ThatFishin'Guy

sorry for the delay, but here is what i am talking about. The little line you can see under the eyelet is my problem. It seems as if my line has etched itself into the level wind.

Having trouble uploading photo from my cell. Will post pic when I get home

Took my reel apart last night to clean it and noticed this. I'm not sure when or how this even happened but it seems as if it was cause by my line (I use braid). Is this a common problem? If so is it possible for me to get a metal level wind so this doesn't happen again? Thanks sorry for bad cell phone pic, all I could get at the moment.

Thanks a lot guys, seems I wasn't too far off. One thing I am unsure about is if I should go with the 6'10" or 7'? What are the benefits or disadvantages of both? Or will I not really notice a difference?

I figured I would post up here because of the wealth of knowledge on this forum and you guys could probably help me out more than anyone I know. I just recently got into bass fishing pretty hardcore witihin the past year and have decided that its time to get a quality set up. As of right now I have a Quantum Baitcast combo that has treated me well for the time I've had it and want to upgrade. Now i know you guys will say that no one rod set up can be good for all applications but this is what im trying to achieve. I am predominantly a bank fisherman and occasionaly get out on my inflatable boat. I mainly throw cranks, t-rigs and weightless plastics but I like to use a lot of different techniques and presentations. I am also not willing to shell out $300 for a set up, I am willing to go $100 for rod and $100 for reel. I have been looking on TW for things that I belive will suit my style of fishing and I have decided on The *** Black M/F 6'10" or the Duckett Ghost M/F 6'10", I have heard great things for both of those rods. As for the reel I currently have a 7.1:1 and love it so for a new reel I was looking at the Lews Speed Spool LFS in either 6.8:1 or 7.5:1 (I want it to be as close to 7.1:1 as that is what I'm used to using). So basically am I on the right track here or way off? I also use braid exclusively as I am tired of loosing lures on mono and feel much more confident with braid. The current rod combo I have now is the Quantum Advantage Baitcast Combo (not much info on it) and I seem to do pretty well for myself. Any reccomendations or advice would be great! Good or Bad! Thanks!!

Also, would the GYCB Fat Baby Craw be a good alternative to the Tiki Craw or other worms?

Thanks for the tips guys. The only thing I can see myself having trouble with that was mentioned is fishing it around sparse weeds. In the ponds I fish I cannot see the bottom except for the really shallow areas. I do not have access to a boat so I can only fish certain areas of the pond aswell. I can see some weed mats on the surface of the water but anything else I usually drag an old jig on the bottom so I can see what I'm working with. Today I did something along the lines of what kikstand mentioned. I put an 1/8oz weight about 3 inches from my bait and it seemed to float up enough to not get hung up in the weeds. I think I'm going to have to spend a lot more time trying to master the shakey head!

Thanks for the tips guys! I usually use the Lunker City Ribster worm and the Zman CrawdadZ. I think I'm gonna have to try what kikstand said, It is VERY weedy on the bottom.

alright, I'll have to try that out. Thanks! I also assume that a rocky bottom would be best case scenario?

does anyone else have problems with rust in the hook hangers? Mine get pretty nasty after fishing them for just an hour or two. None of my other baits do this except for the Hula Popper and Jitterbug

I've recently been trying to fish a shakey head with no avail. I have a few different styles, Gamakatsu Skip gap, VMC Rugby jig and another kind I cannot remember the name of (screw type). Now my problem is I seem to catch everything but fish on them. To my understanding you are supposed to hop and shake the worm along the bottom but every time I do this I bring up a ball of weeds. So my question is am I using this technique in the wrong places or just not working it correctly at all. I always hear/see people catching fish with this technique but right now it is more frustration than fun. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hey guys, I've been reading these forums extensively as I have just recently gotten into bass fishing this year! So I figured I should make my first official post here. I'm from the great white north... London, Ontario Canada to be more exact and I hope to learn a lot more from you guys (probably best fishing resource out there)