jonnyblazex

If you hook into a good sized fish it might be sketchy. Not a lot of backbone in a UL to control a large fish. The small sharp nose hooked bait is key for traditional open water dropshot. Most of the time the hook will just skin hook the bass in the upper mouth, just grabbing flesh, and not going completely through the lip. I have seen this many times. I couldn't believe the first time I seen it when I caught a mad smallie just under 5 lbs. I fought the fish for a couple minutes, and my medium power rod was bent to the point I thought it might snap when the fish went under the boat. Upon getting the fish in the net and come time to unhook, there was only 1/8in of flesh hooked with that small hook, and it held the fish so good I had to bend it straight with a pliers to get it out of the fishs mouth!

Sometimes they have a spring under the cap too. If that was missing it would also make sense.

You can also get them from Gander Mountain

I also had the same problem with my Curado G. I also removed the anti reveres pawl (I think that's what it was called) and that took care of the ticking sound when reeling. I haven't noticed any ill effect yet, its been 2 years now.

^That's really the only negative thing I have to say about them as well, all the extra plastic threads from the reel seat sticking out on the top part. I have seen this on a few other St. Croix rods as well, but not on the higher end rods. Overall the build quality seems pretty good, and I like the feel of the rod. Only thing left I have to do is to get a reel and try it out, when the ice disappears.

Hey pretty cool to see Al Linder on the site!^^^ God bless ya Al !!!

Hi, guys, looking for a reel for my jerkbait rod. Its a medium power fast action rod, and most of the jerkbaits I will be throwing will be around 3/8 oz, and most likely mono or fluoro 10-12lb test. Im really wanting to try a new Lews reel, I have heard a lot of good things about them and have handled a couple, and they seem very nice. Im hoping to get one around the $200 range, the ones that have caught my eye are BB1 pro and Tournament pro g. Would anyone recommend these for jerkbaits, and what ratio, 6.4:1 or a faster 7.1:1 or 7.5:1? Or other Lews reel I should consider? Lots of choices from Lews for sure!! Thanks a lot, --- Jonny

Basically the cheapest mono you can find, I use eagle claw, I have a spool of it that's 1000 yards, I think I paid $4 for it, but workd perfect for backing. I use 8lb test, and basically just enough to cover the spool, maybe go a layer over that, probly less than 50 feet worth of line. Tie the braid to that with a uni to uni knot (what I use anyway) and your good to go. Hopefully you can save all that line you put on there, possibly reel it off with another baitcaster, then reel it back on?

Did you put mono backing on spool then connect the braid to that before reeling it on?

I have bought a lot of Booyah jigs from TW as well as A.T. (all terrain) tackle jigs. They are both yery good, and offer a design style to suite your needs, and wont break the bank, about $3 a piece. I agree with the Siebert jigs being very very nice, I have some and love them. But for TW those would be my choices from experience. There are so many brands out there it is mind boggling. I usually look for some cheaper priced ones, but keeping in mind not to sacrifice quality. The way I use jigs, they are going to get lost sooner than later, so Im not going to stock my box with jigs that cost more than $5 a piece. I catch a lot of bass on jigs like those mentioned above. The thing about some of the cheaper jigs is that the paint chips easily. If I can make it to about the end of the day, most all the paint is gone off the head, but I keep pounding the bass regardless, they don't seem to care a whole lot most times it dosent seem like. The jigs I have tried for sieberts are the toughest, and nicest paint I have ever seen. Durability is insane, and his jigs also don't break the bank either.

Some of the Carrot stix rods were really great. I have one of the original Pro Grade rods, and it has been great to me through the years. Insanely light and very crisp and sensitive, and bring it and use it every time out. It has had a lot of use and caught me a lot of fish. I have been considering getting another but from all the bad reviews lately it almost seems like I got a lucky one or something. I don't want to go through the customer service fiasco either. Im not sure about the reels, but who knows, they may be great. The spinning reel is a new innovation that I could see gaining popularity for sure. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Well buy them all up and make some money selling them! I may be interested in a couple myself!

Heres one just for an example, Seller says it was made in 2002, notice the eyes change in the later years, as mentioned above. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Megabass-Vision-110-OneTen-HT-ITO-WAKASAGI-2002-Straight-Eyes-2-/191802958441?hash=item2ca858e269:g:4CMAAOSwe7BWumHp

Colors I use most often are Black/blue, green pumkin, and junebug (purple) although I can pick just about any color in the box, and the bass will destroy it once you put it in the right spot. Remember about the no set rules in fishing. I have seen dark colors work great on clear lakes, and white absolutely catch bass in stained to muddy water, must have been opposite day or something!

Im not sure about rare or collectable, the reason they cost so much is because they are made in Japan. The eye design may just mean its an older bait, as I believe the ones from early to mid 2000's had the eye you are talking about.

Im not a big fan of spinnerbaits, but my dad (60 years old) uses them every time we go fishing. I mean that's all he uses, 100%, Some days he hammers the bass, and I cant believe it, they really do work great. I never seem to have much luck with them myself, and probably own around 10 of them. I can try to use the exact same ones he is using, and he catches 10 and I get 0, he gets some pigs too! I just don't get it, he's just really good with them for some odd reason. Great bait for covering a lot of water and catching fish!

I've got my Ci4+ 2500 paired with a NRX SYR 822 rod. Its been on there since new for a few years now, and its NEVER coming off of it!!! Best finesse rod and reel a guy could ever want.

Hi Guys, Im looking for a new jerkbait rod. My current setup I have been using to "get by with" in fall (before the lake froze) was a E21 Carrot stix pro grade 6'8 MH fast rod, with Shimano Curado G7 spooled with 12lb Sunline sniper fluoro. The setup casts decent, and works the bait ok, but I just feel the rod is just a little too powerful and stiff. It seemed like I caught one in 5 fish I hooked, most of them the treble hooks ripped out of their mouth when they made a hard run, and even lost a hog of a smallie at boatside once, biggest one I have seen so far. It was a sad moment, and I need an upgrade. Most of the jerkbaits I use are the regular sized ones, like Megabass Vision 110, Smithwick rogue, Spro Mcstick 110, Rapala Shadow rap, etc. Most weigh at max around 3/8oz to 1/2oz approx. Im thinking about a medium power rod, under 7 footer, like 6'8 maybe, and not sure about the taper, fast seems good? I don't really have a budget on this, but I don't think I really need a $500 rod for this either, as I feel this technique does not require as much feel compared to bottom contact rods. Let me know what you guys are using or if you have any input is always apreciated. Thanks a lot!

I have noticed a lot of blue NRX on sale lately as well, so I wonder if they aren't coming out with a new design of NRX as asked above? I am also slightly disappointed if the greens are becoming discontinued, because it offered a little variety. I own one of each color and I liked the green best.

I mostly use 30lb or 40lb braid as well. In the early spring and right before winter are the only times the water is clear around my area, otherwise its stained to murky, and I get all the bites in the world on braid. In the other clear water seasons, I may use straight fluoro. I don't like to tie a fluoro leader to braid for jigs, its a major weak spot for the line to break for the places I would toss a jig, into some heavy cover!

They are mostly the same. I have been skipping and flipping with Sieberts dock rocker jigs, as well as arkie head jigs that have worked really good for me this year. A lot of it has to do with the trailer, a wide flat beaver style trailer works good for me. The only jigs I know of that are supposedly made just for skipping are the All Terrain Tackle Skip N Jig. I have used quite a few of these, and while they work pretty good, I don't really notice a difference between this and some of the others I have used as far as skipping. I wouldn't use this jig for flipping though, as it has a lighter wire hook, and I have bent them numerous times. But give a couple a shot, they work ok too!

If you feel something funny, set the hook right away, HARD, like you mean it! Hard enough to snap your rod hookset will drive that hook into a big hogs top mouth, and she wont come off! You may get a few snags first starting out or lose a few jigs, but that is jig fishing. You have to get a feel for whats going on if you want to become good. It takes time and patience, and a little line watching sometimes, but mostly feel. I couldn't throw a jig without a weed guard in 99% of the places I use a jig that I catch bass. It can go places where no other lure can, and that is because of the weed guard, and for some reason a jig catches big fish too. I really like jig fishing, and have really started doing it this year. I have caught more and bigger bass on it than I can hardly imagine. I always used to use texas rig in these situations where there was heavy cover, but once I got the hang of the jig, it is all I need in most cover situations, especially wood or rocks, depending on design of jig. While it seems like a simple thing, there are many many factors to consider when selecting a jig. But don't be afraid of the weed guard, just give it a little extra juice when you set the hook, and you will be amazed.

Rapala Shadow Rap in silver color has been getting them for me, the last few times out for the season, now I'm done, the ice has started. The others I tried equally as much were the spro mc stick 110, and megabass vision 110. Got skunked on both! WHAT!?? I really had high hopes for those baits, but don't worry, I'll be back in the spring for round 2!

Cotton seed poses a major threat to micro guides!

For those that are doing good on the blade baits, what brand are you using? What weight for what depth? Thanks!