Lucky Craft Man

What made you change from your Fish Eagle II's?

I hate to say it, but I am not a fan of the "post" style keepers, but those new screw keepers look nice!

Here's a set-up that will fit all your criteria and work well for walking the dog. Shimano Curado E7 (which you said you have) with mono (I am not a fan of braid on walking the dog type baits, unless it's a hollow frog in heavy slop, because it seems to get fouled up in the trebles too often) and a G Loomis MBR 783 (IMX or GLX, depending on what you want to spend). This rod is very light and you could use it for other applications if you want (jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, etc). There are deals to be had on this rod if you look (I picked an IMX version for $103 new on eBay).

Using these reels could be a problem. When walking the dog, you need to reel in the slack line rapidly between quick jerks. If you have any slack in your line, your next jerk will pulling in slack and not jerking the lure to walk to the other side. Therefore, I found it so much easier to perform the walk the dog technique with a higher gear ratio reel. The Curado E5 and the Daiwa Sol are both slower reels (5.X:1). If you have a faster reel, you may find it a little easier getting your lures to walk the dog more effectively. (I know you original question was about a rod, which several others have provided you with good answers, I just thought I would offer a suggestion based off my own experience)

It seems to be only 10% now.

These are the two I really like (though, as mentioned before, there is no such thing as the "best")

I find myself using one of four lures for smallmouth bass (I have used a lot more, but these four I always seem to return to). Jerkbait: G Loomis Bronzeback SMR814C-CB & Abu Garcia Revo SC Drop Shot: G Loomis DSR822S & Pflueger Supreme Spinning Reel Tube: G Loomis IMX MBR843C & Daiwa Fuego Senko: G Loomis GLX BSR852 & Pflueger Supreme Spinning Reel

Nice work! I have been fishing for 20 years that never happened to me until one day, which then it happened twice within an hour of each other. The first time with two largemouth and the second time was a smallmouth and a largemouth (which I saw unfold as my jerkbait was right next to the boat and I see these two flashes come from different directions and hit the lure at the same time). It was wild.

hmmm...if that story happened to me, it would have ended slightly different. My ending would be that the Coroner was call to remove Freddy from my house after being peppered with little led balls that were projected from my shotgun.

Hmmm...How about Cigar Butts?

I have fished the drop shot from a boat in 40 ft of water to from shore in 2 ft of water. It works everywhere and anywhere (I have even fished a drop shot in heavy weeds, but this can be challenging)

Lake Erie...oh, you wanted to know about the best "Largemouth Bass" fishing destination and not Smallmouth Bass (though, I have never caught a 10 lb. Largemouth, I think I would prefer a 7 lb. Smallmouth to a 10 lb. Largemouth).

I hate to say this, but the reel maybe your issue.

That recently happened to me. I did option 1, in which I was able to negotiate a partial refund, then did option 2, where I stripped the whole reel down, cleaned every part and replaced the drag washers. Reel works great now and with the refund, I got an unbelievible deal.

Okay Glen, that said, do you remember what Billy Madison was about? ;D If we are talking Adam Sandler movies saved by a hot lady, then you have to say "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" is up there (Jessica Biel really made this movie worth watching)

I fish Erie all the time. I have caught many big smallmouth, but nothing yet over 7 pounds (that seems to be my personal mark to beat). Come this fall, I am going to hit the lake hard for that elusive fish (and hopefully it will have as nice of markings as your 7 pounder had)

There's a Nice Looking Fish! I am still trying to break that 7 pound mark and when I do, there will be a replica on my wall.

x2 Caught several gar this way.

My wife isn't all that into fishing, but since I bought her a Lady Trion pink combo, her interest seems to have increased. So say what you will about the pink rod and reel, I know it has gotten my wife out on the water with me more often.

So how did you end up doing?

I am planning a trip in October to Buffalo, NY to fish Lake Erie for Smallmouth (I plan on launching out of Buffalo Boat Harbor). I am going to see if Smallmouth fishing out of Buffalo is any better than out of Erie, PA (I figure, since most TV shows and tournaments launch out of Buffalo, NY, there must be some good action there). My question is how far out from Buffalo Harbor does one have to traditional go to find smallmouth? Also, if the winds kick up on the main lake, how good is fishing in the Niagara River? Sorry for all the questions, but I have never been up in this area and I am having trouble finding information, which will hopefully make the trip run a little smoother. Thanks in advance.

I use braid for spinning outfit with a either 6lb. or 8lb. flouro leader. I used to use all flouro, but found that braid adds a little more sensitivity.

Hackney and Ike go #1 and #2 (both B.A.S.S. guys). Third place was a FLW guy and he was 1 pound 10 ounces behind (which in this tournament is like being 7 pounds behind in any other). So when comparing FLW guys and BASS guys, who fish in the same tournament (and not comparing them to 4 years ago) it looks like the B.A.S.S. guys get the nod.

NICE...Those B.A.S.S. anglers put it too the FLW pros (Hackney #1 and Ike #2). Ike lost by just 3 ounces (his co-angler won the co-angler championship yesterday with 5 fish and Ike only had 4 yesterday. He could of used one of his co-anglers fish yesterday).

Had a 3rd fish that didn't measure, and was penalized a pound I think. That's exactly what happened (I was at the weight-in today when they made that announcement).