jdw174

I don't know if it's the color or the action of the RedEye, but I can tell you that I've killed 'em on the Sexy Shad for the last two years. Couldn't buy a bite on my Spots or Rattletraps. I've all but quit tossing them.

Gotta agree with Burley. Take it out and fish it. MH rods vary in action from maker to maker. Outside of my spinning rigs, every rod in my boat is a MH action except for one Cranking rig.

Dancin' Eel, hands down. As for the Flying Lure, I never used them for bass, but wore out crappie with the smaller ones.

I've used braid before on my spinning tackle and didn't much care for it, but I'm thinking of giving it another shot. Leaning towards 15lb Fireline with a leader to be used for shakey/dropshotting on one rig and small jigs/worms/senkos on another. If you use a leader, how long do you usually make it?

I would say that would include just about every person on this board

I'd just gotten a new Ranger 360. First time in the water. Backed off the trailer and was going to tie it off at the dock when my feet felt a bit wet. Water was up to my ankles. Forgot the *#)(%)#& plug. Got it back on the trailer and pulled it out. Took awhile to drain, even with the bilge pumps helping. Luckily, I was alone at the ramp at the time. Last time I ever pulled that one. I've also been had by the kill switch a couple of times, along with the winch strap. Other than that, nothing major.

About 12 years ago, I was the fishing dept mgr at a Dick's and if anything, they were often as bad as or even worse than BPS. I simply dreaded it every time we got notice of a weekend sale (almost every weekend), because I knew that half of the items listed weren't even in the store. People would come pouring in looking for those items and the fun would begin. We constantly issued rainchecks, but seldom got the items they were issued for in stock. It's one of the reasons I left there. Customers deserved better.

I always fish lipless baits with a stop 'n go retrieve. The biggest majority of my strikes comes either on the pause or right at the instant I start moving it again.

As for the Trick Worms, I've found that I've done better t-rigging those in the past couple of years than anything with a curl-tail, tentacles, wings, or whatever. Guess that's why Larry Nixon says the straight tail is his favorite worm.

Crap > !! That's what I get for living in a one horse town where WalMart is the only magazine source. Thanks for the info. I'll order one.

They haven't published it in a couple of years, but it was something I looked forward to every year. Steve Quinn is the best bass fishing writer out there IMO, and his articles were the best in-depth I've ever read on specific techniques and lure types. Sure wish they'd bring it back.

Was in the local shop yesterday and he had a bunch of the RedEyes in stock. Picked up a couple more as I only have one and it's getting pretty beat. Trouble is that he's a bit "proud" of his tackle. I normally shop elsewhere, but he was handy, so................

That's my problem....I never toss anything. I have a few titanium weights that are impossible to peg due to the sleeve. Seen several articles where the pro uses those small rubber bobber stops as pegs. Finally found some yesterday and took one and slid it onto my 17lb co-poly. Works like a dream .

for a new rod for tossing lipless cranks & shallow/med runners. There's a US Bass shop about 30 miles from my home that has an outstanding selection and very good prices. Went through the selection of Carrot Sticks, Shimanos, Challengers and Skeet Reese Tessara rods. The Tessera Crankbait rod appeared to have the constitution of a wet noodle, so I passed, but did select the Tessera Spinnerbait/Worm rod. It has good tip action and I think it will work very nicely for my intended application.....color not withstanding : . Besides, the store price was $76 instead of the $89 in the catalogs, and it has a lifetime warranty. Was also looking for a reel, and the shop had a deal on the Daiwa Megaforce Plus for $79. For an 11 bearing reel that ain't bad. It's a 7:1 ratio reel, so it went on my topwater rod. Not a bad day....

There are a bunch of reels out there in the $80-$120 range. I'll be needing another reel before summer is over and I'm seriously considering the BPS ProQualifier at $100. It got the Field and Stream Best Buy Award last year. There's the Citica, Abu Orra, Quantum KVD Signature to name three more. Daiwa and Pflueger also have models in that range.

I've actually spent more time un-stocking. I carry more stuff in that boat than I could use in a whole season, most of which never sees use. So decided to start rooting and remove a lot of lures and plastics that I don't use. As to what I've added....well yesterday I picked up a couple bags of the Strike King Finesse Worms to use when Shakey Head fishing, a package of those small rubber bobber stops (no more toothpicking worm weights ), and grabbed two more of the RedEye Shads. (I only had one that I've fished for two years and it's getting pretty beat up). Today I'm going to dig into my soft plastic boxes and start pulling some more out.

The Strike King Finnesse Worms are a favorite of KVD's when fishing a shakey-head because they float and stand up when on the bottom. They're also made of the super stretch plastic that makes them hold up for a LONG time. As for your problems with the SK worms, they will react with other plastics so they must be stored separately.

Two of my old workhorses are finally acting up enough to warrant retirement. They're Browning Midas 6 reels and it's hard to find someone that will work on them. The two new ones will be used for cranking shallow/midrange, and the other for my topwater rod. Price is a consideration so I'm trying to keep cost at $100 max. I'm considering the BPS Pro Qualifier, Quantum KVD Signature, Pflueger Cetina, or going with the old standby, the Ambassadeur 4600C4. Anybody have any suggestions? I've used Quantum in the past with no problems, and the 4600 is darn near bulletproof. No experience with the others.

X2. I DVR most of my TV these days and by hitting the button I can skip the next 30 seconds. Great for getting through commercial breaks, and getting past Ike's antics. If you like them, fine. I can't stand them. To each their own.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser absolutely astounded me when I used it the first time. The cork looked brand new with so little effort. Until that time I'd used a toothbrush with a cleaner. Never again.

This one is a 20 footer rated for 200-250hp. I checked out the photos on their facebook page and it's a super looking ride.

Photos up on another site. Won't be available for several months, but the prototypes will be on display at the Classic. Absolutely GORGEOUS!

The 360V was 17'10" in length and was considered one of the best running of the 300 series. Mine was an '88 model and I owned it for 10 years. A very stable fishing platform, the ride wasn't the greatest. Ranger moved the seats forward about 15" in order to add a transverse rod locker behind the seats. My first boat was a 17'6" Champion and it rode rough water like a Cadillac compared to the Ranger. In anything over a very light chop it let your butt know it. I spoke with a Ranger rep at a boat show and told him what I thought, and he said I wasn't the only one that thought that. His opinion was that moving the seats forward for the rod locker changed it's riding characteristics. One of the guys in my bass club at the time had a 370 and it was a much smoother ride in the rough stuff.

They run around $8 for a pack retail if I remember right.

I have two...one smallie and one largemouth. The smallie happened about 15 years ago while fishing Presque Isle Bay on Lake Erie. I was throwing a C-rig on the edge of a weedbed in about 7' of water when this one hit. Had her up to the boat when she came out of the water and shook her head. The French Fry and hook came flying back at me. I've had my share of 5lb smallies out of that lake and this one was far bigger than any that I'd ever seen. The LM was on Kentucky Lake. This was back when the lake was nice and weedy. I was fishing near a submerged roadbed using a firetiger Bomber Long A with tailspinner. Things had been slow the last hour (it was about 11am) and the lure was just setting still while I looked at some thing else. I turned back just in time to see a tiny "slurp" that pulled the lure under...just about what you'd expect if a bream took a smack at it. No swirl, no boil....zip. When I tried to reel back in, my rod doubled over and this HUGE largemouth came up and wallowed on the surface with the Long A in it's mouth, then opened up and spit the thing right back at me. My biggest is an 8 pounder, and this thing was WAY beyond that. Maybe if I'd have set the hook initially I'd have landed that fish. Definitely an opportunity lost... :'(