loudcherokee

Thanks guys. I plan to go back to that spot soon. There's a guy that swears he caught a 40 pounder there and released it. Hope I can grab that one next time. LC

Lmao I was so excited and was panicking to find something to use and that's all I could think of haha. I also took one next to my foot and a water bottle. I wish I wasn't alone so I could have gotten a better picture. LC

Hooked into this bad boy today using cut bluegill for bait. Bass fishing was slow so I decided to toss a line out and let it sit. Took awhile to get it in but man was I stoked for this fish. I've never caught anything over 6 pounds. This flathead weighed 23 pounds 14 ounces. LC

I got some in my MTB today. Curious to see how well they do. LC

I bought a berkley digital scale at Walmart for $18. So far so good. Turns on every time and is easy to read. LC

I grew up watching Andy Griffith reruns with my grandfather. Watching the show always reminds me of him. I work in an assisted living facility, and Andy Griffith is a favorite of all the residents, along with Bonanza and Gunsmoke. I'd have to say my favorite episode is citizens arrest lol. LC

X2! Lews is my favorite! LC

I've been looking to replace my MH/F baitcasting rod I currently use to throw light t-rigs, jigs, etc. On this rod, I have a Lews Tournament Pro spooled up with 12lb Fluorocarbon. I can cast a 1/8oz bullet weighted t-rig on this rod, but struggle with getting any real distance without a blowup from trying to sling the bait too hard. The rod is rated 3/8 - 1oz. I've checked several manufacturers rods in the 7' length and can't find a medium power rod that has a lure rating lower than 1/4oz. I'd like the option of throwing light rigs in the range from weightless plastics - 1/4oz jigs and t-rigs. What rod out there exists that can do this in the baitcasting world? LC

Get to the water just before sunrise if possible and cast along the shoreline. Come back at dusk and fish into the night. We've been having mid 90s with high humidity here in east TN lately. These are the most productive times for me in the heat. LC

I like them. I don't notice that they catch more or less fish than other plastics. My PB in my avatar was caught on a black neon Kriet Kreature. LC

When I decided to upgrade my spinning reel from my old walmart special Mitchell 300x, I went with Lews based on my experience with their baitcasters. I picked up a Lews Tournament Pro Spinning reel and it was an amazing reel. Smooth retrieve, fairly light weight, smooth drag, and could handle braid really well. When the new Team Lews Gold Spin came out, I upgraded again with no regrets. I gave my old tourney pro spin to my fishing buddy so he had something better to fish with than the $10 Shakespeare he was using. LC

Keep in mind the amount of line you have on your spool will also affect ipt. A nearly empty spool will pickup less line than a full spool. I throw my buzzbaits on my spinnerbait rod n reel. The gear ratio is 6.4:1 which I think is perfect for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. It's a Lews Tournament MG and has no problems retrieving 2 blade, 3 blade, double prop, clacker etc buzzbaits and keeping them on the surface. LC

I guess I way over - do it. I carry a backpack AND a tacklebag. The backpack holds 10 3600 size boxes and my spools of leader, scale, gloves, face buffs, pliers, scissors, etc. The tacklebag has all my plastics and scents, plus worm hooks and all my plastic rigging stuff. Each bag weighs 20 pounds. I know this is alot but I hate being at the lake or spot I'm fishing and wishing I had brought such and such lure or plastic. I also carry 5 rigs in a rod caddy from cabelas. I usually don't carry all of this around when I fish, instead I usually find a spot and set it all down. LC

Count me as all of the above too. Finesse spinning rig - 15lb braid with 8 or 12lb FC leader Spinnerbait /buzzbait/chatterbait baitcaster - 30lb braid no leader Crankbait/topwater treble hook rod -12 to 14lb mono Light jig/t-rig/bottom contact - 12lb Fluorocarbon Heavy jig/swimjig/frog/pitchin' n flippin' - 50lb braid LC

I attach my lure or hook to the hook keeper on the rod, then put a lure wrap around it before I take my rods in the house. I have a curious cat that likes to inspect my gear everytime I get home so the lure wraps are necessary as I don't want her hooking herself. LC

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll take these tips to the lake and apply them next time I go out. LC

I threw spinnerbaits on my 7:1 Lews for a couple of weeks and went back to a 6.4:1 as soon as I could. For me, it was much easier to control my speed and reel faster than it was to slow down. The 7:1 would also substantially load my rod when retrieving. It was mentioned somewhere else about how the gear ratio not only affects the speed of the retrieve but also the torque applied. The 6.4:1 is much more manageable for me. LC

I prefer a uni knot or improved cinch for any fluero to bait connections. I use Palomar for braid and mono but haven't had alot of luck with it on fluero lines. LC

I see alot of people mention spinnerbaits as a high yield bait, confidence bait, search bait, etc. I've thrown spinnerbaits of all different colors, sizes, blade configurations, at all different retrieve speeds, depths, etc and have yet to even get a bite on a spinnerbait. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've bumped cover, lost a few spinnerbaits, fished open water, rolled the bottom, burned the top and everything in between. I've thrown nothing but a spinnerbait till my arm was tired. I've thrown a white spinnerbait and got nothing then switched to a white chatterbait and was reeling in a bass every other cast. Not sure what the deal is. Pressured lake? Everyone and their uncle throwing spinnerbaits? How can I get in on this spinnerbait bite? LC

With the 90, if there's any line in the water in front of the bait, the nose wants to dive and the prop (fin) won't spin. The whole lure will try to spin and put twist in your line. You have to hold your rod tip pretty high to keep tension on the line in front of the bait. I added the split ring and it helped this slightly as I don't have to hold the rod straight up anymore, but you still have to do everything else just right for the bait to work correctly, like retrieve speed, line tension, wait for the bait to surface after you cast before reeling, etc. LC

I had posted in one of the other WP threads that I slightly improved the action of the 90 size by adding an oval shaped split ring to the eye. By slightly I mean if you have a 90 size and some split rings try it out but don't go out and buy split rings if you don't already have them. It didn't improve it that much. LC

Yeah I know the feeling. After getting the Team Lews Magnesium I've been thinking of switching all my Lews to the new models so they all have the ACB braking system. It just casts so smooth it's hard to go back to magnetic brakes. After fishing some more with the MH tonight trying to cast lite worms, I'm thinking of dropping this rod down to medium. It's hard to get alot of casting distance with a 1/8th weighted plastic without fear of having a huge backlash, especially with FC. I know I'm casting below the rods weight specs. LC

I'm not sure to be honest. I've never fished the keitechs. LC

Yeah I agree on using the backing. I bought a large spool of that cheapo zebco mono to use strictly as backing, and usually connect with a uni-uni or Alberto knot. For leader I tie the Alberto and I must be getting better at it because it's been forever since I've had a leader knot slip or break. (Quietly knocking on wood) That first blowup on the FC spool was awful. I didn't even cast. I was setting my spool tension by letting the bait drop. It hit the water and BOOM. I had to strip nearly the entire spool before I stopped seeing loops. It did this again on the first couple of casts but I noticed after a few casts and the line being wet it stopped over spooling. LC

With the purchase of the Tatula Rod yesterday, I think I've finally got all my bases covered. Below is what I have and what I throw on the setups, and I'd like some suggestions/critiques on if I should change anything, throw something on a different rod, etc. One thing I do not have is a rod with an extra fast tip. Do I need to add one, and if so, for what techniques? 7'4" Daiwa Tatula Heavy Fast - Team Lews Gold Magnesium 7.5:1 - 50lb Power Pro - On this setup I throw heavy jigs, C-Rigs, T-Rigs, small swimbaits (under 2oz), Frogs, and I also will use this rod for flipping and pitching heavy cover, mats, etc. 7'1" Medium Heavy Fast - Lews Tournament Pro 7.1:1 - 12lb Seaguar Red Label FC - This is my light jig, t-rig, light cover/no cover rod. May occasionally throw a heavier spinnerbait on this rod. This is my first time spooling up with FC instead of just using it as a leader, and man does it feel pretty good once I got the brakes dialed in. That first blow up of the spool was a doozy though, lol. Definitely need some L&L or to get some Tatsu, but I wanted to practice with FC before spending $50 on a spool of Tatsu. 7'0" Berkley Lightning Rod Shock Medium Heavy Moderate fast - Lews Tournament MG 6.4:1 - 30lb Power Pro - This is my spinnerbait/buzzbait/chatterbait rod. The tip speed isn't listed on the rod but comparing it to my other rods it feels like a moderate - moderate fast to me. It loads up nicely on spinnerbaits and keeps the fish buttoned on single hook lures. 7'0" Medium Moderate Crankbait Rod - Lews BB1 5.1:1 - 14lb Trilene XL - This is my cranking rod. I throw mostly squarebills, lipless cranks, and shallow divers. I do have several deep diving crankbaits or medium diving crankbaits, but seldom am in an area to fish them since I fish off the bank mostly. I also throw top water treble lures like poppers, jitterbugs, etc. along with jerk baits and stick baits. Can this rod be used for deeper diving cranks? 7'1" Medium Fast Spinning - Team Lews Pro Goldspin 3000 size - 15lb Yellow Powerpro with a 12lb or 8lb Red Label FC leader - This is my finesse setup, and I mostly throw weightless plastics, wacky rig, drop shot, ned rig, split shot rig, etc. I have some very small rapala minnow sized cranks that I simply cannot cast on a baitcaster to save my life. I think I have most bases covered with these 5 rods. Keep in mind I'm a bank fisher 90% of the time and seldom get the chance to go out on a boat. Can anyone see anything wrong with these setups and offer any suggestions? LC