BassB8Caster

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately all i have around me (an hour away) is cabelas. I will look into the lexa 300 tho. Like i said, our water is freezing over here so i have a bit before spring I def plan on doing this. I have looked a little and see good prices. Im pumped to potentially be under $200 for the set up. How do you like the cardiff? Your first round reel?

I wouldnt say i feel like i have to. From what i see people recommend, it is possibly the best value. Its priced pretty good and gives me capabilities to go to bigger swimbaits if i choose to. This will be a technique specific set up so i wont need a reel that can pull multiple duties. Just seems like a good buy and good for swimbaits. I dont have any real big baits yet, but i can see me slowly adding 8 and possibly 10" in the future. And i want a reel that will last me.

I grabbed an okuma guide select a series 7'11" swimbait rod xh for $90 at tw. Perfect rod to get into bigger swimbaits. Now i have 5 months or so to catch a deal on a 300 series shimano cardiff reel.

Your thoughts are correct concerning water clarity and depth. Just remember they still need to eat. May not be as often but they will. They also want a big reward with little spent energy. So you will have to get it within a good distance. Also need timing to be right. Be patient and ok with getting skunked. You can do everything right, and if she doesnt want to eat the result will be the same. Put in the work and go slow and you will succeed. First requirement is to be where the fish are. You have that covered. Now find what they want and how they want it. And be ready. Little room for error. Good luck.

Looks awesome! This boat is on my radar when its time to buy in the next year or so. Great value. Nice looking.

Drag a hudd, worm and/or a jig slowly across the bottom. Can fish 11 acres in a couple hours. Spot check water temps and write them down. Some sort of pattern should present itself showing the spring location(s). Dont let anyone get in your head! March to the beat of your own drum. Period

Have fun! Dont press too hard. Do what you know and let it play out! Ill be the first to remind you: slow down!

That helps you then. Nothing like spending 20 plus on a soft swimbait and getting the tail bitten off right away. So hudds, savage gear, keitech etc make great baits. For a cheap option i love the action of the yum pulse 4.5". Weedless in cover and on a jighead for deeper has really produced for me.

Do you have a lot of toothy critters where you fish?

Topwater may be coming to a slow here, but do not hesitate yo buy a spro rat. I suggest 40 size. I was hesitant too and prior to buying on i had never spent that much on one lure and just couldnt understand the need. So i saved up and took a chance. I figured it floats so better odds of getting it back if it broke off. Let me tell you....it may be my favorite lure. I cant wait to buy a size 50 and try that. The action of that rat is crazy good. Let me contradict myself a bit. If i could go back in time i would probably save a little more and splurge on a ms slammer. That is a cant miss lure. A loy of these more expensive lures are made with quality in mind and last. Do your homework. There are good brands and cheaper brands. Keeping your cast out of the woods and tieing good knots will go a long way to keeping these lures for a long time

There are a lot of great options at all budget levels. A bag of yum pulse 4.5" swimbaits are a great deal. The side to side wobble with great tail kick action is a great producer for me. Either on a jig head or even texas rigged on a twist lock hook. Keitechs are a great value for the action they have. And they produce. period. Savage gear line thru trout and 3d trout are good prices (10 and 13). The spro bbz 40 rat is 25 but has lasted me 2 seasons and caught me a ton of good fish. So imo a great value. I just picked up 2 savage gear 4play lipped swimbaits (buy one get one 50% off at dicks) for $15. So lime i said, more options than one needs to catch fish. Dont need to get into the expensive baits unless you want to and have the budget for it. But dont cheap out on your rod and reel for pricier baits. Need a stout rod for the bigger baits!

wow. nice fish! that thing is a tank. Quite the wide range of fish slow rolling a spinner bait can catch. Trout, pike, walleye, bass etc.

Thats awesome! i caught a 20" brown slow rolling a chartreuse spinner in a small pond about 3 weeks ago. Pond has a deep spot around 27 feet deep. Caught it close to shore near the drop off in about 6 feet of water. Was pretty cool. This was while i was bass fishing.

Is a kayak or canoe considered a boat? Big swimbaits can cast long distances and are also a good big fish bait

Wow. Nice fish. Crazy to think that 12lb mono held up for that fish with all those teeth

@JustJames and @BrackishBassin my concern is more with the size of the lip of bigger fish. My 6.01 had a robust beefy lip where it was tough to get the fish grips jr around them. And when closing them to squeezed and "crunched" the lip. While it did not cause a fatality im sure it did do some harm. This is the attachment i was referring to, not the boca grips. I saw it in the pics thread.

good to know. Ill have to keep looking around. Anyone who has weighed a big fish with these grippers have heard the "crunch" of the lower lip when locking them down. I just saw a pick of an attachment that goes on a scale that is spring loaded to hold the lip of the fish (in the pics section). that looks like it may be an option. Again though, it depends on how strong the spring is whether it does damage as well or not.

Man those spots are some beautiful fish. Crazy colors/patterns!

I use a pair of the fish grip jr for weighing my fish. The problem and concern i have with them, is when weighing a bigger fish (my PB is 6.01) the smaller size of the jr grips really squeezes the fishes jaw. Im worried that this may do harm to the lower jaw of the fish. I plan to buy the bigger grips as they should deal with this much better. I have not (yet...i def will) read the links posted, so im not sure if they discuss this topic of potentially crushing the jaw/lip with the grippers. But a little care goes a loooonnngg way.

I have the 40 in morning dawn. Just a slow crank, just enough to get it swimming in an "s" motion. My favorite topwater lure! I cant wait to try the 50 out.

You cant compare 2 casts if the gear is different, reason why i asked if you both had the same line and lures to compare. so if you have a half ounce lure on with 12lb mono and he has a 3/4 ounce (or even 1/2oz) lure with 30lb braid, you will get different results. Two different guys with the same gear will probably different as we are all different in our mechanics. So you cannot really compare two. I have never fished with the revo or orra reels. But i do have a black max from abu garcia. It is really their entry level baitcaster, and i have no problems with long casts. You saying you are not seeing a difference between a 1.2 oz and 3/4 ounce lure in casting distance tells me that you need to adjust your brakes. or possibly you need to go through your reels and service them. If you add more weight and lighten up your tension/brakes, you should see a longer casting distance. If i were in your shoes and i tried all the brake combinations possibly and were still at a loss, i would swap out the 40lb braid on atleast one of those reels to begin with to a 30lb braid and see how that affects the casting. i bet the 30 will give you the distance you are looking for. What was they guy you met using for line?

look like they have potential. good work. How do they swim?

I bought a black max/Vengeance mh combo as my first baitcaster set up 3 years ago. It has been great for an introductory level baitcaster. No big issues with it. The typical newbie birdnests. But it is relatively forgiving. Fast forward to yesterday.....the reel is having issues engaging after a cast. i made another thread about it, and apparently there is a spring in there that may have broke. But sounds like it is a repairable item. So its a good time to go through it and see if i can resurrect it. I paid like $80 for the combo. For the money you cant go wrong. If i had to buy a new combo for under $100 i would go with the promax. Granted, i have no experience with higher end reels. My other combo is a lews laser speed spool that i scored for under 100 at cabelas. I love the rod, but have a love/hate relationship with the reel.

were you casting the same lure with the same line on all reels? sometimes trying too hard for distance causes you to cast shorter. Let the rod work for you.

Not too valuable info, but ill give it. After hearing the rave reviews about costas, i have kinda got it in my head that i would purchase a pair soon. I have always been happy with oakleys, but if i can get a better quality, im going to consider it. One day while loading up to go fishing, i noticed my brother in law had a pair of costas (im not sure which ones they were). I do know they were plastic / polycarbonate lenses. not glass. So i tried them on. I like the look of them, but to me personally, they were way too bulky. Its like the frames were thick. I really didnt like the feel of them. I am rather picky since i have a smaller face/head and its hard to get a pair to fit really well. I dont really want to feel them on, if you know what i mean. im currently wearing a pair of oakley 5 squared with polarized lenses that fit me perfectly. i paid around $70 for them a couple years ago. I also have a pair of the strike king s11 with polarized lenses. i paid like $20 for them. great value for the $. So i guess all you can take from this, is to make sure you try them on before purchasing. Especially if you have a tough time getting them to fit well/comfortably.