Joel W

"Largemouth Bass An In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies" Best LM fishing book I've ever read. And I read it over and over as it's setup as a reference guide.

I only use a leader for pitching with braid when there is structure that will likely cut me off. When working grass or Matt's I don't use a leader, just straight 30lb Braid.

Not only is there no really correct trailer, but I've also had a great deal of success using a 2 or 3 inch grub as a trailer on a 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig. As for color, I've gone both ways, matching and contrast and both work. I just watched the dough Hannon's video and I was kind of shocked that he uses a spinning outfit. Never gave it much thought, but I can see where the jig would drop straight down rather then being slightly pulled towards you as it falls with a baitcasting reel. Anyone using this technique ?

Nice way to end '07. Couldn't think of a better way of do it.

Will start off with a BPS 7' M crankin' stick. If I can throw a Mann's -1 with it, then so much the better. If not, then I'll have to go with two crankbait setups like I did last year.

I've been known in the dead of summer to bring my Ultra lite along and fish for Panies which is usually in shallow brush. Once I got slammed by a LM and he nearly spooled me. Fought the LM for what seemed like 5 min before he broke me off trying to get him out of some twigs. I had to recoup after that fight.

Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I like a slower retrieve for my cranks and thus use a Daiwa DTA 150A with a 5.2 to 1 ratio. Looking for a new shallow to medium depth crankin' stick myself.

I'm looking to buy a BPS Cranking stick this winter myself as I haven't been completely happy with My Falcon cranking rod. I can't cast shallow, light weight cranks with it. For those of you that have used the BPS M cranking stick, can it handle those lighter cranks ? I only want to carry one crankbait setup, so I really need a baitcasting setup that can handle a Mann's -1 to a Rapala DT-16 if there is such a rod out there. The reel is a Daiwa Team Advantage 153 HST spooled with 30 lb Sufix Braid and a 12 lb flouro leader.

Not sure I would fish for Bass with a lite setup like that. I use my Ultra lite for pan fishing. When I'm using pieces of worm and a bobber, I use a #10 hook. For Perch I like to use a drop shot rig with a #8 hook and a 2 inch grub. I've also used a gold 1/12 oz Kastmaster spoon with great success both for panies and for stocked trout.

If it's working for you, stick with it. I also like their silver/gray black back jerkbait as well as their Rainbow trout pattern. In the early spring I switch to a Perch and/or Fire Tiger patterns.

What made you move on after 2 season? Did you move up to Flouro or the more expensive Japanese lines?

No truly words were ever written ;D

After reading some of these posts, I'm kind of glad that I don't live anywhere near a BPS. I have a Dicks less then 15 min from me and I'm there nearly every week come the fishing season. I shudder to think not only how much I would spend, but how much needless tackle I would be lugging back and forth expecting my latest purchases to be my next great confidence bait :

The closet BPS to me is 237 miles one way. A little more then 4 hours. The round trip would cost me about $120. That's why I've only bought from them and Cabela's via the internet. Going to be making my 1st journey this Feb or March.

Have you ever used CXXX ?

Heard nothing but really good things about P Line. So much in so that all my Spinning setups this year will be P Line CXXX which is a co-polymer rather then their mono offerings which I believe is what CX & CXX is.

The numbers are how Rapala delineates each size. There are currently 3 standard freshwater X-Raps: XR08 3 1/8" 1/4 oz No. 6 & 7 XR10 4" 7/16 oz Two No. 5 XR12 4 3/4" 3/4 oz Two No. 5 They also have deep divers, a #14 size, and a Shad series, which looks kind of interesting. But right now I'm resisting the bait monkey.

90% of my jerkbait fishing is done with a #10 Rapala X-Rap. The other 10% is with a #8 X-Rap. However, it seems that I fish it somewhat differently then most of you. After casting it, I crank it down to the depth that I want it at, then I start with my jerk, jerk, pause, etc. If one is rather new to Bass fishing, I would recommend that he use a spinning reel and a rod no longer then 6'6". As for me, I use a spinning setup for #8 X-Raps and a baitcaster for #10s.

I'm a NY Reservoir fisherman and when I opt to fish either a 4 or 5 inch Stickbait it's either Green Pumpkin or Watermelon with black flake.

I don't hit any of my tackle stores from Dicks to BPS until mid Feb through mid March. By then they've restocked including all the new items for 2008.

A few years ago I did use 10 lb Power Pro for all my setups. At that time I was fishing just one reservoir that had mostly stained water so line visibility wasn't a issue like it is now. To me the greatest advantage of using PP was that you don't get any line twist with it. And that's something that I've had to contend with since I switched to Sufix Elite.

Glenn, thanks. I just tried the search tab and it works perfectly.

I've got 3 spinning, and 4 baitcasters setups that I need to come to a decision as to what lines to use. I primarily fish the NYC reservoirs, and each reservoir varies considerably in water clarity from stained to crystal clear, as well as bottom composition ranging from sand to rocks. Last year I was using 30 lb Power Pro on all my baitcasters with a 2 ft leader on my jigging and cranking setups so I wouldn't keep on getting cut off by the rocks. My Spinnerbait setup was straight braid, while my wt'd plastics setup used a 3 ft leader. All 3 spinning setups were 8lb Sufix Elite. One was dedicated to Drop Shotting and used a swivel for pre-made rigs. Early spring fishing is strickly for Smallmouth in crystal clear water, and even with a leader on the spinning setups I'm concerned with the SM being line shy.