Steveo-1969

I've never owned one, but FWIW I was at a sports show a couple weeks ago and the rep in the Carrot Stix booth told me something similar. He said the breakage problems came from guide threading being put on too tightly by a machine. He said the new owner has since fixed this problem and the company is now trying to repair their bad reputation that was caused by rod breakage and poor customer service.

Tackle-wise I haven't really bought anything new, just replenished a few things. But... I did add a baitcasting combo! 1) G. Loomis NRX MBR 842C 2) Abu Garcia Revo LTX I actually got the rod in October and the reel in late December. I caught a couple smallies with the rod in October and some walleyes with the rod/reel in December. Can't wait to give it a real workout this spring!!

I've been using Strike King Bitsy Bug jigs for the last couple years with no complaints. I usually use a SK Baby Rage Craw as a trailer (and bite off the first 2 segments). With that said I'm going to order some Sniper and Finesse jigs from Seibert this year. They are only about $.30 more and I will get a better hook, more color selections and better overall quality.

Wait... A St. Croix rep told you the new Mojo Bass and the Legend Tournament rods are built on the exact same blank? Or did you mean a BPS employee told you that?

Thanks. "Rocky, fast moving rivers with lots of cover" (read ROCKS) is exactly what I fish. I'll be ordering some of these!

Thank you young man. You are using their "Draggin' Head" for this?

What bait are you using that has floating claws that is the same size as a Baby Rage Craw?

I'm going with YOUR prediction. Screw that other Dave and his snowstorms, we've had enough snow this year........

Welcome to BR Edwin! I put mono backing on my spinning reels for two reasons: 1) I either don't have (or don't trust) "braid-ready" spools. So I put mono backing on to keep the braid from slipping on the spool. 2) I fill the first half of the spool with mono so I use less braid. I can normally fill 2 spinning reels with a 150yd. spool of braid.

Welcome to BR and thank you for your service! I'm on my way to your beautiful state at the end of March to visit my daughter and sister who both live in the Phoenix area. And I watch Fishing with Johnny Johnson religiously, if nothing else just for the look on my girlfriend's face when she hears him laugh!

My goal for 2016 isn't to catch more fish or bigger fish or set a PB (although all of those would be nice!) My goal is just to fish as much as possible. For me the enjoyment is the act of fishing itself, and the catching is the icing on the cake. Oh, and maybe I'll finally tie on a Ned rig this year and try that out...

Welcome to BR Austin!

Welcome to Bass Resource Lefty!

I haven't used the Swimmin' Dinger as a jig trailer, but it was my son's confidence bait last summer t-rigged. The Swimmin' Dinger doesn't have a hook slot like the Dinger does though.

Normally my only available fishing days are Saturday and/or Sunday and the only thing that keeps me from fishing (other than family obligations) is if the river is flooding and unfishable. I haven't been out since January 17th because of our 36" of snow and subsequent flooding when it melted, but this Sunday is looking pretty good. YAY!!!

Unless the Broncos defense plays like the '85 Bears I don't see how the Panthers can lose...

Unlike most of you, I don't own a boat and I don't fish lakes. I'm fortunate to live just a few minutes from the Upper Potomac and 99% of my fishing is there, wading or from the bank. With that said I take an annual vacation to Kentucky Lake, rent a small 14' boat from the resort we stay at, drift around on the ledges for a week, and even manage to catch a fish once in a while. So by default my favorite lake is Kentucky Lake! Ha-ha. It's my chance to fish from a boat and catch largemouth instead of smallmouth. The end of June can't get here fast enough!!

That's it, this thread can now be locked!!!! In "When the Music's Over" on the word NOW!!!!, or his scream at the end of their live version of "Gloria" absolutely gives me goose bumps and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He was the best!!!!

Hi Matt, welcome to BR! I totally thought your post was going to say "Hi my name is... Slim Shady"

I'm curious... Why not either of those guys?

Mine was 3 years ago. I had already rediscovered fishing after a 13-year hiatus and finally talked my son into fishing with me. We waded out to a spot that I had caught some fish at in the past and he hooks up with a 14" smallie on his first cast. For the next hour we caught over 30 smallmouth between us. Nothing big, but he was literally hooked after that and is now my favorite fishing partner. Best fishing day ever...

Denny Brauer and Mark Zona were the first two I thought of when I opened this thread. Brauer Bass Battles with Denny and his son Chad was my favorite fishing show, I really miss it. I'd also like to fish with Mike D from Lunkerville. I'm betting he knows WAY more about fishing than he lets on during the show.

I fish these baits on a M power Fast action baitcasting rod with the same rigging you do - open hook swimbait jig head, weighted swimbait hook, and t-rigged with a pegged bullet weight. I'm not fishing around any heavy cover and for me the M power is plenty to get a good hook set and fight the fish.

I haven't fished swim jigs (yet!) but a t-rigged Menace Grub is one of my top producers for river smallmouth.

Dang. I saw the title of this thread and name of user and thought I was going to get tips from a pro. Lots of good threads in here about different baits for smallies. Welcome to BR!!