Zeeter

Ok, so I don't sit around making a list of every item that the pros use so I can get it all at BPS. However, if I see a guy catching things on a creature bait and he's using a certain technique I may buy that particular bait just so that I can emulate his technique. Sometimes it's the exact same bait. Sometimes it isn't - just depends on the price and sometimes the brand. We all know there are some bargain brand baits out there that just don't hold up as well as the more costly but stronger ones. Of course I listen to what the folks in here have to say, especially the people who live near me. But if I want to take it to the next level then I want to hear from the pros. As I noted above, there has been a dramatic improvement in the quality of information that the pros give out in their videos. In the early 2000s you were told to pitch into light cover and flip/punch into heavy cover. Well now they don't just tell you to do that - they show you how to set it up your rig and how to use the particular technique. And every guy is a little different. Using my analogy up several posts ago, if I want to learn to do what Scott Martin is doing then I should get at least similar gear as he is using. And since the creature bait he's using is only $3 a pack I may as well get it. I never used a flipping hook and know nothing about them. He recommends a certain brand that he uses and is probably sponsored by. May as well get it since I don't know better. On the other hand, he recommends a particular brand of tungsten weight. Well, I don't see how the different flipping weights can be much different so I'll get the cheapest one made by a major manufacturer. And I never heard of the rod and reel he's using - I've always been a Shimano/G. Loomis guy. So I'm not going to get the Okuma rod unless I come in here and people say yeah - that's a better rod for flipping than the equivalent G. Loomis rod. So to me the answer to the question is - look at what the pros are using and if they are doing something I want to do that is dependent on the gear then I need to get that gear. Otherwise, use my brain and the brains of the folks in here and get what will work best for me. By the way, does anyone know anything abotu the Okuma rods? Is there a significant drop-off between that and G. Loomis or is he just pushing his sponsor?

Another thing - back in the days before youtube became so prevalent we had to learn everything from magazines and watching fellow anglers. I never bothered reading too much into what they say. Once there was an article on "kicker fish". Once you reach your string limit you go after that kicker fish. Of course it was all nonsense. Who doesn't keep trying to catch that bigger fish after the limit is reached? yet these guys went on for two pages about how important the kicker fish is. It was ridiculous and I felt stupider for reading it. The pros back then weren't giving away any real information like - what do you do to get that kicker fish? Now, with so much competition for video views I believe these guys are being more honest with what they're doing. Of course they're going to push their sponsors, but the content is much better than the half-hour shows they had in the early 2000's. They really go through things step by step and tell me why I am doing it. I think the latter is the most important thing. Early 2000's all they did was throw their sponsor bait on there and catch fish all day. Now they're showing you how.

I've always been weak at flipping and so have been watching a lot of videos on it lately. Especially Scott Martin as he really goes through step by step on the gear setup and he's not a drone to listen to. Sometimes if a guy uses a certain technique that I am trying to emulate it does help to have the same gear as he does. And so I bought the same $2.99 baits and hooks he was using. Heck - if he can make me a better fisherman by showing me how to do it then I don't mind spending a few dollars to match the gear. On the other hand, he uses an Okuma rod and I've always been a G. Loomis guy. I posted a thread on the tackle section of the forum about this, so if anyone has a minute please check that out. I agree about the catch-all box. Not everyone is sponsored by, say, Senko but I'll bet almost all the pros use them.

How much credence do you put into the recommendations of pro anglers when it comes to gear? After tournaments they tell us what they used to catch the fish and it's always the baits and gear of their sponsors. I wonder how much of that is actually true? Or, perhaps these guys are good enough that if you give them any old worm they can catch a lunker with it, and so they'll use whatever gear their sponsor gives them. After the 2004 Classic I bought a bunch of stone jigs because that's what Iaconelli used. I think it was 2004 - don't bother correcting me if I'm wrong; doesn't matter. Anyway, nice jigs. I caught a lot of fish on them, but I wonder if it was the jig itself or that I was simply presenting it right. I know for a fact that I've caught more bass on the BPS senko clones than actual Senkos. So maybe it's really is all about the fishing and less about the brand, just so long as you don't have a crap brand. Pound for pound maybe it's all the same, but we have more confidence with a certain brand. I know that if I'm not using a Stone Jig but rather a different brand if that's the reason why I didn't catch a fish on the first ten casts.

Does anyone use these rods? I'm dead-set on getting a G. Loomis 900 series flipping rod but then I looked at a video of Scott Martin saying how great the Okuma is. Of note is that there's a huge Okuma logo on Scott's vest, so that may have something to do with it. I'm looking for backbone with sensitivity (kind of what a girl looks for in a guy). In my experience there's no rod that has more sensitivity than a G. Loomis, and any rod can have backbone but they rarely have the sensitivity. I wouldn't say price is a major factor, but they are around $150 apart. If they are pretty close I would consider the Okuma, but I think I might always regret not spending the extra money on the G. Loomis.

Got a wife and kids? Make them work. Problem solved.

I have a 7.2.1 and plan to used it for pitching. Was thinking of a 5 or 6 and then thought the 5 was kind of silly unless I used it exclusively for cramkbaits.

Let's discuss gear ratios. I'll use the Shimano Curado as the basis for this since it is probably the most popular. For argument's sake, put aside the 7:2:1 for flipping/pitching. We have the 6:3:1 and the 5:5:1. The 6 is for general fishing and the 5 is for crankbaits. Assuming we aren't all rich and can afford a different reel for every situation, do you folks thinks it's worthwhile to get the 5:5:1? I would think that cranking slower would satisfy what that ratio is trying to do. Meanwhile, the 6:3:1 is going to be my go-to. For example, I usually keep two lures ready. One worm and one jig or creature or something. If I miss with one I cast out with the other. Having a different gear ratio on these two rods would most certainly throw me off for this type of fishing. Meanwhile, if I do switch to crankbaits it's a conscious decision and I can get into a groove of a slower retrieve. Thoughts? And if you use a different brand reel then great - I'm not trying to get into a best reel discussion here. Also - if you are generally a right handed person do you use a left handed reel? I do. Saves me the time of switching to my other hand.

Wow - lots of brakes, huh? I'll have to get outside and see what works best for me. After all this time I still get the occasional birds nest; I think a lot of it has to do with the way I spool sometimes. Need to work on that.

I really like the motion of pitching. I've tried flipping a few times but never quite got the hang of it. How do you have the brakes set up on your reel? I saw one guy who had them all off for pitching.

I just found my locker is 8' long so I should be good with the 900 series. I'm a novice at pitching so better safe than sorry.

I didn't realize that. I broke the tip off of an IMX last year casting a 1/2 oz spinner. Yet there I guess I was loading up the rod. BTW, great deal with g. loomis is that for a 12 year old rod they replaced it with an equivalent model for $100. I know other companies have similar or better policies. Just that I was so frustrated after breaking it and then to find that it's "only" $100 compared to $300. After 12 years I don't think I could have convinced them it was a manufacturer's defect

It appears I'm looking at the 900 series. Specifically the IMX 956C FPR rated at up to 1.5 oz. That's a pretty long rod - 7'11" and might be too big for the rod locker on my boat. The rods in every other section only rate as high as 1 oz. Speaking of this, I've been watching videos of guys flipping using braided line. Not one of them is using a leader. Now, when I go out I usually tie on a fluorocarbon leader, but it tends to wear off and eventually as I tie on different lures and I'm just down to tying on directly to the braid. In doing so, I never noticed any drop-off in catching fish. In fact maybe I've seen an uptick as I don't have to worry so much about the leader anymore. Do you guys tie on a leader when using braid?

Well, when my son and I went out in August last year to the local reservoir it was very heavy with vegetation. We couldn't get our soft baits under the vegetation at all and topwaters just snagged. Not a fun day. I started using some heavy jigs but by that time they weren't biting anymore. I know I can pitch with any rod and in fact I do a lot of pitching to get under trees and docks. Howeer I want to tie on a heavy weight and creature bait and really get down to the bottom. The weight will depend on the vegetation and how best to get the bait down there. I saw one guy using an ounce and a half tungsten weight. Not sure I need all that. My rods are generally around 7' and are not rated for the weight I want to put on to really get down there. Also I'm reading and seeing videos where the longer the rod the better for control.

I'm going to try my hand at pitching this year and maybe a bit of flipping when the vegetation starts to come in. What is the best rod for this type of fishing? I prefer G. Loomis rods at the IMX price-point but not sure the model. Not against a St. Croix, either. I would also be looking at a Shimano Curado 7:2:1 reel and probably around 40 lb test power-pro line. For the rod, my understanding is that I want a soft tip and heavy action.

Yep - that's what I was wondering. The standard. Thanks!

What is the "regular" size of a rat-l-trap? Is it the half ounce? Trying to shop online and I can't tell from the picture.

Well whatever the minimum is

As far as fishing spots go, I've read about anglers even at the professional level seeing a guy have some success in practice and then going to that spot. In fact, I remember reading or seeing on TV about a tournament where two guys were in this cove and each claimed it. They were just a few yards from each other all day; each unwilling to move and give the other the spot. Neither caught anything because they were throwing so much in there that the fish probably got spooked. Both guys said they had fished there during practice, though there was only evidence of one of them there. That, I would say, is bad etiquette. If it had been some weekend angler out fishing it would be one thing, but a fellow tournament fisherman is quite another.

Thanks! Just ordered. When I started getting back into fishing when I was around 30 or so one of the first lures I got was a Bill Dance Bomber Model A. It seemed to catch more fish than anything. This was before I started using worms and was really a novice fisherman. So I found an affection for this lure, and now that I've gotten back into fishing for the third time I found this lure with rusty hooks. Would love to clean it up and use it again.

Which is why I wasn't mad at him. I just explained why he shouldn't do that. We had been talking about joining a club next year and so we try to fish as if we're in a tournament.

I hadn't told him, but I did afterward and he argued against it. I wasn't mad or anything. And let me be clear, this isn't a "problem" as many are thinking here. I'm just trying to verify that it is bad form to do what he did.

What size hooks are typically on a bomber model A or a lucky craft? I have an old bomber model A in a color they don't make anymore but it was my favorite back in the day. Hooks are rusted out.

I dunno. I've fished plenty of tournaments and seen plenty of anglers miss a fish and then immediately cast back in that general location, either with the same bait or switching up to something different on another rod. The thought of trying to get the fish that the other angler missed never crossed my mind. If he had done it to me I would question his ethics. If I had clearly given up on the spot that's one thing, but if I'm hurrying as if I'm onto something it is simply wrong for him to cast to that general vicinity. Now granted, typically the other angler and I have our arcs for fishing and that starts about midships forward for the boater and midships-aft for the rider. So the opportunity to cast to that spot doesn't come up that often. That said, I have had a rider miss a fish and suggest that I throw whatever I have to that spot. That was good sportsmanship on his part because he had lost half his worm and didn't want me to miss a fish that he could no longer get. I did the same later with another angler.

Well yeah, I leave him on his own. Yet if he does something wrong and doesn't know it's wrong then I need to mention it to him.