fishwizzard

I have both a 1000 FJ and a 1000 CI4+. I have yet to fish them both side by side, but the CI4+ is just insanity light, almost to the point where it had me wanting to add weight to the butt of my finesse rod to move the balance point back a bit. After a day with it I changed my mind and now want to replace all my spinning reels with them. I was hemming and hawing about getting a 1000 reel for bass and @Darren was a huge help in pushing me over the edge and I am glad I listened to him. If you really want a 2500 reel but are unsure about the weight, take a look at the Okuma AV-30b reel. It is about the size of a 2500 FK and about the same weight. For $40 you can see how you like a reel in that weight range and will end up with a rugged "beater" reel that could last decades of sporadic use or years and years of constant use.

Not having to worry about a backlash/overrun is to me the best part of pitching with spinning combo. Hell, that is my favorite thing about using on in general. I am willing to make a far more challenging pitch/cast with a spinning combo and like knowing that if I misjudge things and my lure hits a log I was trying to pitch under I might just loose my lure, not my lure, my line, and the time it takes to deal with the backlash. The downside is that it seems much slower to hand close the bail and get the slack picked up to be ready for a hook set then just being able to crank the handle and set the hook.

Yea, but man do they work well. At least the 4" Swing Impacts are cheaper than the Fat Impacts. I am going to start swapping in some grubs next time I get into a good bite with the SIs and see if they like them just as well, but I have yet to find a grub that runs as well as the SIs when rigged weightless.

I pitch cast with my spinning reels all the time, it is perfect to get small lures into holes in cover to to bounce them off of something to fall softly into the water. I cannot flip with one at all however, the handle seems to foul the line often enough to be annoying and my short rods are not great to flipping in any case. There is an older guy at one of my local ponds who seems to always be flipping a small weighted stick worm into the shoreline pads using a spinning combo. He seems to consistently catch too, so he must be doing something right.

Yep, my local pond is a very soft mud bottom and this is a great producer. The lure produces even better rigged weightless on a screwlock hook, but it sinks very very slowly so you cant cover much water with it.

I use megastrike on porous soft plastics (zlinkers and the like) and on anything with a skirt. I don't feel like it sticks well enough, in the summer at least, to anything else to be worth the bother. I do very much believe that it helps to give me a second or so more time to make a hookset when fishing a texposed ned rig. I do wish that they would offer it with a flip top lid, like a tube of toothpaste. When wading it is a pain to deal with my rod, the scent tube, the tube's cap, and my lure, all with wet hands.

Last year on a road trip I walked into a Cabelas "just to use the bathroom" and walked out with a pile of Eco Pro swing jigs; They were bogo, how was I to resist? In any case I have yet to really fish them, but they are on the list as well. I do dislike how short the head/neck of the hook is before the bend, keitechs are too soft and rip off when you pull them through weeds. But, the new SK swimmers seem much tougher and I am going to give them a go as soon as I find time and soft water. EDIT: Now, looking at that picture, is there any reason why I can't swap the hook out with a flipping hook and use them as light pitching rigs?

I use twist locks for my belly weighted/EWG hooks, so the knot is out there exposed. I meant that the punch hub would cover it in that case.

Now this is something right here. Adding bulk but not weight, keeping a horizontal sink, and protecting my knot a little? Punch hubs are looking better and better.

Yes, I have had some luck this season with that combo and plan to continue, especially for heavier rigs where I want to stay weedless. I have a decent supply of tungsten weights in the 5/16-1/2oz range already. For this rig, is there a benefit one way or the other to using a punch hub vs a weight with the hub molded in? For colors I was thinking to start with Blue/Black, Green Pumpkin/Gold/Purple, and Chartreuse Shad. The last color because I plan to reuse old nose-ripped Menace grubs as trailers and I have had a ton of luck on the Pearl ones so I will have a bunch of them available for trailer duty. For the specific jig, anyone use the Dredge Dock Rocker Jig? Another goal this season is to lean how to skip with a baitcaster and I need all the help I can get. I bought a few of them last year and got to be pretty decent skipping them with spinning reel, they worked far better then the assorted football jigs I also tried.

I am going to give jigs a more serious try this coming season and am looking for some advice on what weights to look for. My thought process is as follows; Bass most often hit a jig on the fall, so having one that will give a slow fall is a plus. If I am fishing from the bank then I am going to be fishing shallower waters, so a lighter jig will give me a slower fall but will still make it to the bottom in a reasonable time frame. I will be mostly fishing wood and open water with grass on the bottom, like these spots below: Right now I have a Siebert 1/4 Dock Rocker that, with trailer, comes in at 1/2oz total weight, and for a larger profile lure, a Zero Gravity jig, with trailer, at about the same same weight. For deeper waters in my kayak or when fishing pads or heavier cover from the shore there is a ton of good info on larger jigs out there, but before I stock up on the lighter stuff I would love to know if I am thinking in the right direction.

Now I am worried that there is something wrong with me as I have never noticed Powerbait to have much of a smell at all.

I suspect the possibility of a dam being damaged is worse than sending some water and fish down stream. One of my favorite local lakes has a dam that, according to the ranger I spoke to, was poorly designed and built even worse, so they are forever messing with the water level. The only slight advantage (for fishermen) is that when it does get high, it floods like a 20-30' up a shallow, weedy bank and the place just lights up for a day or so as every fish in the lake swarms up to feed.

Could you use tungsten powder with some kind of expoy binder? You would still have the issue with bake-on paints, but maybe there is an epoxy that can take the heat?

Coll, thanks for the info. I have a kayak and am determined to be more adventurous with it this year. I also keep eying those little white water sit-ins. I saw some guys who had them fitted with backpack straps, if I got something like that, my travel rod, and and some rope for launching/landing, I bet I could fish every body of water in the state.

Dude that is great. I have a SV105 and have had that handle in my cart for months but I never pulled the trigger. I have also resisted dressup parts, but I have a PX68 that could really use some red SPL handles, and your pic ain't helping my willpower any.

This explains the few I have found dumped out on lonely country roads or powerline cuts. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to make my inner-hillbilly shut up about wanting to drag one home.

I use my paddle as a push pole often enough that I don't mind having a cheaper/heavier one. What I really want is a paddle that 1) Floats, 2) is magnetic so I can rig a simple mount that I can use with one hand, and 3) has a retractable blade/claw combo on the end to help in retrieving snagged lures.

Best LMB, 3/8oz white/chart chatterbait. I wasn't even trying to "fish" it, just practicing casting with a baitcaster and she hit it like 3 feet out from the dock. I didn't even set the hook, was just reeling in and thought I got snagged on the rocks, until the rock pulled back. Every other fish I have gotten from this spot has been maybe in the 12-14" class at best. Best SMB, Keitech Shad Impact on a 1/8oz Draggin Head. Not a huge fish, but my first large one on my BFS combo and I caught it right as a huge group of rafters was passing by, so I go some applause for her.

They are one of my main baits and I swim them rigged horizontally either weightless or with a light bullet weight, pegged. Weightless they sink very slowly with almost a spiral in still water. The tails move at even the slowest speeds.

I have tried most of the lures I have bought, but only "seriously" fished a small percentage of them. This coming season I am going to keep a bit better track of things and by next fall will sell off or trade way everything that I didn't catch on. I have all my stuff in plastic shoe boxes and got it all up on shelving, it is both impressive and embarrassing.

Look buddy, I am at work and they don't give us very good monitors. Also maybe I never noticed the "full size" button before.

And AL just sent me a "$25 off of a $100 purchase" coupon for signing up for their newsletter. Today is going to be expensive I guess.

Hah, that was easy. Emailed AL to see when the CR723 IMX was coming back in stock. Got a reply in like 5 min that they would be arriving later this week, but that the page was updated and I could order now. Sure enough I reloaded the page and there it was. Instock and on sale for $191.25, down from $255. So that made up my mind for me! Thanks all for giving me the push I needed. This is now by far the "nicest" rod I own and hopefully it doesn't ruin me for cheaper ones.

What color Roboworm is that?