fishballer06

Sometimes, the rest of the school can shut down once you catch one fish. I've seen it happen before (especially with walleye, but with bass too). It's also possible that the whole school wasn't feeding at the time, and the fish that you encountered were the only active ones.

Cork only. I refuse to own any rod with EVA.

Congrats! What buzzbait were you using?

I prefer a 6:1 reel for almost any topwater. When it comes to a Jitterbug or Pompadour I like throwing a 5:1 reel (for me, a Chronarch e5).

I'm surprised they're still coming up at a topwater frog in BC, Canada. The water is probably 50 degrees, maybe lower. Am I right?

I've had success with a buzz baits in water in the low 60's. Any lower than that, I don't have much confidence in any top water lure.

Simms price tags aren't for the faint of heart...

Hope its a Cavitron.

I was unaware they made $30 baitcasting reels haha I'm with Francho. Save up $100 and get something like a Diawa Lexa or a Lews Speed Spool. Those are both decent reels for around $100. Or you could also look into some of the Bass Pro reels. They have a few models in the $70-100 range.

Fast action is the best overall action out there (spinning or casting), in my opinion.

Yes, seems very similar of a lure of that caliber. I guess my biggest let down is that by the time I put some good hooks on there, I'm basically at a $5 lure at that point. Which puts it at the same cost as a SK or Manns crank.

I prefer to have the stocking foot as well, and buy the boot separate. And also as mentioned, duck hunting gear is going to be better suited for warmth.

Well I got my XTS crankbait in yesterday that I ordered from BPS upon recommendation of smalljaw67. This was my first ever BPS brand lure that I've ever bought, so I didn't know what to expect. First impression: I ordered the Ghost Spook color. Considering the color had "ghost" in the name, I was expecting a clear lure with paint over it. Not the case at all, and the lure looks a fair bit different from what was pictured on the website. Second thing that popped out to me was the hooks. The website lists "VMC premium trebles". I know that Rapala and Storm use VMC hooks and those hooks are great stock hooks. Again, disappointed with what I got. The hooks are a cheap, dull, shiny nickle treble in what looks to be a size 8. These little hooks will definitely need to be replaced with a sharper and larger hook, before I ever fish them (this lure is 2 1/2" long). Overall: I guess you get what you pay for. It's definitely not something on par with say a $6 Srike King 1.5, or a $5 Manns Baby 1-, so I guess you can't complain with the $3 price tag. But the lure will definitely need new hooks before I throw it. With it being such a cheap lure, I will feel much more comfortable throwing this lure around areas that I would be more afraid of losing my more expensive baits. Only time will tell if these lures will catch fish for me.

I've almost caught myself doing the same, but luckily I noticed as I was tying the lure on.

Put a 1/0 or 2/0 trailer hook on there. You'll be amazed at how many more hookups you get.

^^^ That's the answer right there

I love burning buzzbaits over weed patches in the fall on any given lake. I love throwing crankbaits up to rock islands in the spring in Canada for walleye.

In a 10 acre pond, I'm sure there is some sort of structure somewhere, you're just not finding it. Like bighead said, fish are going to go where the food is more often than not. Other times, their location may be decided upon by depth (dropoffs) or by oxygen levels (deeper water, flowing water, thermocline, etc).

An Avid is a pretty big step above basically anything Fenwick offers.

St. Croix Premier, 7' MH-Mod. Fits your needs and price.

I was hesitant to shell out the $23 for a Pompadour, but I'm really glad I did. I love this bait. Now I want to buy 3 more colors.

Some days, the color does matter. Or, like my grandfather says, some days it doesn't matter. If the fish is there and they're hungry, they'll hit whatever you throw in front of them.

I use a medium for smaller cranks, and MH for larger cranks. Anything running less than 6' normally gets the medium power. Anything deeper gets the MH. If I'm around heavy cover (weeds/wood), I use the MH.

I have always used clear FC in the past, but I know some companies offer their FC in green. Is there any advantage to using green fluorocarbon over the standard clear?

Whenever I take apart my reels to clean, I normally lay them out on a clean, soft, white towel. That way I can see everything and it doesn't get lost.