STPC

From the hundreds of posts mentioning the different rage tail soft plastics, especially the craw, I would have to say that they're pretty popular.

I was just fishing this little canal around my neighborhood. I have no idea where it begins, ends or how all the fish got in it (but I'm not going to complain about them either). This thing is only 15 ft wide and maybe 4 ft at the deepest but we have caught several 3-5 pounders out of it, along w/crappie, bream, little bullhead catfish and pickerel. From all of the reports I've read and heard, bass are few and far between right now in the N.E. Cape Fear. Probably have to wait until late May or early June before any fish will be biting regularly. -Stephen -Stephen

I have thrown several jigs in about every color possible and w/too many different trailers to list. Finally, this afternoon I pitched a sunfish colored 1/4oz.Outkast R.T. jig w/a white Zoom tiny chunk. I pitched about 10 yards in about 2 ft. of water and just slow-dragged across the bottom. I saw the fish swimming away from the jig, then as soon as I stopped it he turned around and nailed it, all 16 oz. of him. Yeah, I know that's only a pound, but it sounds like a lot more. -Stephen

I live in the big town of Burgaw. Was wondering which pond you were fishing? Seems you have to know a lot of folks here to fish any of the ponds as they are mostly privately owned. Stephen

Well, unfortunately Eastern Outfitters primarily carries saltwater fishing tackle (they have three 4'x20' sections for freshwater tackle). So it looks like Dick's in Wilmington or Bass Pro in Myrtle Beach are gonna be your best bets. Bass Pro just recently opened up a store in Cary, Cabela's will be opening a store in Garner (just south of Raleigh) next spring and there is a Gander Mountain in Fayetteville. So within 2 hrs. drive of Wilmington you should be able to get your hands on pretty much anything man created to catch fish with. I will say, I am in Eastern Outfitters at least once or twice a week and the staff is always very helpful, especially the fishing and firearms sections of the store. Stephen

Jeezer, I was down in Wilmington over the weekend to get a few things checked off the proverbial "honey-do list." I stopped in Tex's and asked about having a reel cleaned, only to find out that they "have a guy" that does that for them, however, he is located in Hampstead (about 15 miles N on US 17). Come to find out I have talked to this guy several times while shopping in Eastern Outfitters but had no clue he had a reel service on the side. Long story short, Tom's gonna clean my reel for $25 and his turnaround time is roughly 1 week. I will keep you posted once I get the finished product back in my hands. Once again, thanks for the info. Stephen

Agree 100%. I have a Smoke 25 spooled w/10 lb. power pro w/fluoro leader. I can put a weightless Zoom trick worm in a 5-gallon bucket from 20 yards and closer. I like it paired w/a 7' m/mf rod when fishing weightless soft plastics. IMO (and at my rookie/intermediate casting reel skill) using spinning gear for finesse techniques is a no-brainer. Stephen

When I was looking at Tex's website last night it was too late to call them. I will be going there to drop it off. Thanks for the help everyone. Stephen

Does anyone out there know of a reputable reel repair service/business in the Wilmington, NC area? Need a good cleaning done on my Revo SX and b/w the wife and kids there just is not enough time in the day to even attempt to do it myself.

Papajoe has got it right. I like to fish it just like a Devil's Horse. I'll cast it along grass edges and let it sit a few seconds, then slightly twitch by moving the rod tip, let it sit, twitch a little harder, sit.....repeat until it gets nailed. Even if the bass aren't biting you can always get something else to hit it (bream, pickerel, etc.)

My luck with zoom's horny toad hook has not been too good. It tends to tear up your toad far quicker than a 5/0 or 4/0 EWG. Hookups also are harder to come by with the zoom hook b/c in my experience it makes the toad keep flipping over.