Fireguyfrank58

First of all thank you for your service. Second, welcome back to middle TN. I can't help you much on the TN river or Tims ford. Most all my fishin is done on Percy Priest and Old hickory. Though I have caught trout below Tims.

Buddy, they have those grinders at the BP in Nashville. No WAY IN HELL would I ever put my Spyderco's on a grinder. Hard lesson to learn but if you want it done right buy a spyderco sharpener.

I think the best part of the video is the blue gill and the little bass audience you had going!

Do like I did, try it for a few months. Then go back to lead. For me night and day difference. It still kills me to buy them, but then again I get 6 weights for 12-14 bucks. They last me a long time, alot longer then some of the other fishing lures you can buy.

+1

I havent read the whole thread but this is the same combo I have fished for over 15 years. I caught alot of fish on this setup for years using lead 1/4 oz. weight and 12-15 mono. Since joining the forum I have made some small changes that have made major differences and have produced more and some of the biggest fish of my life. The first thing I did was switch to from a 6'6 to a 7'3 MH. It has given me more hook set power and casting distance. Then I switched from 2/0 offset worm hooks to Owner EWG plus hooks either 3/0 or 4/0. I very rarely miss fish and rarely have a fish come off the hook. I also moved from #50 PP slick 8 to #30 PP slick 8 with 12 lb Abrazix Fluoro leader. The PP is really just filler but I have found as you probably do here in TN the lakes get really heavy pressure. I know the fish probably cant see the braid since most of the water is stained but I figure every little bit helps. Then I switched to 1/4 oz. Tungsten weights. The Fluoro and the Tungsten combo to me makes a huge difference. I go from feeling a few things with my old combo to feeling the tiniest tap of bump. Then I bought a Abu Garcia Veritas 7'3 in MH. This rod is really really sensative with plenty of backbone. I also bought a *** MH 7'3. The rods are really night and day. The *** is light and very true to rating. It makes the Veritas feel like a H rod. I put a Lews TP on the *** and is my Go To combo. The casting ease and distance are incredible. Most of the time you dont even have to thumb your casts. Changing lure weights dont really require adjustment once you get it setup. I can go from 1/2 oz. jigs or weightless frogs back to 1/4oz tungsten with no adjustment at all. I know this has turned out a little long winded but all those things combined have tripled my catching and the size has increased also. As far as MH or H, The lakes I fish are rarely smooth bottom. The have light or medium to heavy rocks and light grass with alot of underwater wood. I want that extra backbone. The *** is worth the 100 bucks by far, and the Lews TP is priceless on its value. Hope this helps.

Anyone have any decent bank spots they dont mind sharing. I have been taking my family toward the Lock 4 road area and Summer park which has not been very productive on fish for us.

Thanks for the reply, I have been hitting that bluff wall and the bridge a couple times here recently with no luck. The water there is around 30 ft deep in that channel. I have been bouncing a jig off the bottom with no luck. I thought about trying to swim a smaller jig maybe 1/4 oz with a brush hog or craw trailer around the 15ft range.

I have been doing almost all my fishing here and until about 3 weeks ago having alot of success. I have been trying all kinds of different soft baits that usually I have alot of success with, but cant even get a bite right now. I do all my fishing from the bank so my options are limited. I have been fishing at Fate Sanders Marina but it seems like the fish have moved out to deeper water. Any recommendations on where to fish or where they may be hanging?

Well I screwed up and lost a nice large mouth this morning. For some reason I got it in my head to lower my drag a little. I guess it was something a saw in a thread a few weeks ago. Anyways, I'm running Abrazix 15lb so I went from full drag on my Lews TP and I backed it off 4 or 5 clicks. Sure enough I throw out my baby brush hog and get a gentle bite. No taps just weight with a little movement. So I don't give it the full hookset just a medium one. Sure enough I feel good weight on the set of a good fish. I start to reel him in and he stats to move and pulls the drag. It kinda freaked me out he was pulling it out so I keep tension on him and reach down to increase the drag. Well that was my mistake. I guess he turned toward me and out pops the lure. He makes it just to the top of the water and he gives me a nice big swirl vortex from jerking his head back in the water where he was just about to jump. This is gonna have me sick for a while. I hate losing fish! So if I'm running 15lb test how far should I back off my drag? 1-2 clicks? I think the TP test out to 16lb drag.

Braid is alot louder through your guides then mono or fluoro. It will sound very weird for a while till you get used to it. Check the specs on the eyes for you rod. Most of the new rods have guide inserts that prevent any damage.

Thanks, I experimenting with rigs. Right now the rigs I have look really good. Of course I'm no bass but I usually fish a 1/2 oz strike king finesse with a Kvd craw chunk of Rage tail craw.

So I had some time on my hands yesterday morning, so I decided to try some bank fishing. I figured I would use my regular texas rigs but start to work in the Wacky worm and still work on my jig fishing. From the bank right now the water is not very deep. More in the 3-4 ft. After no bites on my regular rigs I decided to pull out a jig. It was a overcast day and a little windy so I but on a 1/2 oz strike king blue/black with a black with blue tip claw zoom craw. I threw to the boat dock and just let it sink and stay on the bottom 3-5 seconds. Then I made very small hops. I would hop it 3-4 times then sit. Hop it back again then sit. Then I reeled it back really slow and 2 ft. then start my hops again. After a couple of these casts I decided to keep my line a with a less sag since the wind was making it very hard to watch. After a couple casts I got about 8-10 ft. from me reeling it up when while I was letting it sit on the bottom I saw my rod tip bend over. Needless to say I set the hook and pulled a 2 pounds out. This was my only fish of the day but it gives me more confidence knowing that of all the rigs that are my go-to I caught my only fish on a hard do with my least confident rig.

This is my first comparison/review of my 2 new setups I have purchased over the last 2 months. My first and favorite combo Is my 7'3 *** MH rod that I have my Lews TP on. I use 1/4 Oz tungsten weights with 15lb Invisix fluoro, and 3/0 EWG+ Owner hooks. This is my go to combo. I use this combo for my Texas rigs, normally a baby brush hog or a Zoom Ultra Zibe craw. The *** has a very light "feel" to it. To me it seems like its weight and diameter should be more in the medium light range. The thing is it has a very nice backbone to it. Feels very true to its rating. It's sensitivity is like nothing I have felt so far in a rod. I can feel every time my tungsten hits the bottom and every bite or nibble feels like a very nice firm tap. With my Lews TP I am able to palm the reel and use the finger hook between my pinky and ring finger to get a very nice firm comfortable grip on the rod. I think both the rod and the reel compliment each other very well do to the smaller lighter weight profile of each. As far as the Lews TP performance I think that goes without saying on the site. It just flat out performs and casts very long. My second combo is my 7'3 Abu garcia Vertias MH with a Abu Garcia SX reel. I have #50 PP on the combo right now and am fishing 1/2 oz. Jigs and Shakey head worms. This rod to me is also very sensitive. Though not as much as the ***, IMHO. Though very close, to me the ***'s lighter weight lets you really feel the pull and taps just a bit more then the Veritas. The Veritas has plenty of backbone with room to spare for my uses. Feeling the Jig hit bottom or crawls across rocks is very pronounced with the rig. So far my SX reel is doing very nice. I can cast lures just as far if not sometimes farther then my Lews Tp. Though so far I have not thrown any light rigs. The reel its self has a larger profile then the Lews and I think goes much better with the Veritas then the ***. The reel its self feels more "gear driven" which I know it is but I am referring more to feel. The Lews as I retrieve feels softer and more "floaty", while the SX does not feel harsh my any means but seems to feel like it has more torque. As I spend more time with my second combo I'll have more input but for now I hope this may shed some light on questions about these combos a few may have.

The trigger finger did feel small to me at first. I cast with my index finger on it. It took a few casts to get used to it but its fine. While palming the reel I actually put it between my pinky finger and ring finger.

I had the same thing happen with Invizx. It was after a couple backlashes. None of them were abrupt stoppages. I ended up losing about 60 ft of line.

Just be Careful of the Gammy hooks. The ones I have are not as heavy wire as my Owners. With braid I have really bent some hooks.

I have been using tungsten this season an I'm hooked! I love the size and feel. I lost 2 this morning on 15lb fluoro, made me sick! Those were my last 2 so I put a lead weight on and I could tell a big difference. Seemed like I lost a lot of feel. I may use something cheaper for fluoro though since I'm much more prone to loosing it on a snag. Ill use it for braid all the time though.

I use Owner 3/0 or 4/0 Ewg+ hooks for everything except for worms. I use offset round bend Owner hooks in a 3/0 for those.

Been biting like crazy here in TN. The local lake is swollen at least 8-10 feet in the banks. The fish have moved in and are hittin right on the bank line.

Got my new rod in yesterday so I had to try it out ASAP. I went to my local hole at sunlight before shift this morning and caught 5. I was there about an hour. My biggest was jus over a pound but they all fought nice. My only comparison is between my *** and my Veritas. The *** is MUCH lighter. It feels like half the weight. With the lower weight it feels to me like this transfers into better feel and sensativity. The slightest tap can be felt on the bottom with my T rigs. Both rods are 7'3 MH rods. It took me a few casts to get the feel of casting with the lighter weigh rod. I guess the most impressive part to me is that I caught 2-3 fish on the cast about 4-5 inches under the surface and I knew 100% I had a bite. The shaking and bumps were clearly transferred through the rod. Very impressed so far. On a side note the fluoro worked a lot better as well. Invizix

I actually got a Lews TP for 150 on my first combo, a lot of votes for the Chronarch. If it will last a lifetime I may be a good reel to look for.

I know topics like these can turn into ticking matches, but I want honest opinions from guys with experience with these reels. I am gonna put my Lews TP on my *** rod I ordered so i'll have my Veritas 7'3 MH that I T-rig with without a reel. I was wanting to spend arouond 150 for a good reel and was debating on a Abu Revo S, SX, STX or a Shimano Chronarch. I know the Shimano is higher but I may go a little bit more if I get a reel that will last me for years. I know alot of the complaints of the Abu reel but I'll just keep sending them in if I need to till I get a keeper. I will be using it from the bank so casting distance will be a factor. Also it will be for Texas rigs and jigs and in a 6:4:1 ratio or lower.

I am gonna give the fluoro a fair shot. Like I said once I changed to the improved clinch knot I didn't have any knot problems. I also think I ha the spool a little full as to why I got a few back lashes. After reading a lot more about the Invisix I see alot of people have good luck with it. I'm sure my backlashes had a lot to go with the break off too. If I don't like it ill try the copolymer before I go right back to the braid. I love everything about the braid except the visibility. After a lot more reading a lot of people catch a lot of fish on straight braid. Especially with Texas rigs. The water I fish is murky 90% of the time, like prob 2-3 feet clear visibility. I can't see a baby brush hog once its a foot in the water so I'm not so sure visibility should really be a issue.

Just curious, I am using a Lews TP with #50 PP Slick 8 and I just bought a *** 7'3 MH yesterday. Its gonna be my new Texas rig setup.