Phelptwan

All? Any time I see fish on/near the surface the WP is one of the baits I'm throwing.

The whopper plopper. Still can't believe how many fish I catch on them, and how many times a miss is almost an immediate strike when I throw it back to the same spot.

MidwayUSA has DD26 stuff on sale this month. Only time I've ever seen it for 15% off - https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=dd26&userItemsPerPage=48

I've had similar results, likes of strikes, very few hookups. The amount of times it was blasted out of the water was frustrating.

I have both and have set them up identical as well to test things out and compare. They cast more or less the same. Reeling feels a lot smoother on the Curado. Finish is a lot nicer as well. With that said, I think my JDM 2020 SLX DC is nicer than the Curado DC. I like the smaller spool and I feel it out does either in distance. It's not set up the same but I can sling stick baits further with it than I can the Curado/SLXdc.

I generally switch to the furry brown fish with antlers starting October 1st.

Whopper Ploppers for me.

You're missing the JDM reels in your comparison. I would say many of them would slot nicely into the various price ranges as well.

What colors are you looking for? Sportsman's Outfitter's has them for cheap as well, but they are somewhat lacking in options too.

Sorry, DiscountTackle.com

DT has them for $5.84/pack.

Unfortunately, I have been having great luck with frogs this year...just not the intended species. With that said, how's the fishing on the North end of lake Michigan (St. Ignace)? I'll be in a house on the beach for a week beginning in august and I don't know anybody up there to go fishing with.

Kalamazoo, mostly shorebound so I fish ponds, lakes, and streams in the area. Finally have a chance to get out this weekend.

I'm a big fan of the Okuma Helios rod, I've got two of them now. http://www.amazon.com/Okuma-Fishing-HS-SKR-701M-Lightweight-Spinning/dp/B00BD5I468/

You don't believe I can tell the difference between a Bluegill and a Bass in clear water? Or you're saying you don't believe I can see the fish in clear water? I'm confused what you don't believe. I'm not really sure I know what you mean by "know better not to pull a bait tail out of a fishes mouth". I stated many times I let it sit for longer and they would spit it out. Please educate me here. Not really sure about your statement about line/sensitivity issues either. How so do you mean?

Bait was a Rage Recon.

Pretty much this. They were definitely getting more action than everything else I was throwing, just nothing really inhaling and running. I actually had a similar problem in the same area two years ago with Spro Frogs, just hitting the skirts and not taking the frog. I ended up trimming the skirts quite a ways back and they started working for me.

Nope, watched many of the strikes. Looked like they were just hitting the tail and running with it. A lot of them threw it out of the water as well. Was using 3/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0 EWG's at various times. Might try a exposed jig head next time around. Located in Michigan. Fast moving dammed up pond. As said, was getting more hits on the Rage Tails, just not able to hook one.

Have a Tour KVD Spinning Rod and I can't exactly say I'm impressed with it. 7' 4" model. Got it for frogging and just was never able to get it working quite like I wanted to. Not stiff enough for the long cast hooksets, not sensitive enough for anything with Finese, not hook keeper, mini guides instead of Micro's, can't get a frog out there quite like I can with my Smoke. On the good side, one of the most comfortable reel seats on any rod I've used. I like the shorter handle, makes it easier to handle fishing from Canoe/Cayak/shore. It balances quite well with my Catalyst reel. The paint job is also rather enjoyable.

I've been out a few times this year and tried out some Rage Tails I got from MTB over the winter. They have gotten a TON of action but I have not hooked up once with them. Sunday morning I was out and I got a hit on nearly every cast and tore up a pile of them (tails just pulled right off). I decided to try rigging up a crawler harnes type thing, but just kept getting snagged. Tried wacky, but had the same issue. T-Rigged seemed to get a ton of hits but no hookups. Tried C-Rigging them as well to get a bit further out, but same deal. Waited a bit longer on the hits to set the hooks but was just pulling on water. Switched to Senko's and didn't get as many hits but caught fish. What am I doing wrong? Fishing was done with similar colors.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by neck. I've had a few break off at the foot over the years (where it connects to the pole), and a number of bails fly off into oblivion. Can't say I've had any other failures though.

I've switched to Micro's or Mini's for all my setups now and the only downside is some of the areas I fish have some really slimy weeds that stick to the line and gunk up the last guide. I also tend to clean the guides more often than i ever did with regular guides.

Seems most of my hits on senkos is when or right after they hit the water with a big splash. I pretty much try to make it big with frogs and other top waters.

It was a good morning for walking the bank. Full Size images; http://imgur.com/a/qAK4Q