fishballer06

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. Crankbaits are a piece of cake and are very effective for me (always have been). Dragging a jig or bouncing a drop shot around are my most difficult techniques.

About 10 years ago we built a 1 acre pond on my families pond from a fresh water spring that comes up in the one pasture. We stocked it ourselves with bass, perch, crappie, bluegill and catfish (smaller fish). Fast forward a few years, I caught a largemouth 19" long and about 3.5 pounds. The fish had a scar on his left side gill plate and was very unique looking, but healthy. I've since caught that fish 2 more times, and had him come off 2 other times. The second time I landed him, he was 19.5" and 3.9 pounds. And then the last time I landed him, he was 20" and 4.1 pounds. I'm pretty sure it's the largest bass in this pond because most of the bass in this pond are 11-14". I haven't caught that fish in the past two years, but I'm hopeful he's still there and he's getting bigger and bigger.

I think you're making an issue out of something that isn't an issue here. Most guys fish for musky, catfish, and salmon aren't using a full 11 pounds of drag.

I use the KVD, Reel Snot, and the BPS Line Conditioner. I keep a selection in the boat, in my tackle bags, and around my garage. So I normally just grab whatevers closest by. With that said, I'm pretty sure that KVD and the BPS stuff are the exact same stuff, with the plus side being that the the BPS stuff is cheaper per bottle and its a bigger bottle. Reelsnot seems to work just as well, but I'll agree that it seems a little more "oily".

You must be using close to 300 yards of line to fill a baitcasting spool up with that thin of line...

Pretty cool story. I learned a lot about his historic company. Thanks for putting this together, Glenn.

I love the Showerblow's. Excellent choice!

I will agree that GLoomis GLX/NRX are pretty much the gold standard in high end rods. However, anyone who has bought a high end Megabass rod in recent years will tell you that they're setting the new gold standard. The finish and quality is out of this world! The only downside, as mentioned, is the warranty isn't as good. But again, you're saving some money up front. Comparing my Orochi XX EMTF (old version) against my GLX 853C, the Orochi trumps it in terms of finish and quality. Probably about even on sensitivity. You're comparing a $299 rod to a $445 rod here, if you want to talk numbers.

This. Also, since it's a cheaper mono (notice I didn't say low quality), try replacing it. Perhaps you just got a bad spool, which does happen from time to time. Go buy another spool from a different store than the one you bought your current spool from, and spray that line with Line & Lure immediately. You'd be amazed what that $7 bottle does to line.

One thing to keep in mind, is the more tackle you carry, the heavier and more cumbersome it is. For my shore fishing, I usually just carry a single 3600 box full of the basics that I know will get the job done. If I wanted to be a little more extensive for a longer trip on a larger pond, I'd probably just grab any cheap old backpack from Walmart, throw in a 3600 box of hard baits, 6-8 packs of plastics, and a smaller 3500 box for terminal tackle. Then I could use the other side pockets of that backpack to store a ruler, scale, pliers, scissors, basic first aid, spare spool of leader material, and some snacks/water.

Something to keep in mind (particularly with this brand). Those that are saying they're the best rod they've ever owned, have probably never owned a $100+ rod. So in that theory, I'm sure they are the best rod they've ever owned. Those that are saying they are garbage, are probably gear snobby guys who own numerous $2-500 rods and know a decent rod from a gimmicky rod by just looking at the specs.

Deep cranking (below 12') is a tough one that usually requires the fish to be in a certain mood and the lake to setup properly for it. Let me ask you this. Are you successful in catching largemouth with other presentations at these depths? If yes, then why worry about deep cranking? If no, I would try to master a few other deep water presentations first before trying to master deep cranking.

So many good guys that I would have been happy to see win the classic, but I was really happy to see Ott pull out the W. I would have been as equally happy to see Wheeler, Daniels, or Zaldain pull it out as well. It was fun watching the weigh in's and seeing the guys get emotional because they know how much BASS means to their lives and careers, after they up and abandoned it over the off season. It might be interesting after this season to see if any of these guys leave MLF to come back to the BASS format. My teams final results... Defoe - 1 Benton - 32 Swindle - 35 Roy - 50 Tharp - 38

Same around here. I feel awkward when I'm on water that I can see the bottom in 8-10' of water.

Looks like your team never saved???

You sound like my father "These baits caught me fish before you were born and they still catch fish now". A few trips later... "Hey, I'm at Bass Pro right now. What brand are those chatterbait things you use?"

I saw that. Apparently he only has a 15" board on him. Smallmouths having to be a minimum of 18" would have to pretty much rule them out as being a targeted species for these guys. Pete, I can see your team on the admin side of things on the Bassmaster website. Does this look right? Defoe, Christie, Ike, Roy, Evers

Is it mid-March or mid January right now?

KVD is catching them on the spinnerbait this morning. This could get interesting...

Today is the day, boys. Here's who I picked. Who does everyone else have?! Defoe Benton Swindle Roy Tharp

Chris Zaldain is on here creeping?! Expose yourself, Chris!!!

Wiggle Wart Shad Rap Jerkbait

The older models were 2 piece rods. The handle section was one piece, and then the main blank was the other part.

I'm going to stock up on some football jigheads. I watched a video recently with Mark Menendez and he said that a football head, because of the way the weight is distributed, stays down deeper better than a traditional swimbait head.

1/2 to 3/4oz swimbait heads with a 3.8" Keitech. Lake Erie, 20-35' normally. But I'll also use these heavy jigheads in as shallow as 3-4' and bang them off the rocks just like a crankbait.