TorqueConverter

I you find an old Pinnacle reel you could probably swap brake parts between them. Do you really need these two brakes? Two cent brakes turned on out of 6 is usually the sweet spot on most reels.

The DT4 is a fish catching machine. I like Bluegill, Bass, Old School and Demon colors.

I think they want to switch the PQ over to a different reel design. There used to be a bunch of BPS reels that were of the same reel platform as the PQ and the PQ is one of the few survivors. The Extreme used to be PQ based but now uses a completely different design, which I happen to really like a lot. A lot of the other PQ based reels have changed platforms. Some for better and some for worse.

Sounds like you're using the right jig but are expecting the bait to get bit on the fall. I'd soak the jig under those docks, shake it ect. If I was looking to get bit on the fall then I'd switch over to a reverse rigged Fat Ika or a creature bait on a swimbait hook. I regularly fish docks in the 4 feet of water in shallow silty canals. Pitching cranks and spinnerbaits have been my biggest producers. Pitching cranks to docks isn't for the faint of heart.

Sounds like you have a bad bait. I'd return it. The bill breakage is a little worrisome. I'm not sure how people are managing to break bills off Rapala baits but if you're doing it then stop buying Rapalas.

Warm shallow water in the evening. I like to fish the foot or so of water above coontail beds before they become emergent. I also prefer a fast wobbling bait over the lazy, slow S shaped swimming motion.

I'd recommend learning how a centrifugal baitcast reel operates 1st. It is possible that your reel is junk. That particular reel architecture (KVD, Accurist PT, Catalyst PT) has known problems but is too new to really establish any patterns yet.

Bomber regularly brings back old designs in limited volume. I picket up a Fat A and a 9A earlier this season for around $3 a piece. Both are terrible cranks.

>#65 Braid paired up to #15 mono. What is happening. Is it the end of the world?

My baits arrived today. Great deal but a bit of caution on Overstock Baits; they are selling old stock so expect some of the baits to be a little stiff or have memory issues. None of my GYCB I bought were as soft and straight as fresh packs.

I pulled that tidbit from an article about UV containing quotes from people on all sides of the UV argument. If you have the full paper from Dr. Jones, please share. I'd love to read it. It was the remark about the absence of blue cones in the quote that caught my attention. You're a bit over my head at the moment, but does blues and purples (red + blue) having color changing properties mean that they are shades of grey or in the case of purple, shades of red mixed with shades of grey? "color changing properties" is a bit confusing as it implies blue turns to red or something. Also, I hear it being tossed around that bass see red better than humans. If true does this imply that the red receptors in the eyes are disproportionate in either size or quantity to the yellow receptors? Neat stuff either way. IMO way to much of what we think bass are capable of are is based on anecdotal evidence collected in the field by lay persons. I'd like to see biology's take on the ability to see colors, precisely which colors and how much of each. :EDIT: I just read the quote from Dr. Jones again. In the quote he clearly states a green receptor. Green is a product of yellow and blue. If the animal is colorblind to blue, then greens are shades of yellow. How can a green receptor exist and not a blue? I would think it would be impossible to see green without the ability to see both yellow and blue but then again, I'm not colorblind.

Forget the Veritas rod. Those are and easily one tor two power ratings higher than the norm. A MH is like an XH. A true MH rod should do you well. You might want to take a look at the BPS Extreme7'' H power Fast action. I have one and it is an incredibly versatile rod that can everything a MH can do plus a H. It's rated to throw 3/8oz to 2oz baits.

This quote form Dr. Keith Jones in response to the ability of the bass to see UV. I have tendency to trust biology over beliefs when it come to bass sight. The bass retina contains only two types of color cones: a red and a green. They do not possess a blue cone, and certainly not a UV cone. Moreover, assuming bass follow the pattern of other centrarchids, their ocular media (the fluid in their eyes) strongly absorb light with wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, meaning that very little UV light would ever reach their retina anyway. So, no, bass do not see UV light. If bass do not have a blue cone in their retinas then they are certainly colorblind to blue.

IMO yes throwing a crank that dives much deeper than the depth you wish to fish hurts the action of the crank by dredging the bottom. When making momentarily bottom contact with a crank the swimming action is lost but is then regained once off the point of contact. This is known as deflection. Keeping the crank in a perpetual state of bottom contact is not the same as keeping it is a perpetual stale of deflection as the bait is never allow to strut its stuff and swim properly. What is favored in a crank is a fantastic swimming action with, if applicable, the occasional deflection. A great swimming motion is #1 and this motion must be applied to the appropriate depth. "appropriate depth" is going to be right around the depth of the lake where you are fishing give or take -+1 foot. IMO the best actions that exist in the crankbait world, be damned the target species, are the Rapala DT series from 4 to 20. The catch on these baits are that they cannot withstand the abuse from fishing them super shallow so that they dredge the bottom. If you do this you will experience bill failure. They need to be swam just off the bottom occasionally making contact with bits of the bottom that stick up. If you are breaking bills off them then you are probably doing something wrong, unless these wrong things are netting good bags of fish, then you are probably dong something right and a bait change is necessary. All cranks dredged off the bottom look the same and if that is how you are getting bit then you should probably throw an inferior bait that is able to withstand the abuse unlike the DTs or any Rapala for that matter.

I'm trying Cajun Line Red Cast this season as a pitching line. It's a nice co-polymer with a red tint that offers increased visibility above the water over a low vis green color and looses it's red color becoming a low vis grey under the water. Cajun Line is a nice concept but misses the mark. It's too dark a red color making it far less visible for line watching as I'd like. The depth were the line will lose it's red color varies bases on depth, light and water clarity. If bass do not have blue cones in their retina and are colorblind to blue, then wouldn't a light blue, translucent, line be ideal? It would allow for high visibility above the water for line watching yet be a translucent low vis grey to the fish at all times at any depth.

If scents mattered than Berkly Gulp would be the hottest plastics in the bass fishing market. The scent formula and the quantity of it a gulp plastic can store and release into the water over time is light years ahead of any crap we can spray onto our bass baits. This being said I have caught a few big bass on cut bait bluegills catfishing and the only thing that could have drawn those fish to the bait was scent.

The old warts are over hyped IMO. None of my pre Rapala warts hunt. The only hunting wart I have is a post Rapala wart and its hunting action leaves a lot to be desired. Wiggle Warts action in general leaves a lot to be desired. My DT-6s beat the crap out of my warts every year. If you really want hunting action, check out the Imakatsu Waddle Bat.

Are you beating the bank? If so, then the bass you are catching are most likely holding close to the bank and unwilling to chase the bait. Try throwing a popper. Give it a couple of pops, some pauses and then pull it out and fire it off to the next spot.

Bionic Blades are good rods. They're comparable to an Abu Garcia Vendetta with the new micro guide Bionic Blades being a little bit better balanced than a Vendetta. Bionic Blades are also a little bit slower in action than rated. Expect them to be MF instead of a true fast action.

I'm basing this off of M powered rods. I've fished with both and the Vengeance is definitely lighter in power than a M Lightning Rod Shock. I'm assuming this translates to the heavier powers.

The Lightning rod Shock is definitely the more powerful of the two. Both rods are awfully slow and are pretty close to moderate in action. I guessing this is going to be a walmart purchase so check out the Diawa Jupiter. It's a Walmart exclusive Diawa rod that retails for $65. It's hard to beat a MH Abu Garcia Veritas for flipping but they run about $80.

Bill Lewis made a Rattle Trap that would suspend. I believe it was called Rattle Trap Red Zone.

Thanks for the input everyone. I've got some plastics, nail weights and tone of docks to fish.

Looks like it might be an old Excalibur Ghost Minnow.

I'm looking to reverse rig some soft plastic baits and pitch them to cover, such as docks, and have them glide back into the unaccessible regions of the cover. What baits work well for this? I love the way a unweighted tube glides but I can't reverse rig a tube because it's hollow and open at the rear. I know Jackal has some soft plastic made for this presentation but I'd like to hear what you guys are using. Anyone have any theories as to what properties of a bait made for a good gliding action?