bite is where it is at. I would have to say deep is my most productive, but only because my shallow water game is not as good as it should be. Mitch

In MN I classify a bass over 4 lbs to be a kicker fish(44.4% the state record LMB). I would say that I catch a kicker fish at least every other outing. if you want to classify a lunker as a fish over 5 lbs (55.5% state record LMB) I catch a "lunker" probably 1 out of 4 outings. Mitch

I would check the rules section of any tournament you are looking to enter. Some of the ones I fish have a 16' or 17' length minimum on the boat, and a HP minimum at like 50 HP as well as it is up to the tournament directors discretion to allow a boat to enter or not. If you are fishing big waters and it is windy, the director may have no other choice than to forbid smaller boats from competing for none other than liability reasons. I would at least ask the director for his opinion, the worst he can say is no. Mitch

So far I have stuck with 6:1 and 7+:1, 6's for horizontal presentations and 7's for bottom contact and frogs/buzzbaits. on my deeper cranking set ups I have 6:1's but I put a 100+mm handle on it to increase torque. If I used really deep cranks (over 20 Ft) I would probably get a 4 or 5:1 and still put the big handle on it. in my opinion you could probably get away better with a 6:1 than a 7, but why limit yourself. Mitch

Tatula for 103.00 on auctions sites, you realy cannot beat that reel at that price. out of the two you listed I would go with the shimano, the Ci4 is a fantastic reel. could save a little and go with the curado I. Mitch

I typically don't worry about how the other teams do in the tournament, I am competing against the fish. I set a goal weight that is a realistic goal and determine my success based on that number. I have had days when I cashed a check, but I felt i underperformed, and i have had days when I have exceeded my goal and have finished in the middle of the pack, but I was very satisfied with the results. The more time and experience you get on a lake the higher your expectations should be... I wouldn't worry too much about wins and losses, just improve your skills, and continue to develop your tournament strategy, the W's will take care of themselves... Mitch

skeet reese victory reel can be had for pretty reasonable price, and it is a pretty good reel... otherwise the tatula is a great choice or the T3-B... Mitch

mojo, ***, bucoo micro... these would be the top on my list for the 100 dollar flippin sticks... Mitch

i currently own both, and i like both of them very much... they both perform up to my expectations, and deliver solid performance day in and day out... that being said for basically the same money you can get a T3-B from TW for 110.00 and that is a superior reel to both of these (imo) both in performance and quality... only down side to the T3 is the handle, but put a lexa handle on it for 20 and you have your self one heck of a casting reel for 130.00... if you must choose between the two you originally posted, i would go with the tatula. Mitch

opening weekend was pretty awesome, a little warm, but the fish were biting very well... fishing central mn lakes focusing on lakes with more stained and dirty water that heats up faster. the fish were much shallower than i had anticipated, and their willingness to hit topwater was also a little surprising. Caught about 125 all large mouth in 2 days of fishing. the majority of the fish were 13-16 inches, but 11 were over 3 lbs with the largest being 21.25" and just a little over 5 lbs... it was a ton of fun, the fish were on very odd patterns, no jigs or texas rigs were effective at all, a few of the better fish came off square-bills, and wake baits... water temps were 64 in the morning and reaching 70 at its peak... water clarity about 2 ft. yellows were the top producer for me... thank God its open season again... Mitch

i typically have my drag set pretty heavy... many of my reels have drags nearly locked down, I do not like to have my reels release drag on the hook set... Once the fish is on I can adjust the drag accordingly, also if i need to i can hit the spool clutch and thumb the spool to keep appropriate pressure... i lost too many fish when i first started with casting equipment due to too light of drag... Mitch

triumph for 100 is not that good of a deal, you can find them places for 70. i have a few of them, and i like them quite a bit... I prefer split grip, so the mojo is more attractive of a stick to me... honestly though either the veritas for 70, the *** for 100, or the compre for 100 are better choices in this price range... Mitch

These are the heads that is use tot tie my own swimjigs, they are great, better than most of the jigs on the market, and quite affordable... also you can get them in a variety of pre made patterns, i typically go black, white, and the bluegill... great jigs though... Mitch