fishballer06

Shimano Saros 3000

Hey Brandon, glad to see you're on here. I remember reading about this fish whenever you had caught it. And on a jitterbug too! My Dad and Pap would be tickled pink over that! I don't have any experience with JDM spinning reels (only casting), but they generally are very high quality as one would expect. The thing to keep in mind, as others have said, is the warranty is not valid here in the USA. However, as with any super high end product, you hopefully shouldn't have any issues with the reel. I own all of the newest model Stradics and I must say they are very impressive. I'm sure neither of the 3 models will let you down. I know the older model ci4 model Stradic is being discounted on multiple websites, I'm assuming because it's being replaced.

Don't be afraid to put a 1/4oz. Fish Head Spin and a 3" paddletail swimbait on that Senko rod.

I can't speak for the whopper plopper, but my Pop Maxes come stock with quality hooks. I'm generally not concerned with using the largest treble possible with poppers because I fish them slow and the fish generally inhale them, rather than slapping at them like a faster moving bait like a whopper plopper, wake bait, or spook.

40# for all around. I have always had digging issues with 30# braid on casting gear.

I've been using 8lb mono for my frog needs. I can't figure out why my line breaks every time I set the hook...

I know Terminator has a popping frog coming out as well.

I own both, and I say buy both. Pearl is white, glacier has gold fleck in it if I remember correctly. I think the glacier is a clearish/white color to it as well. As many others have said, the fish will not be able to tell a difference. Especially in dirtier water on a moving bait.

The trilene knot is basically the only knot I use on braid. Excellent knot that never fails.

Big O, I'd love to have an option in a 3.25".

While sizing up is a good idea in theory, you'll need to test the hooks on your lures to make sure the hooks don't foul up on each other or on the lip of the bill. If your baits use a standard shank #4, a short shank #2 or #3 might be possible.

Thanks everyone. What I'd really like to know is what this fish weighed before she spawned.

I'm sure there's some sort of variation in the bottom content somewhere. Put a heavy sinker on a drag the bottom sometime. You'll get a feel for where there's grass, mud, and rocks. Again, how big is this pond? Does it have a dam or retention wall to it? Or even an outflow?

Not sure how big this pond is, but find something for the fish to relate to. Weeds, wood, rocks, steep banks, a creek that flows into it, etc.

Got onto a pattern with the smallies on Memorial Day. They were holding close to shore on wood. We had already caught about a half dozen decent sized fish on this pattern and they were all spawned out females. We came upon a tree and I let my partner fish this particular tree. While he's flipping it, I see a big smallmouth slowly cruising close to the bank. I pick up my 5" Keitech and flip out in front of her. The bait lands a foot in front of her face. A perfect flip! I slowly start cranking and she follows it. She then puts her cheek right up next to the bait and keeps swimming with it. I give the bait a twitch and kill it. She latches onto the head of it and I set the hook. Fish on! This fish measured just a hair shy of 23". Sadly, because she was spawned out, she only weighed 3.6 pounds.

You need something that will handle up to 3oz. with a moderate action. Very few rods fit this bill, so do some research online and determine how much you're willing to spend and what is the best option for you.

If the only rod you have is rated for 5/8oz. and you want to fish swimbaits, then you need to buy a whole other setup.

I have to be honest. I really haven't thrown spinnerbaits much at all in the past few years because I've been doing so well on chatterbaits. Whenever I used to throw spinnerbaits a good bit, I really liked the Terminator titanium one's because they worked well, ran straight, and they didn't get bent out of shape. Fast forward to yesterday and the conditions were absolutely perfect for a spinnerbait bite. However I only had one spinnerbait on me. A brand new in package V&M Cliff Pace big easy pacemaker. I had picked up this spinnerbait because it seemed very high quality, and it had a really nice wide gap hook on it. Within 5 minutes I caught a nice smallmouth around 2 pounds. Got him into the boat, and thumbed him in for the landing. I removed the hook and noticed that the wire was practically straight after just one fish. I bent the arm back into original shape the best I could, but I just couldn't get it to work properly any more. So I was stuck there in perfect spinnerbait conditions and no working spinnerbaits on me. A $7 bait ruined after one average sized fish. So I guess I'll restock on some spinnerbaits before this TW sale is over today. So I'm asking you all for your recommendations for a quality spinnerbait that has a durable wire, besides the Terminator titanium one's. What are your favorites?

I went to my local DSG last night. Gamakatsu hooks were buy 4, get 2 free. 300 yard spools of PowerPro were $19.98. And after confusing the checkout lady, I got two Megabass lures for $4.99!!!

A 5xd and a 10xd need totally different rods. A 5xd is only 5/8oz. Where as the 10xd is 2oz. To throw oversized cranks like a 10xd, you need a cranking rod that will easily handle 2.5 - 3oz.

For just a couple bucks more, I recommend the Dobyns Champion cranking rods more than any other cranking rod on the market.

Depends on the depth I need to fish them. There's no wrong answer here.

I'll gladly take an Avid over any Loomis in the ~$200 range, and I own both.

This is the PG version, so it's much too slow for the application's you mentioned. I plan on using it for finesse cranks (shad raps and other lightweight cranks), and I'll probably throw chatterbaits and Keitechs/Magic Shads with it too.

My newest to the collection.