iceintheveins

Right I was wondering how deep you guys are actually getting the lure.

They aren't bad though, just drill a little hole with a 1/8 bit in the butt of the frog to drain the water out and they work pretty well.

Eight pound diameter is the bare minimum on caster.

Yep! To cut down on room, carry an extra reel or two for different presentations. Will save a TON of room.

Light to moderate weeds = mono or fluoro (unless frogs then it's braid only) Heavy weeds or where you need to punch = 65 pound braid.

Or could a better cranking rod increase the distance? I'm doubting that due to how well the same rod in a shorter and lighter model throws cranks that are 3/8 of an ounce with my old Curado. Or is that just due to the fact the Curado E outcasts the Lew's by a lot?

I just bought a Lew's Tournament MG reel for deep cranking. I'm using 10 pound P - Line fluoro (a fairly limp fluoro) and a 7'10" MH BPS crankin' stick, and I'm only throwing 1/2 ounce or bigger lures on it, even though it's rated for lures as light as 3/8 of an ounce. Anyway, I'm dissappointed by the casting distance. I mean it throws the big cranks fairly far, but not all that much further than my Curado E throws a 3/8 ounce crank with 10 pound mono and a 7' crankin' stick. I noticed that my Lew's was LOADED with grease on the worm gear, and I would bet inside the reel it's similar. Seems like way too much. If I was to clean the reel and re lube it with less oil and grease, could this improve the casting distance? In short, I'm wondering if too much lube is negatively affecting my casting distance. The reel is smooth and performing well otherwise.

I prefer a straight mono on a C rig because the bait floats up behind the sinker easier. With braid in clear water I ALWAYS use a fluoro leader, unless I'm frogging in which i use a mono leader.

I have some baby little johns and I get them to dive about 15' on a long cast with 10 pound fluoro. Will I be able to get the bigger little john down to 17 - 18 feet with the same setup and casts?

My favorite compact creature bait is the 4" pit boss. The rage bug looks somewhat similar though I've seen tank tests and it has a different action. Given that I nail them on pit bosses just about everywhere I fish, should I give in and get a couple packs of rage bugs?

For cranks in general I always have on hand bluegill/sunfish colors, shad colors, crawdad colors in both natural and bright, and bright colors like firetiger and chartreuse/black. Variations in those are all you need. But here is a bare bones color guide that should cover any lake in the country. 1. Bluegill/Sunfish 2. Shad 3. Natural Craw 4. Bright Craw 5. Firetiger Really you don't need more than that.

For the 1.5 color selection I go with the following: 1. Bluegill 2. Chile Craw 3. Firetiger 4. Sexy Sunfish 5. Green Gizzard Shad 6. Blue Gizzard Shad 7. Black Back Chartreuse 8. Orange Belly Craw

I almost always start with a topwater when the water is over 60 degrees because I often start fishing before sunrise. If it doesn't get hits quickly I switch to a spinnerbait and burn it shallow within 1 - 2 feet of the surface. That gets hit when the topwater doesn't, which isn't common.

I peg in just about any heavy cover but especially with weed growth. Sparse cover or grass? It isn't necessary and might be counter productive.

I don't like a 7.1 for swimjigs, a 6 ish reel is better. Think of the swimjig as a spinnerbait without blades. Fish it generally by slow rolling it at the desired depth, but a faster retrieve can work if the slower one is not getting bit. I reach for it when a crank isn't working or there isn't enough wind or cloud cover for a spinnerbait to be a good choice. Sometimes I will kill the jig for 1 - 2 seconds to let it fall, and that can really work too. As for trailers. I love the Mr. Twister split double tail, the zoom swimmin' chunk, or a small soft swimbait.

Original stren, 10 pound test for small, light poppers, heavier line for bigger ones.

A double buzzbait makes more commotion than any other, though a big propbait comes close.

Is the PQ as good as a Chronarch, Curado, or higher end Lew's? No. But the only other reel I know of in the price range that compares is the Lew's Speed Spool. The PQ is better than the Curado G series, that much I can assure you. It's not QUITE as good as a citica or my Lew's Tourney MG (both around $130) but it's close.

Dyanmic lures dynamo, lipped dynamo (goes deeper) and the dynamic FX fury. All for 13 bucks or under and fantastic action.

Loud lipless crank, buzzbait, black blue rattlin jig, big black or chartreuse spinnerbait with black or gold blades. big fat shallow crank like a Norman Fat boy in chartreuse or red craw.

It just takes hours of practice to learn skipping and minimize backlashes. I'm just getting into it and it's NOT easy. KEEP AT IT!

Spinnerbait

For billed cranks I use a rapala knot. For lipless it's a trilene knot.

Spinnerbait.

Exactly. In open water where there aren't many things to bang into, use a stop and go, change directions, throw in a jerk or two.