iceintheveins

X2. Also the 4" Castaic Boyd Duckett BDShad, and the Spro 4" BBZ - 1 Shad.

I would also look into the Castaic Boyd Duckett 3.5 and 4.5 Squarebills. They are 3.5" and 4" respectively. For a small "bigger sized" squarebill, the KVD 2.5 is good. I use it a lot in dirty water conditions.

I can throw the bandit 100 decently with my Curado 200E5, a 7' M BPS Crankin' Stick, and 10 pound original stren. The KVD 100 doesn't get quite enough distance on casting gear, you really need spinning gear for it. It launches well on a 7', M action cranking type spinning rod and six or eight pound test mono

I bought a selection of DC 300 and DC 400 deep runners from Damiki. They dive deep (14' for the 300 and 18' for the 400), and have a nice compact profile and tight wobble, good for my neck of the woods since the forage is general smaller and we don't have a whole lot of bass over 5 or 6 pounds. Problem is, one sinks like a rock after just two fish (someone told me Damiki would probably replace it), and I've heard a lot of people say that this is a problem with the Damiki DC series. Just wondering what your experiences are on this crank because I really do like it.

Okay I'll just do that.

I have eight pflueger presidents, and honestly they are the best spinning reels I've ever owned, better than Shimano's $100 Symetre. I need another spinning reel now to add to my collection (not to replace any presidents they are still going strong). I was wondering if Pflueger's Supreme ($100) or the Supreme XT ($150) are better than the president, at least enough to justify the price? Or should I just get another president and save the rest for lures and gas?

I use the 6930 president, in fact I have five of them. If I'm fishing spinning gear for bass it's 6 or 8 pound test for mono or fluoro and nothing heavier than 20 pound braid. The 6930 holds 145 yards of 6 pound diameter line, about 120 of 8 pound, and 100 of ten pound. No need for anything bigger in a spinning reel. Any line 10 pound or heavier, I'm using casting gear.

I have a Damiki DC 400 that now sinks like a rock after catching just two bass. What type of epoxy should I use to seal it? Should I apply it around the bill, the hook holders, or anywhere else?

For an affordable option, the Berkley Lightning Shock series in the 7' M is very good for small crankbaits and topwaters. A better option, but more expensive, is the Abu Garcia Ike finesse series spinning rod, in the 6'10" medium light. For my small jerkbaits, I prefer a 7', M spinning rod with a fast action. I use a medium, fast action casting setup for jerkbaits 3/8 of an ounce and over.

Thanks for the tips. I don't doubt the Ned Rig catches bigger fish too. It's probably mostly a product of the fishery I use it in, where the average fish weighs 1 to 2.5 pounds with a few 3 to 4 pounders and very occasionally a 5 plus.

I love my Abu Garcia Veritas 7' MH for light to moderate pitchin' and flippin. With braid it will pretty much tackle really heavy cover applications as well. I'd go with it, it offers either micro guide or standard guides, depending on your preference. With braid I would go with standard guides since in clear water scenarios you need a fluoro leader.

I hit only Sand Hollow, as Quail Creek is really low. Numbers were good but size really wasn't, every thing I caught was .75 to 2.75 pounds, with 90% between 1 and 2.5 pounds. Most of the fish were still holding really deep and were hitting carolina rigs, drop shot, and football jigs, though buzzbaits and spooks did well before sunrise and after sunset. Caught 44 in three days of fishing. Caught four total on spinnerbaits and crankbaits when the wind came up.

Utah is a decent bass fishing state and actually is more biologically suited for bass than it is trout, because most of it is desert country. The best fisheries are Sand Hollow, Deer Creek, Jordanelle, Pelican, Powell, Quail Creek, Starvation (smallmouth), Flaming Gorge (smallmouth), and Utah Lake. There are other good fisheries too. Average bass runs 1 to 3 pounds, with enough 4 to 6 pounders and occasionally bigger to keep it interesting. However it has VERY poor fisheries management that doesn't give a rat's butt about the desires of anglers, so bass fisheries have been killed off or severely damaged in a few places by blind hatred of bass by agencies that care more about trash fish than game fish.

Having quarantines is absolutely a joke. Lake Mathews is closed to fishing and it HAS Quagga Mussels, proving recreation isn't necessary to introduce mussels and thus recreation should be allowed. The environmentalists are ruining our fishing out here in the west. They are in the minority (less so in California), but they are so well funded and the media, academia, and pop culture allow them to have a big megaphone and swing a big stick. They should be thrown in jail IMO.

I recently started fishing the Ned rig and it gets bites like crazy, more than just about any other technique, albeit often for smaller sized fish. I have been fishing it on 6 pound mono. Was wondering if I would lose performance by switching to fluoro, perhaps making it sink too fast and not get the same type of enticing fall which is where most of the hits occur. I know some have said they prefer mono for the Ned Rig, but I've seen fluoro work well on it.

My jig stick has lost two of its microguides. The material that holds a rod guide in place has deteriorated to the point that it no longer works for these two guides. How am I to go about replacing these two rod guides? I have the two microguide casting guides to put on the rod, just no way to hold them on the rod blank.

I am hitting Sand Hollow and Quail near St. George in a couple weeks. My guess is the bass will be moving from late summer into early fall areas, in other words back toward the shallows again. If anyone who fishes here a lot would be willing to give me some general locations and tips, not talking GPS waypoints and things like that, I would appreciate it. The lakes won't be turning over yet, will they? If you prefer to use private messaging, that's fine too.

Jig

Lately for me it's been a faster retrieve, but you have to try both and see what gets you bit.

Strike King, Rapala, Yamamoto, and Zoom.

I like centipedes best, or ring fry type baits. The LFT Hyper Stick, a jointed senko type bait, is pretty good too. Any finesse worm or small worm/lizard works though too.

Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier

Fisheries science and biology in these liberal western states is nothing but politics and agenda, not scientific fact.

This started in Colorado, and has spread to other western states where bass are an introduced sportfish. In Colorado, bass are being removed and killed from lakes and rivers in favor of suckers, chubs, and squawfish of all things. As Glenn said, there is no evidence removing nonnative sportfish helps at all. In fact, in Colorado, there have been no increases in endagered fish, and the very agencies killing our fish admit there is no real evidence removing sportfish is increasing their numbers. It's all about water users and environmentalists teaming up to deflect blame. As for OCdockskipper, the no limits really don't have a huge impact, most people continue to release what they catch. Forcing people to kill what they catch is practiced in Utah but has been found to be unenforceable. Even the removals of sportfish via electrofishing and netting have been of limited effectiveness, but have done SOME damage in some areas. It's more the idea of it that's repulsive. Smallmouth bass, walleye, catfish, and pike are thrown up onto the banks to rot on our rivers in Colorado and Utah due to this madness. And no conclusive science supports the efforts at all, just speculation, bias, and politics.

They continue to use bass and nonnative fish as a scapegoat for salmon and endangered fish declines, just like how it started here in Colorado. There is a petition to sign here to oppose raising the limit on black bass and striped bass. Colorado, California, Utah, Washington, and Oregon are really starting to suck. There isn't a lick of science to back up killing sportfish. It's all about dams, diversions, and habitat loss. But water users and environmentalists, both with deep pockets, are teaming up to beat sportfishermen over the head. http://www.westernbass.com/article/bass-anglers-urged-to-fight-anti-bass-movement-in-california