David D.

For now, it's gotta be a Brush Hog... Later this month I am guessing that the Rage Tail Bug will take its place though.

Put that Speed Spool on a 7'1" M/F *** Black and enjoy. The MH is too stiff for weightless flukes, light T-Rigs and 3/8 oz jigs without trailers (I know, because I have one).

No, he was saying that the X-Ship aided the smoothness of the retrieve.

Have you read the thread about properly setting up a baitcasters in the rod, reels, lines, an knots sub forum? That would probably answer most (if not all) of your questions and solve your problems. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/92295-how-to-set-up-a-baitcaster/ http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/106413-how-to-cast-a-baitcaster/

I snapped a Walmart Shakespeare over my knee once... Simply because I had just had a huge catfish break off a line and the Shakespeare was the only rod nearby that held no sentimental or monetary value (it was not, however, the rod that lost the fish).

I also have been using a palomar without any problems.

Lately I have been pitching jigs in and around some heavy vegetation and I am using 50 lb Suffix braid. However, your problem seems to be coming more from either a poor knot or neglecting to check the knot as the day goes on.

I would guess it is water dripping off of the birds as they are flying. As to the second ring around your bait, it could be skipping occasionally when it hits the water leading to more than one set of ripples.

Top: 2.25 Bottom: 5.75

Once the spinnerbait hits the plants the blade(s) will get tangled (if the plants are fragile). They can still be effective, you just have to clean them often. Another couple options -if BPS carries them- are the Rage Tail Cut-Rs or Recon worms. They are a little more expensive than some soft plastics, but after fishing them for a couple weeks I am absolutely sold on them.

In my opinion, a poor reel on a quality rod will be harder to successfully fish with than a quality reel on a poor rod. In that sense, the reel is the more important if the two.

Rage Tail Cut-R junebug color. T-rigged with 1/4 oz bullet weight. It has been bringing in fish like crazy lately. Next would be a perch color red eye shad lipless made by H2O Express.

If they are hitting topwater, then they will hit a frog.

I watched a young teenager use boats as an obstacle course at a marina once. His fun ended when he got his foot caught in sailboat rigging and tried to jump to another boat... Only to have the rope go tight and leave him going face-first into the side of the next boat.

Now that is it getting hotter I carry my 1911 because it is easier to conceal IWB than my M&P which is my carry gun for when it is jacket season.

Such as?... (With a reputable source to back it up) Not doubting you per se, I just have not seen anything like what you have, apparently. Maybe you are being sarcastic and I'm not catching it?

I'm generally a courteous person, but that would have really ticked me off and I would have let them know in no uncertain (but not inappropriate) terms. I think you handled it well, and nice fish! Fish on!

I have a *** *** Black 7'1" MH/F rod that I am really liking for jigs and plastics. They make the same power/action in 7'3" as well as a H in that length. They retail around $120. Is it the best rod in the $100-$200 price range? Probably not according to everyone, but it's the best rod that I own and quite a few people like them.

I would like to see a ribbon tail worm (similar to the Rage Tail Cut-R) black body, red translucent tail, with red flakes. Why? Because I have the best luck with black worms - and a splash of red has never done anything but helped in other soft plastics that I have used.

I have 17 lb mono on my Speed Spool right now, it's working just fine. The numbers on the reel just tell you the capacity with commonly used lines; not a maximum strength that the reel can handle.

Do y'all notice a scent loss or anything when storing plastics in boxes rather than in their original packaging?... Y'all are about to successfully convert me to a plastics-in-boxes guy...

The only thing I would change is to drop the line weight of you flipping setup down to 12, maybe 14 lbs. If you are wanting the high strength line for it, then go with braided line. Have you used the Speed Spool reel before? Or is it just one that you think you'd like?

You're a tad far away from the southern border for this to be typical... But I'd put my money on a chupacabra.

Well, the title pretty much tells it all. After getting stumped for about 5 straight trips at my local pond and seeing the action there decline as the spawn begins, I decided to pick up a bag of Rage Tail Cut-Rs and give it a shot. Now, I feel like I have turned a whole new page in my fishing hobby. There were about 5 other people fishing within 50 yards of me today and no one was catching a thing until I rigged up a Cut-R. I went 4 straight casts landing fish weighing from <1lb up to about 3 lbs. This worm just worked. The action of the tail is great, and for some reason the fish just could not resist it. As I was getting ready to leave I hooked on to what possibly could have been my new PB, but she managed to bolt into a large collection of algae and shake the hook Anyways, after going from no luck with anything lately, to hooking 5 fish and catching 4 within 30 minutes I have found a new favorite soft plastic. My only complaint with this plastic (and it is minor in comparison to the baits effectiveness) is that it is not the most durable. Especially when fish just nip at the back end. I used 3 out of the 7 today; the first got pretty torn up after 3 fish, and the second had the tail completely bitten off. But for me, their effectiveness will keep me buying more.

As a sponsored shooter, I can't really put shooting on the backburner. But I have managed to make extra time for fishing in other ways... Certainly don't have time for other hobbies.