Master Bait'r

After some looking around, you're right. For some reason the deals on the Tourney MG in a lefty @7.1:1 pale in comparison to those that can be found on a Tourney Pro. Best deal I can find right now on an MG is about $110, whereas I can get a Pro for right around $150. Definitely worth the $40. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

Lol... Nice try, but I'm saying it doesn't make a difference to me what someone else chooses to throw, not that I don't care about any information posted here ever. I was simply commenting on how upset people seem to get over the fact that this isn't "different enough" to be deserving of a new nomenclature i.e.- "It's just a prop bait with x, y and z added on!". Honestly that's the part where I stop caring. You're entitled to your opinion about baits, but until you've used it that's pure speculation. Besides, I like the term crybait. I'm going to start using it more often- the salt makes fish hold on longer on a strike from what I hear

Rule of thumb- If its summer, use a double palomar. If it's winter, double palomar. Any in between season, I use a double palomar. If it's daytime or nighttime, raining or dry, clear or cloudy... I use a double palomar. I hope this helped.

The size of the body of water doesn't matter to me as much as it's remoteness or difficulty of access. The harder it is to get to the more I want to fish it and the more challenge there is to get to it to even attempt to fish it. I'm always down to drag the kayak through a half mile of brush to get to a pristine spot that looks promising and sometimes they are pretty darn big bodies of water too. I've had so much fun discovering new places to go, and the fishing is always the best where the least amount of people go IMO- not just for the sake of catching big or plentiful fish, but more enjoying the day. (The fish are always bigger and more plentiful too though) Some of my favorite spots are barely visible from any road (or not at all), and are a heck of a bushwack to get to- but they always deliver. I like being the only person who goes someplace for a lot of reasons. I've spent countless hours on Google Maps too, calling DCR about this pond, that pond... I've got a huge list going, and hardly any of these lakes are even really accessible by common standards so it's easy for people to say yes when you ask them. So yes and no. It can be harder to fish a large body of water- but the access to said body of water can play into my pride factor as well. If I dragged my kayak through a half mile of uphill brush and bagged a 5lber, you're darn skippy I'm happy with that.

Yes I have been lusting for all the Lew's Pros... Such nice reels for not a lot of money, alas I am under a bit of a financial constraint at the moment so I think I will go with the Tourney MG for now. BTW does anybody have the name of a good local shop that carries them? I could hit up TW and have it in the mail today but I'm not in a huge rush and would love to support a smaller shop that rocks if I can get it TMD for the same $... Or if someone is thinking of selling theirs I'm all ears! Thanks for all the input guys. There are so many good reels out there it can be tough to make a decision.

Hollow bodied swimbaits. I think they may get Gronk'd into the trash or given away.

Lol I know what a spinbait is. I guess I don't really care, it's just interesting to see how offended some people get over the whole "spybait" dealio. I think I'm going to start calling it crybait, since people seem to automatically get their panties in a twist simply over the audacity to call it something sexy and James Bondish like "spybait".

To be fair, it's a MUCH slower presentation. I could see its merits in warm water with lazy fish. That slow wag is certainly different, whether or not it's effective will really depend on individual applications. I think different is good, so for not being very expensive it's a positive to have it as an option.

I wouldn't say so much Bass specifically, but I fish because I love being outside and it gives me something I can relax AND concentrate on all at the same time. It just gives me that space I need from humanity in general, that connection to the outdoors I crave and of course the tug is a drug- once you start reeling in big'uns there's no going back. It's just such an awesome usage of the beautiful summer times- nothing quite like paddling around on a beautiful lake, fishing or no fishing!

I prefer the term "multitasking".

Oh man... That's a good question. Loons are my favorite. Getting up really early up in VT on a misty lake as the dawn breaks, those chattering woopy loon calls across the lake just give me chills... I don't think I've ever gone up to Quabbin without seeing a bald eagle, but once I got to watch one absolutely OWN a slightly smaller bird (I think it was a turkey vulture?) that made the poor choice to roost in a tree below the eagle's nest. We were fishing and just heard the eagle scream- we looked over just in time to see it piledrive the vulture right off the branch and onto the ground where it then tore it to shreds in seconds. At first I was like "Man that was a terrible idea, I wonder what that bird thought it was doing there?" and then I noticed... The beach was littered with feathers. I don't think the eagle was smart enough to bait the beach, but there certainly was a fair amount of carrion to attract new meals in any case. I never get sick of watching them coast around the sky though, such majestic birds! Crackheads and junkies are the most dangerous though- way worse than actual animals. I live in an area where much of the good fishing is abutted by, shall we say... Low income housing? It helps keep the pressure off, but when you do go the white bucket all stars may or may not chase you out. I've also ran across makeshift bum camps too... Not exactly where you want to be hanging out fishing normally, but I usually have my kukri machete poking out the top of my pack so they stay away for the most part. One time though, I was in my rowboat with a friend working over a pond when some junkie passed out in a chair on the shore woke up and started screaming at us for being there- and of course we laughed which got him even more mad- he threatened to swim out to the boat and beat us up haha- that is, until I reminded him that we have two people, two oars, an anchor and that nobody would miss him. I've also been on a tight path carrying a kayak when I felt & heard a moose grunt and stomp just around the corner just out of sight (tight, twisty steep trail and very thick brush). I turned to see if the guy behind me heard it and he was white as a ghost haha... Yep he heard it too and felt the stomp in the ground. Thankfully the moose ran the other way, but we got to see his tracks on the moss and rocks- he was a big 'un. Thank God for small favors, eh?

See for me the real seat and grip were perfect (I have an *** spin and an *** Green casting rod). It's like they were made for my hand or something, it's uncanny. I totally agree about the way they transmit power, I really love their progressive power flex and the way they handle fish. My spin setup I was willing to spend more- both for the 40 ton blank and the recoil guides- because I wanted the most communicative and sensitive setup I could find so I went ***. My crank/frog/jig/spinner setup kind of had to do it all and I wanted F instead of XF and valued power/durability over sensitivity so I went with the *** Greens. I also liked the handles better than the *** Blacks so it seemed like a no-brainer at that price. If they fit your hand, both the *** and the *** series are tremendous values IMO. It's the personal touches that make a rod your perfect match though, so it's different for everyone.

Gotta love personal service and a willingness to accommodate for such first world "emergencies". Businesses like that deserve- and get- return customers for life.

This is exactly the type of advice I was looking for, thanks guys!

Anyone who has used either or both, your opinion is appreciated as I'm about to make a purchase. I'm going 7.1:1 and lefty, and I really do like the low profile of the BB1 but from all my research I've gathered that the Tourney MG really is just about a perfect all around gem of a reel and it certainly doesn't feel bad in my palm either. It's not a ton of money difference so I just want to make the most educated decision I can- and of course money is always nice to save. This reel will be mated with a 7'2" MH/F *** Green and be used for pretty much every heavier bait I own since I only have 2 setups. Thanks in advance for any opinions or perspective you may be able to lend in this small but long-obsessed-over matter. Tight lines!

I've said it once and I'll say it again. If you're sick of your A-Rig not working, just add more hooks until you can blanket the entire lake with them or just start throwing something more potent- like dynamite.

*** > Premier

I have all 13 rods but that's just because I can't find another rod that I feel gives me more of everything I want for less money. I'd love to own a Dobyns but I just can't justify spending the extra cash that could be spent rounding out the tackle or the boat instead. I guess for my personal set of wants/needs/financial constraints, 13 is right about the pinnacle of the point of diminishing returns so I pretty much stopped there.

If you're already tying a palomar, why not give it another loop and go double? I always use the double palomar on braid and they never slip. Just always remember to wet the line so it seats properly.

These hypothetical situation questions always stump me. I think that's what purgatory must be like- having infinite gear but you can only bring one thing... And you can just never decide.

Ok I thought about it some more and I think I might be able to get by with the following in the context of ,my usual type of fishing holes. 3 light finesse: 4" methiolate slug-gos 4.5" sassy shad lunker+hunt (lol at the *** as if it was a swear word) bento minnows 7" MDRF roboworm straight tails (all can be used topwater as T-rigged jerkbaits or as drop shot rigs) 2 heavy cover topwaters: Spro bronzeye popper freak Bettencourt slop rodent (I can't live without heavy cover topwater poppers) Put me someplace else and I might have to mix in some deeper cranks and jigs though. Mostly though I'm looking for smaller ponds and lakes that have a prohibitive amount of lily, laydown or weed cover on them though so I find these two approaches work very well together.

Ok this right here had me DYING hahaha

Pads and falldown. Every time!

That would be my guess personally. Maybe try T-rigging it instead and "darting" it across a larger area. Sometimes Wacky just doesn't get the job done for me simply because I can only cover so much area effectively with it. That said, Senkos and Slug-gos are probably the most universally effective baits of all time. If you aren't catching ANY fish, there may not be any fish where you are. Also what other baits do you use that DO work? I'm really curious!

For my pocket ***. If someone else is buying I'm totally going Loomis shopping!