GAMEOVER

Jim Blair: To each their own. I am a diehard braid user. I use braid almost exclusively.. well you might as well say I only use braid. I use it for several reasons. First off, I absolutely love how easy it is to handle, it is very limp, will stay where you put it, and tieing knots are a breeze with it. Second, it is the only line type in which I have never busted my line using. Braid is the toughest line on the market, I promise you that you will never lose a fish on it if you have a quality braided line and a good knot. Third, I dont know about you but I absolutely hate losing lures. Some of the lures I own/use are very hard to replace, are expensive, and some even unreplaceable. I feel more secure with my lure tied on to a true braided line. I have never lost a single lure while using braid because my line has never snaped while using it. Fourth, there is 0 memory. I have one reel spooled up with braid that ive had on since early last spring and ill still use it come next spring worry free. You can also get away with a more LB test line on an already extremely tough line because of its smaller diameter. These are all reasons why I love and use Sufix Performance Braid (Moss Green) in 20lb test exclusively. Now, braid by no means is a end all line it is just one anglers (my) preferance. Braid has its downsides. Braid can be bad around rocky areas with sharp edges as it can shed your line, these areas do not hold me back from using braid in them at all. After a few casts to these areas I will make what ill call an inspection cast. What I do is after numerous casts to these rocky areas I cast an extra time for the sole purpose of checking my line the whole slow retrieve back and looking for any tearing or what could be weak spots. If I find anything (rarely do) concerning I will just snip my line and retie. Another thing about Braid is it has 0 stretch. This is both a good and a bad (for some) thing. Its good because you get solid earthquake hooksets. Its bad because some types of baits like a crankbait benefits from a more stretchy line. All I do when I crankbait with Braid is set my drag lower. I get the same results I would get if I had a stretchy line, this can take some time getting use to. Now the only thing I can not work around in braids flaws is its visabiliy in clear water. You can catch fish with braid in clear water but if money was on the line and it was a clear water situation id have to put down my braid for a good handling mono (which I have yet to find, any suggestions?) or fluro (is there such a thing, good handling fluoro?). Well hope this clears up atleast some of what you are trying to find out by asking your question. Braid works better on baitcasters compared to spinning reels but I highly recommend the spinning gear people who want braid to try Sufix PBraid in 20lb test its said to be the best performing braid for spinning gear. I know some people who do use braid successfully and exclusively on spinning gear as well. Fish Chris could help you with it on spinning gear. I recently droped my spinning gear though.

I cant take it, im ordering it tonight or tomorrow.. BTW look what I found while just browsing their site, its Dan.

Does anyone actually own one of these? They seem to be around 20-30 dollars cheaper then the IMX series from GLoomis. Some also claim their more sensitive, maybe even too sensitive. Anyway.. without any rod flame wars starting and without trying to make this another "hows it compare to Loomis thread" how do any of you who have used and/or own this product think about it. I personally am intrigued by their innovative, willing to take risks, rod building style. Like I said I really hate to turn this into yet another Loomis comparison thread but I only own a couple IMX rods and am stuck between buying another IMX or getting this Helium. The Helium im wanting is the Kistler Med/Heavy 7' LTA. So do you owners and/or users of this rod think I will be disappointed with it since im use to the IMX feel? I will be using my Shimano Chronarch B on it from time to time if I do get it. Two hundred dollars is a lot to me.. no matter how many lures or pricey rods I have im a penny pincher and will always be, to an extent.. basically I want what I pay for. And ofcourse here's the review I read.. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewkistlerlta.html It wouldnt be that same model as the one id get is 7' but whatever. I pm'd Dan because I know he owns quite a few rods and I coulda swore I saw a Helium in his arsenal before.

Wow how can some of you say that a hook hanger just adds weight. I think its almost a necessity to have one unless you want to scratch up your blank but then again if your like me dont ever keep a lure on your rod unless your in a hurry to get on the water and tie it on before you go but I never keep lures on my rods while their not going to be used for multiple reasons. Scratching your blank, snaping back and smacking a guide, putting a lure out of tune possibly from the constant pressure (could happen). What about the Kistler Helium LTAs which weigh less then just about any rod of its class and it has a hook hanger. I like tackletour, but I wish there were some other tackle review sites as well.

For X-Raps my favorite color is Olive Green.. For Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95MRs my favorite colors are Original Tennessee Shad, Rootbeer Brown, Chartreuse Green Root Beer, Pearl Ayu, and Northern Large Mouth Bass also love their Bloody Shad. For Megabass, the Ito Vision 95s are my personal top-of-the-line that I use but rarely as they're super hard for me to replace but my favorite colors in these are AL. Kisyu Ayu, NC Ayu, and PM. Iwana. Im a hardcore fanatic of baits and some other stuff that comes from Yuki Ito's Megabass and ITO Engineering.

I was wandering around looking at different rods very interested in what could be my first MegaBass Destroyer rod when I was doing research on ITO Engineering. Long story short I stumpled upon Daiwas Steez series of rods and was suprised to see the Steez out performing a Loomis GLX. Here's the review. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwastz631.html

I highly recommend the Rapala Husky Jerks and X-Raps to start out with til you get more familiar with the bait class. After you build your confidence up with those get yourself a few Lucky Craft Pointer 100SPs and my personal favorite the Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95MR. With the 95MRs you get a perfectly sized bait, lots of action, and can be fished just about anyway you can think of yet still catch fish. If you do better with the Lucky Crafts step up to some MegaBass offerings. The X-Rap (XR-8/XR-10) are the absolute best bang for the buck on the market that ive come across. Their finishes are extremely durable as well as they are protected by an outer "shell". Youll really love the X-Raps.. expect to see you buying quite a few of them. The Olive Green is my favorite of them all. Of all the Jerkbaits I mentioned though nothing has caught me more of both Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass at the same time then the Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95MR.

The Olive Green XR-8 is a fish catching machine for pure numbers.. go with a XR-10 for more quality fish.. not that you cant catch them on the XR-8.

Can you fill us all in on what blades to use under what conditions, water color, etc? What spinners do you use Senile? I have very limited use of them, I had 20 some Terminator spinners but they all were stolen last spring. So im not sure if I even want to buy anymore or if I do what brand to stick with. I was thinking about buying the Secret Weapon Spinnerbait set since I rarely use spinners and this set seems to be well made and very versitile. I will throw on a lipless cb in my whats called spinnerbait situations for now.

I use to use them semi-often til my whole collection of them got stolen. The only spinnerbaits I have now are in-line spinners (Mepps) which still produce. If I find myself in a spinnerbait situation I just usually go with a lipless cb.. Yo-Zuri Rattle N'Vibe, Yo-Zuri DRUM, Lucky Craft LVR, MegaBass Vibration-X Ultra.

Lucky Craft Sammy 100 series, this is the Lucky Craft bait that made me really like their stuff. I was a hardcore Heddon Torpedo and Zara Spook user but after using the Sammy I dont use my Spooks as much anymore. The Torpedos I still use, and the bigger ones you can walk the dog with.

Is there an IMX rod out there that has medium/heavy power with a moderate/fast tip. When I do the / thing I dont mean either one but I mean those actual ratings. edit* Has to be 7 feet.

While were on the topic.. those Clunn series crankbaits are money when fishing in pressure situations. They dont rattle but have unique and different from your average colors (compared to every other color on the market) when selecting them and the action displaces a lot of water. They kinda have the same action as the DTs but have a fater body that displaces even more water. You can literally see the displaced water behind them as you crank them in. That color on the bottem left and Chart. Perch is my fav. They also bare the BPS tag, which I think will get you more rewards points on your BPS card.. always a plus.

Jitterbug, Black, late evening.

Well, I get what your saying about the X-Rap. Lucky Craft has two baits I could never go without in my arsenal and that is their Sammy 100 series and their Live-Pointer 95 MR series. Those two baits of theirs give me the best overall results when compared to other similar bait offerings from other companies. For cranks I could have all sorts of Lucky Craft and other company cranks but I settle for the cheaper Rapala DTs for the same reason I buy the Sammies and 95MRs. Point is I buy what works and will keep buying them if they work for me but if they dont work no way am I buying them just because their a hard to get (maybe) 20 dollar or more lure. Its like using your walmart rod for years and then you get a G Loomis rod, after you see how that Loomis rod feels no way will you want to even touch that walmart rod again, same goes for different baits on the market.

Excellent way to start off.. The MegaBass Griffons are one of my favs. Raul I have more Mega as well. I use my LCs more only because its harder for me to get my hands on MegaBass lures for replacement if they so happen get messed up then it is to replace my LCs. On a side note: Does anyone know when or even IF MegaBass is going to be more aggresive in the USA Market?

Im just curious as to how much Lucky Craft some of you guys own. I never see MegaBass, Evergreen, Daiwa, Rico, etc etc being talked about just LC. So how (many lures) much do you own?

Kents right, Lucky Craft has droped their prices.. lures that use to be 20 dollars are now 15 and 25 dollar lures are now 20. You can get the Rick Clunn Lucky Craft crankbaits for $9.99 at BPS online. They have droped their prices by 25%. Some are saying lures are just getting higher and higher, well, its not just lures (or even just Lucky Crafts lures for that matter) everything has, is, and will always be getting more expensive as the years go by. Their Sammys, Live-Pointers, Pointers, LVRs, and RC series crankbaits are worth every penny to me. I dont know about the rest though. Some will say others are worth the money like the Stacey for example which I hate and will never buy again but others will/do. Whats worth it to me may not be worth it to you and vice versa. "One mans trash is another mans treasure" could apply here.

I agree with dodgeguy on this. The only thing I recommend different is the 20lb test instead of the 10lb. You can get away with 20 easy because of the smaller diameter and youll never break your line on a fish with it unless you tied a poor knot. I even used it when fishing for Salmon and Steelhead and if your familiar with those two species you know two things, they fight more and they get bigger then Bass. I have yet to have my line break on any fish while using Sufix Performance Braid. Braid isnt for everyone though and it requires some minor hardware adjustments (drag) to use with say crankbaits because it has zero stretch. The "Palomer Knot" is the knot youll want to use with this line over 90% of the time. I know your new here and welcome! But try to post this in the Fishing Rods, Reels, Line, Leaders, and Knots section of this forum for questions like this in the future.

My absolute favorite and most productive lure to use when using this method is the Lucky Craft Sammy 100 series. The Sammy 85 series is okay to but I dont recommend going smaller then the 85 series. I do recommend you buy a Heddon Zara Spook for 4 dollars in a Bass pattern to practice with. Before I started buying top of the line lures to use for different types of fishing id buy cheaper ones first like the Heddon (in your case) to practice with and then when my technique was down I enjoyed my higher quality baits like the Sammy. BTW, the Heddon stuff works well (very well). Id also like to recommend something different to you and thats the Matzuo "Huntin Dog". They are so cheap, finishes are top notch, and they run true. A stickbait has a weight in its tail that slightly elevates its nose when it[ch8217]s resting on the surface. This position allows it to cut and glide from one side to the other when you twitch your rod tip on a semislack line. To work one properly, hold your rod tip low and quartering to the side, put some slack in your line, and twitch your lure with sideways sweeps of the rod tip. Try to establish a rhythm to your twitching. Twitch pause, twitch pause, twitch pause. Getting the timing down takes practice. If you[ch8217]re having trouble getting the bait to cut and glide properly, slow the pace and make sure you[ch8217]re giving your lure enough slack after the twitch. Most beginners twitch too quickly on a too-tight line, preventing the bait[ch8217]s nose from turning and gliding. The lure should be moving more to the left and right than it is toward you. Once you[ch8217]ve mastered the basic dog-walking retrieve, you can teach your stickbait to walk to one side or the other. You steer by allowing the lure an extra half-beat after it cuts in the direction you want it to go. It[ch8217]s a twitch-twitch pause, twitch-twitch pause rhythm. The bait glides in the direction the lure is pointing after the second twitch. To change directions, twitch once, pause, then start the double-twitch rhythm again. Hope all this helps you and develop some patience as it takes time to learn anything, good luck.

They're (Storm) the only company that makes swimbaits that are mass produced and avaiable to everyone that I have saw so far. Those Kickin Slabs or w/e their called look fantastic and I cant wait to try their bluegill. They are getting better and better in quality and deffinatly going in the right direction imo. I dont care for their hardbaits at all but their swimbaits just flat out produce. I use to never even glance at their stuff in stores but find myself looking for some more of their life-like stuff here and there. Wonder if their BlueGill could give Mattslures a run for its money.

I know theres some people out there who pay more for lures just by thinking their better because their more expensive. If your one of those people your buying lures the worst way possible. If you have a ton of say LC Pointers and never even used one.. you are one of these people. Buy one bait only and if your happy with the results buy more. I know for a fact some baits work better then others and some dont even work at all for others. One main reason I think this is is because were all from different locations with different Bass enviroments. Some colors might work excellent in one place for someone on here while others will just barely work for you in your area. The knowledge one should gain on how to choose the right lure for the right application is far more important then any lures you buy no matter how many you have.

MegaStrike: On crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater, flukes, worms, spinnerbaits. BANG Craw: On jigs, plastics, craw cranks, fat ikas, anything replicating a craw.

Unless your a big college football fan and plan on hanging them next to your teams memorabilia, those cbs are completely silly imo. Fishing and Football are two different sports with nothing in common. Thats like joining trying to play base ball with the rod as the bat.

Didnt know evergreen made their combat series.