Scotty58

thanks for all the replies guys! yeah i wanted to get some info before i went blindly into changing hooks and possibly screwing things up on alot of my baits. I plan on going through and sharpening most of the hooks on my baits that are rusty or look worn out. may just change my squarebills to short shanks though cause it seems like that is just a good idea.

I imagine this topic has been brought up alot but im planning on replacing alot of the treble hooks on any crankbaits or jerkbaits i used alot this past season. I was wondering how do you guys determine what to go with? As in how do you know when to use EWG treble hooks or round bend treble hooks? Long shank or short shank? I was thinking about putting short shanks on all my jerkbaits unless thats a bad idea? Thanks for the help!

I just bought a bass pro shop micro guide crankin stick. Of course havent used it since its 0 degrees in illinois but i like the look and feel of it in my hand. Im thinking ill like it. I have duckett cranking sticks and i am very pleased with them. They can whip a crankbait a loooooong ways

San Diego Jam. Easy to tie and seems very strong

The sad thing is sometimes you will fish shallow, deep and every where in between and they wont be in any of those places. those are the days where i try to get my hook snagged somewhere just so i remember what it feels like to have a tug on the other end of my line

I live in west central illinois and hoping to save enough money to go down to the BPS in springfield, missouri for a weekend during the classic. Ill keep a heads up to see when the seminars are and what pros their going to have.

Depends on what kind of lake your on. On a mainly shallow lake or lake with some depth? Generally in early spring the bass are going to be making their way up shallow to spawn. After they spawn they may hang shallow for awhile but then work their way out deep for the summer to find cooler water. In the fall they will work shallow again and into the backs of coves or creeks feeding into lakes to feed on the shad. Then when winter comes they will start heading back out deep. Thats probably the most basic way to explain it

I pretty much stick with Lews and Abu too. I gave quantum a chance. Had the PT accurist i believe it was and the high dollar KVD crankin classic and had nothing but trouble out of both of them. Had heard from a couple guys at the local Bass Pro Shop and they hadnt even heard much good about the Exo's. I just bought a Daiwa Lexa baitcast reel couple weeks ago. I live in illinois so havent been able to use it with winter being here but i used a daiwa lexa spinning reel this past summer and was very very pleased with it! very smooth! I also like the BPS Pro Qualifiers as a cheaper reel. I have two and havent had a ounce of trouble out of either.

I appreciate all the input guys! i looking on tackle warehouse and liking the look of the Falon Lowrider 6'10" MH/F finesse jig rod. That and i really like the *** rods. I just recently got a bass pro micro guide crankin stick for my medium depth crankbaits so have to buy a reel for it then i think im gonna work on getting the Falcon rod.

I live in Illinois so the lakes around here are usually always a little dirty if not muddy that's why I try not to go smaller than 3/8. I've got a setup I use for flipping 1/2 and 3/4 jigs. There's one lake around where I live that has thick vegetation. Most of the other ones just have laydowns and docks. Have never really considered going lighter than 3/8 but maybe I should?

I've been wanting to get a set up just for finesse jigs. I'm talking mainly 3/8 oz ball head jigs. I'm thinking for a rod maybe a 7' medium rod with moderate action. Of course a 7:1 reel and probably 15lb test Berkeley 100% flouro. What do you guys think? Does the rod sound like the right one for finesse jigs? Thanks!

That first reply is awesome lol. Thanks for the replies guys. I just wanted to get opinions before I made any decisions and you guys have made me decide to stay with my z6!

I have a 2014 nitro Z6 with 115 Mercury i bought august of 2013. Bought it from nitro dealer close to where i live. The guy i bought it from i have become friends with and joined the local bass club he is in last year. He has a 2005 Nitro 901CDX with 200 Mercury. He had hours pulled on it early this summer and said around 350 or 360 hours on it. In pretty good shape. Very minor chip up by the trolling motor that has been epoxied the right way and seats need re upholsterd. He is selling his boat for 18,900 but said if i was interested he would come down to 16,900 for me. I still owe 8500 on mine(4 year loan). I really like my boat, it performs well for the small waters that i have here in central illinois. Just the thought of something bigger peaks my interest. Just wanting peoples opinions on this and if it sounds like something you would do? I hate the thought of going from a 1 year old boat to a almost 10 year old boat. He is suppose to let me know how much he thinks he could get out of my boat on trade in tomorrow. Just wanting your guys opinions on this. thank you!

I have two Lowrance elite 5 DSIs on my nitro z6. I've had the boat since last august and I really want to get better at working with my electronics. Most the lakes I fish don't exceed 25 or 30 ft deep. What do you guys do with the settings like surface clarity and all the other things?? Any articles or videos that would help me learn more? I'm not a great deep structure fisherman but I think if I understood my depthfinders better it would help. Thanks!!

I have 3 tiny chips in the side of my boat. Smaller than an eraser on a pencil. My dad told me to dab clear fingernail polish on them to protect them. Is that the best method? Any words of advice or ideas that have worked for you guys??

Looking for a good reel for my carolina rig set up. Something that can really get the bait way out there. Plan on putting 30lb braid on it. I was looking at the Bass Pro Johnny Morris Signature Series reel. Havent ever used one but heard good things and they are having a sale on them right now. I have a Abu Garcia Revo SX for my lipless crankbait set up that i absolutely love and thought about getting another one of them. Just wanted to get some ideas or opinions on what reels you guys have used. Thanks!

I was just wondering what cover you guys recommend for a Z6? I bought a semi custom one last summer from bass pro that said it was for a Nitro Z6 and went to put it on the first time and the piece of junk was too short and not near wide enough. I would just like one that i can drive with it on and also use it in the winter when i put the boat up for storage.

I just got a nitro z6 this past august and got the Lowrance elite 5 DSI fish finders on the dash and up on the deck. They do not have GPS on them and was wondering about RAM mounting another one at my console. I was mainly wondering if i should go with just a chartplotter or a chartplotter/depth finder? If i go chartplotter ill probably be going with the Lowrance HDS-5m Gen2. If i go the other way ill probably be going Lowrance elite 5 HDI or possibly the elite 7 broadband but that is at the tip top of my budget so i doubt it. I like the thought of having one for just depth finder and one for just GPS. Just wanting to pick your guys brains on this one. thanks for any help!

Yeah i didnt think about the fact that when i pitch and flip its usually into some sort of cover or slop. I love braid because of how much you can feel on the bottom. Thats why I'd like to try it with my spinning tackle with texas rigged worms(my favorite style of fishing). Read an interview with Terry Scroggins who says he spools 10lbs test braid on his spinning tackle and then just ties different leaders according to what style he wants to fish(shakey head, texas rig, wacky rig). Thought it was a pretty good idea.

I mainly only use braid as my main line on carolina rigs. Was wondering how many of you use it for pitching and flipping and other things without leaders? I used flouro for pitching and flipping last year and i think it would be better to use braid. What kind of scares me is it just seems like braid would be so easily seen by the bass in the water. My main question is should i even be worried about it being seen underwater? or should i always tie a leader of flouro or mono on just to be safe? Just kind of want to get some opinions.

I have a lowrance elite 5 DSI mounted in the dash of my nitro z6. This is the first winter I have had the boat and was wondering if it was possible to pull the depth finder out of the dash and if it was a pain to do so? The shed I will be storing it in for the winter is not heated and just would like to keep my depth finders at home in a warm environment. Thanks for any help!

Haha and that's exactly what my dad said, is to just use mono. I 25 and he is 58. He used to fish tournaments in a local bass club when I was little and that was when mono was mainly the only thing used. Me being younger and with flouro being the new thing I think I need to use it but if this is what it does on baitcasters than I might go to mono. But I may try some other brands other than Seaguar first. For some reason that's the main line I use, that and Berkley Vanish flouro.

And I set up my reel like I believe most people do. I reel the lure up till its a few inches from the end of my rod and I adjust the spool control till the lure slowly falls. Then I adjust the brake half way. The reels I use are Bass pro pro qualifier, Quantum KVD crankin classic, Bass pro carbonlite, Quantum Accurist PT. I keep tight tension on the line with my fingers while I spool and I do use KVD line conditioner.

Sorry fellas for not getting back sooner. Been busy. But this is happening mainly just with my baitcasters and after I cast. I have two methods of spooling line on, don't know which one is best. Sometimes ill put the spool in the middle of my vise in my garage with a pencil through it and taped down and spool it that way. The other way my dad said he had always heard pros do is just lay it down and spool on some and when it starts to twist, flip the spool over and continue till it twists then flip again and so on. Its like what BlueBasser said, I get those V-shaped loops over my main line so when I cast it just stops my cast way short. Is there any way to prevent them or are those just a thing to get used to with baitcasters?

I just recently got real into baitcasting and spinning reels. I do pretty good with each, don't really get back lashes with baitcasters anymore. My problem with them is I seem to get a lot of little knots, or a loop of line tangled over my actually line going out to the lure in my reel. Happens on every reel I have. I've tried different ways of spooling the line onto the reel and still get it. I mainly use seaguar fluorocarbon. Is there something im not doing or doing wrong? any help would be appreciated! starting to get frustrated!. Thanks!