Infidel.

I would be completely bummed if they went under but I wouldn't have been surprised being that a couple of years ago it seemed like they sponsored everyone and their mothers. Maybe it just seemed that way. I originally posted a response to this but thought it would be better to delete it. Seemed like it would get a little too political to me.

Thanks for the pics Glenn. Can't say I wont give those a try for my up coming night tourneys Another thing about Ike is that he has access to all the top end Daiwa rods and most of the time I see him on TV he has a TD-S or a Light & Tough in his hand.

Drove my wife's car out to her at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma from Southern California last weekend. While we were there we hit up Stanley Draper just to scout it out. We went out off one of the fingers and I caught a 13" Spot on a Pointer on my fourth cast (I'm pretty sure it was a Spot, could be wrong, really don't catch many in So Cal). It was pretty cold and windy so a couple of casts later we decided to get back in the car and just check out more of the lake. When we ended up back at the marina and talking to the guys in the shop he had a hard believing I caught that fish because he said it has been so slow out there. Then he went on how there aren't any big fish in the lake. I guess to get to my question, is Stanley Draper worth putting time in to figure out or should we make the extra drive down to Thunderbird? Or any of the other lakes in the are for that mater. BTW, we will be shore bound out here and my wife will be out by herself a lot. Thanks!!!!

You are right about setting the big hook but for that you just need a good strong backbone. I like a rod with some more give in the tip which keeps me from pulling the bait out of the fish's mouth. I read the best analogy for this on the Fish Trap website. They likened a bass (saltwater in this case but it goes the same for freshwater) eating a swimbait to a puppy biting on a chew toy. If you just jerk it hard when they first latch on, you'll pull it out of their mouth, but if you apply steadily increasing pressure, they will move up on it and clamp down harder. Of course a bigger fish will many times just suck the whole thing down whole, but you want to catch the 2lbers as well right

Ardent or one of the US based salt water reel companies like Avet or Accurate to make a good US baitcasting reel.

I wouldn't put the 4" BBZ-1 in the same class of swimbaits as the 6" hud. I fish the 4" BBZ on a jerkbait rod most of the time. Obviously if you had the luxury to buy a rod for each aplication, you wouldn't be asking for advise on a rod that could handle swimbaits and cranks. I would suggest you get a 7-7.5' composite cranking rod. The 7.5' BPS cranking stick will do great.

I have a very similar love for Abu round reels. I have four of the JDM Ultra Mag Morrums that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Interesting! I'd love to try that with some 10" hand pours.

If anything I would say a sunfish. I think what it really comes down to is just something that gets their attention. I never do good with this color in clear water, however, I've had a ton of luck with Chartreuse with a blue back Norman in crystal clear water.

Looks great. The only thing I would have done differently is mask the eyes with a little Elmer's white glue before painting. Unless of course you wanted the silver on the eyes, if that is the case then ignore what I said but in the next picture of this bait I want to see some teeth marks!

It is a great way to present a bait from the shore. Just keep in mind that even though your bait may be tied 12" up from the sinker, it may only be a couple of inches up off the bottom. Which is fine, but I have a buddy that will use a 2-3' leader to keep it up off the bottom on long casts into shallow water.

I appreciate the feedback. I have only heard positive things about these rods but it is still a pretty new line and just wanted to have someone ease my mind. Thanks guys

I know guys that have gotten tickets for smoking there as well. We can't touch the water there but I couldn't tell you the amount of lead that I have left at the bottom of that place.

You will have to get the lake permit for it. It is a great lake to float tube. You can just go around tossing senkos along the docks and catch them all day long. A lot of cats in there as well that love to eat cranks.

Had a brand new Zillion break on it's first trip out this weekend while fighting a 4lb largemouth. Broke in two places towards the tip. Anybody else that owns a Zillion have it break on them? I'm sending it back to Daiwa for replacement but just wanted to see if this was going to end up like the Dobyns rods. I know what can cause a rod to break other than manufactures defects so I don't care to hear input on that matter. This was certainly a defective blank.

Very true!

I have two SX and one STX. If I were to buy another, I would get the SX again. They are both great performers but I haven't noticed the STX being any better. It's funny though because the SX has gone up in price by $20 since they first came out and the STX is still the same price.

Hey, at least I've been paying attention right?

I think you should get a 4/0 EWG and put a senko on it. If that doesn't work, try an IKA. If there are fish in there, they will eat it. ;D

I voted Abu but I fish both. The high end Abu Morrums blow the doors off any Diawa or Shimano I have ever fished. That being said, they were only sold in Japan and they stopped making them. If I had to chose between a Revo SX and a Curado D, I'd take the Revo. Haven't fished an E yet so can't compare that with anything. I also sold my Chronarch B after getting a Revo STX. Won't be getting rid of my Chronarch 50 anytime though. Love that little thing. But I sold my Morrum 6000 for a Calcutta 400. Maybe it's just my Swedish blood that makes me partial to Abu.

I've only fished the gulp jerk shads on jigheads in salt water so I'm not much help. I've had my best luck with Fin-S-Fish.

True that. I aleast Longfin carries them now. I used to have to stock up down in San Diego. Sorry for the detour on this thread.

Oh yeah I know. To be honest I stopped tossing big hammers after they started making them in China. Mostly throw MC's now and I don't think that I have a single all white one. I was suggesting all white because I don't care what part of the world you are in, what time of day it is, from slammers to hudds to triple-trout to sassy shads, all white will work. I didn't read the post that well and just took it as someone new to swimbaits wondering what color to start with. my mistake.

We aren't talking about tossing big hammers for rockfish ;D Just go with white. It will work anywhere.

Exactly. These baits are the same size of most of the tackle you already have. When you are starting to toss baits like 8" lunker punkers or 10" stocker trouts we can start talking about what you need for a swimbait. Paddle tails, BBZ shad, and True Tungsten shads don't need anything special.