jb_adams

I think you misunderstood me. The reason I mentioned my son's casts were because he was using a 5'-6 ultralight (Zebco 11 spincast combo from Wal-Mart) and I was using the new Pfleuger spinning rod combo with only a 5' rod. The difference in rod strength is quite a bit. Both are ultralights but his is a bit more on the "Ugly Stick" strength while mine is a bit more on the super small diameter ultralight with really light action. I've tried several small baits on the Pfleuger rod like a small Hula popper, beetlespins, etc. and it just can't match the casting distance of either my son's rod or my other ultralight. I knew it wasn't the reel. The reel is great. I love the reel. It was the Pleuger rod that came with the combo that is has a weak tip. The bobber was very small 1/2 or 3/4 dia. and it was two really small split shots. My question was is it OK to use an ultralight reel on a full sized rod (6ft or 7ft)? I couldn't think of a single reason except maybe the drag becoming over worked due to a stronger rod. Less flex means less give in the rod to absorb some of the initial impact or strain on the line which in turns engages the drag on 4lb line. The longer rod is a 6'-6 medium light action and it's very flexible.

I bought a nice Pfleuger ultralight combo but the rod was around 4'-6 or 5ft in length and extremely light action. So light that I could not even throw a small bobber, two small split shot and a giant night crawler on a no. 6 crappie hook. I could throw it but it wouldn't go very far. My 6yr old was outcasting me (doubling my distance) with his ultralight with only a small beetlespin. He'd get about a 60-70ft. cast and I'd get may be 35ft. I'm used to a 6ft-7ft rod so I was probably overcasting. Even when I took it easy, it was still a pathetic cast because the rod was so sensitive. I did catch a nice 2lb white bass on a small Hula popper which was pretty cool fighting that fish on that little rig with 4lb line! Anyway, my question is will it be OK to use this reel on a 6'-6 medium light action rod? It feels great in my hands and feels like it is a deadly match for light tackle. I can match my son's casts now!! (haha) I plan on using small topwater baits, small buzzbaits (1/8oz or less) and flukes with this setup. I see no problem with using a full sized rod on an ultralight reel. Can you?

No Avid, I didn't say which rod. I wasn't sure which rod series to select. All I could remember was the name and how well like they are here on the forum. I've picked up a few in stores but never paid enough attention to the series because I wasn't buying yet. I feel nervous handling a rod over $100 if I'm not prepared to buy one. (haha) My current two baitcaster rods have the ergonomic grip and I love it. My buddy has the regular handles and they just feel so small but, his rod diameter is a lot smaller and thus more sensative. Mine are medium heavy action 7ft. and his is a medium heavy action 6'-6 or 7ft but without the ergonomic grip. The rod diameter at the handle is quite a bit smaller diameter which seems to add more feedback in the rod. I may be wrong here but that's just my initial perception. Since this rod will be for a finesse baitcaster, it will be the smaller medium light action 6ft rod. I think a 6'-6 is as long as I'll want. I like the longer rods just because you can get more distance (very little but more none the less). Thanks for the feedback Avid!

jay you make me sick....that large of a bass record to me is like a white buffalo to a Native American. If it exists and I ever see it in a lifetime, I will die happy. ;D Florida has some monster size bass. I wouldn't know what to do if I ever landed a lunker. Around here, I get excited about a 5lb bass. This part of the state, that's a really good bass and probably about as big as you will catch in my home lake. Even the FLW Tour has difficulty each year bringing in a 6lb bass or larger. I once saw an 8lb and the crowd gave the guy a standing "O" with applause! Anyway back to the subject. Thanks for the tips. I think St. Croix and Falcon will cost about the same price range ($120ish). I may go with St. Croix just because I've heard of them more and it will give me more reason to talk trash to my fishing partner. He uses Falcon exclusively now. He was told at the local shop there is no difference between GLoomis and Falcon. Now he's sold. I'm sure the materials are the same but the manufacturing process is half of what matters too.

That's what I'm looking for. Versatility! My buddy has the Lowrider series on his Prolite and I know how well it works with flukes and other weightless plastics. For the money, they are relatively close in price and both feel relatively the same. I have fishing experience with the Falcon but none with the St. Croix. I really like the looks and feel of the St. Croix but as many have pointed out to me, you can't tell jack from holding one in your hand inside the store.

I am hoping to invest in a new baitcasting rod soon. It will be for a BPS Prolite baitcaster. Before anyone knocks this little baitcaster because it's not Shimano.....let me tell you that I have experience with this reel and it is very high quality for the small price of $100. It's primarily for finesse fishing. This baitcaster can throw weightless t-rig flukes quite a ways and with no backlash and little casting effort. It will be used for flukes, small buzzbaits, small spinnerbaits, etc. Maybe even a few smaller crankbaits. Anyway... My buddy has one of these on a Falcon Lowrider rod and loves it. He loves it so much that he spent 11 hours diving for it after it fell over the side of the boat by accident. After 4 days of diving, he found it, re-set the tension and cast it. He's been fishing with it ever since. So I like the feel of the St. Croix and I like his Falcon rod too. Somehow, I feel that one is not really better than the other. I want an all around medium action rod with a solid feel and sensitive tip but made for lighter tackle. I noticed the diameter of the rod near the handle is small (5/16" or 3/8" maybe?) but it is strong enough to feel like a medium action rod even though it says light action. So, which one has better warranty benefits, etc. I know Avid has told several tales of getting entirely new rods after a rod eye broke on his St. Croix.

The locals here use big 1/2oz or 3/4oz spinnerbaits (black) with single leaf colorado blades for lots of vibration. To me, I think vibration is key to night fishing. If you fish clear water with a full moon, sure a plastic will work better. But if you're in murky water, I think noisy baits attract the fish better. The big slow rolled spinnerbaits seem to work well but I have seen Norman crankbaits work wonders in yellow/green and rootbeer colors. A guy I know, loves throwing crankbaits and he was catching some quality fish on them. Again, back to the vibration and noise issue. Fish in this area really don't become very active until late evening, night, or very early morning. After that, they just don't bite even if you hit them in the face five times with a Fat Ika.

Not that I can speak from personal experience, but I am willing to bet that if you put all three side by side in a scientific test / study; all three would peform, look, and virtually catch the same amounts in a controlled condition. So does one out catch the other two? I bet the margin of difference will be less than 2% which is less than one fish. So, fish with any of them and have fun. That's why we fish right? To have fun? I do anyway.

Funny, I call all "stick worms" senkos just because it's become a widely used name. I personally have Tiki sticks but that's just because I can buy them for $2.50 a bag and I only buy a bag every once in a while. I don't use them that often. I'll even try a bag of GY senkos eventually. Whatever works for you and catches fish. RW could catch 20 fish on a "SENKO" and then swith to a Tiki and not get a bite. Is it because there is that big of a difference between the to in the same color?? I doubt it but then again, I've never tried it so who knows. No matter what brand bait you use, it's worthless if you don't have confidence in it. You'll just take it off and tie on another go-to bait. Hey! Glad you caught some fish on your Tiki sticks! WAVE THE WORMS! ;D

This guy is hilarious! My new thing to say when I catch a bass now is, "holy buckets!" or "Hey, are those rentals?"

Oh I will this weekend. I'm also going to see if I can rig one on a spinnerbait! I don't think it will work but the novelty is worth the effort!

I rip a 'stock' one and watch(near the boat just to see what it did) as it darts to one side. Very 'natural' looking and you're correct in that no other bait(I've seen) does that. Dan Why doesn't someone try taking a chatter blade and putting it on a shallow crankbait? I bet that would cause the cranking down, and one C-R-A-Z-Y wiggle. It may be too much cavitation for the bait to function properly but I am willing to bet that you can take a square billed crank that runs in less than 8ft of water, add a chatter blade to it and tie on at the swivel and I bet that thing will make one heck of a noise going through the water. Heck, now I have to do it just to see my partners reaction. He hates crankbaits as it is. Now I'll have a "chatter-crank" to really make him roll his eyes in disgust! ;D

I caught a decent catfish on a crankbait. How? I backlashed my cast and I was digging out the mess while the crank was floating on the surface. I actually thought, "please don't bite that bait while I'm digging out this not". About that time I feel the rod tip twitch a bit so I pulled on the rod a little. Sure enough, there was a fish on it. So I had to reel over the backlash thinking I had a good bass. When it got to the boat....."what the....it's a catfish!" My buddy from Lake Charles, LA was with me and he said he had never seen a catfish hit a crankbait much less a floating crankbait. I guess since the fish thought it was a dead fish, it was food for him. Stupid bottom feeder.....

Thanks Brad! I think I sent you a PM a while back asking you about them. I finally bought a couple and I just haven't used them yet. My fishing partner is cutting chunks from his flukes and says that works well too. I can definately see this as a good C-rig bait. If you jerk the weight enough to make the bait jerk, it should swim a bit and then slowly sink. That should deadly action! Thanks for the tips. I'll have to get a few more in various colors and try them in various applications.

http://www.lftlures.com/product/b5032d16-c94c-42ba-ab38-4f12a38ab6d5.aspx What's the prefered technique for these baits? They definately have a "fisherman allure" to them. By that I mean, they'll catch a lot of anglers. I've got two but I've yet to use them. What's the best methods to use these?

I love them. So do the fish! ;D Much cheaper than GYB. I always like to make a joke when I'm putting one on a hook. I'll start making comments to the Tiki God of fish praying for a good catch. Drives my partner nuts!

So what conditions do you look for when selecting and what selection of chatterbait do you use? They have all kinds of custom setups. Blade decals, multi-colors for blades, skirts, trailers, etc. What's your preference since you're having so much luck. Also what's your favorite retrieve based on color & conditions?

That's cool that you got a strike on it. You should have tied on a buzzbait or something after that. If the fish are active enough to bite on that, I would have burnt a buzzbaits paddle off! Funny, I've never caught a fish or had a strike on a senko the "traditional method" like a jerkbait. I've tried it numerous times but just don't seem to have the patience for it. I like using senkos on spot removers or t-rig. I've fished them wacky style, weightless t-rig, and carolina rig (awesome for c-rig which is essentially a weightless t-rig sort of). I prefer spot remover (shaky head) though because it keeps it on the bottom vs. weightless. I haven't found senkos that usefull in really muddy or very stained water. With low visability, the fish just don't see it as well even with bright or dark colors. I'm determined to try the weightless t-rig more this fall. I may put a split sinker about 3ft up the line to give it a slightly faster fall.

I remember seeing your fish you caught with the CB. There is no doubt you've had luck with the CB. ;D There is no doubt that it will catch fish. It's just how many casts does it take to catch one that I'm questioning. Again, ALL conditions matter, not the bait all by itself.

Like I said, they have caught more anglers than fish in my opinion. If we added together the amount each angler has in his/her tackle box, the amount of fish caught with the actual bait itself, I'd bet that the number of baits sold "outway" the number of fish caught. Yep, right bait, right time, all that...I agree. You also have to have the right retrieve to make these things work from all the posts I have read on them on multiple forums. Varying results for various geographical places, water clarity, fishing pressure, local flavor of forage, etc. I'm not saying they suck. I'm not saying they are an awesome bait. I just think the angler appeal is way off the chart and I love to watch them as they dance back to the boat. If I were a fish, I'd eat it....(see my point?) Like Jimmy Houston said, "if bass fishing were as easy as we'd like it, it wouldn't be a sport, just a habit".

I've tried Rat-L traps many times and I always loose one in structure before I catch a fish. I've only caught one fish and that's simply because he nailed it 2 seconds after it hit the water. I've lost at least 5-6 traps and caught one dink bass. My buddy borrows my rod & reel already tied with a chrome blue back trap, casts it off the loading ramp while I go get the truck and catches a good 2-3 pound fish with one cast where I catch nothing. Must be the angler! :'( I'll try a variation of retrieves. It's that time of year where these bait will work good in shallow water around rip rap, weeds, and structure from what I hear.

I just inserted a link to the pic straight from the website. I'll fix it.

I found in some research that they were called the "Head banger" or something like that. They say they'll woble like a crankbait. I think it's a dumbed down version of the chatterbait myself. Less mechanics, same angler catching appeal.

I saw a new bait from Norman called the "combine" which is new for 07. Anyone have any luck with these? The baitmonkey stuck me with two of them and I have not had a chance to throw them yet. Here is a LINK to some of these new baits. http://www.bassbuckandduck.com/norman_head_banger.htm

The Chatterbait is an effective product. The problem is it's caught far more anglers than it has fish! My buddy has caught several with a white, I have only caught one fish on it......(I think). My luck has been so bad with it, that I am not even sure if I have actually caught a fish with it. I have not given up on it though. It's just too good of an idea and appearance to not use it. Thus why it's caught more anglers than fish.