iceintheveins

The old crankin' sticks were great for under $100, they have been re - tooled but I've heard they are still really good. I would go with them and use straight fluoro. The Abu Veritas Winch 2.0 and Duckett Ghost Crankin' model are also very good in this price range.

I prefer Original Stren or Suffix Elite.

I use a BPS Crankin' Stick for both crankbaits and spinnerbaits. I like the moderate action because it lets the bass really inhale the spinnerbait and not tear loose. That being said though, if you need to rip a bait through heavy grass, graphite is better as the others have said.

At this price range, go with a Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier. But sometimes you can find a Daiwa Tatula on sale for around $100, and they are even better than the PQ.

Go with the Pflueger President and save the money. It really is foolproof.

The key with topwaters in my mind is to use them MOSTLY in low light or cloudy conditions. They work best at these times, and are often my go to presentation in these conditions, catching more fish than anything else. Doesn't mean they don't work during the day at times too. A frog especially will work during the day when you throw it into shade pockets under overhangs or chug it over heavy vegetation. However I once caught 50 - 60 bass on buzzbaits one day, during the middle of the day when it was about 100 degrees. Go figure.

I said the Caius, but sometimes they have the BPS Pro Qualifier on Sale for 70 bucks, and it's a better reel than the Caius. The Lexa if you can get it for 60 is good too.

1. Bluegill 2. Natural Shad 3. Firetiger 4. Chrome Blue 5. Natural Craw 6. Red Craw 7. Perch

They work for sure, just not all the time (like any bait). My best luck has come with a stop and go type retrieve while changing retrieve speeds and adding a few twitches and jerks. In low light conditions or windy, choppy water, a burning retrieve can be very effective too, especially over shallow vegetation. You just have to experiment and see what the fish want.

Shimano Caius.

I just use a fluorocarbon leader in clear water, and problem solved.

The Trilene knot is the main knot I use, unless I'm fishing a crankbait or jerkbait, then I use a rapala knot.

I just picked up a Halo 7'10" MH cranking rod and it's amazing. VERY light, great parabolic bend, and sensitive. It's about 30 bucks more expensive than a ghost but I like it better. The new Veritas Winch is good though as well, I have one for throwing buzzbaits and rage shads and love it.

Dammit now the bait monkey jumped on my back again and pounded my head hard with it's fists. I'm gonna have to get some DT10s and 14s too.

Was wondering, how deep do you guys get the following cranks to run on 10 pound fluoro on a long cast? Can you name any others with a body size of no bigger than 3" that will come close to or surpass 20 feet on a good cast? 1. Spro Little John DD 2. SK 6XD 3. Rapala DT20

I think the SK KVD squarebill series has a fairly tight wiggle, narrower than a Square A or Excalibur. The Norman Mad N and Thin N have very tight wobbles though.

President. Not even a contest.

I don't like braid for either application. Stick with mono unless you want to strictly throw deep crankbaits in the setup, in which case I would go with fluoro. I use crankbait style glass or composite rods for spinnerbaits as well as crankbaits.

Chronarch Ci4 in the 7 ratio, and an Abu Veritas 7' MH. For true heavy cover go with a 7'6" H. Fifteen pound mono or fluoro is the minimum, 20 is better,

The PQ is fool proof and is the best under $100 reel out there. I have four and they all still work great.

The two top reels in that price range are the Curado I's and the Daiwa Tatulas. If you wanna go under a hundred bucks, the BPS PQ can't be beat, but the Curado and Tat are definitely better reels.

Original Power Pro, it's never let me down.

Bigger Pflueger president, and save the money for lures. For line, I really don't think you can beat Stren Original or Suffix Elite.

Topwaters in the morning, generally buzzbaits or rage shads at first light, then either poppers or spooks when it's a bit lighter. Will throw them all day when it's cloudy. If topwaters aren't working I'll throw a double willow spinnerbait and retrieve it fast a foot or two under the surface. In clear or lightly stained water, you can't beat senkos or soft jerkbaits like flukes to catch a few quick fish before the sun gets too high. Later in the day, pitchin' jigs or creatures around rip rap and deep weedlines catches tons of my fish, as do deep cranks or even slow rolling a spinnerbait deep if there is some wind. If they won't come up for a crank, and the water isn't super dirty, I'll throw a mojo rig with a centipede or small worm. If you have weeds, shade pockets, or slop, the old frog is tough to beat. Just a general rule for me, I'll try lots of different stuff when they aren't biting. If I stay all day, I switch back to topwaters around dusk,

I use berkley plastics a lot, especially pit bosses, which IMO are the best creature bait out there. I still love power worms though, but they aren't my go to worm. I spritz up my havoc baits with a couple sprays of BANG craw/shad combo in the bags. I'm looking at trying some back slides and flat dawgs as well.