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All the time. We use something called a "wolf river rig" here in wisconsin which is essentially a streamer fly on a spinning rod. White bass love it. Sometimes it outfishes live minnows and spoons.

It's not the fish, it's the cook.

Is it usually 1 feet per second for all sizes and weights? Let's say I wanted to fish 15 feet deep... do I just count 15 seconds before I start retrieving? I've had a lot of success with lipless cranks but it just dawned on me that I never really know *fore sure* if the depth I'm targeting is true. Anyone with a depth-finder ever test this out?

I absolutely love throwing medium crankbaits and 3/4 oz spoons for salmon & steelhead on Lake Michigan. August - November is my favorite time of year because I get to target multi-species of fish. Last week I caught my personal best largemouth... then on the same day I went to a pier on Lake Michigan and caught an 11 pound coho salmon. I usually bring 2 rods with me, 1 to rig bait fish on a float and the other rod for casting cranks/spoons. Some of my favorite cranks that I've caught them on are Berkley Flicker Shad 1/2 oz firetiger, Rapala Rippin' Rap 07 Helsinki and Firetiger colors, KVD 5XD chartreuse sexy shad.. My favorite spoons to use are the KO Wobbler 3/4 oz in Gold Florescent Orange Stripe during the day, and Glow Blue and Glow Green at night. Wonderbread glow is also a great spoon - many tackle companies make this one so I can't remember the brand. Kastmasters and Little Cleos work as well. For bait fish I catch alewives off the pier jigging with small naked gold hooks. A casting net works even better. Then I use a #2 wide gap hook to rig the alewife behind it's dorsal fin.. using a slip bobber setup. 8'6" - 10' rods, M-MH, 12 lbs mono or copoly line. It has been a really good year and I'll be sad when the snow returns.

If I could do it all over, I'd sell all my dobyns and st croix rods and go with all megabass.

I've written extensively on my opinion about the Curado I. It just flat out sucks and is overrated. Don't fall for the hype. The BB1 Pro is way better.

I'd go with the M. I used it for baits up to 1/2 oz and 5/8 oz with no issues. MH is too stiff for me in the St croix line of rods. Personal preference.

I fished the XX and DX side by side for a few days. The sensitivity was about equal there in terms of detecting bottom structure, fish bites, rocks and weeds. However I give the edge to XX because it just feels nicer in the hand and more comfortable. I don't know exactly what it is, perhaps the smaller diameter cork handle? Or maybe the better craftsmanship? The XX just feels more refined. There's nothing wrong with the DX though. In fact you picked two of the most well balanced rods in the market and won't go wrong with either. Most other manufacturers rods' fulcrum is between 8" to about 11" (the balance point measured from middle of the reel seat to the end of the rod")- which is a big mistake and causes the rod to be tip heavy. When you measure Dobyns and Megabass rod's balance point, it's between 5" to 6". I compared my St Croix rods to my Dobyns and I've sold most of my St Croix. I only have left my Legend Elite ML for white bass fishing. Now I'm about to sell off my Dobyns rods and replace them with Megabass. They're just that d**n good. Side note: The X4 rods are tip heavy and unbalanced, if you care about that then go for the XX.

I prefer spinning reels that are lighter in weight 6 - 7 ounces. Those Lew's spinning reels are a tad too heavy for my liking (9 - 10 ounces) just personal opinion. You may like them. I don't. Different strokes for different folks. Right now I have the Pflueger President, Okuma RTX, and Shimano Stradic CI4+ spinning reels and am very happy. Now if we're talking baitcasters, I love Lew's.

Right now I have 40 lb Sufix 832 on for those lure weights (3/4 - 1 oz) and it feels perfect. When I started to throw lighter lures in the 3/8 range the line felt a little heavy and affected casting distance- it would slow down quite a bit near the end of the cast. I think 30 lb would be perfectly fine for your application.

Keep in mind that copoly lines like CXX tend to be thicker in diameter. 12 lb CXX 0.37 mm diameter = 20 lb Sunline Sniper FC Fluorocarbon 0.37 mm diameter Between the two, Sunline Sniper FC is more manageable and supple. Of course, CXX costs significantly less.

I just get them on ebay for about $2 a piece. Works all the same to me. In fact I just bought a lot of 12 the other day for $25 and free shipping.

Okuma RTX. Smooth as butter and lighter than the Stradic CI4+. I have it paired up with my $350 Legend Elite rod- that's how much I like it. Even people I've let fish with it compliment how nice it feels.

I use 8 lbs fluorocarbon on my spinning setups and 12-15 lbs diameter equivalent mono/fluoro/braid on my baitcasting setups. I keep it simple.

I prefer a Lew's BB1 over all those reels. Its lighter than all of them, smoother, and casts farther. I personally have the BB1L 5.1:1 left handed version. Got mine off eBay for $99 new. I also have the Abu Garcia Orro Winch and it's awesome as well. Can be had for $84 new. These were made for crankbaits but I use them for swimbaiting and they're perfect.

I agree 110%. I've used the Team Lite to cast light lures 1/8th - 1/4th ounce and it does it extremely well with no backlash. It's just as good as my Daiwa Pixy for finesse applications. edit: just realized we're talking about Lite and not TEAM Lite which is about $40 more. It's worth the upgrade though.

I saw that in last week's ad but it's in-stores only and the nearest one is 2 hours away from me. I am jealous!

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm still stuck deciding between a moderate action vs fast action. Anyone out there want to chime in?

What's the difference between this and the Curado I? The specs are identical. 7.4 oz weight, inches per turn, color, design, everything except the gold spool looks the same.

I have both Shimanos and Lews reels and I find myself fishing the Lew's 9 out of 10 times. The Lews just casts farther and has a better braking system, IMO. For me, any reel $300 and below, Lew's wins. Any reel $301 and above, Shimano.

Lew's Team Pro Z TLP1SHZL I love it even more because it was $100 off the $299 retail price brand new. Casts smoother and has longer distance than my Shimano reels.

I'm looking for a good spinning rod to throw 1/8 to 1/2 ounce crankbaits and rat-l-traps. My budget is between $150 to $200.

I went fishing for white bass over the weekend and the bass were only hitting on rooster tails. Problem was I only had 1/8th ounce rooster tails, and it was near impossible to cast on a baitcaster with the wind that day being 15 mph. WB fish were also holding at the 4 to 5 feet deep water column and 1/8th wasn't going to get there. So, I put on a 3/8th ounce split shot sinker 18 inches above the rooster tail and sure enough I filled up the cooler! Ever try something different and it worked really well for you?

X2 on the EMTF. Best senko rod hands down.

One of the lightest rods. Fished it side by side with my dobyns champion, both MH and the inferno was lighter in weight.