Craw

I live in SW Va. and I agree with you on the rapidly cooling air temps. As of lately the soft plastic bite has been really poor here where I fish but we have been catching pretty good numbers of SM and LM on hardbaits and spinnerbaits. Jerkbaits have been taking the majority of bass(Lucky Craft Pointer and Rapala X-Rap) The Pointer 78 and the XR-8 are the models they really seem to want. Single spin colorado bladed spinnerbaits have also taken a few fish as well as medium running crankbaits. My old faithful plastics(Senko, tube and even pig and jigs) are getting a few strikes but the fish are not taking these baits to allow for a good hookset. One thing that might also be worth mentioning is that a good percentage of bass we are catching on jerkbaits, cranks and spinners are often foul hooked outside of the mouth or just barely caught on the trailer hook. It's been my theory based on the last several trips that the fish are aggressive but not aggressively feeding. My advice to you would be to try for a reaction strike with baits that enable you to cover lots of water. Hope this helps you to break out of your slump.

I've been looking over a number of reels for awhile now and the one thing that comes to mind that the 100 series(Curado and Citica) don't have is Shimano's trademark "high efficiency gearing". To me, the 100 series is a better fit for a multi purpose reel and has a smaller frame which is lighter and easier for me to palm. The Chronarch features "anti-rust bearings" which are not advertised on either the Curado or Citica but as far as I can tell the Chronarch has only the one gear ratio(6.2:1). The Curado offers 3 different gear ratios(6.2:1, 7:1 and 5:1). The new Citica now offers 2 ratios(6.2:1 and 5:1). Without a doubt, I believe that the Chronarch 50mg is the best of the 3 we are talking about and since that's the one you are used to you may be disappointed with the Curado and Citica. That Chronarch weighs only 5.9 ounces so when you move up to a 7.4(100s) or a 9.8(200s) ounce reel you are going to notice that extra weight right away. Tackle Tour offers some in depth reviews of these reels so in case you haven't read them I'll leave you a link. If I were you though, it would be hard for me to get away from the Chronarch 50mg even though the Curado and Citica are both excellent reels. http://www.tackletour.com/

Hey guys, any of you folks out there own one of these reels. Reason I'm asking is because I bought one several weeks ago. I got the 103HSDF model and I've gotten to fish with it at least a half dozen times so far. Speaking for myself, I absolutely love it. My goal is to get at least one more along with another Curado 100D. Anyway...I'm looking for any feedback on the TD-X models and would like to hear any positive or negative replies. These reels are a little tough on my budget so I'm just trying to find out all I can before I buy several more. Thanks guys.

Well, I think these Citicas are dandy little reels but I've got my sights on another Curado 100D right now. You never can tell though, might have to pick one up sometime. I think Shimano has made a good move in offering a 100 size in the Citica, it's 2.5 ounces lighter than the 200 and probably an easier palm for most guys. I also noticed a left handed 200 model, which I'm not sure they offered before. Anyway...I figured that news of a new "100" model would get a few folks excited.

I've been hearing that it was on the way and I ran across it today online. Here's the link for it... http://www.anglersworkshop.com/cgi/aw/CITICA-CAST.html So what do you think? Just in time for Christmas!

I've been shopping for reels for several weeks now and the Citica seems to be a winner. I've looked them over at tackle shops and read everything I could find on them. My Shimano purchase was the Curado 100D but if Citica releases a 100 then I might just have to get it.

I fish these little cranks all the time. I absolutely love them. I fish them in a variety of different ways but my bread and butter retrieve is slow and steady. One great feature is that they can be fished on heavy line without any adverse affect on their action. I use these baits the most when I'm fishing stained water(upper end of reservoir or back in the creeks).

I use line size to achieve a particular depth with certain crankbaits. One example is with a particular crank I have had tremendous success with. The "Fat Free Guppy" seems to have an almost magical fish catching ability and on 10lb. test I can get it to run between 6' and 8' depending on the length of my cast and at what angle I hold my rod tip during the retrieve. In water with about 3' to 4' of visibility this is about right since my goal with the crank is to have it deflect off of objects somewhere around its maximum running depth. Another area I fish regularly only has about 1' to 2' visibility(water clarity) so I like to have this same crank digging into objects that are in about 1' to 4' deep, maybe even 5'. If I throw this same crank on 20lb. line I can keep it running between 3' and 5' deep, again, depending on the length of my cast and where I hold my rod tip during the retrieve. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to strip a whole spool of line during a days fishing to opt for different line sizes but if I know the area I will be fishing in advance then I will spool my reels accordingly. This technique works best on the wider wobbling cranks which actions are much less affected by heavier line. One notable exception is with the Rat-L-Trap. This bait has a very tight wobble but still retains its action on the heaviest line. The Rapala "Shad Rap" however will not tolerate heavier lines and anything over 10lb. test will absolutely kill its action. A variety of today's crankbaits are specifically made to comb shallow cover and are tailor made for heavy line. Two that come to mind are Lucky Craft's "RC" series and also their "Combat" models. Baits like these get a real advantage with the heavier lines due to the places they are designed to be fished. I hope I've shed a little light on your question and haven't confused you even more.

Fish, you are the MAN! Truly an inspiration to us all.

Hello again. The night bite is really slowing down for me now so I guess it's time to get back to fishing the daylight hours. Here's a few pics. from one of the last descent night outings I had. Here's a nice little chunk My girlfriend Paula, workin'em over with a pig and jig. That's right, pig and jig! Should I propose? This little guy fell for the big thump'n colorado Paula got this channel cat on a spinnerbait. Priceless! I even get a largemouth once in a while Here's a rare shot of me in the daylight. Jitterbug baby! Thanks for looking... Craw

I think that Citica combo is the best they've ever offered. Great price also for a setup like that. I'd get them while they last.

Nice rod, I sampled one of those on my last trip to BPS. Lots of great reels out there to choose from. When I was testing that rod I paired it up with a Team Daiwa TD-X 103HSDF. It was a perfect fit I thought. Look over a TD-X next time you get the chance. I put one on every model "Tough and Light" and "Team Daiwa-S" when I was shopping. It's like they built those rods specifically for a TD-X.

I'd get the Citica combo. Very good setup.

Of all the reels I've ever owned or used, I like my "super tuned" Daiwa TD-X the most. It's the most solid reel I've ever used.

I really like your two choices. My advice is to get the St Croix Premier. Let me explain why...In my opinion it's very important to have a rod with a fast tip for jigs and soft plastics. The Daiwa models you have selected have regular actions until you reach the 7 footers. The RB means "regular bend" and the FB means "fast bend" when you deal with Daiwa rods. If you're looking for a 6'6" rod you would be better off with the St Croix if you desire that fast tip action or you could move up to a 7' Daiwa. Both are great rods, you should base your decision on which tip action you want. Hope this helps.

I tried lots of new things this year so I'll only name a few... #1-Took one of my bread and butter techniques(jig fishing) and used a much more aggressive approach to fishing it. Normally I pitch a jig to cover oriented targets and probe the bottom with a lift and drop method. This year my shoulder has been injured and to ease the pain I used an underhand roll cast most of the time. I tried to skip the jig with each cast and would then swim the jig back. Used a swimming action 90% of the time. This included swimming the jig aggressively in the upper water column, slow rolling it along the bottom contour and everywhere in between. I've never caught so many large bass, largemouth and smallmouth. I've been fishing a jig for a long time and I've caught lots of big bass on it in years past but this year was phenomenal. #2-Shakey head was a real producer for me. I didn't catch any large bass on it but this technique really saved the day for me when the fishing was tough. I was also able to dredge up some really deep bass by vertical jigging it around bridges. This worked here on my home lake(Claytor), Smith Mountain, Philpot and Kerr. #3-Wacky rigged senko. What can I say, this particular technique can be magical. #4-I have to give an honorable mention to two baits in particular, both of which I learned about from members of this site. GYCB's Fat Ika Lucky Craft's Pointer 78 As far as new tackle, I purchased 5 new reels this year. 4 Team Daiwa(TD-X and Advantage) and a Shimano(Curado 100D). I've purchased St Croix Premiers for all except the TD-X(I paired it with a Team Daiwa-S). I have a birthday coming up and Christmas is right around the corner so I have my eye on a few other things as well. This summer I was furloughed from my job for 8 weeks(time off with pay is AWESOME) so I got to spend most of my nights fishing. I feel that it was a real opportunity to refine my techniques for fishing "the dark side" and hopefully this will be rewarding in the years to come. Last remark... I would like to thank Glenn and all the moderators, as well as all members of this site. I joined up this year and have been provided with more than enough food for thought to keep me going between fishing trips. Thank you!

Very cool. Beautiful day to be out. I've caught some crappie also while fishing those pointers.

hotwheels, I to am a big fan of those pro model jigs.Try your local WalMarts. Some of them still carry the ones you want. If you find them, stock up!

The smallies will definitely eat Senkos. It's been my experience that the smallies hit a t-rigged Senko really well when fished like a Fluke but I haven't had much luck with smallies when I wacky rig. The complete opposite has been true for largemouth. That's how it's been for me anyway.

Shimano Crucial is a sweet rod that I think lots of people will recommend. G-Loomis has the GL2 that's pretty comparable with the Crucial. ST Croix Avid & Premier models are top notch also. I've been sampling rods now for several weeks and these mentioned above really impressed me. My own personal selection was the ST Croix Premier models. For the price(around $90.00) I felt that they were hard to beat. I've bought 3 new rods and plan on at least 2 more. I've fished with them now on several trips and I'm very happy them.

A 7' MH will work fine. 7 footers are a little harder to perform those little underhanded roll casts with but they can give you an edge when pitching. Whether you go 6'6" or 7', I really like the MH choice for what you described. Low capacity spools...My favorite. Not having much experience with baitcasters, you might not be aware of this but the farther away from being fully spooled you are, the greater casting distance you lose. This might seem like a no brain-er cause all reel types suffer from this but it's really bad on baitcasting reels and after a long day of T-rigging in the heavy stuff you will certainly retie enough times to have an effect on ease of casting and distance. I personally prefer low capacity spools so I don't waste so much line when I re-spool. Lots of people will back fill a conventional spool before attaching the main line and that works fine to. It leaves them with the option of using a deeper spool if they pursue larger specie of fish that are able to make incredible runs.

I think you would love the St Croix Premier rod and you can get one for just under $100. Bassassasin12 recommended the Daiwa Regal Xi and if you're interested, Bass Pro has them on sale now for $34.95. Here's the link http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=67752&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=1&hvarSubCode=2&hvarTarget=browse A 2500 is a good all around size reel and if you use a small diameter braid you should be ready for almost anything.

It's a jerkbait. The bait enables you to create a "walk the dog" effect underwater. They look pretty cool when you do it but I never caught a single fish with one. A pretty neat little idea someone had way back when but I'm guessing that not a lot of research and development went into it. Cutting edge jerkbaits of today like Lucky Craft's Pointer and Rapala's X-Rap will do the job much better and are PROVEN fish catchers.

It's been years ago but I use to put those traps out all the time. I baited mine with white bread most of the time. Just put 2 or 3 whole slices in there. Put a piece of meat in if you ever want some crawdads to fish with. Also...it always worked best for me to leave the trap out overnight. An hour or two just never yielded much for me. In my experience, creeks were the best place to trap the most minnows. The slow, deep pools in my local creeks were some of the best places. One last thing...conceal your traps as best you can, cause if anyone can see it, it might get stolen. I lost several that way.

Nice pics. I had a similar day here in Va. with that same model jerkbait in "pearl ayu." I was on the river fishing for smallies. Same conditions as yours though, mile high skies with lots of wind. Leaving now to go again!