the reel ess

I have three Plfuegers. Good value. Check the saltwater compatibility before you use in salt.

It was the size 90 WP in monkey butt color. I got a 3.5 lbs and several 2 pounders. I caught one on it this morning. I had not caught many fish on them before that day. I also have a 130 in bone color. I caught a couple last spring on it. Quality fish. Fish seem to chase them out of cover like they're afraid a meal is getting away.

I fished two days with a So FL guide who had a bunch of the Curado green reels. He commented that I hadn't backlashed the entire time. I said "I don't usually fish with equipment this good." Seriously, if you spend on a decent reel and set it up correctly, you should be able to avoid most major bird nests, barring the occasional snafu, like hooking something behind you when you're casting. I did this a while back at the beach and was bailed out by the big spool of Berkley Big Game in my tackle bag. It was braid that I backlashed, but BG 15# can handle most chores in a pinch. Now, when it comes to skipping baits, that's a different story. You will blow them up pretty good sometimes and cheap mono is the ticket for practicing this technique.

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I went this morning. I caught 8 on the Whopper Plopper. But I walked the bank of the pond with the Rebel micro junebug. I caught a bluegill and this bass and lost a bass. It was a good fight on my light combo. FWIW, I tied the craw on after this and didn't get a bite. There is one problem with this bait. You get the line caught on the front hook every other cast. I think the new ones have a single rear hook only.

I will say this for them. The hooks are the BEST and scalpel sharp. I didn't miss or lose a single fish this morning.

After seeing all those YouTube videos of vicious explosions on the Whopper Plopper, I ordered the 130 in bone color. I caught a couple on it in prespawn-spawn last season, then nothing. But they were big fish. After watching videos of people saying the 90 gets more bites I bought one of those and started trying it. Nothing. Then I went to stay at my sister's neighborhood at the beach. It has freshwater canals and a pond. Fish there see a lot of lures, so I threw the whole tackle box at them. The 90 worked there. This morning I caught 8 on the size 90 in my friends' backyard 2 acre pond. Biggest was 3.5 lb. I also tried a Pop R, Chug Bug and Spook without a single bite. It does seem to me, watching videos, that the WP works better for smallmouth and in streams and rivers.

It works when there are insects present. I have a june bug and cicada as well. But the tiny craw works more often. But I admit I haven't used any of them in a long time. I generally don't target tiny fish.

It came a day early so I can use it tomorrow!

Thanks. I already bought the Fuego CT. It should be here in time to fish with it Monday.

All three of the MB's are working like new. I'm frugal. I keep reels forever unless they quit working. The reel I want to replace I bought off eBay used for $50 probably 12 years ago. I just retired a Daiwa from the early 80's a few years ago. I got it for Christmas when I was about 13.

Thanks. I already ordered the Fuego CT. I know the Lew's reels are good. I have three of the Tournament MB reels. But those were $130 reels.

It was about the same price on Amazon.

Thanks Thanks

I usually just go ahead and get hung up before the fish bites. Cut out the middle man.

Thanks, guys. I placed the order for the Fuego CT for $89. It has been a while since I owned a Daiwa baitcaster. Should be here Saturday, just in time to use it Labor Day morning.

I got a $100 Amazon gift card to spend. I'm thinking I need another baitcast ree because 5 is not enough for one kayak. LOL. Actually, I'm replacing an older, heavy BPS Johnny Morris reel with a worn out cast control. It will probably be a topwater/trebles lure combo, coupled with an older 7' MH Falcon rod. I was thinking of the Lews base LFS Speed Spool reel, which comes in at $94. I've had good experience with 3 of the discontinued Tourney MB reels. But there are some reviews that compare this base LFS reel poorly to the Shimano SLX. Does anyone have experience with the Shimano SLX?

I've had that happen to me with jigs and bigger fish. Hackney said in a video, sometimes when you set the hook really hard and the fish's mouth is closed, you drive the point of the bait into the roof of the fish's mouth and it doesn't find the hook at all. The guide I fished with in FL, his name is Shane Procell-some guys on here know him, had me using a punch rig in some lighter grass. He was using some big gambler craws. They would be huge on my lake. He was using the flipping hooks, but he was only sticking the hook into the side of the bait so it didn't have far to go to get through, as well as the snelled trick. I stuck a bunch of fish with that technique that day and we went through a lot of baits. I had to look up how to tie the snell as well. I rarely use a T rig. And when I do, it's not for flipping. It's so I don't get skunked. ?

Indeed. If using an actual flipping hook, it will be exposing itself enough. Do you guys who use pegged punching rigs with a real flipping hook snell the hook to get it to flip the point forward? The guide I did this with believed in it. He also didn't rig his baits up symmetrically. He put the hook point into the side of the bait so the point didn't have far to travel through plastic.

Now you just need another combo. LOL. I have a few baits that are too big for any of my combos. I just throw them on the biggest, stoutest MH I have with braid. Maybe not ideal, but it gets it done. I also have a 7'3" XH-XF frog combo if I want to go that route. But it has a frog tied on it about 9 months of the year.

I only ever read Bassmaster in my dentist's waiting room. A handful of pros used to hold secrets and not let them out. The Interwebs is the best thing to ever happen to fishing, and many other areas. For instance, you can easily find the best value in almost any goods or services using the web. Same here. I used to have 5 years or so of F&S and SC Fish and Game mags stored in paper grocery bags. My buddy called it my "fish porn" collection. I began to notice the Game & Fish articles were recycled for several years and passed around between the states of the same region. I was also into old cars so I got Car Craft and Hot Rod mags. I probably spent enough on those mags to buy a cheap car or at least some good fishing equipment. When I got married the first time (I was flat broke throughout my first marriage), I would save the money and walk to the local library and sit and read them all.

They'll bite either. The jig is better to skip under limbs and docks. You can also just rig a plastic craw on a weedless jighead. A deadly lure is the Hula grub on a weedless jighead. But they tear up so easily. I've been told the rule of thumb is wood=jig, vegetation=T-rig. Therefore, I jig fish more. If you're going to flip and pitch a T-rig, make sure the hook is at least a superline hook. A really good fish will straighten the usual T-rig worm hooks out enough to get off when you have your drag tight. I've had it happen and lost a likely PB.

Impressive. Where do you buy your supplies?

War Eagle gold series, double willow, 3/8 oz. in gold shiner color is my best spinner bait. But all spinnerbaits work, even the dollar ones at WalMart. I just like the gold color of this particular one. Most manufacturers don't make one with a gold skirt. Of course, I can buy replacement skirts and put them on any spinnerbait.

I only want to buy a gun or ammo when gun control hysteria grips the country and you have to pay through the nose to get one. It never seems important otherwise. There is something to be said for showing the fish something they haven't seen yet or don't see often. But this looks like just a worm to me. I love watching YouTube videos of people digging out their grandpa's lures and using them with success.