fishballer06

Senko's or the Havoc Flat Dawg's

Haha, I basically feel the same way. The ci4 is such an amazing reel. If only I could afford more of them. To the OP, you've officially got the Shimano bug. Can't say I know of anything for the new Curado yet.

I own both. Get the Saros.

I purchased two but haven't thrown them much. I like the action and they're very nice baits. I'd recommend them.

Having that little of line on there could very well be your problem.

The newer BIll Lewis Rat-L-Traps are terrible with hanging up. They're good hooks, but they just get tangled up too much. The newer Jitterbug hooks seem to be pretty bad as well.

Another great alternative to the Fenwick SM Elite is the Dobyns Savy Series. I have one in a spinner 6'9" ML fast action and I absolutely love that rod.

LIke others have said, use 40-50 pound braid on your baitcasters. If you're fishing super heavy stuff, 65 may be necessary. Most braids these days are like this: 30 pound (8 pound dia.) 40 pound (10 pound dai.) 50 pound (12 pound dia.) Every brand of braid is different, but that is the general average size comparison.

That's one hell of a first baitcasting setup! From the sounds of it, your line might not be on the spool tight enough. You shouldn't be getting a small birdsnest while pulling the lure though/over a rock/tree.

First world problems

Looks pretty smooth today

Yes, they're discontinued. The new series is the "elite tech bass". As for the HMG, they are great rods as well for the money. I own one in spinning and one in casting. I believe the elite tech series has a little bit better guides on it though.

Gamy's

What a hog. Is that on Erie?

Just went on Bass Pro's website for probably the first time in months. Looks like they have free shipping with no minimum order, today only. I ordered one of these baits to give it a try. Can't go wrong for $3.

I have the same box. Trust me, if you put buzz baits in there, it doesn't even hold half of the advertised 72 baits. None of my lures have rusted yet either, but there is rust on the bottom of the box. So I'm guessing that any rust that occurs, drips off the lures as they dry.

Well, I'm looking to start bulking up on lures for next season. I came across the Bomber FF Shads in a deep diving square bill. I have a few of the regular FF Shads, but these square bills are new to me. Before I go buying 10 of them, can anyone give me their opinion on them?

My vote goes to Shimano here

Rattletraps have been a top producing lure for me for years. If you're afraid of getting snagged, you're not going to catch all the fish you could be catching.

I picked one up about 2 weeks ago. Haven't really fished topwater lately, but I guess I should try it out before the water turns to ice...

8 casting combos, 4 spinning combos. Plus a few spare sticks for special applications. My reels are all in the $2-300 range, and my rods are all in the $100-250 range, so do the math.

So, what exactly happened that has her hooked?

Up here in the north, I like the slower gear ratios in the colder water as well. A 5:1 reel is also great for getting that perfect Jitterbug action.

I musky fish from time to time with a few friends who are big musky fishermen. They all use Suffix 832 in 65 and 80 pound braid on their reels, with 100-120 pound fluro leaders.

Mosquito Bay - a large bay in a lake we fish in Canada that is full of stumps, and is also full of mosquitos and largemouth that are always biting 24/7/365 Perch Haven - a large inlet in that same Canadian lake that is shallow and full of timber and weeds, and is chock full of some of the biggest perch you'll ever see in your life Stanleys Cut - an inlet where the river flows into a large lake. My family was good friends with this old man named Stanley who lived on the lake, right beside this inlet. Stanley lived to be 95 years old, and he would fish and cut firewood every single day up until the day he died. You can troll that little cut and pull out more walleyes than the livewell will hold. The Honey Hole - a little hole we discovered on some private property this fall up in New York for salmon The Bridge and Dales Willow Tree - there was a stream not far from my parents house. This stream was fed by a freshwater spring that pumped out water year round, even in the dead of winter, and it was full of native and stocked trout, as well as some big suckers. My friend and I would fish it almost every day in the spring all throughout middle and high school. There was a open grate singing bridge on my friends Grandparents farm that was always full of beautiful trout. Further down the stream, there was a large willow tree on the waters edge at a man named Dale's property. This tree was over a large hole that was always full of trout. We still joke to this day about that spot, because one night while fishing, I caught a nice Rainbow on a rooster tail. I removed the hooks from the fish and walked to the water to release the fish. When I had turned around, my friends dog (with very long,shaggy hair) had laid down on my rooster tail and gotten the lure completely tangled up and buried in his fur. We didn't have any scissors on us that night, so we had to walk up to Dale's house and ask to borrow his scissors so we could cut the lure out of the dogs fur. That story is still an ongoing joke between my friend and I about the night I "caught Coco".