Zach P

Perfect, thanks man that's what I needed to know!

Well I've never experienced having to replace any parts on my reels until today. I slipped on a moss covered rock down by the dam I was fishing and ended up falling on my rod and reel. The rod came out unscathed but the BPS Pro Qual reel handle was bent badly. I've contacted BPS but they don't carry replacement handles (which is incredibly stupid in my opinion) so I'm left trying to figure out what to do. Are most of the replacement handles available for brands such as Abu or Lews interchangeable with other brands?

Great post, use this as a general rule guideline. Obviously retrieves and colors are very subjective to where you fish. Let the fish tell you how they want it Rhino68W.

Green pumpkin trailers work great with black more so than many people believe. At the same time a black trailer with a green pumpkin jig works well too.

I've fished a lot of squarebills. The ones I've had the most success with are KVD 1.5's, River2Sea Ish Monroe series, Storm Arashi Squarebills, and Xcalibur. I've heard great things about the LuckEStrike Rick Clunn squarebills too.

As an angler I have always looked up to Ike not only because of his work ethic but also his passion for the sport and for the fans. He has always gone above and beyond for not only his sponsors but everyone who talks to him. It truly gave me chills to see how emotional he was in front of his family and fans after he weighed his final five fish limit to win the event on his home water. I personally believe those that criticize Ike don't understand how passionate he is about the sport. He leaves it all on the water and it showed this week as he gave the tournament all he had left in the tank. Such an awesome win! His words of "Never Give Up" and what he said during the final weigh in of "Dreams do come true" should resonate with everyone who is passionate about what they love to do, especially everyone here on bassresource.com.

From what I've read and seen regarding this crankbait online it seems like this could make those days of deep cranking much less tiresome. I can't wait to get my hands on this crank when it comes out later this fall!

I have to say I truly enjoy topics like this. It's great to hear everyone's different opinions on this subject matter so I will give my own. As a co-angler who does not yet own a boat I have not yet fished with a single boater who was not respectful and genuinely a good person. I have various times offered to pay for a portion of the gas cost as well as offering to pitch in on smaller things like ice or lunch. There have been quite a few times where the boater will not accept anything other than having a good net hand. With that being said I always offer to help pay even though some will not accept. The first post on this topic concerns me somewhat because I don't believe any boater feels that a co-angler owes them more than what they are paying due to the upkeep on the boat or the loan they are paying. I'm sure there are guys out there who can be ignorant and I'm sure I will experience them at some point. I know there are anglers who feel co's can be a burden at times but those anglers should also remember that the person fishing from the back might have a different perspective to offer on days when the fishing is tough or days when the co is kicking the boaters ass in fish caught. All in all I feel as though at some point everyone should probably take a step back and realize that while we may be fishing for points, or even small winnings this is still something we do for fun (unless of course you are pro or trying to turn pro). If you don't want to fish behind someone else and learn how to catch what they can't then don't join a club. Likewise if you don't want someone fishing off the back of your boat find a club where co-anglers aren't a factor. That's just my two cents.

They aren't terrible hooks but I personally prefer to use a #1 or #2 Owner Mosquito hook. Just my personal preference though.

I can tell you that their soft plastics are not only the most durable I have ever used they also catch a ton of fish. The only downside I will admit is that they melt under extreme heat conditions. KEEP THEM SEPARATE FROM YOUR OTHER BAITS AND SOFT PLASTICS. It's that simple. Tight lines!

Personally i would stick with Powell. I've never used the TIMAX series of their rods and usually stick with the endurance, max, and infernos I'm quite sure the 734 HCF should do the job.

It's usually 12-15 pound fluoro and trailer hooks only in open water. You use trailers around brush and cover you are asking to lose baits.

It's funny that you say that Logan because it does seem like a grey area. I've heard varying opinions on this subject. I tend to use trailer hooks when fishing more open water and when it seems like they are short striking and when I'm around cover I'll usually take them off. I've used both MH and H rods for spinnerbaits and usually get about the same results. Most have always been positive I just noticed the other day when a few were grabbing it that I seemed to be ripping it straight out of their mouths which led me to this question. Obviously the idea behind the moderate action rod is that it would allow the fish to have the bait for a little longer.

I feel like recently I've been ripping the spinnberbait out of the bass' mouth more than usual on both Medium and medium heavy rods. Has anyone used crankbait rods or rods with moderate/parabolic bend for spinnerbaits to avoid this issue, or do you prefer something with less bend?

I'm right there with you man, the 3707 blows for a spinnerbait box. It does not hold spinners the way it should . The best one I have ever seen that held about 15 at a time was made by Falcon and it was perfect. I can't find them anywhere anymore though. I've been seeing a lot of guys use a Bass Mafia deep box and dremmel slots into it for the spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. It seems to actually work well too.

See that's crazy to me, I guess I've just never heard of a crankbait that was built this way before.

I will add that this Icast has so much to offer for the remainder of this fishing season and into the winter and spring. I can't remember the last time I was overly excited for so many new products from an Icast convention. Seems like all of the big companies I use for both hard baits and soft plastics have something new that is very appealing! Just to name a few that I think are going to kill it... -Spro Rock Crawler and Little John XL -Yum drop shot, flipping, and punching baits -Multiple new Lew's reels -SK KVD 8.0 -New Shimaon Crucial Cork Rods (Even though I primarily use Powell these look tempting to try out) -Reaction Innovations Twerk trailer -New Missle Baits D Bomb Colors -Not that the hooks themselves are new but VMC is going to offer value pack hooks now which is nice -VMC Sinker Stops (I currently use 6th sense and have no issue with them but why not try something new at a good price point) -VMC Swinging Rugby Head -New Rapala Ike's Custom Ink colors -New Reins Football Head sliding weight

So for someone who is just starting out learning the GoPro technology would you suggest getting the black or silver edition? Where did you buy yours at?

Maybe I just wasn't aware of cranks like this for years but this seems like a pretty new idea and something that could really change crankbait fishing... http://www.bassmaster.com/gear/crankbait-gets-bottom-things Don't get me wrong the idea that this doesn't float up and over some cover is sort of discouraging but to put a squarebill at depths of 30 plus feet definitely intrigues me. I'll probably have to try a couple of these out for myself

Hey guys, over the past couple of years I've become far more involved and competitive in terms of bass fishing. I'm looking to buy a GoPro along with some accessories in order to start getting my name out in tackle videos and fishing videos for youtube. For the guys who have bought GoPro's, where would you suggest buying one from, what model would you choose, and what accessories? I currently do not own a boat as I am a co-angler who routinely bank fishes everything I can find. Obviously GoPro's are not cheap but I have seen them in various places for different price ranges. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Yeah the new 1.5 and 8.0 models should be sweet, I'm also pretty excited for the new upgraded Lew's reels since they are such a great reel manufacturer. I almost forgot about the new Reins products until you mentioned it here, the new Reins football tungsten weight looks awesome!

   You got it dude, it's like crack for bass addicts haha.

What is everyone excited about that is going to be released? I'm really interested in the new Shimano Crucial rods. It's nice that they brought back the cork in both split grip and full cork grip handles. I have a feeling these rods are going to be sweet!

I'll definitely agree with you on that. Obviously the bait runs true to about 1 foot or less usually from what I've read and it probably excels in super shallow situations or when the bass are higher in the water column. I have two Powell Endurances, one was when the rods were are the price point you mentioned. I loved the first one so much I've bought a second one too. The first was a 7'3" medium heavy which I've used a ton for pitching and flipping and it handles flawlessly. The second was a spinning rod, which I'm pretty positive is 6'10" M and I pretty much use that for different finesse techniques. I've been reading a lot about the new inferno rods recently and from what I can tell they are just as sensitive and lightweight as the endurances but I have yet to try them out.....even though I know I eventually will haha. Pretty positivie I'm going to committ to strictly using powell rods for the foreseeable future just because they feel so natural in my hands. Also, that's just the one big challenge with being a co in that you only have so much space for rods and tackle. I'm sure for specific circumstances I could just throw it on a spinning rod but I would prefer to throw it on baitcasting. The only person I know of on here from the club is Brian.

What's up Logan? lol I guess you must have just created an account, welcome to the forums. Yeah my biggest issue with these were the couple of things you mentioned. Mostly line diameter, rod, lure weight, and the hooks. It's good to hear you don't have any issues throwing this with a powell because I swear by their rods. It's funny because the reason I brought this topic up in the first place was due to the fact that you crushed them this last tourney using this bait. I have an abundance of cranks in different depths, brands, colors, etc. but I've never considered this bait just simply based on size and weight. I'll have to stock up on some and get some new mustad hooks for them too. Do you throw endurances?