iceintheveins

I plan on giving the eeliminator a try.

Zara puppy, heddon tiny and teeny torpedos, and the arbogast hocust locust. Don't forget booyah's 1/8 ounce pond magic buzzbait either, or accent's hi rider in that weight too. You can crawl that baby slower than any other buzzbait.

The 4" senko throws best on medium spinnning gear with 8 pound line. The 5" senko works awesome on 12 pound line and I always use casting gear when using it. you can throw it a mile with even a $50 casting reel. You can use 14 pound test with the 5" and still have good action, slowing the drop a little. 4" - Spinning 5"- Casting

Power pro is the greatest braid ever made IMO. It is durable and casts wonderfully, hardly ever snarling. It loses some of the roughness with time and handles even better. Fireline and the older spiderwire sucked compared to it.

Great line. As said not quite as strong as CXX but it casts better and doesn't have the memory. The only drawback is being fluorocarbon coated it isn't ideal for topwaters.

I bought a pro qualifier since it was on sale and the reviews at BPS are higher than for the Johnny Morris reel. Which would you recommend though, the Curado or the Johnny Morris?

The best all around mono is Original Stren, bar none.

I would say 50 pound power pro with a fluoro leader for clearer conditions. I really don't like using mono over 14 pounds, so I just go to braid after that.

I just bought a pro qualifier and haven't used it yet because it's my designated heavy duty reel (frog and heavy weed presentations). I also plan to get a Curado. What is the best all around reel for under $200 in your opinion? In terms of braking system, smoothness, casting distance, and pretty much everything an all around type reel should do.

Do you guys feel that gear ratios over 6:1 are too fast for slow crawling a buzzbait over the surface while keeping it on top?

Nothing worked as good as the Rapala Risto Rap #4, it dove to 5' on six pound line. The shallower DT cranks are probably the best ones I have used. I love Square A's though too.

The stanley ribbit is the best soft plastic frog for burning, the Bigfoot Frog from scumfrog is better though because it floats and you can work is sssslooooow.

I probably should have made both an option, especially since like you guys are saying, I DO fight bass with the tip up when there are thick weeds or cover.

Do you fight your bass with the rod tip down or up? I fight them with the tip down almost all the time to keep them from jumping and thus don't lose many fish.

Pepper Hawgs are my favorite jigs and spinnerbaits, and they are made right here in my home town of Grand Junction, Colorado. Best jigs AND spinnerbaits around, and they make a pretty good buzzbait too, though not as good as a Cavitron.

With spinning tackle, weightless on 8 - 10 pound line with a medium heavy spinning rod. For heavier cover I will move up in line size. The 5" gets a 3/0 hook, the 4" a 1/0 and the 7" a 6/0.

Pork has a good action in any temp I have found.

I cast 1/4 ounce jigs and spinnerbaits on my older Quantum, a $60 reel and it does all right with them, but even with 1/4 ounce the brake and spool tension must be set just right. I prefer lures that weigh 5/16 of an ounce or better yet 3/8 of an ounce for casting gear, then they do very well, even cheaper reels.

Got out for the first time this year yesterday here in Colorado on a small natural lake. Got 8, nothing huge but a pair of fat 3.5 pound hens. A gold X - Rap #10 was the ticket, also caught two on a 4" senko and one on a #8 X - rap Deep. Water temp was 54-61 degrees.

I haven't tried it, but cranking over grass and weeds does work, especially lipless cranks when you rip them out of the weeds.

When do you guys choose a pork trailer, and when do you choose a plastic one? I have heard pork is best during cold water and plastics work better when more action is required.

Those are some nice looking jigs.

I like cranks with more subtle wiggles that run shallower first, especially on calm sunny days. Shad raps, risto raps, bomber flat As, and Poe's Cedar series are some great options.

I think centipedes and straight tailed worms that are in the 4" - 6" range produce the most fish on a carolina rig, but lizards are a good big fish bait.

Sometimes they aren't number baits, but may produce bigger than average bass than plastics, and are more effective in really cold or stained water than most plastics. Mix it up, but most of the time fish jigs slow.